When you write copy, you are first and foremost looking to make a sale.
And often in looking to make the sale, we need to persuade the person that we are addressing that they need to make a change.
That’s most obviously the case when selling any kind of personal development product…
…but it applies as well in fields such as business opportunities.
Now, this presents a problem…
…because for the vast majority of people, change is uncomfortable, if not downright painful.
So, people tend to resist change.
Easier to put off starting something new for another day…
…or finding a reason why a particular product or program will NOT work for them.
In copy, not only do you have to prove that your solution works…
…but that it can work for that individual reader or viewer.
It might sound odd, downright bizarre even, but one of the biggest problems in copywriting to to overcome is the prospective client’s lack of belief in themselves!
Sure, they may be unhappy where they are but they simply don’t believe, deep down, that they can do anything about it.
Dan Kennedy has been talking a LOT about this issue in recent months. Here’s something from the “No BS Information Marketing Letter Special Report June 2013″…
“…the truth is that the #1,#2 and #3 top reasons why customers do not stay, implement and profit from whatever you sell them have to do with their imbedded personal belief systems about themselves – not about your product.”
Dan’s main point in that section is that if you want to have high-value, long-term clients then you need to do something to help them improve themselves and what they believe is possible.
First, of course, you need to get them on board by making that initial sale. So what can we do to gently persuade someone that they can change and that a better future is possible for them?
I recently had occasion to re-read a book that is all about making a personal change…
…indeed change of the most difficult kind. In the introduction to the book, the author set out the hope that the reader would say to themselves…
1. Yes, that happened to me
2. Yes, I’ve felt like that
3. Yes, I believe this…can work for me, too
…because then the chances of lasting change would be much higher.
One way to achieve this is by telling a story that the reader can identify with. If you can get the first two “Yes” responses, then it’s much more likely that you’ll get that all-important third “Yes”.
So when planning your copy, take a moment to consider these 3 points and how you might be able to use a story or some examples to make a connection with the reader.