If you are like me, I receive a lot of e-newsletters throughout the day. One that I always read is Drew McLellan’s. He is a genius with words. I found his following bit of advice helpful. Angela
Write so they will hear you
Most people, when faced with the blank screen on their computer and a deadline for a new marketing piece looming, get a little uptight. It’s intimidating to capture everything you want a prospect to know and share it in a compelling way. Which is why most marketing copy is dreadful. Here are the most common mistakes:
1. We do a brain dump, sharing everything we know.
2. We want to demonstrate that we’re an expert so we use impressive words and jargon that shows that we’re in the know.
3. We cram way too many words into the piece because it’s all important.
4. We talk about our company, our product, our people…but not about the customer.
So how do we avoid those mistakes?
How do they talk?
I can have the best deal in the world, but if I tell you about it in Japanese and you don’t speak Japanese – you can’t possibly want what I am selling.
Your prospects are busy and won’t take the time to translate your marketing messages. If they don’t instantly understand it and see that you’re talking to them, they’ll pass it by every time.
Do they know they need you?
No one wants to buy something they don’t need or want. That sounds like a duh, but many times businesses try to sell solutions to a client who doesn’t realize they have a problem.
You’ve lost the sale, because I don’t know I need you. But if one of your marketing pieces was titled “5 landscaping tricks to sell your house faster” – now you have my attention. If the first line of body copy told me that 34% of buyers passed on at least one home because the landscaping was disappointing – you have just converted a “no” into an interested prospect.
Now you have my attention.
By paying attention to these two elements – you can effectively avoid all four of the mistakes I mentioned. You’ll speak in their language and only talk about what matters to them – their problems and how you can solve them.