Emotional Marketing Tips

Buying is an emotional experience.

We buy because we’re motivated to act — not by logic, but by pure, primal passion. It may sound weird. After all, what emotion do you need to sign up for MailChimp, Slack, Adobe or any other subscription service? Don’t customers make rational decisions to buy based on product features and price points?

Nope.

While logic is often used to justify a purchase after the fact, consumers are driven by their emotions to click buy. 

Perhaps they’re afraid of missing out (fear), or they don’t want to look stupid (pride), or they want to help others (love). 

Presenting them with a dry laundry list of product features will not inspire your prospective customer to act. Instead, the best way to motivate your prospective customer is by tapping into the emotion that’s driven them to your solution in the first place.

In this post, we’ll discuss how to use emotions to attract leads and convert them into customers. But emotional marketing isn’t just for customer acquisition. You can also use emotions to increase loyalty amongst your existing customer base.

Let’s get started.

What Is Emotional Marketing?

As its name suggests, emotional marketing uses emotional cues to attract leads and convert them into customers. 

When you target your prospective customer’s emotions, you can elicit a more visceral response. Focusing on basic emotions such as fear, happiness, or surprise will likely prompt immediate action, such as a free trial signup or a post share on your social media platform. 

But keep in mind that prospective customers don’t buy immediately. It generally takes between 8 to 12 interactions with your brand before prospective customers trust you enough to buy. You can use emotional marketing initially to draw attention to your business and get prospective customers on your email list. Then you can continue building your relationship with them by sending marketing emails or interacting with them on social media. 

Emotional marketing can also make your brand more memorable. Think about the last time you saw a relatable ad that made you smile or think. Do you remember the brand promoted in the ad? I bet you do. When we’re hit in our emotional center by an ad, we remember more about the details. 

May I present to you exhibit A:

Originally aired in 2007, I guarantee you remember this commercial. It’s so sad that it’s unforgettable. That’s also what made it effective. Sarah Mclachlan’s “Angel” commercial raised over $30 million dollars for the ASPCA and it did so by delivering a gut punch to your emotions. 

This shows you the impact that emotional marketing can make on an audience. 

It’s important to note that emotional marketing isn’t at all about tricking your prospective customer. Instead, it’s about forging a connection with them.

How to Appeal to Your Customer’s Emotions

Now that we know what emotional marketing is, let’s discuss how to use emotions to convert.

Understand What Motivates Your Prospective Customer to Act

Think of this as a four-step process. 

  1. First, figure out why your target audience wants your product. 
  2. Second, define how your product will improve your customer’s life.
  3. Third, identify common hesitations and friction points that prevent prospective customers from converting.
  4. Finally, position your product as the solution and give your prospective customer the reasons why they should trust you.

You should repeat the above process for each customer persona.

Find the Right Emotion

Emotion drives memory and action, however, you have to find the precise emotion that motivates your customer to act. 

  • Is it happiness and the quest to find it? 
  • Is it sadness (as in the above example)? 
  • Is it greed and a desire to get more?
  • Is it fear of consequences?
  • Is it anger/ frustration with not being able to accomplish a goal?
  • Is it the desire to win?

Whatever drives your reader to act, you need to tap into it in order to motivate.

Use of Power Words

Emotional Marketing Tips

Copy (i.e. sales writing) is an essential component of emotional marketing. It’s hard to elicit emotions without words. 

You can use so-called “power words” to create an immediate emotional response from your reader. Here are the top 10 power words that lead to quick action:

  1. You – Focus on the reader on your product page, the home page, and marketing emails. The word “you” engages your prospective customer. 
  2. Free – Everyone likes the idea of getting something of value for free.
  3. Easy – No one wants to be burdened.
  4. Risk-free – Stand by your product.
  5. Instant – It’s appealing to get an immediate reward.
  6. Limited – Play on your reader’s fear of missing out.
  7. Exclusive – Appeal to the reader’s desire to be part of a small club.
  8. Because – Explain and educate your target audience.
  9. Help – No one wants to do it alone.
  10. Try – Offering a free trial can entice prospective customers to take a chance.

Here are 10 tips for amping up the emotion in your marketing copy.

Create an Intuitive UX

We’ve talked about emotional marketing, now let’s dive into emotional design. 

As a web-based business, you can’t afford to overlook the user experience (UX). How does your prospective customer feel when navigating around your website? If you’ve directed clicks to a customized product landing page, it’s essential that your lead capture page give your visitor good vibes. 

Emotional design goes beyond the basics of a standard webpage and seeks to create a user experience that’s friendly, intuitive, and delightful. Every page on your website should answer the visitor’s question(s) directly in a way that they can understand. This can build trust with your target audience (trust always comes before purchase).

To create a positive memorable experience for your visitors, focus on designing a website that is:

  • Easy to navigate 
  • Attractive
  • Valuable 
  • Anticipates what the visitor needs next (with strong calls to action at the bottom of each page)

Tell a Story

Humans love stories. Stories pull on our heartstrings and stir us to action. 

Use stories to attract leads and convert them into customers. Here’s how:

Use case studies – Case studies are true stories of how you helped your customer resolve a problem and achieve happiness. Prospects enjoy case studies because they can relate to the customer’s pain. Because they, too, have that same pain and are looking for a solution. Your customer’s story can nudge them in the right direction.

Share your origin story – Explain how your business evolved from an idea. If a prospective customer visits your “About” page, they want to learn more about you. Don’t waste this opportunity with a lackluster list of founder facts. Instead, explore your triumphs and failures to build trust with your customers.

Make your prospective customer the hero – On your home page or product landing page, tell a story about your customer. Focus on their pain points, their frustrations, and what keeps them up at night. Then show how your product will solve their problem. However, don’t make the story about your product. Instead, make sure that your customer feels like your story focuses on their individual needs and challenges.

Final Thoughts

In a nutshell, emotional marketing is about forging a connection with your audience. If you can figure out what motivates your prospective customer to buy, you’ll be able to draw them to you. 

Before leaving, check out these additional resources:

Don’t forget to download this list of tips for writing more emotional marketing copy.


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