How to Add Value to Your Copywriting

I know a preacher that can burn any pulpit down within an hour. His sermons cause the greatest stirs and responses in his audience and he really can keep his congregation awake. But there is one tiny problem. Ask many of his listeners what they think about his sermons and they’ll quickly respond with only words of acclamation. Follow that questions with a request for what the sermon was about and you’re met with only blank stares.

They knew that the sermon was “great” but cannot recall what they learned.

This reminds me of the popular selling tenant referred to as ‘selling the sizzle and not the stake’. In other words, build enthusiasm and curiosity about your product without giving away too much. Let them hear it, smell it, imagine it but never taste it until they buy.

I find however that when you’re selling high ticket items, because you are asking for a higher level of commitment from the prospect, you have to give something in order to get something back. So you have to give some ‘steak’ along with the ‘sizzle’. This is what is commonly referred to as ‘value added copywriting’.

I use some of this myself at my website http://www.webcopy-writing.com to sell my copywriting services. Right there in the sales letter itself are some tips and ideas on how to sell to prospects online. So the reader gains some value from reading the letter even before he or she uses my services.

But this “free information” also serves a few other purposes:

1. It helps to establish goodwill with the potential client. My willingness to share this information shows that I’m not stingy and helps to develop a relationship with the reader. So even if the prospect doesn’t use my service he walks away with something.

2. It helps to establish my credibility. This is an opportunity for me to show that I know what I’m about and have the qualifications to help the reader’s business.

3. It serves as a teaser. It’s obvious that I’m not saying everything that I know and that there is a ‘lot more where that came from’. In other words, if I’m willing to give away this information I must have a lot more ‘secrets’ up my sleeve.

4. It lowers the sales resistance of the reader because I’m in the giving rather than the taking mode. There is really no argument against someone who is giving you something for free.

5. It provides a natural incentive for the prospect to read your entire sales letter. Any device that encourages readership will also improve sales especially with longer sales copy.

It will be therefore helpful if you can provide your prospects with useful information in your sales literature. This may be in the form of a free report, an email course or case studies. Once this information is useful and not seen as an overt sales piece, then this should lead to an easy conversion of a new customer.

This technique of value added copywriting works very well in service-type industries. There are many services where the professional can ‘reveal’ a lot without fear of losing his value to the customer. This often occurs because even though someone may know how to perform a task, the job may be sufficiently difficult or unpleasant that it may be better left to the professionals.

A quick example comes to my mind. I know how to do simple maintenance work on my vehicle but I’ll prefer to pay to have this done. I’ll happily read all the available literature from my mechanic about how a mechanical repair should be done. The fact that my mechanic made this literature available to me gives me confidence in his performance of a great job.

So, in the same way, a lawyer may want to provide information on how to fill easy legal forms, while a plumber may provide information on performing simple repairs around the home. When a prospect read this helpful information and they need further ‘expert’ attention they would easily think of that lawyer or plumber.

Because the public today is bombarded with so many advertisers’ messages the usual sales talk is having less impact. With the advent of online advertising where it is easier and cheaper to get your message before thousands of eyes your sales message must have a lot more bite than its bark; a lot more steak where only sizzle use to be.

After listening to your sizzling message, your market congregation will need to recall more than the enthusiasm of your delivery. They must be able to recall enough value to want the whole shebang from you.


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SKH Business and Marketing Consulting

The NEW Secrets to Copywriting That Sells

Anyone who has worked with me over the past 25 years knows that my mantra has always been “benefits, benefits, benefits.”  Benefit headlines … benefit copy … benefit subheads … benefit captions … anything to hammer home the customer benefits.

Benefits are still a vital key, but today, copywriting needs much more than just benefits.  To sell the most, copywriting needs to connect at a much deeper and more dramatic level than ever before.

There are 6 main reasons why.  I call them The New Secrets to Copywriting That Sells.


1.  The “Yahoogle” effect

Thanks to mega search engines like Yahoo and Google, tons of information on just about any topic, product or service is literally at your fingertips … for free.

Here’s what that means to your marketing:

• Internet search engine rankings for your business/product/service are vital.  Most people search on the internet for things they are interested in.

• People won’t pay for information they can get online for free.  You can’t succeed selling generic basic plain vanilla information any more.

• You can’t get away with outrageous claims.  Everything you say can be checked out in an instant.

• Many people comparison shop on the internet before making any purchase.

Solutions:

• Use search engine optimization (SEO) to get your website ranked high.

• Most businesses will have to use Pay-Per-Click advertising for their best keywords and phrases.

• Copywriting must uncover and feature the unique advantages and superiority of whatever is being sold.

• Your offering must be extremely differentiated from the competition – or else you’ll end up having to compete on low prices alone.

• You must make it clear – very quickly – that you are providing something they can’t find elsewhere online for free.


2.  Advertising Overload Filter

In today’s hectic, media-frenzied world, people are bombarded by hundreds or even thousands of advertising messages every single day.  Therefore, to maintain their sanity, most people have become more immune to advertising.

They can’t possibly devote their full attention to every message they receive, so they’ve learned to “scan” and “filter” the messages they receive in a matter of a split-second or two.

So, to succeed today – marketing must cut through the “advertising filter” and get attention and interest from target prospects.

Solutions:

• Don’t send out “advertising.”  Instead – send out valuable helpful information.  Make it something that will obviously benefit your prospect just by reading it.  Weave your sales pitch into this helpful information.

• Make your marketing look and sound valuable.

• Use specific numbers.

• Make a great offer.  You can “buy” a new customer this way and profit from their Lifetime Value (LV).

• Consider a free offer to get prospects/customers into your marketing funnel.

• Be outrageous, crazy, unique – if appropriate.

• Be personal, corny, homey – if appropriate.


3.  Super SKEPTICISM

You may be the most honest person in the world.  Your company may be the most honest in the world.  But all your potential customer knows is there are a lot of dishonest people out there.

Internet scams, ID theft, companies going bankrupt, and credit card fraud are all in the headlines almost daily.  And many people simply disregard claims that sound “too good to be true” today more than ever.

To succeed today, you need to add heavy credibility to your marketing.  This will reduce the risk or fear people may have about doing business with you.

Solutions:

• Show the number of years you’ve been in business, membership in trade organizations, awards won, etc.

• Offer a free sample or free trial.

• Offer a risk-free, money-back guarantee.

• Sign your name to the ad or sales letter.

• Use a photo of the person writing, product photo, business photo, employees photo.

• Use customer testimonials extensively.

• Use case studies.

• Use lots of specifics.

• List your physical address, phone, fax, email and business hours.

• Have an “expert” be your spokesperson.

• Acknowledge any doubts or “sneaking suspicions” your prospect may already have, and give them valuable, factual information to support your product/service.

• Don’t make claims that could sound “too good to be true” – even if they are true.


4.  The Entertain-Game Society

Today, entertainment is everything.  Even hard news websites are full of flash, video, audio, surveys, contests, games, etc.

So, use this new environment in your marketing as an advantage.  Look for ways to entertain and get prospects involved with your marketing promotions.

Solutions:

• This can include new uses of traditional “action” devices like stickers, rub-offs and inserts.

• Personal stories/testimonials in your promotion are entertaining and engage people on a personal level.

• Surveys with results

• Self-tests with answers

• Trivia

• Celebrity spokesperson

• Games

• Streaming audio and video

• Humor – if appropriate


5.  The Right Now Factor

The days of “please allow 6-8 weeks for shipping” are dead and gone … just like any company who still thinks anything close to that kind of policy is ok.

More than anything else, the internet has conditioned consumers to expect everything instantly. Instant ordering … instant payment … instant confirmation … and, in many cases, instant downloading of product.

Solution:  If you are going to grab the attention of today’s consumers, you must let them know you can satisfy their needs IMMEDIATELY.  Play up how fast they will get their product, premium or first issue.


6.  The Bonding Factor

We all want a hero, a guru, someone we can relate to, and someone we feel has our best interests at heart, right?

Today’s consumer is very jaded, skeptical and frustrated with the lack of love and bonding in his life, whether consciously or subconsciously.

Today, you need to be seen as a guide and friend first, and a helpful confidant second.  If you even smell like just a greedy salesperson, you will lose your advantage.

Solution:  Be likeable, friendly, personal, passionate, unique and different.  Be authentic – a person and company that your prospect can genuinely bond with.

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