Words can hurt and words can heal.
And because words matter so much, folk stories have taught us exactly that.

Remember the story of Rumpelstiltskin?

Once upon a time, a greedy king asked a peasant girl to spin a bunch of straw into gold or he would kill her. In her desperation, she accepted the help of a weird-looking, little man who would do the magic for her, as long as he could keep her first-born baby.

Since this seemed like a faraway possibility, the girl in order to save her life, agreed.

Years went by. 

And the time came for her to fulfill her promise. 

Now as the queen of that kingdom, she wasn’t willing -as you can imagine- to let her baby go.  So she bargained a new deal with the little man: She could keep her child as long as she guessed correctly the name of the little man.

One word, the right word, and she would release herself from this cruel deal.

Can we write copy with integrity and authenticity?

I told you words matter. Have you ever wished you had the right words to describe what you do? Like when you say “I’m a coach” you hope people will want to work with you right away?

That’s the promise behind manipulative copywriting tactics, right? Describe your work this way, craft the perfect sales page that other way, and people will buy your stuff in droves.

Would you really like that? Or would you feel like the trickster of this story, manipulating others to get what you want?

Let’s see if there is hope for us, for the queen… and for using words to do good in the world.

Shall we?

Manipulative copy vs Resonant Copy.

You might be thinking that using the right words your ideal clients want to hear is a bit manipulative. It can happen, of course. But you can use words to connect authentically with the right people, and do it in a way that feels really good to your heart.

Let me ask you a question:

When you speak your truth with compassion, when you are candid about your intentions, when you say the things you believe in a respectful way, are you been manipulative?

I don’t think so.

Manipulation takes place when we lie, when we don’t care about others but just want to make the sale, when we use the power of words to trick others into buying from us. That’s manipulation.

But marketing copy can be authentic when you speak from your heart, when you speak from your values, when you keep your clients’ best interest at heart.

Your words can show how much you care.

Authentic copy is all about finding the resonant language, the point of connection between who you are and the people you love to serve.

But how do you find your resonant language?

Step 1: Know Yourself 

To stay true to your natural style you first need to know yourself.

• What do you stand for?
• What do you care about?
• What can people count on you for?

Archetypes will help you figure that out. (Learn more about archetypes here). Archetypes reflect our inner most values and the roles we are meant to play when we are true to our nature. When you know your core archetypes, they act as a compass in life.

Find out what archetype is active in you and you’ll be crystal clear about what’s most important for you.

These are a few examples:

• Do you see life as a party where you get to enjoy yourself? Then the Jester archetype could be active in you.
  
• Is life like a struggle in which you have to fight to win? It would be a sign that the Warrior archetype is leading your life.
  
• Do you trust everything will be alright as the Idealist archetype will believe? Or…
  
• Do you think that nobody is coming to save you? In that case, the Everyperson is influencing your point of view.

The more conscious you are about your personal style as described by your archetypes, the easier it will be for you to speak from your authentic voice. That will attract the right people to you and repel those who don’t get you. (And yes, that’s a good thing, too).

Step 2: Infuse your copy with your values 

Now that you know who you are and what you stand for, go put those qualities in your marketing communications. Do you value fun? connection? or freedom? Use that as the tone of your next article or product description and notice what happens.

Say that word out loud to yourself before writing.

There is power when we say a word aloud. The queen of our story finally said “Rumpelstiltskin!” and released herself from the cruel deal.

Use your values as your magic word.

Let them fill your heart before you sit to write. They will release you from the grip of fear and you’ll be ready to talk about your work in a way that is truly authentic to who you are.

FREE RESOURCES:

If you haven’t taken my What Makes You Different quiz, I encourage you to take it now: It’s based on archetypes, and it will give you a lot of clarity about who you are and who you like to work with. Oh, and have I mentioned it’s free?

And I’m curious, what archetype did you get? Please, let me know in the comments.