|
The James Brown Guide to Copywriting:
5 Tips for Putting a Little 'Soul' in Your Marketing Copy
 He was the Godfather of Soul. James Brown. Known for his emotional vocals and feverish dancing, he grew up with gospel music and later put his own unique trademark on rhythm and blues.
Brown's performances were famous for their intensity. We liked his music because his songs told stories. They made us feel.
When you are crafting a sales message, or even just educating your customers, you are telling a story. What can we learn from James Brown, the master storyteller?
5 Tips for Putting a Little James Brown 'Soul' in Your Marketing Copy
- Have a unique voice. James Brown had such an authentic voice that you could probably tell one of his songs by just reading the lyrics on a sheet of paper. Think of his signature words: "Hey!" "WOOOOOO!" Like James, your voice is yours and only yours. No one says things in quite the same way. For more on finding your unique voice, see this blog post.
- Tell a story. We loved Brown's music because his songs told a story. Of course in marketing, your stories are different, but you are often talking about a problem, a pain, and how you can solve it for a customer. For more tips, see Marketing with Stories: Think Like as Fiction Writer and Heard Any Good Stories?and Heard Any Good Stories?
- Appeal to the senses and emotions. In James's songs, you knew when he was happy. Think of I Got You (I Feel Good). And you understood his sadness (Down and Out in New York City). We could picture the words, hear the sounds, feel the emotions. I'm working on website copy for a moving company right now. Their prospective customers are senior citizens and so the copy on the home page recognizes the stress and emotions involved with leaving the house they have been in most of their lives. They then are positioned as not only the company that cares about getting the move right, but the one that supports the emotional needs that go with adjusting to a new home.
- Reveal a flaw. Well, okay, James didn't do this a lot. But when he did, we connected with him. Admitting the mistakes he made, usually with a woman, made him seem more human. When you are building relationships with clients and customers, it's a good thing to not come across as perfect. If you are writing a blog post, admit a flaw or challenge and tell what you learned from it.
- Don't be afraid to throw in a little humor. Now James could get pretty intense, but every once in a while, he gave us something fun. Like Papa's Got a Brand New Bag and Make It Funky. Humor is one of the things that unites us if it's the kind that makes us see how much we are alike-what scares us, what makes us laugh.
To connect more with your customers, try putting a little James Brown soul into your next marketing piece.
|
