by Pete Kennedy
In today’s article, I’m going
to walk you through a 7-step checklist to increase the selling power of your
website, ads, and emails. This is the process I personally use when writing
copy for our own marketing campaigns here at Main Street ROI, as well as for
clients.
But first, here’s some quick background so we’re all on the same page...
What is Copy, and Why
Does It Matter?
In case you’re not familiar
with the term, “copy” means the words you use to get your marketing message
across. If you can improve the effectiveness of your copy, you’ll generate more
leads and sales.
So with that said, here are the
7 steps to improve the selling power of your copy...
1. Define Your Avatar
Before you write a word of
copy, get clear on your target audience.
You might be imagining a crowd
of people, but instead, I recommend you picture a single person that represents
your target audience. We call this your avatar.
In your copy, you’ll want to
try and mimic the style and tone you’d use if you were speaking 1-to-1 with
your prospect.
In other words, keep your
language conversational. Conversational language tends to convert
higher because it’s easier for your prospect to relate to and digest.
(Note that conversational
doesn't necessarily mean totally casual -- your language could be conversational,
but professional. The key is to have your tone match how you'd speak with your
prospects 1-on-1).
2. Get Clear on the
Result You Want
Before you write a word of
copy, think about what action you want your prospect to take when they read your
copy.
To paraphrase a very sharp
marketer, Dean Jackson of the "I Love Marketing" podcast, “If you
could wave a magic wand, what would you have your prospect do?”
In other words, what is the call-to-action
(CTA)?
Do you want your prospect to
call you, or register on your website, or purchase your product?
Get clear on the CTA, and then
keep your CTA foremost in your mind as you write the copy and structure the
layout of the page (or email).
3. Offer Something Your
Prospect Wants
Your prospect won’t take action
just because you want him to. Your prospect will act in his own best interest.
So it’s important to focus on the result your prospect already wants.
In other words, you’ll want to
communicate the results (benefits) of your product or service.
And in your copy, you’ll want
to make an offer to your prospect, so you can provide that
result. For example, if you’re an attorney, you might offer a free
consultation. Or you may offer a free report. Or, your offer may come in the
form of a guarantee or a special low price.
4. Grab Your Prospect’s
Attention
Before you can describe the
results you can provide and make your offer, you’ll need to grab your
prospect’s attention. Without your prospect’s attention, you have no way to
generate the lead or make the sale.
Your headline is
what will grab your prospect’s attention.
In my experience, in your
headline, it’s typically best to convey the one BIG benefit your prospect is
most interested in.
5. Provide Proof That
You’re Legitimate
One of the reasons that your
prospect won’t contact you or do business with you is because he’s not
confident that you can provide him with the results they’re looking for. Or,
put another way, he’s afraid of being taken advantage of.
So, it’s important to provide
proof that you’re legitimate and you have a track record of getting results.
Here are some different types
of proof you can use in your copy:
·
Testimonials and/or
reviews from past clients, customers or patients
·
Endorsements from peers
in your industry
·
Press mentions
·
Awards
·
Certifications
Also, if you sell products
online, then including e-commerce security logos can provide reassurance that
your website transactions are secure.
6. Keep Your Copy
Skimmable
Some people will read all of
your copy, but most people will skim. Make it easy for your prospect to get the
gist without having to read every word of your copy.
In practice, this means to
break up your copy with sub-headlines, bold text and bullet points.
7. Make The
Call-to-Action Obvious
In Step 2, we focused on the
call-to-action. And we’re focusing on it again in this final step.
Once you’ve written your copy,
you want to take another look at it and make sure the call-to-action is as
clear and obvious as possible. Leave no doubt about what you want your
prospects to do. You can think of this as like improving the signage on a road.
On a landing page, this might
mean moving the Contact Form so it’s at the top of the page instead of at the
bottom, or adding more than 1 button on the page, or increasing the size of a
button.
In an email, it might mean
bolding a link or including more than 1 mention of the call-to-action, such as
adding a second CTA in the PS.
Here’s What You Need To
Do
Take a second look at your
website, ads, emails, and other areas in your business where you’re using words
to convince prospects and customers to do business with you.
And the next time you prepare a marketing campaign, ad, or email, review
this checklist to make sure you’re hitting all 7 key areas. Good luck, and let
us know how it goes!
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