How to write copy that makes them feel understood - part 1
Welcome to today’s issue of Conversion Alchemy Journal. If you received this from a friend and enjoy it, subscribe here.
When I started working out I had no clue what I was doing.
I thought that more weight = more results.
I was sure that packing compound movements like squats, deadlifts, bench press, rows into one session, was the fastest way to build muscle and get stronger. I stacked them like a can of Pringles.
As a result, my workouts became soul-sucking slogs I dreaded instead of the adrenaline-pumping sessions I looked forward to. And I wasn’t getting results!
My legs felt like noodles, my back was screwed, and my brain fried from trying to focus on perfect form on all those heavy lifts.
Turns out, more wasn’t better. Just exhausting.
Then I learned about a thing called Stimulus to Fatigue Ratio (SFR). It’s the idea that not every exercise gives you the same bang for your buck.
Some exercises give you high stimulus (muscle-building, strength gains) but might also crush your soul (or your recovery). These would be Low SFR. On the other hand, we can consider movements that give you somewhat hight stimulus and low fatigue, High SFR.
Anyway, what did I do? I made a change. I mixed in some isolation movements with my compounds, broke up the big lifts, and—surprise, surprise—my workouts felt great again. I was making progress and keeping fresh for the next session.
Here’s where I’m going with this...
In copywriting, we sometimes make the same mistake. We think that as long as we’re clear, if we just pack in more words, more features, more stuff, we’ll get better results.
But when that doesn’t happen we wonder why. We’ve followed our playbook after all!
Thing is, the words we use might be clear, but they still require work from the reader to unpack and interpret. And if that work feels too heavy—if the messaging is cluttered, confusing, or off-target—they’re going to tap out.
You’ve probably heard the saying: “It’s not about making customers understand you; it’s about making them feel understood.”
Well, it’s not that easy and it takes work on both parts.
The reader’s work: Unpacking meaning
When prospects read your copy, they don’t simply absorb the words. Instead, they interpret them through their own personal lens—their experiences, emotions, and needs.
Imagine getting a puzzle for your birthday: the pieces are all there, but you still need to put them together in a way that makes sense.
This process is the reader’s work. They take your words and try to match them with the conversation already happening in their heads.
If the message feels disconnected from their experience, if it’s unclear, or if it requires too much mental work to decode, they’ll bounce. They won’t feel understood—and worse, they’ll assume you don’t understand them.
The marketer’s job: Guiding them through the journey
The job of a marketer or copywriter isn’t just to put words on a page. Your role is to guide the reader through this process of unpacking meaning—by creating a high-stimulus message that resonates without making it too hard to consume.
In strength training you want exercises that give maximum muscle-building stimulus with minimal fatigue, so you can recover and progress faster. The same goes with copywriting: you want high-stimulus messaging that delivers emotional resonance and clarity, while minimizing the “fatigue” or effort it takes for customers to understand you.
Let’s call it Messaging SFR, where:
- High SFRMessaging: Delivers maximum emotional resonance and clarity (stimulus) with minimal cognitive load (fatigue). It’s the well-placed CTA or the concise value proposition that immediately connects with the audience's needs.
- Low SFRMessaging: It’s either unclear, too complex, or bogged down by unnecessary details—like overloading a page with multiple CTAs or throwing too much jargon at the reader.
What does high-stimulus copy look like? And how do you write it?
We’ll look at it next week in part 2.
For now just remember that your goal isn’t just to communicate clearly and comprehensively. It’s to help your customer unpack your message in a way that resonates with their unique internal world. The better you understand their emotional landscape—and the more effort you put into reducing the effort it takes them to digest your copy—the more they’ll feel like you truly get them.
That’s what High SFR Messaging does. It works with the customer’s brain, not against it.
And that’s when your copy “hits hard”.
P.S. This week, pay attention to how you feel when you read other brands’ messaging. Which ones feel easy to digest and which ones make you feel like you’re doing mental gymnastics?
📚 Copywriting nuggets in the wild
Content of the week: Robert Greene's masterclass
If you're a Robert Greene's fan (I'm currently reading his The 33 strategies of war and The laws of human nature at the same time), this interview by David Perell for his How I write podcast is incredibly insightful.
I love diving into the mind and process of a master and this is a great example of one.
Swipe file: A powerful premise = Persuasive brand
The amazing guys at Every, a media and software company I've been recently writing for (new exciting pieces coming soon!), just redesigned their website. Along with the launch, they rewrote their About page and I love the big idea behind it.
We write for you, because you care about what comes next, too. But we don’t presume to give you the answers. Instead, we hope our answers inspire you to ask and answer this question yourself—so that you can think new thoughts and dream new dreams that become new technologies and new businesses.
It's both a powerful ideal to aspire to with our own writing and a great example of a strong About page that's not necessarily about the company.
✅ Don't miss it
I've finally launched my official podcast page. 🎉
You can check it out and scroll through all past episodes here.
More videos?
The Youtube channel is growing but I've been only posting podcast episodes on there. A lot of subscribers seem to appreciate my old videos too. Stuff like this:
So, here's a quick question for you...
| What do you want to see more of from me on Youtube? |
|
|
|
|
And if you have topic ideas or are curious about how I do anything in my work, just reply to this email.
1-on-1 session with me?
I've had another great chat yesterday helping out a marketer to turn their messaging strategy into copy.
If you want to get on a quick 30-minute call with me and brainstorm any of your messaging and copy challenges, you can find me on GrowthMentor.
🤔 Thought of the week
"Resistance outwits the amateur with the oldest trick in the book: It uses his own enthusiasm against him. Resistance gets us to plunge into a project with an overambitious and unrealistic timetable for its completion. It knows we can’t sustain that level of intensity. We will hit the wall. We will crash."
Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
Preparation also means having no false expectations. You are open to embrace the possible and ready to face the inevitabile.
Have a great weekend!
|
|
Chris Silvestri
Founder, Conversion Alchemy
|
🙌🏻 Let’s be friends (unless you’re a stalker)
