Does Telling The Truth in Copywriting Sell?
By: Nick Maier
Tags: Copywriting Tips, Words, Marketing Communication, Copywriting, Copywriting Services

Question of the day today comes from @adamschin — not Adam himself — but his chin, which I think is super funny..

Anyway, the topic for today’s Copywriting Blog is all about the concept of truth

Adam has come across this aspect of copywriting & marketing where people express and belief it to be true that “telling the truth sells”. They believe that it’s true that you need to express the truth in order to be taken seriously and in order for people to believe you and listen to you. Otherwise they think you’re selling snake-oil and are simply talking out of your ass

Personally, I love this topic. It’s super interesting topic because it begs the question, “what is the truth”…

As humans, we have this attachment with the truth… we created our own definitions of what the truth is, what it constitutes and what we believe to be true. Herein lies the problem, as this isn’t the truth — it’s simply our truth

We attach the truth with our beliefs, our thoughts, our opinions, our assumptions, our perspectives and our world views — based off our experiences and what we’ve learned in life

We say that THIS is the truth and believe it to be so. But the truth is that they’re our truths and they’re not the whole truth

So when we look at this we can break it down into 2 intentions:

Am I trying to express the truth Am I trying to express the truth of my audience so that my copy resonates with them

If you know your readers better than they know themselves you’ll know what they believe to be true. You will know what their opinions are, you will know what their perspectives are, you will know what their world views are, you will know what their assumptions are, you will know the stories that they tell themselves and the world

In knowing this you can speak to their truths. And if you speak to their truths they will begin to like you, feel like they know you and they will begin to trust you and you will form powerful intimate relationships. You’re speaking to them in a way they both understand and resonate with. They’ll see themselves in you because you believe the same things they do

But here’s the thing…

The truth that they believe is not the same truth that somebody else believes. Which is why, in your copy, you’ve got to stand for something or fall for anything. You’ve got to be steadfast in what you’re expressing to create both the tension required for the emotion, and also create the trust from your reader in what you’re saying

This is why if you know your audience better than they know themselves, you can speak to their truths and what is accurate for them

When we look at language we can break this down into truth versus accuracy

The truth is open to opinions. It can be discusses. It can be argued. I can say that I believe it to be true that Liverpool FC is the greatest team in the world and Winter is the best season. That’s my truth — but it’s not the truth. Why? Because someone else will think FC Bayern is the greatest team and Spring the best season. And then, another will think the Chicago Bulls are the greatest team and Autumn the best season.

See what’s happening here…

If you speak to these truths, Liverpool & Winter, Bayern & Spring, the Bulls and Autumn — you’ll be speaking directly to us as individuals and others who believe it to be true…

But what’s accurate may not be true to everyone — but it’s accurate! The sky is blue. Grass is green. It’s hot in summer and cold in winter. Australia has some animals that will kill you. You cannot argue those. They’re both TRUE and ACCURATE — yet not everyone will believe them to be true and they won’t create the tension required

What does this mean for your copy?

Again it comes back to what your action is what your intention is… if you are seeking to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, then you will walk a more challenging path that will end up attracting the people to you who are after that truth

If you are seeking to communicate and connect with a specific kind of person however, then your copy must speak to their truths, their beliefs, their assumptions, their opinions, their perspectives, their world views and their experiences because that’s the way that you will connect and you will relate to them.

Journaling Prompt: Pick your intended outcome. Pick your audience. Speak their truth

With love and gratitude,

Nick Maier

@nickmaier__