{"id":121201,"date":"2022-01-21T18:33:24","date_gmt":"2022-01-22T00:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/?p=87918"},"modified":"2023-08-24T15:59:15","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T20:59:15","slug":"humanizing-copywriting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/humanizing-copywriting\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Sound Like a Human in Your Copy (and Sell More!)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses have been boring people with their sales copy since the stock photo was invented. Probably longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which is fine. There is a place for that. Keep your brochures. Keep your 45-minute PowerPoint presentation. Explain to me every aspect of your product or service\u2026 your mission statement, history, every feature and benefit, that picture of your founder with his arms folded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That stuff is great\u2026 but don\u2019t bring that shiz to social media. You see, I\u2019m on social media to STOP thinking. I\u2019m there to feel<\/strong>. Do you have anything that makes me feel something<\/em> about your business or the problem you solve in my life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No? Ok, let\u2019s work on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve been hanging out around DigitalMarketer for any length of time, you\u2019ve heard someone mention Desmond Morris and the 12 Stages of Human Intimacy<\/em>, and about how every interaction is human to human<\/strong>. Not B2C or B2B. It don\u2019t matter what you\u2019re sellin\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great copy hits folks at a real, human level. It doesn\u2019t ask for something right off the bat. If you make me FEEL<\/strong> something, then I\u2019ll give myself permission to start THINKING<\/strong> about what you sell.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easier said than done, amiright? It\u2019s tough!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some tips to get out of your spreadsheet and start thinking about your product or service like an actual human who might buy it. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Numero Uno: Focus on Stage Five of the Customer Value Journey (Excite)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Listen, if you\u2019re not familiar with the Customer Value Journey, stop reading this article and go here right now<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you up to speed? Excellent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a Digital Marketer Certified Partner<\/strong>, we\u2019ve had the opportunity of building out many Customer Value Journeys for our clients. Stage five is the Excite<\/strong> phase. It tends to be difficult for some businesses to explain why people get excited about them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kinda sad, right? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They know why they are excited but have a hard time articulating why their customer might be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is all about the \u201cA-Ha Moment\u201d. It\u2019s your secret sauce, it\u2019s the thing that turns your product\/service from a \u201cnice to have\u201d to a \u201cmust-have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You must know what this is for your business. And if you say \u201cwe\u2019re the best\u201d I will reach through this screen and slap you. To quote Sally Hogshead \u201cDifferent is Better Than Better.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you understand this key element of your business \u2013 you will be free from trying to explain everything right off the bat. You will have focus.<\/strong> And most importantly, you will have the power to make people EXCITED (that\u2019s a feeling!<\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once they\u2019re excited, you have their attention, and you can hand them a brochure and fold your arms in a power pose. Just kidding. Power poses are for boy bands. Don\u2019t do that. Unless you\u2019re in a boy band. Or a doctor. Why do doctors love to fold their arms in photos?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Numero Dos: Understand That the Hero is Not You<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It seems like if you have to sell something you have to talk about yourself, right? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NO<\/strong>, you jerk \u2013 you\u2019re so self-centered, geez. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You eventually do have to talk about yourself to sell your stuff. But you need to position yourself as the GUIDE<\/strong>. You are Yoda. You are Gandalf. And I am a nerd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your customer is the hero, and they have a villain<\/em>: a problem in their life which you get to show them how to defeat. Your product is their Excalibur. It\u2019s way more exciting than your brochure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep this in mind in the imagery that you use on your website, social channels, or anywhere else. The customer is the focus. And it is usually more effective to focus on the desired after-state at the end of the journey than the miserable before-state they find themselves in right now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the movie poster, it\u2019s them in the foreground holding Excalibur (your product) triumphantly over their head, and you are in the background smiling like a proud parent (arms folded of course).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Story is a powerful tool to make someone feel something. Humans are drawn to stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to know more about learning how to tell a story around your business, Donald Miller\u2019s Building a StoryBrand<\/em> is required reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a picture of Donald Miller from a Forbes article<\/a>. (ahem\u2026 arms)<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Numero Tres: Your Customers Are Your Best Writers (cheat code)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So if your customer is the hero and you want to write copy that sounds more like your hero\u2026 to find more heroes\u2026 look no further than your reviews. They are a Gold Mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spend some time reading every review that you can. You\u2019ll not only learn what is important to your customers (great hints here for some A-Ha Moments), but you\u2019ll learn how to talk like them. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And since reviews are public and pretty much fair game \u2013 you can just use their actual words in your copy. Emojis and all. It\u2019s like cheating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our agency creates video ads. We write scripts and hire a lot of smart funny people. But the best words we use and most effective sales copy often come straight from reviews.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So press up, down, up, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, and then start using reviews in your marketing! You\u2019re now INVINCIBLE!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Numero Cuatro: Heighten Reality<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Good content informs or entertains. Great content does both. But remember, make them feel something first (as a human) so they give themselves permission to think about you.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it may not be appropriate for every audience, most businesses can stand to bring a little levity, a little magic, a few giggles to their content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I said, we make video ads and we\u2019ve found that the easiest way to do that is with cheap laughs. You know, stuff that worked on the playground. I\u2019m talking toots. I\u2019m talking about falling down the stairs. That kind of stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sophisticated advice, no?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any other marketing blogs tell you to use more toots?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the kicker \u2013 it has to support the sale. Your jokes have to make sense within the world of your hero, their villain, and you, the wise guide with the plan for victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As long as everything is in the context of your sales message \u2013 don\u2019t be shy. Make your characters zany. Use costumes, special effects, make everything in the world you are creating just a little \u201cbigger\u201d than it would be in the real world. The smell is worse. The cowboy hat is taller. The accent is more exaggerated<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also personify abstract things. Like All-State did with Mayhem, or like we did with Pain<\/p>\n\n\n\n