Hello again
Okay, this week I’m going to share with you a little copywriting technique that I use with clients that’s great when you have an area of business that you think your customer might not like.
I’m going to show you how to take a “shaky spot”and:
* Increase credibility
* Appear transparent
* Look trustworthy
* Turn it into a selling point
I love working with business owners on these particular areas, because you go from having that secret “thing” you’re hoping no-one will ask you about, to being able to write and talk about your product and service with rock solid confidence.
So, here’s what you do:
First, find the “shaky spot”
You might already know what this is, for example:
* You think your price is too expensive
* Your business is new and you worry you’ll seem inexperienced
* You’re a small business and think you won’t get bigger corporate clients
* Your offer seems too good to be true and people don’t trust it
So, list these shaky spots, even write down that one you really don’t want to admit. You’ll feel better trust me.
Then, for each shaky spot, you’re going to
Write down the positive side
There is ALWAYS a positive side, and if you can’t think of one, I want you to email me and tell me your target market and shaky spot, and I’ll email you back some positives, to get you started. I’m not going to charge you for this, I just want to show you that there is always a way to turn your shaky spot into a selling point.
For example:
* High price tag can mean higher quality
* Lower price tag can mean you’re more efficient than the competition and pass on the savings to your customers
* Small companies can be seen as flexible, and easier to respond quickly
* Newer companies can be shown to have a larger drive and bigger hunger than their more established counterparts
Then, the final piece of the puzzle is
Communicate this to your audience
What you don’t want to do, is ever refer to it as a weakness. You’re not going to write:
“Well, we charge more, and I know that makes you a bit suspicious and you probably think we’re ripping you off, but honest we’re not…”
Don’t apologise for your shaky spot as it’s soon going to be a selling point to be proud of.
Some different ways you can be proud about your shaky spot include:
Explain how it is a benefit specific to your target market
“As an Internet business owner spending hours trying to fix a technical problem means you lose time and money. We might cost a little more, but this means that 24 hours a day, we make sure that every enquiry you have is answered by a real person within 3 rings, and if we can’t fix it over the phone, you’ll have an engineer with you within the hour…”
Explain why you’ve chosen to be different, and why this sets you apart
“Some advertising agencies chase awards at the expense of their client’s bottom line by creating wonderful and wacky campaigns that are creative, but don’t make people the product. So you won’t see our hallways lined with gold plaques and awards, but you will see an increase in your sales, and we think you’d prefer that.”
Paint it as a benefit which makes your service seem exclusive or luxurious
“Most people will tell you it’s crazy to want a tailor-made wool, cashmere and silk suit. They’ll tell you that you could buy weeks of groceries for the price of your bespoke suit that fits like a dream. That may be true, but you’re not going to turn them green with envy with your groceries are you?”
So there we have it, just a few examples of how to change that “Oh my gosh, I hope they don’t ask me about that…” to “I can’t wait to tell them about…!”
Good luck, and I’ll see you next week for the next instalment.:-)
Till next time
Amy.