No matter what kind of writing you do, empathy is what allows you to create powerful messages that move your audience. A personal voice We often say that content needs personality. Is it possible to put so much of ourselves into our content that the audience feels left behind? What do you think about me?” For content creation, I’ll never tell you to tone down your voice. But I will suggest that you make absolutely certain that your topic matters to your audience … and then make sure that your tone matches the topic. The more extreme the voice, the greater chance that that voice will be inappropriate for some topics. But when taken too far, it can push a prospect over the line into unhelpful anxiety … and anxious people tend not to take constructive action. I might even go out on a limb and suggest that selling things, buying things, and processing things isn’t the end of the world. I know which kind of person I want to be around, but not everyone is like me. To make sure you have real solutions.
I recently heard our friend Joanna Wiebe say something that blew my mind. I didn’t get it down word for word, but this is the gist:
“It’s a copywriter’s job to be really, really good at listening, and then make it all sound good.”
That’s very aligned with what Copyblogger has taught for years.
No matter what kind of writing you do, empathy is what allows you to create powerful messages that move your audience.
Whether you fall more to the content marketing or the copywriting side, deep understanding and empathy is the foundation that lets you move — and help — your audience.
A personal voice
We often say that content needs personality. It needs a strong, distinctive voice, or it just gets lost in the sea of mediocrity and mush.
But can that strong, distinctive voice drown out the voice of the audience?
Is it possible to put so much of ourselves into our content that the audience feels left behind?
It absolutely is possible. Sometimes you see it on sites (solopreneur sites are a little more prone to this) where the writer can’t quite get over how awesome they are.
“But enough about me. What do you think about me?”
For content creation, I’ll never tell you to tone down your voice. But I will suggest that you make absolutely certain that your topic matters to your audience … and then make sure that your tone matches the topic.
No one wants to hear Gilbert Gottfried squawking about the latest painful political crisis. (I feel a little stabby just contemplating it.)
Or Betty Boop’s discussion of a heartbreaking parenting challenge.
And there’s a reason William Shatner never got a gig as a spokesperson for … well, for anything sensitive or personal.
The more extreme the voice, the greater chance that that voice will be inappropriate for some topics.
Getting bland isn’t the answer. Matching the tone to the topic is.
Empathy and kindness in copywriting
I hope you’ve been enjoying Nick Usborne’s posts for…
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