Why Your Website Copy Must Speak to Your Clients' Emotionsby Juliet Austin, MA
Marketing Coach, Consultant and Copywriter
As a therapist or healing artist, you work with people who are struggling with emotional, physical, mental or spiritual pain. Clients come to you because they are hoping to find relief from problems they are having in these areas.
As a skilled professional, you know how important it is to show empathy and caring for the pain your clients are experiencing, and to help them build faith and hope that they can overcome this pain. You also know how much your clients appreciate your showing understanding and caring towards them, and the significant role this plays in their healing.
However, if you are like many healers and therapists, when it comes to writing copy for your website, you may neglect to show this understanding and caring. Your copy may sound academic, stiff or dry--and/or it may focus too much on yourself and your healing techniques or modalities.
If this sounds like your website, don't feel badly... You were never taught copywriting skills in your professional training program. Instead, you learned how to write like an academic or professional. You learned how to distance yourself in your writing.
While academic and professional writing has it's place, unfortunately it's not very effective when it comes to attracting clients.
So, it's time to unlearn some of what you were taught....and to discover how to inject emotion into your writing.
Emotions Are a Key Factor Determining If a Client Will Hire You
It is well known amongst copywriters and marketers that people buy a service or product based on their emotions and use their logic to back up their decision. People want to feel understood and have faith that you can help them or they won't be inclined to buy your services. The moment your copy touches on your clients' feelings is the moment they begin to seriously show interest in what you are offering them.
Remember, your potential clients have only the words on your website to help them determine if you might be the person they are looking for. Show them you understand their feelings and desires and they will warm up to you...and the more they warm up to you, the more likely they are to become clients.
Think about the relationship-building process as commencing when your potential clients land at your website - well before they show up in your office.
How To Speak to Client Emotions
The emotions you speak to in your website copy will vary depending on what problems your clients have and the emotions that accompany them. A mother who is having problems with an aggressive, acting out child may feel exasperation, frustration, embarrassment, guilt, fear for her child's future, etc. If you are targeting this type of client you will need to show empathy for these feelings and convince her that you know what it's like to be in her shoes.
In addition, you will need to build hope and show potential clients that healing from their pain is possible. Help them imagine what their life would be like if their problems were solved. As you know, many clients have given up hope--or are close to it-- when they seek help. You need to show them the way out of their pain and help them become motivated to do what it takes in order to heal. This is a key role of a healer, as well as a skilled copywriter.
In the example of the mother of the child who is behaving aggressively, you might build hope by telling her that other parents have had success in turning around their aggressive youngsters' behaviors, and chances are she can as well.
"Paint a picture" of what her life would be like if her child behaved less aggressively--e.g. her child would be happier and have more friends, her life would be easier, she would be more calm and relaxed, she would feel more confident and in control as a parent, she could focus more of her energy on other areas of her life, etc.
If you know and understand your clients' problems and desires, you should be able to identify and express the emotions that will touch and move them into taking action.
Use Emotional Language Throughout Your Web Pages
Strong, client-attracting copy will address emotions throughout your website. Some key places to address emotions include: the opening headline on your home page, the opening paragraph, the sub-headings on your pages, and in your "call to action"-- the place where you ask the client to do something (e.g. sign up for your newsletter or call you to make an appointment).
Pay particular attention to address emotions early on your home page. You have only a few seconds when clients land at your site to show them what you offer and how you can help them. If they can't quickly determine whether or not you have something that will provide them what they are looking for, they will leave your site.
The bottom line...
If you speak to your clients' emotions in your web copy, both you and your clients will be better served in the end. Your clients will have an easier time determining if you are the right person for them to see, and you will ultimately get more clients (and the kinds of clients that you ideally want to work with).
Juliet Austin, MA is a Marketing Coach and Copywriter who assists helping and healing professionals in attracting as many clients as they can handle.
Want to learn more about how to attract clients from your website? Sign-up for The Client-Attracting Websites Tele-seminar Series... The next series starts on February 18, 2008. Find out more by clicking here