Discover empathetic and optimistic copy with 5 wellness copywriting strategies, designed to build trust and resonate deeply with your audience.
Every copywriter knows the conversion formulas and strategies that turn readers into buyers, but applying these tools to the wellness industry can be like trying to repair broken glass with a Pritt Stick.
Yes, the tool is designed to stick things together, but the material you’re working with requires a different approach (and a lot more sensitivity!).
In other words, there are some things specific to wellness copywriting that mean traditional conversion techniques require adapting.
Luckily, that’s what I do best. My copy toolbox is tailored specifically to wellness brands, moulding traditional formulas to create empathetic and optimistic copy that connects with wellness consumers on a deeper level.
With an awareness of the changing market, my goal is to help you build trust, maintain sensitivity, and leave your customers feeling confident and cared for.
In this post, I’ve put together my 5 essential wellness copywriting tips, based on conversion copywriting strategy, industry knowledge, and ethical marketing principles, to resonate more deeply with a wellness audience.
So, in the words of my fave YouTube yogi, hop into something comfy and let’s get started…
5 Wellness Copywriting strategies
1) Empathise with (not agitate!) pain points
Let’s start by tweaking a classic copywriting strategy: PAS (Problem, Agitation, Solution) to PES (Problem, Empathise, Solution).
The idea of the PAS formula is to acknowledge the reader’s pain point, and then ‘agitate’ it so they feel the urgency and discomfort of the problem, and once a sufficient sense of desperation is built, introduce your solution.
This formula doesn’t sit too well with me, if I'm being honest. For wellness consumers who are looking for products that will make them feel good, let’s not start it by making them feel worse first.
After acknowledging the pain point, I prefer to come in with a sense of connection and shared understanding. Show you get their problem, that they’re not alone in it, and it doesn’t have to be that way. You might want to include stats to show how common a problem it is.
Educate them on why they might have their specific problem and guide them to your solution.
2) Share personal stories
Founder of CopyHackers, Joanna Weiber, talks about writing for four different decision-making modalities:
Spontaneous
Humanistic
Methodical
Competitive
A piece of copy needs to be tailored to all these decision-makers, but for the wellness industry, the humanistic modality reigns supreme.
Wellness is an intimate topic. It’s about illness and health, bodies and minds, souls and self-development. The human element is crucial. Be sure to include personal success stories and social proof, provide helpful resources that educate your reader, and speak in a conversational tone.
3) Use inclusive language
Here’s a quick task: picture a wellness entrepreneur. What do they look like? Where do they come from?
Chances are we’ve all come up with a very particular image. You see, wellness is for everyone, regardless of age, sexuality, gender, and economic background, yet historically, it’s excluded groups and fostered a very specific stereotype.
Once you’re attuned to it, it’s easy to spot where you could be more sensitive and inclusive in your copy, for example:
Use gender-neutral terms
Avoid heteronormative language
Diversify your social proof/ case studies
If you’re using terms like ‘‘suitable for all X types’’, make sure you really do mean all
This point should be considered regardless of the industry, but for wellness businesses, it’s worth paying extra close attention.
4) Maintain an optimistic tone
This point links back to number 1: a lot of copywriting strategies and formulas involve provoking, prodding, and picking at pain points, but many wellness consumers are looking for solutions because they already feel bad about something. The last thing you want to do is instil a sense of hopelessness before you get to your solution.
In this post, I talk about a specific wellness copywriting example I see a lot: ‘‘In the modern world, we’re all busy and stressed all the time…’’.
It’s not always in those exact words, but it’s usually the same message. To me, it’s depressing, inaccurate, and screams AI-written. There’s no one ‘modern world’. There are many different lives, lived in many different ways.
Framing your sale by creating a depressing and seemingly inevitable image of ‘today’s world’ isn’t going to generate interest in your product. It’s going to make people think ‘What’s the point?’.
You can maintain an optimistic tone of voice AND create a need for your product with future pacing. Start by putting your reader in a future scenario where they feel good because they have your product.
5) Establish credibility
As the wellness industry grows, so does consumer knowledge.
This means the public is extremely well-educated on many wellness markets.
Take skincare, for example, the market is sophisticated to consumers aren’t just looking for products, they’re looking for specific ingredients.
The days of dumbed-down features, fads, and vague claims are long gone. You can make a ‘hero’ headline or hook, but don’t shy away from the specifics, and include evidence, statistics, and expert endorsements high up in your copy.
Ready for your Wellness Copywriting Audit?
With wellness copywriting, the goal isn’t just to sell, but to genuinely improve lives. That means traditional conversion techniques need a thoughtful adaptation.
With a toolbox finely tuned to the wellness industry, I’ve given you 5 of my essential strategies to create copy that resonates deeply with your audience.
If you’d like to dive deeper into these techniques and how to apply them to your existing copy, then check out my website copywriting audit service.
Covering everything from conversion strategies to ethical marketing principles, this audit includes a document of actionable advice, 3 weeks of post-audit email support, and 30% discounts on further services.
Now you’ve got the right tools, there’s no need for more PritStick copy!
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