Brain Copy: Are You Writing for the Eye or for the Brain?

"Words don't sell. Pictures do."
--Sean D'Souza,

Picture one of your clients.
She's sitting in front of her computer staring. She's not even blinking.
The fly that came in through her open window lands on her forehead and
begins crawling around above her right eyebrow.

Nothing. A block of granite.
She continues to stare through the smudge on her glasses and into her
flat screen monitor.. reading.. mesmerized by your copy.

The fly, bored, buzzes away.

Questions:

• Which client did you imagine?
• Was she wearing a suit, a sweater, anything at all?
• Did you see the smudge on her glasses?
• Did you see the fly arrive through the window?
• Did you see it fly away?

Why?
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Why did you see these things? They aren't real.
I made them up.So why did they seem so real?

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They're real because I wrote for your brain, not your eyes.
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Today's article was inspired by a series of articles in Sean D'Souza's site - http://www.5000bc.com/.
It's a membership site and well worth the price of admission should you be so interested.

Sean is a specialist in consumer and sales psychology
(as well as a master copywriter) and has written extensively
about creating messages that motivate customers to buy.

And lately, he's been rattling around in my brain late at night.. uninvited.

I have a certain routine after Justin is asleep.
I stretch before bed to release muscle tension.
I read a bit from a novel; This week it's The Intelligencer by
Leslie Silbert -a thriller about Renaissance counterintelligence issues. I
sip a bit of milk.

I switch off the light. I stare at the knotty pine ceiling.
I toss. I turn over snuggling up to emptiness.

I hear the rhythmic roar of the ocean crashing wave after wave
on the moonlit beach. I sit upright and watch the silvery reflection
of the moonlight shimmering on the water.

I lay back down.
I hear a voice. It's got a funny accent.
It's saying something over and over and over...

"Words don't sell. Pictures do."

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"Speak the speech, I pray you.."
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In my high school years I was easy to find. I was only in one campus locale:
In or near the auditorium.

I took four years of drama and appeared in quite a few productions.
Some of my roles included Radar O'Reilly in M*A*S*H, Lord Capulet in
Romeo & Juliet, "Chuck Charming" in an children's version of Cinderella,
as well as Col. Purdy, III in The Teahouse of the August Moon and
Charlie in Flower's for Algernon.

I loved it. It was there I found the real Barry.
The one who relaxed and felt perfectly at ease,
albeit at the center of attention. (Some things don't change.)

So what's drama got to do with copy?

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Drama and story make for good copy.
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Drama has a place in good copywriting.
Another copywriting guru, Peter Bowerman, puts it this way.

"Begin with a story. Drop your reader right into the middle of the action."

That's good advice. That what I did at the beginning of this article.
I dropped you directly into the scenario I put forth.

What happens to the reader when we use drama and story?

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A good story suck us in.
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Even though Justin is nine years-old,
he still loves a good story before bed.
The reason I read fiction before bed is that I,
too, love a good story.

Most of us do. Our clients might not be aware of it,
but so do they. But what kind of story is appropriate f
or our clients when writing copy?

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You can see, hear, and feel a good story.
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Here's another dose of D'Souza philosophy:
"You know that your audience is either kinesthetic, auditory,
or visual -- or a combination of all three."

This is similar to the three classic learning styles.
You'll recall that we all learn in predominately one of the following types of styles.
Of course, in reality, we are a combination of the three.

If we are a kinesthetic learner, we like to have something in our hands,
take things apart, and see how the parts fit together.

Auditory learners sit in class, listen to the lecture or tele-class,
and soak up the information like a sponge.

Visual learners prefer nice PowerPoint presentations to accompany the lecture;
They like neat and orderly handouts. Their notes are usually camera-ready.

Similarly, a good story will address the visual, auditory,
and kinesthetic elements.

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How do we get all three into our copy?
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We use action, auditory cues, and description.
Let's look at the example from above:

I have a certain routine (kinesthetic) after Justin is asleep. (visual)
I stretch (kinesthetic) before bed to release muscle tension. I read a bit from a novel;
This week it's The Intelligencer by Leslie Silbert -a thriller about
Renaissance counterintelligence issues. I sip (auditory) a bit of milk.

I switch off (kinesthetic) the light. I stare at the knotty pine ceiling (visual).
I toss (kinesthetic). I turn over snuggling up to emptiness (kinesthetic).

I hear the rhythmic roar of the ocean (auditory) crashing wave after wave on
the moonlit beach (visual). I sit upright (kinesthetic) and watch the silvery
reflection of the moonlight shimmering on the water (visual).

I feel the cool breeze (kinesthetic) coming in the open window (visual).
I lay back down. (kinesthetic) I hear a voice (auditory).
It's got a funny accent (auditory). It's saying something over and o
ver and over...(kinesthetic and auditory)

"Words don't sell. Pictures do."

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Final Thoughts: Take Control of Your Copy
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Whether you're a copywriter generating copy,
an agency creative directing the copywriting process, or a business owner
in need of copy, you have a role to play.

What is that role?
Your role is to insure that your copy has a much good story as possible.
Stories with drama and packed with visual, auditory, and kinesthetic
clues will go a long way toward making your messages stand out.

When written for the brain, good copy will be pleasing not only to
the eye, but to all our senses.

Thanks for reading,
Barry
(c) 2005 Barry W. Morris