Recently I did a little competitor snooping
(shhh ... don't tell anyone). I must have visited 20 or more
websites belonging to copywriters. And I was amazed!
Let me explain.
Every book, every article, every single resource
that I've ever read or studied related to copywriting has
said the same thing ... over and over and over again: WRITE
ABOUT BENEFITS! People want to know "what's in it
for them," so when you write a marketing message -- tell
them. Don't focus on the company or the product or the service
or yourself. Focus on benefits.
In Ken Evoy's book, Make
Your Words Sell, Joe Robson makes this statement: " ... don't talk about yourself at the very beginning.
In fact ...
Don't even talk about you at all.
Talk about how you can benefit [your customer] ...
"
How much clearer can you get? Yet, on nearly
every copywriter's site that I visited, this is what I found:
I can write your full range of marketing communications.
I'm a freelance copywriter who builds profits for
high tech companies.
I can help you as a copywriter.
I'm committed to adding real value to every project.
I concept and write direct mail campaigns, brochures,
annual reports, print ads ... (etc.).
I have an extensive amount of writing experience.
And these statements were on the first page
-- not on the resumé page.
Please understand that I'm not setting myself
up as the "perfect" copywriter. I certainly don't
do everything right (but close to it-- LOL). But I was surprised
to find so many people in this line of work ignoring one of
the most basic tenets of copywriting. Untrained writers don't
know any better, but these are individuals that should be
setting examples.
Anyway -- here's the moral of the story: Whether
you decide to write your own copy or have someone do it for
you, don't tell your potential customer what you can do -- tell them what they will receive from what
you can do. This is what they're interested in and this is
what will sell your product or service.
Remember, this is one time when the I's don't have it.
Nan Yielding has nearly 10 years experience as an online business owner. She is the owner of Writing-Etc.com and offers internet marketing services and assistance to help website owners attract more customers and increase sales.
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