FACT: People buy what they WANT…and WANT is triggered by EMOTIONS!
Legendary advertising guru William Burnbach once said, “You’ve got to say it in such a way that people will feel it in their gut. Because, if they don’t feel it, nothing will happen.”
It’s easy to convey emotions when you’re with someone and talking face-to-face. You can use your voice, eyes, hands, tonality, volume, speed, postures and gestures.
But, in print advertising, we don’t have that luxury. We must rely on words and pictures to convey emotions and this is much more difficult…especially in a limited amount of space.
But it can be done…if you know how.
In order to convey emotions using words, for instance, there are certain techniques you can use, such as:
- Using CAPITAL LETTERS
- Using bold print
- Using certain colors, such as bright RED or BLUE
- Using…pauses
- Using exclamation points!!!
- Using “quotation marks
- Italicizing certain words and/or phrase
- Underlining
- Using clear, precise language
Example: Which of the following statements conveys the highest level of emotion?
- My God, I think the building is on fire.
- “My God…I think the building is ON FIRE!!!!!”
The sad truth is that very few advertising agents and website designers know how to write emotionally.
Why do I say that?
I say it because I spend almost every day looking at their work. I’m constantly reviewing websites, ads, and brochures. I literally winch sometimes at the absolute sterile lifelessness of what I see. And I know the ultimate cost to the owner in lost sales.
I see businesses owners spend small fortunes on SEO in order to get a website ranked and onto the first page of Google. And it is a website so devoid of emotion and so poorly written that it has almost no chance of stirring the viewer’s heart and soul. There is nothing there to generate a sufficient degree of the correct emotions in the viewers that would compel them to pick up the phone and call or click and make a purchase. It is simply written for SEO. And, believe me, there is a big difference.
(I’m not saying SEO isn’t important. On the contrary, it is…in fact…the other half of the equation. The best website in the world won’t produce sales if no one can find it on the internet.)
And, to be even more honest, I often see words and phrases on websites and ads which actually generate negative feelings such as doubt, confusion and frustration. This leads to cognitive dissonance in the mind of the reader. And when that happens, you can forget about making a sale. It just ain’t gonna happen.
In many of these cases, even a small amount of tweaking of the wording, phrasing and punctuation can bring about a significantly higher conversion rate.
Bottom line: If your website and your ads are devoid of emotion, you are leaving a lot of money on the table in lost sales and revenue because you are not making people feel it in their gut!
I hope this information is helpful to you.
To YOUR SUCCESS,
Hal
PS. If you would like for me to take a look at YOUR website and/or your ad, I’d be happy to do that for you. Just give me a call at 770-993-0004 or email Hal@HalColeman.com. And don’t worry, it will be a FREE call. I promise I will give you some great information to think about!
