In the U.S. our folding money is adorned with dead men. So are some coins. But even money feels more alive than much of the writing I’ve seen on websites, in brochures and on flyers! It’s pathetic.
Resurrect your love for your product, service or cause before you write a single word. How? By going back to your “why.” Why are you in the business you’re in? You could be in just about any business you want to be. Why did you pick this one?
You may believe (or want to believe) that people buy based on logic and rationality. To the contrary: they buy based on emotions and rationalizations. They buy because they believe (or are led to believe by their emotions) that they need or desperately want what you offer.
If you don’t get past their fear-based reptilian brain and tap into their emotions, you may as well be trying to influence Mr. Spock to buy something using scantily-clad, seductive dancing women. But I see people addressing their target audiences equally inappropriately far more often than I should.
(More about using scantily-clad, seductive women in your ads: IF you’re doing this and aren’t in the sex entertainment industry, no one is paying a bit of attention to your product or service; you’ve lost your target audience to private fantasies!)
How to Resuscitate Your Sales/Informational Writing
Make sure your “why” stands out. Why are you so blasted dead-set on making sure your Ideal Client hears about your product, service or cause? What do you know, to the core of your being, that it will do for them? How will it alter their lives for the better? Why shouldn’t they be able to sleep tonight until they’ve engaged with you to learn more or buy what you offer?
Use simple words and easy-to-read-and-understand sentences. (Don’t dazzle with brilliance. Use buy instead of purchase.Use love instead of affection. Use to instead if in order to. Use call, text or email instead of contact. Talk to a friend, not to a prospect. Use your thesaurus to simplify instead of magnify.)
Make every sentence active, present tense, and alive. Use similes, metaphors and analogies that create a positive (compelling/effective/affectionate) image in your reader’s mind. Here’s an appropriate example using a great analogy (gratefully swiped from Joe Vitale’s book Hypnotic Writing, which you should buy and not just read once from a library!): “Become a writing wizard! Turn your words into spells no mortal can resist!”
Instill HOPE
Just so you know: In earlier writing tips I’ve indicated, rightfully, that you have to identify your target audience’s pain, problem or predicament. But I’m not a big fan of playing on them endlessly. There’s already far too much “if it bleeds, it leads” in the news and in everyone’s daily lives. Your ideal clients already know what they’re feeling. Why kick ’em when they’re down?
So I suggest that if you’re writing about physical pain, instead of doubling down on how miserable your reader feels, drive home what the opposite feels like–relief, freedom to move and live life again, the alleviation or total elimination of suffering–if what you offer can legitimately attain it. Give them real hope for a real result, since you’re fully capable of delivering it. Engage their possibility thinking.
Use Quotes
Collect quotes. They’re diamonds. When you hear or read one that resonates with you and can help bolster your sales copy or your informational content, collect it. Use it. Especially if its originator is a much-loved high-profile individual. There are times when a quote can do half of the selling for you! If readers feel a huge “YES!” when they read a quote you’ve placed appropriately, additional yeses should follow as you encourage them to do what they know feels absolutely right to them.
Have Some FUN with Your Copy! Take Chances!
I got an assignment once to write copy for a mobile foot doctor who served Baby Boomers, including retired military and diabetics.
Traditionally, doctors are a conservative lot when it comes to their advertising. But something popped into my head and wouldn’t let me go…so I took a chance and sent it to the client.
THEY LOVED IT!!!
It took me ten minutes to do the entire piece (which remains my record to date; I expect I will never beat it). So in ten minutes I made a hundred bucks because my Muse was amused and demanded that I submit (“Right away! Don’t delay! Stop second-guessing yourself!”) a phrase that I thought was as likely to irritate as it was to impress the client.
Curious to know what I wrote? (The following is my copyrighted intellectual property. Foot doctors, if you want to use it on your company post cards–not on your website or anywhere virtual–contact me!):
The front of my postcard said
When your toe-touching days are over
We’ll play footsies with you!
In smaller font to the right were these words:
Dr. __________
Foot Specialist
Serving Seniors, Veterans and Retirees in their own homes and communities since 1990. Diabetics welcome.
The back said, “When reaching your feet to care for them becomes a chore, please allow us the privilege of scheduling a regular visit to your home or community to wash, soothe and inspect them for you.
“Your feet have served you well. We’ll show them TLC and you miles of smiles! Please call today. (Phone number.)”
It’s a great little piece–something a fun-loving senior would resonate to, something they’re likely to put on the front of their refrigerators or on their bedside stands as a clever reminder that someone else knows more than they do about their feet and can care for them properly.
The next few times they get a foot or leg cramp trying to maneuver their feet and legs into position to tackle their own toenails, they’ll think about Dr. ________. At some point, they’ll decide, “Why am I struggling like this when someone else can do it for me? It’s time to pick up the phone.”
Simple. Concise. Compelling. That’s what you want in a post card. It’s also what you want in a longer piece. No added words. No scenic routes. People are busy. Your target audience wants to get to know, like and trust you. Make that happen and they’ll pull out their wallets and engage.
