Copy Writing: Your Advertisement Reader is Narcissus

The Alchemist, a novel by Paulo Coelho, begins with the story of Narcissus. Narcissus was a young handsome man, who admired handsomeness of his own face. Everyday, he enjoyed to look at the reflection of his face on the surface of the lake water. Once day, when he was looking at his handsomeness through his face reflection on the water surface of the lake, he moved his face closer and closer to the water and unfortunately he fell into the Lake. He sunk and died. The day after, someone asked the Lake why the Lake was sad. The Lake was sad because she lost the Narcissus. However, The Lake missed Narcissus because through his eyes she could see the reflection of her own beauty.

From this story, the word ‘narcissism’ is used for exclusive interest in someone’s own self. This story tells that both Narcissus and the Lake enjoy too see themselves. It symbolizes that everyone has desire to be important person. Everyone likes himself. Everyone loves himself.

The phenomenon of Narcissus is not only symbol in myth. It occurs in real life. When you get photograph of your school reunion, whose picture, firstly, you do want to look for? Most people want to see their own picture first. When you got the list of the names which includes your name, you will search your name first. It means that you are important for you. Almost, everybody sees himself as important character, as protagonist, as main character of his own life.

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You need to make the others feel that they are important to deal with them. In handling customer complaint, the customers want the company to care about their problem and respect them as important persons. In teaching, a teacher needs to treat and care about each student as important individual. A leader needs to explain the benefit of the program for the people when persuading them to do something together, instead of pushing them.

In copy writing, you do not write for your self, you write because you want to communicate with others. The readers only want to know something that they can receive. They only care about what is the benefit for them. So, when introducing the product or service, show the quality, achievement, and standard license of the product and service are not enough. When you write about the product specification, focus on what your customer will get. It is O.K. to state that your company has standard quality but you must also mention that what customer will receive from the quality.

When you write, imagine that you talk to them personally. When you write advertisement to offer service, remember that the reader asks, “What can you do for me? What is the benefit of using your service?” When you write advertisement for promoting product, remember that your prospect asks, “What can I get when buying your product?”

To learn to be copy writer, I suggest that you read Hypnotic Writing by Joe Vitale, Advertising Headlines That Make You Rich by David Garfinkel, Metaphorically Selling by Anne Miller, How to Turns Words into Money by Ted Nicholas, the Forbidden Keys to Persuasion by Blair Warren, and Hypnotic Language by John Burton.