Writing & Content Creation

How to Connect with Your Audience on a Human Level

4 tips on producing empathic content

Content writing is not just about delivering facts. It’s about creating an emotional connection with the readers, and this can be done by being empathetic.

You might be thinking that this is something for creative writers, but the truth is that this is a part of compelling content writing. If you use empathy, your content will resonate with the people who read it more effectively than if you were using a strictly factual perspective.

It’s been said that a picture can speak a thousand words, but it takes more than just words to create an emotional connection with others. Here are four simple tips — with examples of how to apply them — to get started.

1. Use Personal Experience to Build Credibility

One of the easiest ways to gain the trust of your audience is to talk about things from your experiences. This is where you can bring empathy into play and really connect with readers.

Let’s see two examples.

Example 1, non-personal:

While all success stories have common themes, no one is immune to failure when pursuing their dreams. Regardless of your profession, you may have faced obstacles and needed to push through the hurdles life has thrown in your way.

Example 2, personal:

“Throughout my life, I’ve experienced up and down moments of persistence when I was learning new skills, or finishing projects I’ve been working on, or even when I was looking for the best way to overcome adversity.

During those moments of struggle, it was helpful to find flaws in my plan and learn what things I can change to improve my situation.” — 5 Perseverance Lessons That Helped Me Thrive

2. Suspend Judgment

When you suspend judgment, you avoid making criticisms about what others have done and instead focus on the solution rather than the problem.

Example 1, judgment:

One of the mistakes that people make when building infographics is to take photos of other people’s work and use them as their own. This is not just unethical, but it will also hurt your content marketing efforts as well.

Example 2, focus on the solution:

Many people feel anxious and nervous when it’s time to speak in public because they usually don’t know what to say. The easiest way to overcome this anxiety is to practice what you’re going to talk about and learn how to present yourself confidently before an audience.

3. Understand the Readers’ Perspective

Make your reader the hero of your content. To do this, you have to delve into their minds and see the world from his or her perspective. When you build a relationship with them, you invest in their success and you can truly care for them as if they were part of your family.

Example 1, non-empathic:

As a business owner, it is important that you understand how email marketing works and how it can help further grow your company.

Example 2, empathic:

The thing that I love about using email marketing is that it’s a great way to establish long-term relationships with my clients. Email marketing is not just about sending out tons of messages to make a sale. It’s about building relationships with your customers and staying in touch with them over time.

4. Be Vulnerable

Being vulnerable means being honest and open about your own life experiences and use those experiences as examples in your content writing. This lets your audience see inside of you and understand who you are intimately on a personal level.

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” — Brené Brown

Let’s practice with three examples.

Example 1:

I used to be shy when it came to talking with people about the things that make me uncomfortable. As a result, it was really hard for me to build relationships with others because I wasn’t able to share my thoughts with them.

These days, I’m a lot more comfortable speaking with others and I even write blog posts that are full of empathetic messages.

Example 2:

I’ve had moments in my life when I felt like I was so busy that I didn’t have time to do the things that I wanted to.

When my schedule is too full, it’s easy for me to get frustrated with myself and feel stressed out about everything that’s going on in my life. However, this is not a reason to make you give up on your dreams.

Example 3:

One of my biggest fears was learning how to code because it was so different from what I’ve learned in school and what I’ve done in the past. At first, I was really nervous when I was learning new things and I made a lot of mistakes that were extremely frustrating. However, in the end, it was so worth it because it helped me understand how to overcome challenges and how to plan ahead for the future.

Final Thought

By empathizing with others’ experiences and identifying with their thoughts and feelings, you will be able not only to convey your message effectively but also to connect better with your audience.

With this approach, you can engage more people in your content marketing strategy and become a more successful content creator.

🧠💡 I write about engineering, technology, and leadership for a community of smart, curious people. Join my free email newsletter for exclusive access or sign up for Medium here.