Copywriting: Persuasion Vs. Manipulation

Some copywriters feel uncomfortable pushing the limits. They feel their boss is pushing them into manipulating the buyer. They feel their job is holy. They would never need to resort to manipulation. The copywriter’s only job is to increase clarity and shine a light on the most valuable features of the product. Horse shit. This is the story bad copywriters tell themselves and their closest friends. Mr. copywriter, just because you are feeling uninspired doesn’t mean the product doesn’t have a story. Just because you don’t want to dig deeper don’t categorize your feeling as manipulation. The reason why you are struggling to write inspiring copy is because you are lazy. Because you haven’t bothered to understand what the product does. Because you don’t know how to empathize with the buyer who is trying to fill a hole in her life. You haven’t done enough to understand why the founder took the less traveled path to create this new product. You don’t know the 45 failed prototypes that led to this product. You don’t know the struggles. Why do you think 100s, 1000s and 100s of thousands of people are buying this product? Get off your high horse and see what these people are seeing. So stop complaining and start making notes. If a piece of copy on the current product page seems uninspiring make it a question and email the client or customer service. Investigate. Do a Google search. Interview the client. Keep on asking questions till you realize that what you were thinking was manipulation was actually a wonderful product story that you had to chisel away to discover. Learn more about us: https://www.frictionless-commerce.com