Empathy and the Power of Content Marketing Focused on Others

The Surprising Reason That a Little Boy Wanted a "Runt" for a Pet

I heard a story about a farmer who had some puppies he needed to sell.

He painted a sign that said “Puppies for Sale.” He took the sign and nailed it to a post on the edge of his yard.

As he was pounding the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls.

He looked down and there was a little boy looking up at him from the other side of the fence. The little boy said to the man, “Excuse me, mister. I want to buy a puppy.”

The farmer wiped his neck with his handkerchief and said to the boy, “Well, these puppies come from mighty fine parents and they aren’t cheap.”

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change and showed it to the farmer. “I got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?” “Well, alright. Sure boy,” said the farmer.

The farmer then whistled and yelled the dog’s name. Suddenly, the mother dog came running out from the doghouse followed by four little puppies. The little boy pressed his face against the fence and he smiled at the sight of those puppies.

And then, out of the corner of his eye, the boy noticed a movement coming from the doghouse. Slowly another little puppy appeared, but this one was much smaller than the others.

It sort of slid down the ramp and then hobbled awkwardly toward the other puppies. The little boy pointed to the runt as it joined the others and said, “I want that one!”

The farmer couldn’t believe it. He said, “Now, son, you don’t want that puppy. He’s never gonna be able to run and play with ya like these other ones here.”

When the boy heard that, he stepped back and rolled up one of his pant legs to reveal a steel brace running down both sides of his leg. It was attached to a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer the little boy said, “You see sir, I don’t run so well myself. That little puppy needs someone who understands him and I do.”

Empathy: It's What We're All Looking For

Isn’t that what we’re all looking for? Someone who understands?

An author named Jess Lair had a great definition of empathy. He said, “Empathy: Your pain in my heart.”

And do you know what? There is power in empathy. One type of content that you MUST create as a content marketer is content that describes your prospects’ or customers’ problems, dreams, etc.

Why? It shows your prospects and customers that you can relate to them. When someone knows you understand them, then you have their attention like no one else.

And you won’t just have their attention. You’ll have their allegiance. But your empathy must be real. If it’s not, it will backfire. So stop trying to “sell” with your content marketing and start trying to empathize.

Watch what happens.

Content Marketing Hack #32

When you create content, don’t just think about selling. Think about empathizing with your prospects or customers. Create content that speaks to where your prospects and customers are at. Create content that speak to their problems, fears, hopes, dreams, etc.

NOTE: The above post is an excerpt from my book "51 Content Marketing Hacks." (It's found in chapter 25.) If you'd like to learn 50 other hacks that can save you time and help your content marketing to be more effective, then click here. (You'll also have a chance to take a peek at some of the 5-star reviews my book received from top experts in content marketing, social media, and copywriting.)

Can You Do Me a Favor?

If you liked this post, can you do me a favor and scroll back to the top and "like" it?

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Photo by jinwesst

P.S. If you haven't seen my previous LinkedIn posts, then you can see them at the links below:

• A 213 Year Old Business Reveals Two Content Marketing Secrets of Today's Publishing Empires
• A Branding Revelation From The Movie Braveheart
• The Only Way To See New Results In Your Life
• The Overlooked Similarity Between Content Marketing & Successful Sales Letters
• How Compound Content Marketing Has Kept Star Wars Popular
• Christmas Songs and the Surprise Content Marketing Lessons
• Could Building a "Content Network" Take Your Content to the Next Level?

Scott Aughtmon is the person behind the popular infographic "21 Types of Content We Crave". He is a regular contributor to ContentMarketingInstitute.com and he has also written for other sites such as 12Most.com and Problogger.net.

He is available to speak at your event or for consulting, to a limited amount of qualified clients.

You can read more of his unique insights at his site RecessionSolution.com or follow him at TWITTER at: @rampbusinesses