How Do We Feel Wetness? (It’s Relevant to Copywriting)

Spoiler: we can’t. But what we can feel provides a cool writing hack

Water, water everywhere – not a jot to think  

So, as you saw, I placed the answer to the titular conundrum right at the beginning of this blog post. 

In case you missed it, the answer is, that we cannot feel wetness. 

But how can this be, that we don’t feel wetness?

Unless we’ve volunteered to step into a warm, bubbly bath or are taking a cool, refreshing shower, the feeling of wetness is horribly irritating. Feeling soggy, damp, sweaty, or – yuck – unnervingly warm is so uncomfortable we can’t wait to get into a dry towel and hug a mug of steaming cocoa. 

It’s because human skin simply doesn’t have the tools to tell us when something is wet. Our brain has to rely on other signals, such as temperature and touch, which it then interprets depending on context. 

Bonkers, eh?

So if we can’t feel wetness, what can we feel?

There are loads of ways we feel the sensation of wetness: 

💧 Our hair going floppy on a fuggy summer’s day 

🥵 The hot, soggy feeling of a sweaty armpit in a tricky meeting

☔ Cold trickles down our back when we’ve been out without a brolly

💦 The vicious assault on our legs as a car speeds through a puddle 

🩱 The clinging feeling of Lycra-based fabrics as we step out of a pool

But, as you now know, none of these are actually the feelings of water itself, but the side effects and secondary sensations that the water has created. 

What’s all this water got to do with copywriting?

Well, nothing directly. But that’s the point. 

The reason I’m telling you this fluid factoid is that in writing, we can always find indirect ways of explaining something without being too on the nose, like a quivering raindrop. 

And if anything, indirect descriptions can make copy more interesting, more compelling and often easier for the reader to understand. 

If you’ve ever read advice about how to write copy that sells, you’ll remember that one of the golden rules is

Features tell, benefits sell

In other words, don’t say, ‘This razor is really good because it’s made from 100% Sheffield steel’. Say, “With this razor, you’ll feel a close shave with no cuts – and all the ladies will love you’ (I’m lazily harking back to a time when apparently only men spent money, so bringing in the ladeez was pretty much the go-to benefit). 

How to use a thesaurus 

I’ll be honest, I’m not a massive thesaurus user. Yes, they’re super useful and I sometimes reach for one if I’m stuck using a vital word that’s a bit limiting – for example, when I’m writing food product descriptions; everything can’t be ‘tasty’ all the goshdarn time.

Incidentally, here are Thesaurus.com’s alternative words for tasty: appetising, delectable, flavourful, luscious, pungent, savoury, spicy, and yummy.

OK fine. But even with these words, isn’t it best to find other ways to approach why the food is tasty and what it does, rather than replacing one word for another that may not flow or pop as well? Not to mention using words that fit the brand voice you’re creating.

One of my favourite things in the world is the personification of inanimate objects. Not only is it immensely fun but it can provide the missing link between the product and the consumer. 

Take my description for national food brand, YAMAS! Halloumi*, for example:

‘The cheese that has it all, our halloumi is self-assured enough to be the Cypriot centrepiece on your plate or join other ingredients as part of a delicious side dish.’

Here, I’ve tried to think of how cheese would act if it were a person walking into a party. Halloumi is well known for being the cheese that doesn’t melt, so I used that strength and described it as self-assuredness, but granted it with enough humility so as not to take over too much. 

*More on this client soon!

Never be stuck for words again 

So there it is, my new copywriting hack. 

You don’t need a thesaurus. Use your inbuilt empathy and think about the subject from a different but relatable angle. By doing this, you can show the reader exactly what they’re missing.

It all starts with thinking about what the original word does — just like we do when we interpret the feeling of wetness.  

Copywriter for hire! 

Are you looking for some help with some words? If you’re trying to find the right way to tell people just how amazing your product is, I might be able to find a new way of looking at it (with or without a thesaurus in my hand).  

I’m Kate, a B2C freelance copywriter specialising in food and lifestyle copy. 

Next time you have five minutes, ping me a quick note for a free quote!