For many small business owners, the true motivation behind their business is to do some good for the world.
These are heart-centered companies.
And they face a unique challenge when it comes to marketing their products and services.
How hard can they push in their marketing materials?
On the one hand, they need to drive sales. They have to attract new customers. If they don’t, their business will fail.
And heart-centered or not, a failed business doesn’t do anyone any good.
But…
Heart-centered entrepreneurs don’t want to take the old-school approach to marketing. They definitely don’t want to be seen to be too loud, aggressive, pushy or salesy in their promotions.
Noisy, brash promotions will conflict with their brand and their mission. These companies want to be seen to be doing the right thing, every step of the way… their marketing included.
Hence the challenge… “I know I need to be work hard on promoting my business, but I don’t want to be seen as a loud or sleazy marketer.”
The answer is to tap into the persuasive power of emotional engagement.
Almost by definition, there is a strong emotional component to every heart-centered business.
And it turns out that creating an emotional connection with your prospects and customers is a solid first step in making a sale. Because once a prospect is engaged emotionally, it’s not hard to translate that emotion into a desire to buy.
Why? Because purchase decisions are driven by emotions.
In the words of Douglas Van Praet, the author of Unconscious Branding: How Neuroscience Can Empower (and Inspire) Marketing:
“The most startling truth is we don’t even think our way to logical solutions. We feel our way to reason. Emotions are the substrate, the base layer of neural circuitry underpinning even rational deliberation. Emotions don’t hinder decisions. They constitute the foundation on which they’re made!”
Donald Calne, world famous neurologist, makes the same point in a slightly different way:
“The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions.”
You want people to take an action? Connect with them emotionally.
Conversational copywriting opens the door to emotional engagement.
Imagine yourself at the receiving end of a sales presentation.
Hold that picture in your mind.
Now imagine yourself at a local coffee shop or bar, having a lively conversation with friends.
In which scenario are you going to feel more emotionally engaged?
I’m guessing you chose the coffee shop or bar…because you were having a conversation. Conversations bring us closer together, and they always have.
It turns out you can also trigger those same feelings of connectedness and engagement simply by writing in a conversational tone.
A conversational voice signals the same kind of openness and transparency.
Conversational writing and copywriting shows you’re trying to engage WITH your readers.
This is in stark contrast to traditional marketing writing and copywriting, which pushes a one-way message AT an audience.
Traditional sales language pushes AT… conversational copy engages WITH.
The conversational approach is perfect for heart-centered business.
The fact that conversational copy engages with its audience at an emotional level is why it’s such a perfect fit for heart-centered entrepreneurs.
It enables ethical marketers to be persuasive and go for the sale… without being pushy or creepy.
It makes it possible to maximize sales without ever having to cross the line with advertising that is less than 100% honest and transparent.
And while that’s a good thing for all digital marketers, it’s particularly good news for heart-centered entrepreneurs.
Note: Conversational copywriting doesn’t just happen. It’s a craft to be learned. Find out about the Conversational Copywriting course here…
