emotional content

@portentint

Emotional Content

Presented by: Ian Lurie@portentint

@portentint

Me

CEO, Portent (Seattle) Idealistic marketing cynic Captain Asphalt Award Winner @portentint

@portentint

You know about headlines, power words, stop words, colors and emotions, and all the other stuff.

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Time to level up with copy that evokes a response

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These are things to try. Not things you must do.

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Mix and match.

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Does this work?

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How’s a

Yeah, I’m smug

20% conversion rate improvement?

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How’s a

Yeah, I’m smug

2x funnel completion rate?

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how ya like me now!!!???

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Appeal to basic emotional states

i’m funny

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And their subtexts

Bleep

i’m embarrassed

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Anger Those idiots frakked it up

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Betrayal!Deception!

!

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Surprise What the frak is that?!!!

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A secret !A story that doesn’t end the way it started

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Disgust That is frakking nasty

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At behavior!At taste!At smell!

At a situation

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Happiness That is the greatest frakking thing ever!!!

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Humor!Sentimental!

Pride!Success!

Joy

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Fear I’m going to frak this up

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Loss!Failure!

Mistakes!Guilt !

Catastrophe

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Sadness All around me are

familiar frakking faces

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Loss!Guilt !

Nostalgia

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Evoke a strong response

ok, maybe not that strong

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Narrate, don’t dictate stories really do work

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Technique 1 From mystery to CTA

When I was in law school, working in a bicycle shop, I became a marketer

Start with a hook

I saw the boulder coming up at !me and I knew I was screwed

Start with a hook

There was a thud, a loud crack !and I saw stars

Walk the reader forward

Then I realized I was still conscious

Name the benefit

And unhurt

Name the benefit

My helmet saved me

Explain why

Wear your helmet

Make the CTA

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Technique 2 Benefit to CTA

I save 12 hours per month

Benefit

Use Zapier, and you can too

CTA

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Technique 3 Start with mystery

It was the most important flat I ever fixed

Huh?

I was pedaling through Portugal

Hmmm…

A woman had a flat tire

Oh, I see where this is going

I fixed it in a few minutes

Nice!

We’ve been married for 18 years

Awwww

Take Frank’s Bike Mechanic Certification

WTF?!!!!

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Evoke emotion Don’t emote

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We are delighted to offer you our new, sleek bicycle helmet, the HH1

How nice for you

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The new, sleek HH1.

Ooooh

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Use active voice

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Foothair was invented by Bilbo Baggins

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Bilbo Baggins invented foothair.

Hemingwayapp

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Use adjectives for information

not punctuation

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An exciting offer

Bad

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A limited-time offer

Good

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…a fantastic inner tube...

Bad

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…a thorn-proof inner tube...

Good

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…a sleek sports car...

Good

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…a sleek file cabinet...

Really?

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Try present tense to help me ‘see’ the result

You’re sitting in your office

OK

A seagull sits outside your !window croaking

Uh…

“Give me a status update”

WTF?!!!!

“Why aren’t we ranking #1?”!“It’s just Wikipedia”

WTF?!!!!

“RFP! RFP!”!“It’s not you, it’s us”

WTF?!!!!

Then you jerk awake in a cold sweat

WTF?!!!!

You’re sitting in your office

Again?!

Basking in the glow of a happy client

Oh!

You just showed them their amazing ROI

Oh!

By using Smurf Tracking Software

Er…

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Tell me what it’s like to reap the rewards of your product

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Keep your noggin safe & cool

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Get up and running in minutes!!Enjoy a fast Internet connection anywhere in your house

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Get up and running in minutes!!Enjoy a fast Internet connection anywhere in your house

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Scare me fear of loss is a powerful motivator

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In 10 hours, this deal is gone

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Don’t miss out

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Your whole family. Dead.

Over the top

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What happened to Fido shouldn’t happen to any dog. The shame of flea mange.

OK

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Make me special

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Get 10% off!

Don’t discount

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Get 10% more!

Bonus

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As a member, you’ll receive…

Make me part of the club

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Tell me I’m awesome I love it

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Your new app is amazing. Time to launch.

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Don’t overuse clickabait It gets old fast

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56 Ways I’ve Seen This Type of Headline Before

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use our middleware

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Piss me off if you want me to take action

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I’ve got a secret other marketers !don’t want me to tell you

What?!!! Those bastards!!!

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Did you have to pay for that colonoscopy?!Your insurance company should have

Ewwwww

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Reassure me with a promise

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If it doesn’t work, tough shitskies.

Not OK

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All sales final. No refunds.

If you must

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Sometimes, things just don’t work as planned. If that happens, contact us for support and, if necessary, a refund.

If you must

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“All sales final. No refunds.”

If you must

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When you’re done, you’ll feel stronger

OK

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Try this. You’ll sell more stuff.

OK

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Visuals

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Design Don’t decorate

Use more babies!Women like babies and other feminine icons

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Visuals describe They don’t separate, break up or decorate

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Careful with those stock photos

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Careful with those stock photos

this car is great!

I know! I feel fit. and attractive.

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Careful with those stock photos

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You might…

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End up…

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Regretting them

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Loosen up your layout is constipated

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Colors mean many things

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I am sophisticated

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What does that meeeaaaannnnnn…

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Excitement

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Imminent catastrophe

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Go. Harmony. Nature.

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Vomit

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There are no best practices

when it comes to emotional response

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Test to verify not to plan

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Pick an emotion and evoke it

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Commence Heckling Ian Lurie @portentint www.portent.com

http://portent.co/blah-blahs