I have.

It all started when Michel Fortin posted a link to a YouTube video.  The video title is “Validation” and it is described as “a fable about the magic of free parking.”

I watched “Validation” and loved it for the message, the story, the beauty and the music.  Over the next few days I thought about the film constantly.  I forwarded the link to family and friends. I couldn’t get “Validation” out of my mind.

Finally, I figured out why.

Not only is it a feel-good short, it also provides a great copywriting lesson for connecting with your reader.

Before I ruin the experience of simply watching an excellent short, please take a few minutes to watch Validation before reading about how free parking connects to copywriting.

Copywriting and Validation

Did you see how effectively Hugh (the parking attendant) changes the emotional state of the people seeking validation?

Each one of the people he validated finally felt like they mattered. The felt that someone “got” them.  And that’s what copywriters need to do.  They need to “get” their target market.

But how do you show this in written copy?  You do it by…

Validating the Reader’s Experience

When you write copy, you’re writing to a reader who has a need, desire or problem.  Your copy should convince the reader that your product (or service) can meet their need, fulfill their desire or solve their problem.

To do that, you need to get them to trust you.  One of the most effective ways to start building trust is to show the reader that you know what they’re going through. You know how they feel.  That’s what Hugh did for the parkers seeking validation.

Writing for the weight loss market?  Talk about the frustration of trying clothes on in a dressing room.  Describe the humiliation of having to go to a “big & large” store.  Mention the “skinny clothes” in the back of the closet that the reader hopes to fit in some day.

When you do that, your reader starts nodding along with your copy. She recognizes that you “get” her.

Writing to flamenco dancers? Describe the preparation rituals.  Include the scent of the make up.  Describe the how the weight of the hair ornaments tug at her hair when she whips her head during a turn.  Get specific – mention the Menkes shoes, the letras, the palmas and the remates.

You don’t know what a “letra” or a “remate” is?  It feels weird to read those words, right?  Well, that’s how your readers will feel if you miss the mark on validating their experience. Don’t worry about what a letra or remate is – the point is that if you were writing for a flamenco audience, you WOULD know.

This is part of the process that John Collier describes as entering into the conversation in your prospect’s mind.  This helps you connect with the reader and direct the conversation.

NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) practitioners call this pacing.  Harlan Kilstein, the Grand Pooh Bah of using NLP techniques in writing, teaches how to use pacing to establish rapport with your reader and how to use what he calls “future pacing” as a powerful technique that motivates the reader to buy.

But that’s a topic for another post.  For now, master the technique of validating your reader’s experience.  When you do, it will make your reader smile and your “cash register” sing.

Imagine that you’re coming home your sweetie at the end of the day.  When you walk in the door, do you want to be greeted with a passionate embrace?  Your bodies writhing against each other and your lips pressed together in a blissful urgency full of promise and desire?  

Or would you rather be greeted with indifference and a recitation of the items that you still need to complete on your mile-long “honey-do” list?

If you choose the “passionate embrace” option, then you probably know how you can increase the odds in your favor.  Slipping a romantic love note into a pocket for your sweetie to find later in the day; sending a flirty email to get thoughts racing and blood flowing; maybe even having a special gift delivered ‘just because’.

You know that all of these thoughtful gestures will trigger the right emotions and help set the mood for romance when the two of you finally connect at the end of the day. 

Copywriting is no different.  

You want your writing to trigger the right emotion and set the mood for your prospect.  When you set the mood, they’ll be more receptive to your copy.  And the sooner you set the mood, the more effective your copy will be.

Now if you’ve studied copywriting at all, you know that the Headline gets all the love – as well it should.  It’s what catches the reader’s eye and gets prospects to stop what they’re doing and read your ad.  John Caples pointed out that if the headline doesn’t draw the reader into the copy, the best copy in the world can’t sell the product because the copy won’t be read.

So, given the importance of the headline, wouldn’t you like to set the mood for the prospect before they even read your headline?

Heck yeah, you do!

And the way you set the mood is by using a prehead.  The most powerful way to use a prehead is to trigger the right emotional state and then tap into that state with the headline.

I’ll give you an example.  Think of the Biz Op market.  Let’s start with a headline example:

Slash Your Learning Curve And Explode Your Online Profits Now…
By Doing Two Simple Things That You Already Do Every Single Day!

The prospects are people who are dissatisfied with their income and with the restrictions of a “j-o-b”.  They dream of being their own boss, controlling their own schedules and raking in the dough so they can be free to spend their time as they like.

On top of all that, because they are reading magazines, surfing the internet and watching infomercials about how to achiever the freedom the dream of, they’re inundated with success stories and images of wealth.  As a result, they feel like they are the ONLY ones on the planet that aren’t living the good life.  

In the world they’re exposed to, EVERYONE (but them) is driving a Ferrari, living in a mansion, and working 1 hour a month under a palm tree on a beach.

Now imagine you’re one of these prospects, you’ve been trying to make money online without much success, and you come across this prehead, followed by the headline:
 

Tired of struggling online while everyone else is getting rich and living lives of freedom?                  

Slash Your Learning Curve And Explode Your Online Profits Now…
By Doing Two Simple Things That You Already Do Every Single Day!
 

Can you see how the prehead sets the emotional state for the reader and supercharges the headline? Very powerful stuff.

I guarantee that tapping into the emotional power of the prehead is the equivalent to romancing your sweetie throughout the day.

Remember that.  Then, go do something nice for your sweetheart.