Make Them Feel… Make Them Act

Written by Angela Wills

We all want our writing to mean something. We want people to read our words, hear our message and then do something great because we inspired them to.

But how do you get people to take action?

{prepare yourself for a little name dropping}

Heard of Dr.Oz? He’s a doctor who got very famous as a result of the Oprah show. Now unless you haven’t owned a TV in the last 25 years I’m sure you know Oprah. She’s the lady that moves people to action, that makes people cry, that builds schools for children in Africa, that helps authors sell millions of books, and on and on and on.

As I watched Oprah one day Dr. Oz was a guest. He repeated a piece of advice Oprah had given him that is really at the core of what every writer, blogger and business owner needs to remember:

If you can make them feel, you can make them act. (paraphrased)

Can you make your audience FEEL?

Everything comes down to feelings. We humans act on emotion. We buy on emotions.

Need an example? {and more name dropping?}

Let’s talk Obama. Of course the election of the first black US President was a huge deal. People have talked about it over and over again. This is a prime example of how one man moved millions to action by making them feel.

A massive team of people prompted millions of people to join the email list, donate money, visit the website and ultimately vote Barack Obrama for President.

Why? Because he made them feel. It was an emotion that spread across the world.

So how do you move people like Oprah, or Obama?

Let’s talk key ways to move people to action:

1. FEEL their pain – Does your product solve a problem that is painful to your potential customer? Feel it with them, let them know you truly understand and then offer your helpful solution.

2. SHOW them – Have you made a difference in someone’s life, be it small or large? Show your readers with true stories of real-life people who’ve gotten real-life results. Don’t be fake.

3. UNDERSTAND them - Understanding takes time, it takes studying, it takes becoming involved. The more you understand about your market, the more you will successfully put the right words together to evoke emotions.

4. LOVE them – Passion bubbles up. It’s undenyable and it’s indistinguishable. If you love what you do that passion will shine through and move people to action purely to be part of something you so obviously love.

So I feel called to make sure I’ve done a job of making YOU feel before I end this article, so I’ll leave you with this thought:

Don’t underrate feelings. Martha Stewart once said “there’s no crying in business” – I respectfully disagree! I’ve been moved to tears many a time while watching ‘Oprah’ in the last 25 years and I know that her natural talent to make people FEEL is what’s made her one of the richest women in the world.

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