Brief, Wonderful Article on Using Emotion in Copywrting
Specifically, the emotion of empathy.
I’ve been urging my clients for years to do what they can to be seen as the caring humans they are, and not some faceless corporate monstrosity/bureaucracy.
Chris Haddad gives some very powerful examples, including the wonderful idea of the “maybe bullet”:
What’s a “maybe bullet?”
A “Maybe” bullet is a short statement that “paces” the feelings and emotions that your customer are going through and shows them that you UNDERSTAND them.
He also gives two specific examples of empathic copy. Go read it.
In my own copywriting, I often use “perhaps” rather than “maybe.” It does the same thing but sometimes seems more personal–and sometimes I alternate.