Emotional Copy:

Emotional copywriting:

Wednesday was Voting Day in South Africa (where I live).

Which means for the last couple of months, my fellow countrymen and I have been bombarded with campaign messaging from each political party begging for our vote.

One of these parties (most definitely) hired a copywriter for their SMS campaigns.

How do I know? Because their messages moved me, triggered me, and made me think.

Emotional copywriting does that.

Read these three SMS messages I received below. See how they trigger the voter emotionally, and when you're done I'll reveal the key principle to almost every successful campaign.

Message 1:

3 hours left to vote, or 5 years without running water. It's your choice.

Message 2:

There are no queues right now at [that specific voting station]. You don't have an excuse. Come vote.

Message 3:

It's cheaper to vote than it is to immigrate. STOP the chaos and vote.

Can you see it?

What this writer does is almost guilt trip the reader into action. Not something I'd recommend you do (I believe your reader must never feel like THEY are the problem. It's never their fault, and using guilt to get an action leaves the reader with a sour taste in their mouths).

But when guilt is connected to the benefits of the action (like living a better life in the country that you love, by simply doing your duty), then this type of copy is acceptable.

Because this key principle stands:

People act on emotion, then justify their actions by logic.

Before you run your next campaign, think about the emotional you want to trigger. Do you want them curious? Happy? Angry? Hopeful?

Write the words that make them feel.