Secrets to Get Your Marketing Materials Read: 10 Tips for Compelling Copy
Successful copywriters know how to use words to paint emotional pictures in readers’ minds. Prospects are captivated by copy that tells them how a product will make their lives better. The more emotion you bring to a story, the more compelling it becomes to readers.
The bottom line? Your hard work gets read and sales follow.
Compelling copy requires you to know who your prospects are, how they behave and what they buy. Put yourself in your prospects’ shoes to see what’s keeping them up at night, and if your product can help them sleep better. And tell them so in no uncertain terms.
To help you hone your skills, here are a few things to keep in mind. While they aren’t hard-and-fast rules, they’ll help to punch up your copy.
1. List benefits first, then features. Benefits aren’t facts about the product; they’re intangible, emotional triggers prospects respond to with their hearts, not their heads (such as look younger, feel sexier, be the envy of others, etc.). Lead with benefits and validate with such features as nonemotional facts about a product, like its performance, value, ingredients, etc. Benefits involve ego and emotion; features are facts.
2. Make resistance futile. Spice up your copy with vivid “word pictures” that define problems and offer solutions. People don’t buy products, they buy solutions.
3. Write for every reader. There are two types of prospects — those who read every word, complete readers, and those who just scan for important points, or “scanners.” Write for both, alternating short and long paragraphs with summary headings and bullet lists.
4. Use bold, italics and underlining sparingly. Special formatting helps make certain parts stand out. Overdo it, however, and it loses impact and becomes difficult to read.
5. Ask for the sale. Use specific language and action steps to guide prospects to sales. Don’t be shy. Tell them how to order.
6. Get them to “act now.” Include a limited-time lower price, gift or bonus to sweeten the deal and encourage immediate action.
7. Make it personal. Always write from the perspective of prospects and their needs. Avoid the “I” or “we” voice — it sounds impersonal.
8. Describe benefits before price. Tell prospects everything that makes your product terrific before revealing the price.
9. State guarantees after price. Guarantees reduce customers’ sense of risk. Studies reveal that guarantees aren’t used (or abused) as often as you might fear.
10. Answer likely questions. Compile a list of likely questions and provide answers (e.g., “You’re probably wondering how much this costs?”).
Ford Saeks is president of Prime Concepts Group, a direct marketing consulting firm. For information, go to www.primeconcepts.com.