3 Words That Change Everything in Your Copy
“It makes sense.”
Okay, how many times have you read a sales/services page that starts like this?
I know you're feeling {negative thing}. {Other negative thing keeps happening} and you feel {even more negative!}. The days tick by and you're still {feeling another bummer thing}. You're stuck. When will it end?
And then the next paragraph usually starts something like: "What if you could feel {positive thing} instead?!"
And so it goes.
We all know that this framework has been used basically since the dawn of advertising, often in some shitty ways (poke at the pain point and then offer a magical solution!!) but in plenty of more ethical ways too.
BUT I want to let you in on the missing ingredient -- the one that makes your copy a bajillion times more compelling *and* so much more whole-hearted to write.
*It makes sense.*
^ These words (or the general vibe they give off) change everything. Why?
Because they take you from TELLING your reader how they feel into truly EMPATHIZING with your reader. Meeting them where they are. Seeing them in all their complexity. Letting them know that whatever they're struggling with isn't their fault, that they're not a weirdo, that they're not alone.
SEE IT IN ACTION, VOL. 1:
For Simply You Nutrition, I *could* have written a line like "You're burdened with disordered eating, feeling uncomfortable in your body, and sick of being on-again, off-again with diets." But see how that's both blah and feels kind of blamey?
Instead, we gave those feelings some pretty important context, and validated the heck out of them:
No matter how long you’ve been burdened by disordered eating, felt uncomfortable in your body, or been on-again, off-again with diets, there’s nothing wrong with you—and you’re definitely not alone.
There is most definitely something wrong with our culture, though, and so it makes sense that you need some support. All of the noise out there about the size and shape of your body, the ups or downs of your weight, and all the messed up ways we talk about food take their toll.
AGAIN IN ACTION, VOL. 2:
For Penney Leadership, here it's working in a slightly more subtle but no less powerful way.
Traditional models of career success are keeping you small, forever striving to prove yourself and move up to the next level. By now, you’ve figured out that what looks good on paper can come at a huge cost to your sense of purpose and even your well-being.
It’s no wonder that you feel trapped or lost — all your life, you've been encouraged and rewarded for accelerating into the next step or role, even if you know it doesn't quite fit you.
Instead of just listing the emotions or summarizing the reader's situation, we give some pretty crucial context that points the finger at our CULTURE, not at the reader, helping to normalize and take some of the pain out of where they are.
The "it makes sense" vibe helps get you out of surface-level stuff. It helps you pour your heart into your words, channel what you really believe in, and reach right into the heart of your reader. It helps your copy feel like a conversation WITH them, not talking AT them.
Here’s to empathy, connection, and copy that converts!
