If you could post your deepest, darkest secret on a postcard and send it into the cybervoid for all to see, what would you say?I came across Post Secret the other day and found it amusing, poignant and compelling. The idea is to create a homemade postcard that reveals a particular secret about yourself or a situation you’ve found yourself in.

I thought about what I might post - “I have a secret crush on Mark Ruffalo” with a particularly fetching photo of him and me photoshopped together - but it’s no secret since now everyone knows.

But all my zesty menopausal musings aside, it’s the deep, dark stuff we carry around that makes us interesting and makes us do and buy stuff.

As copywriters, our job is to move beyond the product/service we’re promoting … to move beyond even its gosh-darn-terrific benefits and get to the heart of our prospect’s deep, dark place.

The worry or joy doesn’t always have to be profound, of course. Sometimes it’s a little tickling annoyance that flutters around our heads and when we have the time, we’d love to be able to bat it away.

When I teach new copywriters, I always like to share the story of the launch of the Biore’s blackhead rip strips. Why? Because I think this product was original and pure genius. It targeted that subtle “I wish I could get my nose cleaner/pores smaller” desire with the first product of its kind.

Was it a huge concern of the market? No, but it was always there whispering to us whenever we looked into the mirror. So they develop an easy-to-use product and demonstrate it. Wet a strip, let it dry across your nose-zone and rip it off.

Now here’s the kicker - you could see the gunk it pulled out of your face. Totally gross and utterly fascinating. Every little bright white strip would be littered with facial detritus - like a small-scale, grayish black moonscape. Women would get their husbands and boyfriends to try it and the guys would, in part, because it was so completely gross and their noses/pores looked better, too. That’s a satisfying two-fer if ever there was one.

Biore has expanded to other skincare products and other beauty companies have their own brand of pore strips. But Biore was the first to dig deep into our face-to-the-world anxiety and find a way to make us all feel better.

Or maybe it’s just me.

So before you sit down to write your next promotion, before you start click-clacking away at your headline or lead or whatever you like to start with first and consider how deep is your prospect’s love … desire … worry … or fear. Think about how you can write past the obvious and target the secret behind your prospect’s heart. Nail that and your piece will practically write itself.

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[tags] targeting emotions, copywriting tips, postsecret, biore [/tags]