Emoji, Smartass, Heartstrings

Grab your phone and go through your texts.

How many emojis did you use in the last 24 hours? I bet A LOT.

My spyglasses are telling me almost at the end of every sentence. Or maybe that is just what I do 😋

But guess what?

I had no clue what "emoji" was 8 years ago….

(And no, I was not born in the dinosaur age. I am a 2000 kid)

It was grade 6, a new class without my bestie, brand new strangers.

And being the introvert I was(still am, but a little less), I swooped into the seat at the end of the classroom, by a window. You know, so I could marvel at the beauty of a 20-year-old building shedding plaster without anyone thinking I was weird.

Groups were already starting to form, and I am telling you, high school girls can form groups faster than you can stir sugar in your coffee.

But this did not faze me. I might have been a self-conscious introvert, but my standards for “Friend” were high, definitely higher than giggles and gossip and lip-gloss.

Then doom fell upon me.

No, I am talking about after the introduction where no one could hear my voice and I had to repeat myself twice.

We were to decorate the classroom…as a class…Theme, emoji.

Now, my mother is Asian, the typical strict kind who could have fixed Hitler’s grandma, so I didn’t have a phone and the internet was only for researching homework and downloading songs.

So WHAT THE HECK were emojis? Eminem? Momos?

I would rather jump off the building than become the “Ooooh, ahhhhhs” of those piranhas by revealing my ignorance

So I acted like a smartass know-it-all-all when one of them came and said, “So, ya have to draw the faces of about 5 emojis and we can cut em off and paste them on the wall.”

“Yeah, sure. No biggie”

No biggie my ass.

But then she said FACE, so maybe it's some cartoon? Or a new movie I haven’t heard of? A band?

Met up with my bestie in the evening for some URGENT CRISIS.

“What happened? Who died? Who do I punch?”

“What are emojis?”

“Eh?” She kept staring at me for a good few seconds. Something like this.😶😖🤦‍♀️

“So these insipid little smiley faces are what everyone is obsessed with?”

“Yeah, they literally let you show what you feeling. It's like literally putting your emotions in words, like salt on bland food”, she taught me like a 5-year-old.

“Uhuh 😕😕"

So the lesson I learned that day? Humans are slaves of emotion. (and that I am hopeless without my friend. 8 years later she still saves me from hitting random strangers and doors while walking).

No, this post is not about emojis, or even my high school life.

It's about the power of emotions.

People will go anywhere and do anything because of it, even use silly faces to convey their feelings.

Why do you think mothers endure 9 months of excruciating pain for giving birth to a kid who will suck out their income on diapers? Because they LOVE their babies.

Why do you kick and punch at innocent walls when someone cheats you? Because you are ANGRY, FRUSTRATED.

Emotions defy logic and stomp over it. They control us.

Successful writers know how to leverage this power. They know how to strum your heartstrings and play the melody THEY want.

Sort of how you cry your eyes out when a fictional character dies.

How you buy a new product because the seller makes you FEEL you need it, even though you don’t.

How you are moved by a TED talk from a random stranger.

It's time you take advantage of this too. Instill emotions in your words if you want your readers to swoon, and dance on your fingertips. Ok, that sounds a little off, but you get what I mean, right? 😅

So next time you

• write a sales page

• craft a post

• author a book

• give a speech

• have a sales call with a lead

tap into their pool of emotions. Make them FEEL something. ANYTHING. You will see the results yourself.

As for HOW you do it, think about how YOU would feel and then what you would DO.

What the heck am I talking about?

When you’re happy, what do you do? Have the sudden urge to whoop and get a stubborn infectious smile on your face, right?

Narrate these. Draw a picture. Their brains would automatically connect the dots and bring up that emotion.

Let me give you another example. When a character in a story dies, does the author just straight up say, “She was deeply sad”?

No, right? The author gives all the physical details and paints a vivid picture to trick your mind into thinking it is REAL, ending in tears.

Ok, fine. But how does this help me sell my service/product?

Well, you can create a feeling of LONGING with this method. Outline how your product/service improves their future in minute details. Not just facts, the feelings.

Will it be the joy of accomplishments, the excitement of a new adventure, or the fulfillment of achieving a goal? You choose, then USE.

Bonus tip: Use the word '“Imagine” when describing their wonderful future.

(Imagine tanning yourself in Bali, the sun shining on you from a sparkling blue sky, the waves lapping your feet, no boss to yell at your back, working only 3 hours from your laptop — all because you took up copywriting)

Now go and try this out from TODAY. There’s no point in learning if you are not going to implement it.

Take action. Don’t be that 97% of static losers.

That’s it for now then.

See ya next Friday. Stay tuned cuz more goodies are coming your way 😉

Until then,

Take care, drink a bunch of water, and have fun.

Lots of love,

Khadija