Welcome to the Escape Blog

I found a free tool today that checks the EMV of your web page. “Emotional Marketing Value” analyses the words that you use and how they tap into the emotions of an Audience.

There is no doubt that great web copy does sell, especially a headline, and spending a little time on crafting an effective headline of a web page, blog post, or news story can have a massive impact on traffic and take-up, especially if the page is being submitted to social news sites like Digg, Netscape and Reddit.

For instance, I used the tool to create the headline t this post, which has a rating of 44.4%. Other variations I tried beforehand included:

• Using Emotion In Your Headlines - 40%
• Why You Should Use Emotional Words In Your Headlines - 33.33%
• Are Emotional Words More Attractive In Your Headlines - 25%

Does it work? I’d say yes, but that is my opinion based on additional learning I have had (see NLP below) so I reckon this tool can be another serious tool in the toolbox of creating great web page content.

Balance of Words

I strongly agree that emotional pulls can draw a reader to ‘want’ more and I also agree that there needs to be a balance when writing copy on the web.

At the end of the day it is a person on the other end of your web page; searching, browsing and maybe even purchasing or pressing that all important call-to-action. So, inevitably a mix of emotion and information can go a long way down their path of acceptance that they want (or need) what you have and that you are the right people to use - there and then.

The Big Mistake

The most common mistake I see with web sites and content is lack of specific information and quality of content and copywriting (especially if a web page has been written by a traditional marketer or PR agency).

Phrases like “we offer bespoke solutions” and “we have a vast product range on offer, giving our customers the very best choice” mean absolutely nothing without context and more often than not, they don’t have any.

Work It Baby

Passive selling doesn’t work on the web. Firstly, the user (or customer) needs to know what a web page is about (contextual). Secondly, the page needs to convey, in an obvious and emotional way, why they need to take the next step that you want them to take - call us, sign up, buy now, etc. - there and then, otherwise you may lose them.

The old adage of “Sell the benefits, not the features” is another emotional pull. Not only is it more persuasive, it also personalises the experience for the user, especially if you can identify with them why they either want, or need, your product. Want vs. Need, for example, is a very different emotion - why do people buy your product and service?

Hopefully you can see that writing web copy, in fact any content that requires a response, is more than just writing. There is a large element of emotional and psychological persuasion needed to make your web pages (and headlines) more effective, drawing people in ands pushing them down the sales path.

You may want to start with Web Copy That Sells, and subscribe to the Copyblogger Blog.

The next step on from there would be to study the ‘Milton Model’ linguistic patterns of Milton Erickson, as defined by John Grinder and Richard Bandler under the NLP codes.

Language construction as part of the NLP (neuro linguistic programming) models can be extremely powerful for persuasion. In fact, the web copy book referenced above uses a lot of them. For NLP training in the UK, I would suggest calling on our old friend Daryll Scott at Noggin.