Tell a story (copy writing technique)

Need a way to spice up your ad, brand, promotional or sales copy? How about something new and interesting to add to your Blog? Here's a great tip: Tell a story.

What kind of story? It depends on the circumstances...

• If you're traying to make a point, create a story that illustrates the point. For example, don't just tell people how healthy an energy bar is - include a story that clearly shows the benefits of using it the way your target market expects it to be used.
• If you're trying to explain how useful a meditation technique is, give a personal testimony of the benefits you've received.
• If you've personally benefited by following a particular sales technique, tell a before and after rags-to-riches story that highlights the difference the new approach makes.

If you receive a testimonial from a client, call the person on the phone and get more details. See if you can build a story around the client's experiences.

Your story should aim to be interesting. It can't merely be a one-sided pitch for your product. It will be interesting if it includes drama, action, comedy or fun. Introducing a few surprises, or even a plot twist can spice things up. Maybe there's room for a protagonist and antagonist?

Whatever you do, a well-told story is inherently more interesting than most ad copy will ever be.

You want me to generate leads for a sofa bed company?

One of my clients is an Interior Designer with her own sofa bed range. I've been asked to find a way to generate leads (i.e. serious business enquiries) from the visitors she gets to her web site.

I'm used to working for people who sell by appointment. My job is to find people ready to say yes. It might be yes to a phone call, or an appointment.

As a general rule, sofa beds aren't bought that way. Most people visit a showroom, and see if they like the look of the various sofabeds on display. They'll want to see it unfolded, test it for comfort, and get a feel for how it's going to work in their home. Faced with the prospect of buying it 'sight unseen', it seems unlikely we'll sell many direct from the site.

Why? Because of doubt. Doubt about...

• Whether or not the product is any good
• Whether or not it will work in the room
• Whether or not it's comforable
• Whether or not it will physically fit
• Whether or not the seller is trust-worthy
  

My client isn't an Internationally known furniture brand, or a recognised online retailer. Neither Ikea or Amazon have anything like the same battle with doubt on their hands.

So how does one go about eliminating doubt, and turning casual interest into a serious business enquiry? The answer lies in taking over the conversation the prospect is having in his/her head.

On arrival, visitors are asking themselves whether or not the site contains what they're looking for. My first job is to eliminate everybody not in the target market. I can do that by making it immediately obvious the site sells bespoke designer sofa beds, and nothing but sofa beds.

I can then take over the conversation by offering to help the visitor find the exact sofa bed they need. I'll use special software written for the purpose. It's not expensive, and simply asks the questions that have to be asked to help the prospect.

It presents the sofa bed that best matches the prospect's answers, and follows up with an offer to customise it to his/her fabric and colour tastes. The prospect is no longer thinking about whether to buy, and is instead thinking about their sofa bed.

Once the prospect has finished, the system will ask the prospect if the resulting sofa is what they're looking for? If they answer 'No', it gives the person a chance to start over.

If they answer 'yes', it will ask if they're ready for a free consultation with a professional Interior Designer to further ensure they've covered everything they need to get the perfect sofa bed. If they answer 'Yes', it collects their name, contact details and a best time to call.

In other words, that's how I'll run a lead generation campaign for a sofa bed designer.

How to find a powerful ad headline

Recently I was having a conversation with somebody who had read you should write 200 different ad headlines for an ad, and then choose the most powerful. I think there are several flaws in this approach...

• The odds are you'll end up choosing a headline you like, rather than one your target market responds to
• It takes a long time to come up with 200 unique headlines
• In the time it took to generate 200 headlines, you could have been testing different headlines against each other in real ads
• The resulting data will tell you which headline gets your target market excited, rather than relying on your own opinions or those of others (i.e. objective results versus subjective opinion)
  
• During testing you'll almost certainly make sales. Testing generates revenue, where as dreaming up ever more creative headlines doesn't
• After testing, you have something you know for certain will work. After wasting your time on 200 headlines, you won't

In other words, why waste time being creative when you could let the target market tell you what works? And continue to make money along the way? That's how I approach ad copy.

The problem of human inertia

All sales and lead generation ad copy has one aim - to overcome human inertia and get the click, from submission, reply coupon, email, phone call or sale.

It isn't easy to overcome human inertia, and this article explains why (in some detail). It looks at the nature of the problem, and how to resolve it for your product or service. Very valuable information!

What it means to specialise

I've just been surfing the web, looking for ideas for an article about event planning. I found a site that has made a classic ad copy writing error. They've misused the term 'specialise', but giving their readers a list of 60 different things they specialise in .

It's as if they don't know the meaning of the word specialise: to pursue some special line of study, work, etc.; have a specialty.

The words and phrases you use in your ad copy mean something specific. Misusing them weakens the ad, especially when it comes to lead generation and sales copy. Consider the following example...

Here at Joe Bloggs Autos we specialise in...

• Porsche
• BMW
• Mercedes
• Audi
• Opel
• Mini
• VW
• Citroen
• Renault
• Fiat
• Ferrari
• Lamborghini
• Lotus
• Toyota
• Lexus
• Nissan
• Mazda
• Kia
• Hyundai

Do you consider this Joe Blogg's ad to be credible? If you had a Ferrari, would you be more likely to trust Joe Bloggs Autos, or a specialist dealer who services only Ferrari?

Using emphasis powerfully in ad copy writing

Emphasis is probably the most powerful tool in the ad copy writer's toolbox. This excellent article explains how to use it to maximum effect in your sales or lead generation copy.

Boost the power of numbers in your ad copy

This well-written and highly readable ad copy writing article explains how to boost the persuasive power of numbers in your ad copy. If you need to write persuasive lead generation copy, web sales pages or even direct mail, you'll definitely want to see this.

The Power Ad Series (copy writing tips)

The ability to write powerful ad copy comes down to a combination of experience and practise. The more you do it, the more you learn and the better you get. Check out these ad copy writing articles to see some of the things I've learned about direct response and lead generation copy over the last 16 years...

• Power Ad Secret #1 - Urgency
  
• Power Ad Secret #2 - Stop
• Power Ad Secret #3 - The Hook
  
• Power Ad Secret #4 - The Promise
• 4 things I wish I'd know about article marketing when I started out
• The power of 'you' in ad copy
• Advertising's 7 magic words

I've written many more articles about ad copy writing, lead generation technique, online marketing, SEO (search engine optimisation) and Internet advertising. You can find links to many of my marketing articles here.

Copy Writing Skills - Sales Ads

A sales ad has to answer 4 basic questions before it can secure the sale. The questions are...

1. What will it (the product) do for me?
2. Is that what I want?
3. Can I afford it?
4. Why should I buy it now, and from this seller?

Many sales ads fail at the very first question, because they attempt to describe a list of features rather than answer the question being asked. The prospect isn't asking what does the product do. S/he is asking what will it do for me?

Your answer must speak directly to the emotional need you believe your target market has. This answers the second question (for those in your target market).

A sales ad has to address the question 'Can I afford it?' The answer is almost certainly 'yes' for most products and services. If the prospect is resisting, it signals a failure of the ad copy to convey sufficient value.

There are numerous ways to handle the fourth question, including a time-limited special offer, limited supply, special pricing and one or more free gifts. An online sales ad has to close the deal right there and then, which is why urgency and scarcity are useful persuasion tools.

In lead generation ask only what you need to know

Back in the old days (before the Internet), your typical company would decide to experiment with lead generation. They'd create a reply coupon, and everybody in the marketing department would chip in with some 'useful' question they wanted to ask.

Then they'd look surprised when nobody filled out the form and sent it back. These days it's even worse, because an online form offers the marketing team unlimited space.

I know why they do it. They're after demographic information, because that's what they were told do by marketing academics at University. These academic marketers have spent their entire lives in university, rather than trying to sell stuff. They know nothing useful about generating leads.

Maybe demographic information is useful, but I'm prepared to bet it will never be as useful as a properly qualified lead. Every extra question on your reply form is a hurdle over which your lead must jump.

Challenge every question on the form, and ask yourself if you really need to know the answer at this point in the sales process. If you don't, get rid of it.

Want more information on lead generation? See these free business articles.

The Baited Hook

The purpose of the hook in lead generation, is to make sure the reader keeps reading. This is achieved by pre-announcing something interesting. In other words, it's achieved by baiting the hook. Here's how it's done...

Notice that last sentence? I offered to tell you something useful, and used ellipses (...) to imply you'd find it at the beginning of the next sentence.

Don't over use them. I suggest no more than one per page. And make sure you use it where it's most effective. The start of your ad should be interesting in and of itself, so probably isn't the best place to use a hook.