The Empathy Lie in Copywriting

Modern marketing has confused empathy with performance. Instead of taking the time to actually understand the customer's pain points, writers just mirror pain points and fake compassion because it sounds empathetic.

Half the time, it's just emotional ventriloquism.

Empathy doesn't just mean saying "I get it". You need to understand why it actually hurts, and (this is the important part) what the reader wants instead.

Many writers just hold up a mirror and describe the pain - stuff like:

• You're tired of working so hard for so little...

• You're overwhelmed from chasing clients who don't value you...

• You're sick of feeling invisible online...

It's not wrong exactly, but it's incomplete in that it stops at the pain and never really crosses the threshold into what could be.

Real Empathy Goes Deeper

Real empathy ties into motivation -- you make the shift from sympathy to empowering. You're not just parroting pain, you're showing them the way out.:

• "You've built something you believe in...now it's time to show the world."

• "You're not asking for a handout. You want recognition for the hard work and the long hours you've put in."

• "You're tired of the burnout, but at the same time you're done waiting for your hard work to pay off."

Copy Shouldn't Do the Feeling For Them

Too many times, mediocre copy that tries to be empathetic believes it should do the feeling for the person. When you overdo it, you end up soothing instead of selling.

Real empathy also means that sometimes you have to tell the hard truth kindly. It's knowing the difference between when to say "I see you." and "Let's go."

The goal of copywriting with empathy isn't to prove you understand how your audience feels. Your job is to help them see what's possible beyond that feeling.

Anyone can echo pain, but a real copywriter turns that pain into possibility.