Nobody likes to feel bad about a problem they’re having and that includes your customers. My mum is brilliant at listening to any challenges I’m facing without making me feel like it’s really my fault. If I haven’t exercised she’ll understand that the weather’s been a bit cold, if I’ve forgotten to do something, she’ll [...]
Authentic Copy That Sells
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I got up this morning and was all excited, not least because it’s December the 1st and that means the first chocolate gets eaten on the advent calendar. Today, Harrisonamy Copywriting turns 3 years old – and you benefit. Because this isn’t about me – that’s what my real birthday is for (next month… I’d [...]
Have you ever been to an event, or conference, or general gathering of people where someone has absolutely captivated an audience despite talking rubbish? Or perhaps you’ve found yourself yelling at the TV during a reality TV show like The Apprentice, as a group rallies behind the loudest but possibly least competent leader. And I’m [...]
On Thursday, December the 1st, Harrisonamy Copywriting turns 3 years old. And I’m having a party. (More on that later, we’ve got some stuff to cover before then). It’s moved on from the terrible twos, where all it did was ask “why?” took steps, wobbled, fell, and bumped its bum. And that’s not to mention [...]
Hello and welcome to Cyber Monday! If you’re unfamiliar with this recent tradition, the Monday following Thanksgiving brings lots of hot deals online and at Harrisonamy Copywriting we’re getting into the spirit of things! Today the doors have opened for the Personality Entrepreneur Sales Page Boot Camp. Now there’s a few things you should know: [...]
Writing sales copy is hard for any product, but writing sales copy when you’re part of the project? That’s what makes a lot of people sweat. Understandably so. If you were to list an old TV in a classified ad you probably wouldn’t spend too long thinking about how to describe it right? But let’s [...]
If you’ve been watching the blog recently, you know that Mark McGuinness recently interviewed me about being a creative entrepreneur (how swish does that sound!) This week he opened up the doors on his Creative Entrepreneur Roadmap once again. I was a student the first year it ran and I still use the material today. [...]
Well hello there you! I always love it when someone asks me to get involved in sharing my knowledge. Call it my altruistic nature, or call it ego (they always ask you for a headshot ) but I like being part of “live” teaching events and this Internet thing is so dang clever you can [...]
Pretty soon it will be 3 years to the day that I decided to take the first shaky steps in making a living for myself as a copywriter. Over the past years I have refined and tweaked my business and continue to do so, so that it builds a lifestyle I want. I’ve taken a [...]
Dad recently sent me a poem he’d written on a bad day to remind him he’s a rebel. He sent it to me today and I think he’d like you to have it too. From Douglas Harrison to you… “Here’s to the wings that won’t be clipped, though many will try en-route And here’s to [...]
I was recently thinking about people telling their business story through their web copy when I came across an article tweeted by the lovely Mr. Ian Aspin about how many people had speculated about the Apple Logo and its origins. People started a story that it was about a brilliant mathematician Alan Turing who committed suicide with a cyanide laced apple. When pressed, apparently Steve Jobs would simply smile enigmatically, leaving people to assume that the legend they had created was true.
And didn’t it add an air of mystery?
The things we never see or know are always the ones which really capture people’s attention the most (monsters in horror movies, the contents of Marcel Wallace’s briefcase, or the fate of the bus in the Italian Job for example).
But when it comes to writing web copy for your business, is it really wise to welcome such level of mystery?
What you don't say can scare your customers more than what you do say....Image by: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/spekulator
Especially when you have no control over the message that might be inferred from your content?
Humans are wired to make sense. It drives us crazy not knowing things, which is why curiosity is such a powerful, though often misused sales copy tool.
We like to make connections, to make sense of the world. Our big lovely evolved brains just want to get busy connecting those dots.
However, this also means we can come up with utter gumpf to fill in the blanks that we do not know.
It’s been said that we can even recreate our own memories into fiction if there is a blank or inconsistency that doesn’t feel right. (Ever been adamant that an object from memory was one colour only to find out you were wrong?)
And therein lies the danger with your web copy.
I’m sure you must know of an instance where people have made negative assumptions about someone else based in the absence of “whole” information.
“She’s just upgraded to a BMW so her husband’s either got a promotion or she’s come into family money”
“She hasn’t explained on her resume why she left her last position… I bet it was on bad terms”
“He was a bit vague about where he was last night, he probably saw his ex!”
It’s basically gossip which is:
“Unconstrained conversation about other people typically involving details that are not confirmed as true.”
Similarly, people will jump to unfounded conclusions based on the details they can’t find in your web copy or sales copy. And your potential customer doesn’t have to be gossiping with anyone else to damage your business.
Sales might be slipping away through the “silent gossip” they’re having in their head.
“I really like his copywriting, but there are no prices on his site. He’s probably too expensive”
“She says in her sales copy that she left the corporate world to be an executive coach but it doesn’t say why. Maybe she was fired. I don’t want coaching from someone who couldn’t keep their own job”
“His web content says he has a 1:1 service to build my business, but it doesn’t say how he’s going to do it. He’s probably full of hype.”
When it comes to writing copy for your business, 2 main areas in particular where you really don’t want people filling in the blanks and coming up with the wrong story is on your about page and on when writing about the benefits of your products.
It may have worked well for customers to speculate about the origins of the Apple logo, but there was no ambiguity about what their products were and why people loved (or hated) them.
You have control over your unique business story. And remember, you can turn a shaky spot into a selling point in your story (For example if you’re nervous about how much you charge or how big / small your company is).
What you don’t want to do is have your customer fill in the blank.
They might just come up with something a lot worse than the truth.
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