Reach out and touch someone This all too familiar commercial message has a lot of wisdom in it.
It is an excellent model of the copywriting philosophy I want to discuss. It can really help you get into the heart of your website visitors. Let's break it down just for fun, ok?
Reach out: The intention to connect needs to be part of your writing. So many times people write to show off, to highlight how much more they know than the reader. They don't always do it consciously, but they do it.
Personally, I hate that. I feel disconnected, discounted, down right insulted. I certainly don't feel welcomed and appreciated. I don't feel like I want to continue with that person. I just don't react well to it.
Maybe I feel stronger about it than you, but I bet you don't like it either. Who needs to be put down, especially since you're showing up to learn, right?
To reach out shows a concern for what the reader needs. It's a sincere effort to see eye-to-eye in the conversation you're having together. And, yes, your website content is a conversation. Not a diatribe, not a monologue, not a lecture but a conversation.
Concern for your reader includes not only the tone and timbre of your writing but also the level of vocabulary you use. It's not about how fancy you can be, but about what is appropriate for your audience.
You can make this shift without being demeaning. Keeping your message straightforward, simply stated, and clear is not "dumbing it down". It's being straightforward and clear rather than indirect and verbose. It's reaching out.
Reaching out is a prelude to being intimate. Intimacy isn't always that comfortable, even with people we know well. But being open minded, open hearted, and open in your communications help others get past that discomfort. It helps others get to know you.
Speaking of intimate, let's move to the second half of the slogan
Touch someone: When you write to touch, what does that mean? Perhaps I can shed some light on that.
I love Readers Digest. It's a great little magazine that knows what it means to touch with their writing. I can't tell you how many times I have shed tears from a story about a firefighter hero or laughed out loud about a workplace fiasco. Those stories get me "right there", straight to the heart or the funny bone.
Oprah Winfrey does a great job at touching too. Without being sappy, contrived, or manipulative, she draws out of people the "good cry", where tears express joy and the richness of life. Read "O" magazine and you will see the same effect in writing. You will be touched.
Touching with your writing comes from identifying psychological symbols and triggers and using them. Not in a manipulative way but in a way that heals and helps.
Just ask a 65 year old woman about her grandchildren. You'll know what I mean. You'll get the stories, you'll feel the emotion, you'll get in touch.
Now, grandchildren are an easy one. What about business? How do you find a topic that is important and emotional and pulls your audience in? Here's a list of business themes that touch-- see how deeply they go for you:
**Hard earned success
**Feeling worthy of abundance
**Fear of failure
**Feeling fulfilled
**Sharing your gifts with the world
**Pulling yourself up by the bootstraps
**"Kid done right" story
**Being rewarded for all of your efforts
**Making your parents (your spouse, yourself) proud of you
**Making money doing what you love
**Helping others
There are so many other themes. And remember, you can always let someone else write for you. Just review their work with these principles in mind.
So, reach out and touch someone. One thing will lead to another and before you know it, you'll be making money too.
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Contributor's Note
These beginner tips are designed to get you started on the Internet. I hope you enjoy them!
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