Before you write a single word of marketing copy, before you map out a campaign or design a promotion, ask yourself one simple question: “Is this for me? Would I be happy receiving this?”
It sounds obvious. It rarely happens.
Inside out #
Most marketing is written from the inside out — from the seller’s perspective, shaped by what they want to say rather than what the reader needs to hear. The result is messaging that feels self-serving, generic, or tone-deaf. Not because the sender is careless, but because perspective-taking is genuinely difficult and too easily skipped under pressure.
Perspective taking #
Perspective-taking is the deliberate act of stepping into someone else’s world. Not just their demographic profile or buying patterns — though those matter — but their daily frustrations, their quiet aspirations, the decisions keeping them up at night. When your messaging speaks to those human realities, something shifts. It stops feeling like marketing and starts feeling like understanding.
Emotional intelligence #
That shift requires emotional intelligence. The ability to read what isn’t always said, to sense what your reader is carrying, and to respond in a way that acknowledges it. As Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves describe it, emotional intelligence affects how we manage behaviour, navigate social complexity, and make decisions that achieve positive results. In marketing terms, it’s the difference between a message that lands and one that bounces.
The question worth asking of every piece of communication you produce isn’t “What can we sell?” but “How can we truly help?” That reframe changes everything — the tone, the structure, the choice of words, the call to action.
And in an age where AI can generate marketing content at speed and scale, the temptation to skip this human step grows stronger. But AI-assisted copy without emotional intelligence is just efficient noise. The antidote is the same as it’s always been — slow down, step into their shoes, and write for the person, not the algorithm.
Individuality and genuine understanding will always outperform volume and convenience.
“Perspective-taking is a foundation that transforms good marketing into strong customer relationships.”
Thank you for reading.
PS: I create small, digestible guides on Gumroad for business owners who hate aggressive tactics and prefer relationship-led approaches. New resources are added regularly. For longer reads on lead generation and the human side of sales, follow me on Medium and join the daily conversation on LinkedIn.
Please see the links below:
Gumroad: https://richardbulldomican.gumroad.com/
Medium: https://medium.com/@richard-bulldomican
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardbulldomican/
