subject: Is Misguided Casting Derailing Your Marketing Success? [print this page] Who's the star of your marketing copy? If the words 'we' or 'I' are anywhere in the first paragraph, then it sounds like you've taken the starring role for yourself. And that is a costly mistake.
The star of your marketing message should always be your potential customer. And that means weaving a story that revolves around the end result your prospect is looking for - a solution to a problem or the fulfillment of a desire.
You see, no matter how passionate you are about your product or service, unfortunately your prospect probably won't start out particularly interested. They are, in fact, just thinking "what's in it for me?"
If they don't very quickly reach the conclusion that there is something very tempting in it for them, you will lose them before they get past your headline.
Here are some simple ways to turn your marketing message around and make your prospect feel like the star of the piece:
Use the word 'you'. This will force you to consider what it really is your prospect will get from buying from you. Because your message should not be about what you're providing, but what your prospect is getting - that end result I mentioned earlier.
In the same vein, try to adopt the same tone you would use in a face to face meeting with your potential customer. It will help you to see your prospect as a real person, and help you to feel the message from their perspective.
Focus on benefits before features. Benefits are the end result that your prospect will enjoy - whether it's greater business success or improved self-esteem.
The features of your product or service are what create those benefits: A more efficient ink cartridge may result in cost savings for your office, and an improved bottom line; the science behind your life coaching method may help your clients focus on their strengths rather than weaknesses.
Of course, it's pointless to focus on benefits unless you follow up with a description of the features, because it is the features that provide credibility for your claims. But it is the benefits that will tempt your reader in so that you have a chance to explain the features.
Make Your Headline a Real Show-Stopper
In any marketing piece (online or print) it will usually be the graphic that attracts the eye, and prompts a second glance. But after that it is down to the headline to convince the reader that this might be something worth taking a closer look at.
Your headline, therefore, needs to have serious WOW factor. Here are some ways you can achieve this:
Feel the pain. Focus on, and empathize with, the problem or challenge that your prospect is struggling with. Provide a solution.
Envision something better. Here you create a vision of how your prospect's life will be improved, or enhanced, by buying your product or service.
Create curiosity. Curiosity is always a great way to get people reading on. Just make sure that your headline has an obvious connection to what you are selling.
Just a little hint about headlines - keep them concise, don't use all capital letters, and try to get the word 'you' in there.
Show some respect for your prospect's time. This can be something of a balancing act: once you grab your reader's attention they will be prompted to look for more information on what you can offer. On the other hand, they won't wade through paragraph after paragraph unless they're really motivated.
That's where scanning comes in. You see, once your prospect is attracted by those irresistible benefits, they will quickly scan through, looking to see if anything else catches their eye.
So, back up that primary benefit with secondary benefits (and yes, features) highlighted in bullet points, or with bold text or underlining. Use sub-heads and indents to draw the eye to your most important selling points.
That way your prospect can quickly evaluate your message and then peruse it in greater detail if you convince them it's worth it.
I could go on forever, but the key to this article really is that your marketing message needs to come from the point of view of your prospect. You need to get inside the head of your potential customer and speak to the emotional reasons they might choose to buy from you - to the end result they will enjoy.
Wendy Zak is a Freelance Copywriter and Direct Marketing Consultant. Whatever your marketing objective - leads, sales, awareness - she writes copy that is specifically designed to trigger a pre-determined respon
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