Self Employed Success

Aly and I had lunch the other day with my Mom and Dad at a trendy fusion restaurant with a really creative menu. While we were trying turkey wraps with butternut squash inside, what did my Dad have? A steak sandwich and a Coke.

“Dad,” I said, “Why not try something new?”

My Mom (as many Moms do) answered for my father:

“Because men won’t eat what they don’t understand.”

I cracked up laughing because it seemed such a preposterous and over-the-top statement, especially since Aly was sitting next to me trying quinoa for the first time.

But on the way home I got to thinking: maybe she’s right!

Aly had asked the waitress: What Is Quinoa? She gave him a full description of what it was, how it was cooked and how it would taste. She took the mystery out of this new item and made Aly feel safe in trying it.

It’s not just men who won’t try something new unless they feel safe about it, it’s all of us.

When you’re doing marketing and explaining to your customers the service or product you’re offering, you must help them to understand everything that’s involved with it:

• what it does
• what it doesn’t do
• who it’s for and who it’s NOT for
• who are you and why should they listen to you
• what it costs
• how much time they’ll have to invest
• what to do if they don’t like it
• what outcomes to expect
• how to buy it
• what will happen after they buy it

Some buyers are risk-takers and love to have the newest, latest thingie regardless of whether there might be some glitches or not. They want to be the first to have something or to be in on the newest experiences. Often these are the customers who already know you and trust you, so the risk isn’t actually too high. But they still won’t buy if they don’t see a benefit or if the price seems too high for the benefits they’ll get. You need to help them see that the price is equal (or less than) the benefits.

Next you have those customers who don’t want to be “bleeding edge,” but they do want to get in on a great service or product that will help them. They have to think about it, weigh it in their minds. They can take days and weeks to decide, so you have to keep your offer in front of them, and answer any questions they have. Sometimes they’ll call you with questions, sometimes they’ll email you, sometimes they’ll post a blog comment. Your job is to be present on whatever channel they use to communicate, and answer their questions thoroughly so that they understand the offer completely.

Because customers won’t buy what they don’t understand.

Do you have a story about a time you walked away from an offer you didn’t understand? What comes up for you when you try to put together your words around your service or product? Please share your stories, questions and comments on my blog…I’d love to hear from you!

This month, I will continue the copywriting topic with some more copywriting basics. Here are the steps to any marketing copywriting, whether you are selling services or products.

Last month I gave you some ideas about formulas you can use to write good headlines for your sales pages and newsletters. (If you didn’t see the post, you can still read it on my blog: 3 Headline Formulas for Non-Copywriters.)

Here are the basic six steps you’ll need:

First, know thy audience. This sounds so familiar, right? But do you really know what it means and how to DO it? Before you begin writing, close your eyes and put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Who are they? Specifically, who is your ideal customer? It’s important for you to spend some time thinking about them as real people, not a mass of humanity known as “my prospects.” They’re not a mass of faceless humans. They’re real people with real dreams and challenges.
2. What do they want? This is no time to lack bravery. Do not take the simple way out and say something banal here. Instead, ask yourself what they specifically want. What are they trying to achieve in life? What problems get in their way?

Now, write a headline that promises to help them create the life they want, or helps them solve a problem. You can read more about writing headlines here in this blog post. Remember, the whole purpose of writing a headline is to grab their attention.

Next, help them to get to know you and trust you by honestly talking about their dream or their challenges. Give them some tips. Give them examples. Tell them a story about how you have been where they are and how you created the life of your dreams. Above all, educate them so that they receive real value from you. This isn’t the place to fluff it up.

This next one is the hard part, the part where nearly everyone falls down: You have to make the offer. You have to tell them what you are offering, and ask them to buy. Be clear and straight-forward here. Tell them the benefits of your product or service, exactly what they’ll get, the price, and how to buy. Answer any questions you think they might have about your product or service. This is no place to be shy. If you don’t believe completely in what you are selling, why should your customer? You don’t need to be aggressive or manipulative; just tell them how you can help them and make an offer. Trust their own intelligence that they’ll know if it’s a good fit or not.

To help build your credibility, next you will share testimonials from your satisfied customers. Testimonials that tell how the customer benefitted from your product and service are best. It’s far better to have a testimonial that said, “I was able to create my lesson plan and teach my first class within one month of taking Karyn’s program,” than to have a testimonial that says, “Golly, Karyn is a great teacher.” What were your customers able to DO after using your service or product?

The final step is the Call To Action. What action do you want them to take? Should they visit your website for more information? Should they click a button to buy the product or service? Should they call your office to schedule a time to talk? You have to tell them exactly what to do next so there is no confusion.

Copywriting is no mystery. There are some straight-forward formulas that work every time. But you have to be willing to ask for the sale.

Are you ready to try these copywriting steps in your own business?

Over the next month or two, I’ll begin to go into the details of each of these steps, give examples, and answer your questions!

I’d love to hear your comments and questions — won’t you join in the conversation on my blog?

This article is for the rest of us – people who are NOT professional copywriters, but need good copy and good headlines for our websites and email newsletters.

Let’s focus in this article on writing good headlines. Or, in the case of email newsletters, good subject lines.

The purpose of a headline or subject line is to grab the reader’s attention and motivate them to want to read further. If you can’t get them past the headline, the rest of your copy is wasted, no matter how elegantly it’s written.

(Most of the examples are funny, but you’ll get the point. )

I’ll share 3 headline writing tips today:

1. Use numbers
2. Tell a secret
3. Use emotion

Use Numbers

Formula:

• _____ (number) _____ (adjective) Ways To _____ (thing they want to do or to have or to become)
• _____ (time) to Learn/Get _____ (topic)

Examples:

• 10 Easy Ways to Wash Your Dog
• 5 Exciting Ways to Make Spinach That Children Will Eat
• 20 Minutes to Learn Chess Like a Pro
• Get a Complete Personality Makeover in 10 Minutes or Less

Tell a Secret

Everyone wants to the learn the insider secrets of people who have been successful.

Formula:

• My Secret Formula to _____ (thing they want to do or have or become)
• Insider’s Guide to _____
• Easy Success Secrets to Create _____

Examples:

• I’m Drawing Back The Curtain and Revealing My Secret Formula to Buying Pencil Holders
• 10 Secrets Steps to Finding Online Grammar Mistakes

Use Emotion

People are only motivated by two things: to go towards pleasure and to get away from pain. But pleasure and pain can be subtle. For instance, I find it a pleasure to learn something new, to increase my mastery of a subject. So if I see a headline that promises to teach me something, I will always continue reading.

Another thing that motivates people is scarcity. If you TRULY have a limited number of items available (don’t lie to people about this, folks, they can see right through a scam), then telling them how many are left can get them to read the rest of your web page or email newsletter. Also, if there is a time limit, that motivates, too.

Think about what emotion your customer wants to feel. Confident? Energetic? Free? Safe? Take a moment and put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Then you can write a headline that speaks to their emotional needs. (Look at the photo above…who would respond to a Stop sign like that?)

Formula:

• _____ (number) Keys to_____ (topic or outcome)
• Learn _____ (topic)
• How to _____ (outcome)
• Only _____ (number) of _____ (item) Available
• You Have Done _____ , Now Try _____
• Do You Have _____ (name of problem)?
• _____ (name of problem) Got You Down?
• Do You Want _____ (name of desired item or outcome)?
• Never Be _____ Again!

To up the motivation level, use phrases like hurry, last chance, and only.

Examples:

• 3 Keys to Better Prison Life
• Learn to Buy Fresher Bread
• Only 5 Seats Available for Seat Sitting 101 Seminar
• Last Chance! Special 1 Percent Off Coupon Expires Wednesday
• Do You Want a Better Goldfish?
• Find Your Keys. Find Your Children. How to Solve Your Clutter Problems.

Plain and Simple

Don’t forget the basic, informational headline. You don’t always have to get jazzy with your headline or subject line; sometimes just saying what the article is about is motivating enough. What if you were to see these simple headlines or subject lines?

• 50 Percent Off All Classes
• How To Type Faster
• The Recording Is Available Now

TAKE ACTION NOW: Now take these headline tips and write three possible headlines or subject lines for your next article or email newsletter. Play with them until they feel right. Then try them out and watch the results!

Want more information on copywriting? Let me know in the comments area of this post and I’ll create more copywriting blog posts in the future! I could write about this stuff all day.

It’s so important for you to learn the basics of copywriting. There are a thousand times each year when knowing how to write good marketing text, even just the very basics, can change your marketing and communication efforts.

Here’s a great site full of resources for copywriting,

“Online Copywriting 101: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet”

All small business owners need to learn good copywriting skills.

If you haven’t visited CopyBlogger yet, I strongly encourage you to do so…today!

CopyBlogger offers tips and tutorials on good copywriting. Their recent blog posting, Just Say No to These Three Enemies of Clear and Direct Writing, is a perfect example of what you’ll learn on this great blog. Sure, you may already know these writing tips, but the examples clarify good and bad writing habits.

(After reading CopyBlogger’s post, I feel like it’s time to re-write my entire site!)