What Aretha Franklin Taught Me about Copywriting

When I heard that Aretha Franklin had passed away, I felt the urge to listen to her hits. After some R-E-S-P-E-C-T, I came across You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman). Aretha sings about her man and all the little things he does for her. All those little things add up to the big thing: how the man makes her feel. When it comes to love, that’s the main point: how a person makes you feel.

The same is true in copywriting. Yes, you describe a product or service in a blog post, email, website, or a social media post. But the company or product isn’t really the main thing. The main thing is how the customer or client feels.

I first came across this idea while listening to Donald Miller interviewed by Dave Ramsey. Donald Miller told business leaders that they are not the hero of their company. The customer is. Whatever a business is selling, it needs to be communicated by how it makes the customer the hero.

In his book, Building a Storybrand, Donald Miller says, “If we position our products and services as anything but an aid in helping people survive, thrive, be accepted, find love, achieve an aspirational identity, or bond with a tribe that will defend them physically and socially, good luck selling anything to anybody. These are the only things people care about.” And what are these things? Feelings.

The same concept applies to all kinds of writing, not just copywriting. William Kenower in his book Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write with Confidence puts it another way. Kenower says to writers: “you are a merchant dealing in emotion.” In a novel or a short story, there is an appropriate time to end in sadness or loss. The difference in copywriting is you are moving the reader from their negative feelings into the feelings of the hero. Feelings of triumph and belonging. Feelings of victory.

So what does this actually look like in copywriting?

Before I write anything about the business or product, I imagine how the reader feels. Why did they Google the topic I’m writing on? What problem do they have in their life? How does that problem make them feel? Then I write a few simple feelings statements at the top of my page so I can keep them in mind as I write.

For example, if I am writing about air conditioning repair, I think about what it feels like on a summer day when your air conditioning is on the fritz. I’m sweating. I’m frustrated. I’m afraid of how much it’ll cost. I am impatient—I want it fixed NOW! I jot down these feelings at the top of the page.

If I am writing for a senior living facility, it may be the children of the seniors that are reading what I’m writing. They are worried about their parent’s health and safety. They are stressed out caring for their job, their kids, and now having to take care of their parents, too. They might be in conflict with their parent since they are trying to talk them into to moving to a facility. They feel a burden of responsibility to do the right thing for their parent.

Once I have those feelings listed at the top of my page, then I describe the product, service, or topic from the writing assignment. Keeping those feelings of the reader at the top of the page guides me to describe the product or service with words that soothe the reader and enable them to be victorious over their situation.

Once I am finished describing the product or service, if the assignment calls for it, I end with a call to action that tells the reader what to do so that they can be the hero. Like “call to schedule an appointment so your family feels cool again” or “contact us to give your mom the best care possible.”

Lastly, I go back to the beginning feeling words and turn them into a short story, just one or two sentences long, that describes a situation that will sound familiar to the reader. This short story serves as a hook to grab the reader’s attention. It makes the reader say, “yes! That’s exactly how I feel!” so he will read on.

Writing copy with feeling takes more work than simply describing the product or service, but your copy will yield results that other copy doesn’t. And business owners notice when your copy is the most effective. Next time you write copy, picture your reader crooning like Aretha, “you make me feel…” Identify their needs. Make them the hero.

In addition to copywriting, Rachel Schmoyer writes about finding simple truth in complex parts of Scripture at readthehardparts.com. A pastor’s wife and a mom of four, she is involved in the children’s ministry in her local church. Rachel is represented by Michelle Lazeruk of WordWise Media. You can connect with Rachel on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.