Ethical copywriting for coaches, creatives and consultants

What IS ethical copywriting, and how does it work?

You’re a values-led business owner, so you know that you don’t want web copy that’s high pressure, sleazy, pushy or manipulative. But that often seems like all that’s out there. What’s the alternative?

Ethical copywriting allows you to let go of all the ‘shoulds’ that the online marketing celebs talk about

So no more fake urgency or scarcity or pushing for the sale, instead you can focus on creating connection and resonance with your readers, demonstrate that you understand their issues, showcase your own secret sauce or USP and express the real value of your work. When you do all that, there’s no need for added pressure or manipulation.

Ethical copywriting is founded on empathy

I believe empathy can be your business superpower. Empathy-based marketing involves some hard-headed customer research, but more fundamentally it requires a willingness to really enter into your clients’ shoes, to see things from their point of view, and to show them that you genuinely care.

One of the most fabulous feelings in the world is to feel fully seen, heard and understood. You can give your clients that gift, without an iota of manipulation or pressure. And if you do that, you’ll get loyal customers for life. Few things are more powerful than being made to feel important. And few things make someone want to buy from you more than feeling that you completely, 100% ‘get’ them and the issue that they’re struggling with.

There’s research and data behind it

It’s not all fluffy kittens and unicorns - ethical copywriting involves understanding the psychology of buying and the neuroscience of emotions. We’re not crossing our fingers and hoping that by doing the right thing, some sales will trickle in. By utilising the science behind understanding sales, emotions and decision-making, alongside simply doing really good work and getting great results for our clients (and being methodical about capturing those results in the form of testimonials and case studies), we can create ethical, non-manipulative copy that resonates directly with our perfect-fit clients.

Ethical copywriting needs to be trauma-informed

Much of what’s so damaging about mainstream copywriting/online marketing is how heedless it is of the distress caused by agitating pain points (which is literally the phrase used to describe what conventional copywriting does). Conventional tactics (such as withholding pricing information until you’re on a high pressure sales call) are manipulative at best and bullying at worst - and since your clients are all human, most of them will have, at the very least, have experienced some ‘small t’ trauma in their lives, which these kinds of tactics may well be re-triggering.

It really doesn’t have to be this way.

Ethical copywriting doesn’t need to manipulate, lean on pain points or create false scarcity

The manipulative and high pressure techniques commonly advocated for by bro marketing (and the female lifestyle empowerment brands) aren’t necessary. If you trust in the power of clear messaging, engaging storytelling and a deep understanding of your ideal clients, you won’t need any sleazy tactics. The right people are already out there looking for someone just like you to support them - ethical copywriting will let you shine your light so they can find you.

Find out more about ethical copywriting in my guide to ethical sales.