Systematic Listening can help you create your next breakthrough copy. From the outside, writers can seem like magical creatures, and I encourage this belief! Because we can create images, emotional states, even money and freedom, seemingly out of nothing. But we don't really conjure great copy and content like a Patronus from the tip of a magic wand, even if we want to. Effective writing takes time, and comes from a specific kind of “homework”. Empathetic listening to be exact, from spending time with the kinds of folk who make up the audience you’re aiming towards, and striving to see the world through their eyes. I don't mind copywriting formulas at all. They're wonderfully handy cheat-sheets, so we can remember to include important persuasive elements. But formulas are just the beginning. We can't bring them to life until we understand the person we're communicating with. So, with that in mind, here are some ways to learn much more about the audience you're serving with your work. 1: Why do you care about their problem? Good content and copy needs to solve an audience’s problems, but sometimes we forget to ask, “what is it about this problem that really touches me?" The world is full of people that have their own problems and concerns, but knowing what pulls you towards this one will help you to immerse yourself and get into the mindset of your audience. You might have experienced the problem yourself. Someone you love might have wrestled with it, or maybe you've spent years working with clients, and have felt the pain of their initial starting place, and the triumph of resolving the problem. It's hard to create an emotionally resonant piece of work if you can't get to a place where you can feel the weight of the audience’s problem. 2: Ever heard of an Empathy Map?  The well-known empathy mapping exercise challenges us to understand what our audiences are seeing, thinking, doing, and feeling. And that is always a great place to start. Text is a wonderful thing, it's