Shaun Crowley (bio)

One of the keys to writing persuasive copy is to approach the task like a cold-caller would talk to a customer on the telephone.

 

Next time you receive a sales call at home, resist the temptation to hang up immediately. Listen to how the caller pitches her product instead. You'll notice how the "best" cold-callers communicate benefits in an attempt to whet your appetite for their product.  

 

Benefits are essential to writing persuasively because they pull emotional triggers. For detailed tips on how to think in terms of benefits, visit http://www.copywriting-designers.com/free_tutorial.html. Then read the tips below for additional rules that lie at the heart of all persuasive copy.

 

 

Demonstrate how the reader can benefit from the product.

The key to being persuasive is in helping readers to picture themselves using the product.

 

Do this by spoon-feeding contexts where the product would be desirable or beneficial. This ad copy for kitchen furniture proves that even mundane objects can be simulated desirably:

 

It’s where there’s always space for an unexpected guest.

It’s where you’ll spread out the maps for your next adventure.

…and where you’ll reminisce over the last one.

It’s a hot bed of family gossip.

It’s much more than simply a table.

 

Be specific—use examples.

People respond to specific facts, concrete examples, and details of content. People tend to ignore anonymous opinion, empty expressions, and meaningless phrases.

 

Every time you find yourself giving ‘opinions’ about the product, ask yourself if you can cut them out or reinforce them with facts or concrete benefits.

 

Opinion                                                                             

Great writers 

Specific                                           

From Shakespeare to Hardy.

 

Opinion     

Informative articles 

Specific    

Articles include our obsession with celebrity, Rastafarianism, and three very different islands.

 

Opinion    

Stylish dresses                                           

Specific

Dresses designed by Jackobson, Ralph, and Lorreine

 

Opinion    

Innovative kitchen appliances 

Specific                 

Automatic bottle-openers, voice-activated microwaves, and solar kettles.

 

Opinion    

Experienced staff                                        

Specific

Our staff have a collective 120 years of experience working with brand managers like you.

 

Opinion    

Efficient machines      

Specific                              

Our machines will pay for themselves in just 5 months.

 

 

Be specific—quantify where possible.

Your product will look more desirable if you can quantify its features and benefits.

 

For example, a product that has brand new components will be desirable, but a product that has over 10 brand new components will be even more desirable.

 

Here are four ways you can quantify your points:

·        Say how many people have bought the product.

National best-seller—over 1,000,000 copies sold!

Thousands of secretaries all over the USA recommend the ZX hole-punch

 

·        Put a figure to your product’s features.

550 new words

A new low: only five patients to each ward

 

·        Quantify and elaborate on words such as NEW, MORE, and EXTRA:

100% NEW!

50% Extra!

10 NEW chapters!

MORE guidance, MORE practice, MORE reference

 

·        Tell the reader how long it will take for them to benefit from the product.

Self-sufficiency in as little as 6 months

A prize is won every 3 seconds

 

Use vivid words instead of clichés.

Novel words are more effective at conjuring an image than hackneyed words. Get into the habit of using a thesaurus—a good thesaurus will help you to be more inventive with your choice of words.

 

Cliché                                            Vivid

Money                                            Cash

Clean                                              Immaculate

Clear                                              Crisp

Cool                                               Frosty

Strong                                            Rock-solid

Slim                                                Slender

Fitted                                              Snug

Innovative                                       Breakthrough

Successful                                      Blockbusting

Includes                                          Bursting with

 

 

 End your copy sections with benefit statements.

The final sentence in each paragraph has particular significance, as it may be the last thing your reader reads before he or she loses interest in your publicity and puts it down.

 

One way to sign off is to wrap up the points imbedded in the paragraph with a final summarizing benefit statement—what does it all mean for the reader?

 

Example without benefit statement:

If you need treatment you will be given a choice of nearly 270 quality-assessed hospitals nationwide. Their facilities include private rooms, en-suite restrooms, personal telephones, radio and television.

 

Example with benefit statement:

If you need treatment you will be given a choice of nearly 270 quality-assessed hospitals nationwide. Their facilities include private rooms, en-suite restrooms, personal telephones, radio and television. So wherever you are you can rest assured you’re always within easy reach of comfortable care in pleasant surroundings that feels… just like home.

 

 Adapted from 100 Copywriting Tips for Designers

 

© Shaun Crowley 2008

Shaun Crowley has worked as a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant. He currently works as a communications manager for a major UK publishing company and is the author of The Freelance Designer's Self-Marketing Handbook and 100 Copywriting Tips for Designers and Other Freelance Artists.