“What Does Not Kill You Makes You Stronger!” – Frederick Nietzsche
In this article:
- How to attack the competition without weakening your integrity in the eyes of the prospect …
- 4 ways to strengthen a promise …
- The mechanics of the direct attack – how to float like a butterfly & sting like a bee …
- And more!
Dear Web Business Builder,
Online marketing is a contact sport.
Only the strong ultimately survive, and that's healthy. It keeps everyone on their toes, constantly striving, developing, innovating, one eye on the market, and the other on the competition, whether that competition be other businesses offering similar products, or the simple status quo.
Let's talk about some of the competitive weapons you can use to stay in the game and thrive. Your first weapon as a copywriter is to create a superior promise. A stronger promise, felt more deeply and passionately. A wider promise that touches more people within the target market. A more believable promise, that brings in the skeptics as well as the susceptible.
Also at your disposal is the identification element. What kind of roles can you give your prospects to play in your copy? Can you create a convincing characterization that is more exciting, more rewarding, or more prestigious than your competition?
And of course there is the delicate direct attack, where you make straight comparisons, offering evidence of your superiority. Unless you are the dominant player in your marketplace, you may well want to take this approach. As the little guy, or the new kid on the block, it may be necessary to channel desire away from entrenched players, and on to your product.
The mechanics of the direct attack – how to float
like a butterfly & sting like a bee …
This direct attack is tricky business. Many salesmen make the sorry mistake of spreading F.U.D. (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) about the competition without sufficient substantiation, and millions in sales are lost because of it. A copywriter can make the same mistake. The result is a loss of trust, and heightened suspicion.
If you cannot show convincingly by comparison that your product solves the problems that arise from the weaknesses inherent in other alternatives, say nothing. Your prospect knows your attack is biased.
On the other hand, if you can show your prospect the information you are providing is for his own good, through a careful process of logic, evidence, and documentation you can sway his loyalty.
When you have an advantage, there are ways of pointing out the weaknesses of competing alternatives … dimensionalizing the implications of those weaknesses … and then proving that your product can give your prospect what he wants without those disadvantages.
Here's a heroic little ad that tried to do the impossible … and for a time succeeded … by coming out of the gate swinging. Almost all of the copy in this remarkably effective ad was a direct attack against the competition.
WHY MEN CRACK …
You know them. Strong men, vigorous men, robust men – men who have never had a sick day in their lives. They drive. They drive themselves to the limit. They drive themselves over the limit. They lash themselves over the limit with stimulants. They crack. Often, they crash.
You have seen them afterwards. Pitiful shells. The zest gone, the fire gone. Burnt furnaces of energy.
"He was such a healthy looking man …"
He was. His health was his undoing. His constitution absorbed punishment. Otherwise he might have been warned in time.
For every action there is an equal and contrary reaction. You learned the law in physics. It applies to bodies.
For every ounce of energy gained by stimulation, by whipping the nerves to action, an ounce of reserve strength is drained … But repeated withdrawals exhaust any reserve. Physical bankruptcy. Then the crash …
It's time to get back to normal, to close the drafts, to bank some of the fires …
Avoid stimulants. What's good for the boy is good for the man. Borrowed Energy Must Be Repaid!
Two million American families avoid caffeine by drinking Postum. And two million American families are better off for it!
Obviously this ad plays on fear and there is some great imagery going on as well, but the bulk of its power comes from the subtle way it characterizes the prospect.
There is an overtone of virility in the language. Any man reading this will identify with the character in the ad … acknowledging himself as also being very much a man's man, out to whip the world …
Also key is the logic used to explain that it is this very vitality of yours that will prove your undoing. You'll never see the crash coming. And of course the reference to the authority of science in the bit about physics and natural law.
The above example identifies a problem, agitates the problem, and then comes forward with a solution. There is a single turn between the problem and the solution. Another highly effective structure oscillates between the two to make its contrast, as in the following …
Having your own infoproduct allows you to create lucrative joint ventures with other online marketers in your field.
A single endorsement from the "big dog" in your niche can bank thousands in profits … and put thousands of subscribers on your house list virtually over night that you can sell to again and again.
Without your own product you're locked out of the game. You've got no choice but to attempt to eek out a profit by relying on bought traffic, or pouring countless hours of your own personal time and energy into so called “free traffic” methods. Good luck.
With a product of your own, you've got instant credibility and recognition.
Suddenly, you're an expert in your field, offering a unique voice to the market. You can then use that authority to successfully recommend any number of "back end" products to your list. Other authors and publishers know this, and will actively seek you out.
Without your own product, you're just a peddler flogging other people's products. Sooner or later your list gets tired of it, and moves on. You're stuck with a constant revolving door and lacklustre results.
When you have your own products, you manage 100% of the sale proceeds.
In many cases it's almost pure profit … or worst case, you're paying a commission to Joint Venture partners for warm, "endorsed" traffic that converts like gangbusters … and you only pay after the sales are made, so your profits are known before you begin!
Without your own products, you have to be satisfied with affiliate programs that pay you 30%-50% of the sale, and no one is going to deliver traffic without you paying for it up front … plus the traffic you do get is stone cold and rarely converts profitably …
These are just some of the reasons why truly successful online marketers earning 6 and 7 figures in virtually every field … from health and wellness to trading and finance … and everything in between, front-end their businesses with their very own information products … and pile on massive backend profits with affiliate programs … not the other way around.
Note the oscillating contrast. Each advantage of developing one's own infoproduct is immediately followed by a corollary disadvantage of not doing so. The result is a hypnotic good, bad, good, bad, good, bad rhythm that drives the copy forward …
Additionally there are parallel defining phrases that add to the effect. In the first round "bank thousands in profits" is matched up with "attempt to eek out a profit". In the second round, you are an authority successfully recommending products, versus a peddler flogging them. And in the third round you're working with warm endorsed traffic that converts like gangbusters, versus stone cold traffic that rarely converts profitably.
And of course, each benefit is backed by a logical reason why it comes about. Bank thousands in profits and put thousands of subscribers on your house list, BECAUSE the "big dogs" in your niche are endorsing your product, and so on.
Another highly effective approach is to invite your prospects to do the comparison for themselves, and show them how to do it. For example …
WHAT MAKES A SUPERIOR
ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE?
When inspecting an ATV, take careful note of how much protection the vehicle body affords you. Are you riding on top of the machine, or sitting in it? If you're riding on top, it will be next to impossible to keep clean and dry on extended adventures.
While you're at it, take the unit out into the parking lot, and test the turning radius. What you're looking for is an almost "about face" capability, especially if you do a lot of riding in the bush. If you're pulling a trailer, you may find it virtually impossible to back your way out of an impasse without that kind of superior manoeuvrability.
Another important consideration is ground pressure. Be sure to ask how much downward force is exerted under each wheel. If you're planning on navigating mud and wetlands, anything over 200 pounds per wheel could easily get you in trouble, and insist on a track assembly as well …
This is a great way to execute a direct attack. It's a pre-emptive strike that has the added benefit of camouflaging your ad. Note the absence of a product benefit in the headline. It almost looks like an editorial. Only in the second half of the ad can you be accused of selling …
The Whosit ATV is strategically designed to cradle its occupants, keeping you cleaner, warmer, and dryer, which will contribute substantially to your enjoyment of the vehicle.
It's patented "skid steering" means you can virtually turn on a dime … perfect for hauling wood out of the bush!
And because it's got 6 wheels instead of 4 it exerts just 165 pounds of ground pressure per wheel, which allows you to traverse incredibly soft, muddy or swampy terrain. Or even very deep snow with the optional track assembly. Bolts on in minutes!
This is a really nice angle to play because you never come right out and point a finger at the competition, but merely imply the various weaknesses in their product.
If you do this well enough, you can give the reader the impression he has done his homework and made an informed decision, without even looking at the competition.
After all, why would you invite him to make the comparison if what you're saying isn't true? And why should he go to the trouble when you've obviously done such a thorough job of it already?
THE BOTTOM LINE
If you can use the direct attack with finesse and cause a prospect to question a habit … shift a loyalty … or take a chance on your product, I say use it!
As with everything else in direct response, the market will be your sole judge, jury, and executioner.
Until next time, Good Selling!
Daniel Levis
Editor, The Web Marketing Advisor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
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