Posted by:
Daniel Levis
November 5, 2008
Issue #539
Dear Web Business-Builder,
I can tell you from direct experience that a solid guarantee can absolutely rocket your response. This is especially true in markets where guarantees are not commonplace.
But even in markets where guarantees are a copywriter’s standard stock in trade, they are still an integral part of your promotion.
So what makes a response-rocketing guarantee?
What are the tried and true word choices and phraseology that will make your guarantee a winner?
And perhaps most importantly, what is the psychology behind a guarantee that sells? These are the questions we’ll ponder in today’s issue.
Guarantees are all about eliminating risk of loss. They are a powerful tool for taking away excuses your prospect has for convincing himself he doesn’t need your product. And they are yet another way for you to demonstrate benefits and your absolute confidence and enthusiasm in the solution you are offering.
Implicit in your guarantee are the answers to two fundamental questions:
1 — How likely is the solution to perform as promised?
2 — Will it work for me?
You may have heard the term, “risk reversal.” Well this second point (will it work for me?), reveals the concept behind risk reversal. The vendor reverses the risk associated with the transaction, essentially betting money on the prospect’s ability to obtain the promised results. He guarantees it will work FOR YOU.
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
October 29, 2008
Issue #534
Dear Web Business-Builder,
Being human, every thought we have manifests itself in our behavior in some way. The more pervasive and persistent a thought is, the more significant the manifestation.
If this weren’t true, there’s no way you could persuade anyone to do anything. When someone reads your copy, you are guiding them to have certain thoughts.
And those thoughts impact their behavior in some way. You want that impact to move your prospect closer to a purchase.
Therefore, the secret to creating the thoughts that will motivate your reader to opt in to your list and buy your products begins with your own thoughts.
There’s an old saying. “People tend to do pretty much what we expect them to do.”
If you approach your writing tasks with a positive expectation that people will buy, you are in effect programming your own behavior.
You are giving your subconscious mind the fuel it needs to find the creative hooks and language patterns that will create the desired cognitive outcomes in your reader’s mind.
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
October 22, 2008
Issue #529
Dear Web Business-Builder,
People often ask me:
“Is there a method for getting inside the heads of a target market? You talk about the importance of understanding a target market’s desires, fears, frustrations, beliefs, and so forth … but how do I do that?”
This is a great question …
EVERYONE marketing online should be asking it. So I’ll give you my answer today …
Some marketers seem to be psychic. They just seem know what people want. I’m not one of them. And in my experience, most entrepreneurs are not.
Most of the business people I’ve worked with, even IF they’ve been working with a particular market for years, generally DO NOT have a good handle on what’s going on inside people’s heads when those people are online trying to solve their problems.
One of the biggest mistakes a freelance copywriter can possibly make is to take what a client says about their target market at face value. I say this from personal experience.
Your clients are either too close to their own businesses to be objective, or they just don’t understand the online dynamic.
There is a lot of guess marketing going on. And guessing probably isn’t going to give you the stellar results you’re looking for.
See here’s the deal. To sell effectively online, it’s essential you demonstrate extraordinary empathy for the people you’re selling to. He who demonstrates the most empathy wins.
And having an accurate read on your target market’s desires, fears, frustrations, and beliefs is the foundation on which that empathy is built.
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Posted by:
Carline Anglade-Cole
October 14, 2008
Issue #523
My husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in an untraditional way. We decided to make October 8th a day of new experiences.
We began our day by visiting the “Dialog in the Dark” exhibit in Atlanta. Have you seen it?
It’s a very popular exhibit in over 22 countries around the world, but Atlanta is the first U.S. city to showcase this amazing experience.
For over an hour – you experience what it’s like to be visually impaired. A blind tour guide – and the cane you’re handed – help you “see” what it’s like to go through normal, every day activities as a blind person.
It was, quite honestly, an “eye-opening” experience.
Our guide, Derrick, showed us how to use our other senses to help compensate for our vision loss.
I don’t want to spoil the experience by telling you all the details – because if you’re planning to visit Atlanta, GA – make sure you include this exhibit as a MUST SEE (yes, pun intended).
In fact, here’s the website address with all their info – check it out: www.dialogtickets.com
Carline & Mick (center) with Scean & Derrick, their visually-impaired guides.
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
October 8, 2008
Issue #519
Dear Web Business-Builder,
One of your core responsibilities as a copywriter is raising the perceived value of the product you’re selling so you can charge premium prices.
This is especially true when selling information products. Perceived value and actual value in this case are inseparable.
When selling information products, you’re actually doing your customers a disservice by not maximizing the price and perceived value of what you’re selling.
Consider this analogy …
Suppose you’ve got one heck of a sore throat and you go to the doctor for help. Which of these two scenarios would be more likely to make you feel better?
Scenario A: Doc listens to you for a few minutes and then sticks his wooden thingy on your tongue and peers down your throat.
Next thing you know he’s telling you to go to the corner store and pick up some throat lozenges for $5, take a couple of aspirin, and call him in the morning.
Scenario B: Doc does his thing and then writes you a prescription for some extra strength medicinal grade throat lozenges for which you’ll have to pay a pharmacist $20.
So which is it? Most certainly you’d have more confidence in scenario B. And therefore you would indeed feel better as a result of following that course of treatment.
Now what if I told you they were the same lozenges?
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