Copy Mistakes That Leave Readers Running in Circles

Do You Like Herding Cats?

Expecting success from a sales letter written without knowing the prospect well, or what emotion of theirs your product might tap into, is like trying to herd cats. 

Firstly, readers won’t connect with your copy, secondly they’ll be left running aimlessly, in circles.  

And if you haven’t done your homework to learn who your prospect is, what moves them, or to know what attracts them to your product, ask yourself “what core benefit does my product provide?”  You'll need these details before writing down one word of copy.

Drilling Down

You may have a number of features and associated benefits that you can identify.  Out of those, pick one and ask yourself, “what makes this benefit so outstanding”?. If your answer comes bask as only a minor benefit or one of seemingly little interest, drill down and ask again, then narrow down your responses to arrive at your core benefit -- i.e. the one that makes your product irresistible to your prospects.

There are number of emotions that come into play when preparing a sales letter.  The key is knowing your prospect. As yourself, what keeps them up at night worrying; how can you make their lives better; how will their problems be solved by your product; how can they look younger, more attractive, be more successful by using your product; and many other concerns that folks share.

The idea is to stir a desire/emotion within the reader that will lead them to want to purchase your product.  At the very least, if you can peak their curiosity, it will keep them moving through your sales letter to find the answer to your promise.

Curiosity Killed the Cat

And curiosity is one of the strongest motivators you could employ here.  For example, wouldn’t you want to know how a product can help you -- with your weight problem, or how it can make you look younger, or perhaps improve your sales results?

You’d keep reading till you found the answer to what was promised in the letter.  And in that letter, you would include lots of vital facts and statistics about how your product satisfies that curiosity and fulfils the needs of the prospect.  

But Are You Vain?

Another major emotion that is hit on in sales letters frequently is vanity.  Anyone working in industries related to fitness, skin/youth-rejuvenation products, or products that improve physical appearance (among others) knows exactly how to stir interest in their products.

For example, a weight-loss product sales letter may reach a core emotion this way….

..“Now, you too can look better, feel better, lose inches, improve your appearance in as little as 8 weeks.  No more diets, no more starving yourself -- it’s safe and easy to use.

This newly developed and scientifically-proven product has delivered remarkable results in all types of folks, with all types of weight-loss issues.  

You’ll see testimonials from satisfied clients a little farther on, but right now, imagine the envy of your family and friends when you reveal the new you. You're wearing that outfit you’ve been talking about buying for so long… but you just didn’t dare, because of your image concerns.  Now you can show them all, ta-da!”

… and you’re hooked!

How could you not want to continue reading a letter like that if you were looking for a solution to weight loss?  Who wouldn’t want to discover how to become a better, more attractive you? How could you resist having an extra spring in your step, a gleam in your eyes, and a slimmer looking body?

I’m No Different

I know… I’ve done it myself… continued reading so I could find out more information about a product, its benefits and features, accept the proof, have my objections removed, and then purchase products based on the initial emotion that’s been stirred.  

It works and is very powerful.

Work on Those Emotions

Isolating and working on those core emotions in your sales letter will vastly improve upon the interest of and bond with your prospect. There's no need to run in circles, know your prospect, and know your core benefit.  Then create some sales-letter magic.

If you like this article and have any comments or additional suggestions, I’d love to hear from you.  Just leave your comments in the box below.  And if you know someone who might be interested to learn about how to write effective copy, feel free to share.  Thanks for your interest.

Why did you lie? Where is the honesty in your copy?

I was sold: I thought I was getting this fabulous product.  Why did you lie?  Where is the honesty in your copy?

I was looking forward to transforming my life.  And I have, but just not in the way I thought I would - according to your copy. Why did you Lie?  Where is the honesty in your copy?  I'm very disappointed.  I want my money back.  And I'm never doing business with you again! 

Why Did You Lie?  Where is
The Honesty in Your Copy?

The aftermath of this faux-pas results in a review of your copy to figure out what could have gone wrong. You laid out all of the features. Those were killer.  You made it sound so convenient and easy to use your product.  Yours was the best whats-a-ma-whooz-it on the market, according to the information you provided.  

Certainly, it was different from any other whats-a-ma-whooz-it  in the same class.  And the benefits... oh my!

Ooh... and that extra information to really put your copy over the top was a bonus.  However, was it truthful?  Did you amp it up just a bit to make things sound a little better than they really are? Did you use testimonials that support these claims?  Hmm... I wonder...

Businesses take heed.  Of course you want to promote your whats-a-ma-whooz-it .  It's in your best interest after all.  Your business growth and sales are vital and your success is dependant on it.

But what happens when you misrepresent yourself or your product?  Customers become dissatisfied. You lose sales. 

You might be thrilled to receive those positive testimonials.  You even include them in your copy.  It can only add to your credibility, right?  But what are you doing about the negative feedback?  Are you ignoring them?  Are you solving the problem with your whats-a-ma-whooz-it copy?  Or, are you just letting is slide because those negative comments seem insignificant in number?

While you're letting that slide, so are your sales.  You're losing those existing customers. They're talking about you and those negative comments have a bigger impact than you can imagine -- further losses in business on a compound basis.

Remember... It's much harder to earn a new customer, than to keep existing ones.

Once you've lied to your customers it will be very difficult (if not impossible) to regain their trust and get them to buy from you again. Trust is a main factor in the reason people do business with each other.  If you've broken that trust... the relationship  is done.

What's the solution? It's simple. Don't lie about your product or its capabilities and benefits.  Keep your copy honest.  Any embellishment about it is not worth the consequences. Use truthful, accurate information with testimonials that support your claims about the product's properties.

You can do without that extra fluff and hype, because the results can be disastrous - from a simple loss of clientele, to even a lawsuit. So why lie?  Keep the honesty in your copy and save yourself a lot of trouble.  Your business and customers will thank you.

(If you value the skills of a professional copywriter and want to talk about how it could help improve your business results, connect with me to start that conversation.)

Investing in Copywriting Services - How To Influence Cleints

When the client recognizes that he is "investing" in copywriting services, rather than looking at it as an expense, the project can take shape to deliver the bigger results.

The bottom line is that the client is always interested in his bottom line. Unfortunately, that could lead to a discussion around fees before you even know what his needs are.  If the client saw our product as investing in copywriting services, and not a hit on his marketing budget, copywriters would feel more confident about how much they charge and by what method.

Investing in Copywriting Services  - a Wise Choice

Those fees reflect the services delivered, and are a small portion of the total value that the client places upon future results.  Surely that is added incentive for clients not to wince at the prospect of value-based fee structures.

Initial discussions should never be about figuring out the cost or about your hourly rate -- that could restrict the scope, magnitude or results of the project and ultimately jeopardize the development and outcome before it even gets started.

Steering the client toward a talk about the value of the results and how investing in copywriting services, is more beneficial to the client.

It allows for a review of the expectations of the project in a wider scope and how results the can be seen, from the beginning to the end.  This creates more interest: The client becomes inspired and eager to get started.  Suddenly, a value-based fee is not such a big issue since they are clear about the impact of the results that copywriting can deliver.

To make the best of your discussion, identify how the client envisions the project taking shape; what problems he wishes to tackle; how much he expects/hopes to increase revenue in a year's time; and the value he places on achieving those results. The copywriter can then develop a comprehensive and value-based proposal for the client to consider.

If the proposal allows for breaking up the project into smaller bits, thus offering the client various options, that's even better.  Often the client will realize that the decision-making is left in his hands and more often than not,  since value is very important to the results, the client will opt for the larger  scope of the options presented to him.

Not Every Company Has Copywriters on Staff -
That's Why Investing in Copywriting Services is So Valuable 

Not every company has the luxury of having a skilled copywriter on staff.  Isn't that why they go out searching for that service in the first place?  They are investing in copywriting services that they do not have on hand. So here's where the value comes in, naturally. Remember, the fee is not just about charging for the copy per say.  It's about the skills and knowledge amassed and learned over the years, and the ability to transfer those skills into wonderful, compelling, flowing words that help businesses solve their problems.

Investment indeed!





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How do you prevent your many product distributors from using too many messages?

Chances are, unless you make this tool a part of your enrolment pack or beginner kit, you're going to end up with too many messages, providing varying levels of information to many prospects. Results? Fewer conversions.

What I'm talking about here is providing your down-line of many product distributors with a set of communications materials that will ensure your message remains consistent throughout the entire organization.  From top to bottom, and everywhere in between.

While it's great that your many product distributors are go-getters -- and they should be if they want to be successful -- there's a high probability that the majority of those people won't have the research or copywriting skills required to create the outstanding material that could get them that next sale.  Some of their accompanying material may be accurate, some might only be partially accurate.

Many product distributors who write their own content have copy that is boring. It may not have enough information to keep prospects interested, and most likely doesn't ask them to buy. Gasp!

If you're the sort of organization that has many product distributors in your down-line, it would definitely be beneficial to your communications strategies, as well as your ROI, to have a skilled copywriter to create your materials.  You can then provide your teams with communications and correspondence pieces that ensure consistency and accuracy at all times, and enhance your promotional arsenal.

As an example, I just met someone who has her own product distribution business that she runs from home, and it's a great company that she's working for. She offered to send me a sample product, which I was happy to receive and try out.  Along with that sample was an accompanying letter.  The letter was good, and there was also much more potential - to offer her prospects plenty of valuable and interesting information about the product and all of its benefits that most certainly would encourage a purchase.

She was gracious enough to allow me to work with her to revise her letter. We added more interesting facts and details about the product and highlighted how the company is unique in its processing of said product.  The finished letter has lots of oomph and appeal so that readers will want to continue reading, be excited about trying the product, and then order more - because I also made sure to include that all-important Call to Action (I have also recommended an order form be developed and included).

Now this is for just this one distributor. One of many product distributors within this very large organization. I'm left wondering, what are all the other distributors doing when they send samples?  

Are they all using different accompanying letters?  Do they even bother with one? Do they even use an order form?  My sample did not provide one at that time.

It is highly probable that this company does not have such valuable tools and resources available to their many product distributors.  I could only imagine the added benefits to the company if they did.

It could enhance their businesses, and the organization could be sure that each and every one of their many product distributors was singing from the same song book.  Information would always be accurate, distributors would be ready to work their businesses with more assurance, and with the possibility of achieving better results.

The well-written thank you letter with specific messaging about your USP, details about the product(s), the product benefits, testimonials, and a call to action -- all in a friendly tone -- along with an order form... and even a postage-paid return envelope (if budgets allow), are the ingredients to this recipe for success.

Remember... it's all about making things as easy and convenient as possible for the prospect to do business with you.  And for the organization, it's all about making sure your communications messages - used by your many product distributors - are consistent.

If you find this article interesting and useful, let me know by commenting below. Or, if you want to make sure to receive all future posts automatically, just provide your e-mail address in the box to the right.  Thank you for your interest.

And if you would like to talk to me about how a enhanced communications material could help your business, just Contact me.

LEADERSHIP WITH STYLE - A WINNING FORMULA

If Apple never had leadership with style like that of Steve Jobs, do you think it would have become the behemoth success that it is today? 

This topic is a departure from offering tips for better copy, but I feel that good Leadership with Style is essential to every business' success and a topic I have given a lot of thought to in my various workplaces.  Because, behind every successful company is a great leader, and following that leader, a great cohesive team that buys into the organization's culture, ideologies, plans, goals and dreams.

And how do you get your team to that fabled point? By introducing a leadership with style, and having an accompanying vision that everyone can understand and see themselves being involved in.

If you, as a leader can inspire your team to see the importance of each of their positions and how they are essential to each cog of the organizational wheel, those team members will take a more vested interest in the outcome and the results of the work they do. There is more of a sense of responsibility for those outcomes.

And not only will the staff's work matter to each of them as individuals, but also as a whole unit. People will be more willing to pick up slack, contribute more to the larger goals of the team.

Leadership With Style Allows for Celebration of Success - Together

If you can convey the importance of their work to the big picture, you are changing a mindset. Where you might have had negative-nellies, or dissenting individuals that could prove poisonous to a work environment, instead you gain valuable allies on the way to success.

And good leadership is one that recognizes everyone's participation and celebrates those successes... together... as a team.

Now introduce the vision of how their work fits into the grand scheme of things - how things function together to result in the achievements, as set out in the organization's Big Picture. A good leader can get that picture across to a group and encourage people to be more cohesive, to work as a unit and bolster their output.

A great leadership with style allows its team members to be more involved - perhaps in planning, goal-setting, or other areas where objectives are set and subsequently keeps staff interested. For instance, if your idea or contribution, as an individual, has an impact on the big picture, you then have greater concern for the outcomes of your work and are willing to ensure that those outcomes are positive.

This then translates to motivation: i.e. Understanding how to inspire the entire team, and get them to want to work together for the common goal. And employing that great leadership with style means that you're able to tap into an emotional trigger, which convinces your team members that their actions have significance - their actions have meaning.

In the end, your team is motivated because they can see the benefit from their actions. Some leaders might offer other incentives (i.e. bonuses, special privileges, etc.) which may not always convince/motivate someone to the best job they can. But when motivation is recognized as contributing to organization's bottom line or success, well that's a tastier carrot to put in front of their nose. Not to mention a better leadership, with style.

Whatever your style, your and your team's success depends on your leadership. Getting the best out of your staff and teams is the challenge, and accomplishing great leadership - with style should be your goal.

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