How to Write with Emotion
Okay, in this segment we’re going to go deeper on writing with emotion. Earlier we mentioned a few emotions you might want to trigger with your copy, things like fear, anger, joy and surprise. So let’s take a moment to talk about these specifically.
Perhaps the most common emotion that writers try to tap is fear. You’ve heard of FOMO or fear of missing out. Fear of loss. Or fear of harm. So how do you use fear ethically in your copy?
Start with your audience’s world view. What are they afraid of? And what fears motivate them? Identify the threat and show how it is hurting them right now. Or how it will hurt them in the future. Be very clear about the risks and impacts. Help them see how it shows up in their lives. This is generally referred to as “agitating” the pain, but you’re not doing it to make readers feel bad. You’re doing it so you can empathize with them, show them a solution, and fix the pain they feel.
Words that help emphasize fear in your copy include: nightmare, worry, danger, embarrassed, failure, warning, doubt, and concern. There are others.
Similarly anger motivates people to confront the thing they perceive as a threat. When readers are angry, they fight back and take action. Anger is often used to sell political candidates and policies. It is also used to raise money for causes. Words that trigger anger include: violated, despicable, furious, scandal, violent, and hate.
Both fear and anger are negative emotions. But of course there are powerful positive emotions as well. Like happiness or joy both of which lead to pleasure—and people will do a lot to feel pleasure. It can be a bit more difficult to sell with positive emotions—people tend to move away from pain and loss much more quickly than towards gains and pleasure. But ultimately, what you promise needs to be positive. Words that trigger happiness include love, ecstasy, joy, contentment, delight, and serenity.
Surprise is a powerful emotion that works especially well for headlines and hooks—both of which have to grab the attention of your reader and intrigue them enough to keep them reading. Words that help trigger this emotion include mind-blowing, breathtaking, awesome, surprising, new, unique and unknown.
Trust is yet another emotion you’ll want to build with your copy. Once a reader or buyer trusts you (or the brand you are writing for), they are much more likely to come back, read what you share, purchase what you are selling, and share their experiences with others. Words associated with trust include guaranteed, proven, reliable, trustworthy, authority, admire and scientific.
Other emotions you may want to add in your copy include greed, guilt, exclusivity, and curiosity.
We’ve included a list of emotional words as a bonus in this course. These aren’t power words that you just sprinkle into your copy at random. Use them wisely to help create the emotional feel you want, but don’t over do it. Too many will come across as fake or desperate. You can find that list in your course materials.
More important than the actual words you use, is the feelings you create with your content and copy. The stories and examples you share. The way you connect with your customer’s world view. And the way you empathize with them.