How To Hook Your Readers With Specifics

March 9, 2017 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Getting to the point — the real point — with specific details is the only you can bring clarity to a problem your customer may be having.

Insightful copywriting shows you understand your customer by revealing a new level of depth in an issue they might not be able to see clearly.

A guy called in to the Kim Komando show once with a complaint. He was looking for an IT solution for his school district, and all his IT people were scratching their heads because they couldn’t solve it within their tight budget.

Kim’s answer was pretty simple. First she sympathized with the prices, and then explained how she also always gets sticker shock when her IT people at the show reveal a solution that seems over the top. She says, “How can personal laptops do all this stuff for consumers, but then when the show needs it on a larger scale, we can’t just buy 10 laptops and string them up together and make them pull their weight?” I’m paraphrasing, but she ended with this: “Well, they can’t. That’s just not how it works. This stuff is expensive.”

See, the caller was comparing his imagined solution to the wrong thing, He couldn’t accept the price because he was comparing the solution to a consumer’s price, not a B2B, or institutional price.

He was frustrated because in his mind he assumed it was an IT problem instead of a budget problem. He had simply framed the problem incorrectly.

Tim Robbins’ Ultimate Power is a powerful read for content marketers and copywriters. If you havent’ read it, or you think it might be too “out there,” I challenge you to give it a try. Our minds try to hold us back from success by filling our consciousness with generalities that are off-the-mark to begin with. We can only understand a problem in terms of our current awareness. In other words, we can’t know what we don’t know.

Your customer is in the same boat. When she states her problem, you can understand her, based on the context of the situation, or simply because you’ve solved a similar problem for others like her. But in her mind, she just can’t see the problem clearly. And that’s half the problem! That’s where you come in.

Next time you’re in a problem/solution situation, help your customer by applying details — details she’s provided, even! — to her problem.

People simply don’t have the time or space to be less than their best if they think about problems in specific, accurate terms. This is where copywriting comes in, so consider these concepts as if you had to write an exploratory paper about your customer’s dilemma. You’ll quickly see how easy it is to address the problem, come up with a decent solution, and encourage your client to see it from a new vantage point.

As a work-from-home mom with a business to run, I remember many summers when the kids would whine that there was “nothing to do!” Quickly coming up with a list of specific things for them to do was my solution.

In a similar way, what I’m suggesting here is not to offer your customer a list of specific options to choose from; but rather to pose their questions as specifically as possible so that they can easily come to the same conclusion as you and see the ease with which their problem could be solved.

When you show you understand, by merely reframing their problem with specific details, then you’ll be seen as an expert with an answer.

I have some ideas for you today — ideas that can improve the way you put into words how your products and services help your customers.

Here’s the thing. For most people, when something is bugging us, and especially when we haven’t quite decided to do something about it yet, we tend to linger around the problem like we’re lost in a cloud. It’s almost as if we enjoy being lost in the muddle.

Next time you’re really frustrated, notice your thoughts. Does that voice in your head start uttering negative-talk? If you’re human, your mind may start coming up with generalities which are definitely not going to bring you any closer to a solution. When you’re really down and out, it’s almost impossible to see your situation in specific, solution-oriented terms! Instead, your inner voice says things like:

I always get within 10 pounds of my goal weight, then stop losing weight. Why try?
I have no time for that project.
How can I be so forgetful?
Every time I attend that meeting, I end up frustrated.
That class is too expensive.
Writing code is hard.
I can never hire the right person for the job.

Can you see the relationship between all these phrases? At their core they hold no power because they are nebulous by nature. When you find yourself thinking about problems in this vague way, inspect them more closely to find the real hooks inside the issue.

To show you can really serve your customer — and relay that with your copywriting, let’s rephrase each of the above complaints with a specific clause. Where, exactly, does the person get snagged up?

I always get within 10 pounds of my goal weight, then stop losing. Why try?
- Should be: When I reach 125 pounds, I start adding old friends like chips and ice cream to my diet. How can I stay on target and resist those things?
I have no time for that project.
- Should be: I would need to drop this other thing from my schedule if I were to work on that. Or I really don’t want to make time for that project, but maybe I can find someone who can help.
How can I be so forgetful?
- Should be: I’m great about remembering to-do items for projects, so why do I forget the names of the clients at that company? How do I retain them?
Every time I attend that meeting, I end up frustrated.
- Should be: Who or what is it about that meeting that frustrates me? Can I avoid feeling frustrated by doing or saying something different?
That class is too expensive.
- Should be: That class is expensive compared to this other one. What is the added value I would get from it?
Exercising is hard.
- Should be: I find it difficult to stay on task when I’m studying. Once I settle into my work I’m ok, so how do I get rid of distractions so I can focus?
I can never hire the right person for the job.
- Should be: Either my ads are attracting the wrong candidates or we don’t have an interview process that screens people well. Where can I get information about that?

Now think about some of the common problems of your customers.

Are people coming to you with a perceived problem that is unsolvable in their minds? It could be because the wording is intrinsically formatted in “loser” terms. I’m not saying that out of disrespect. You must show empathy by listening and repeating the things that are bugging them.

Finally, don’t merely imagine your constituents’ problems. Verify your guesses by making yourself available on social media, in your communities, and through face-to-face networking with REAL people. In order to truly understand how to serve people better, you must engage in a real conversation with them.

As you begin to offer help, that’s when it’s appropriate to define problems with specific words and phrases.

Specific terminology — rather than general fog — defines the problem and gives it real teeth, so you can get in there and fix it.

If it weren’t for all the preconceived notions, and non specific ideas tumbling around in our heads, just imagine how productive we could be and how quickly we could come up with answers to our problems! Learn to let others help you when you can’t define a problem with certainty, and then learn to help others when you can see clearly through their brain fog.

When writing and creating content for your audience, hook your readers with specific concepts that redefine their main problem.

Want to take this discussion further? Let’s connect on Facebook. What’s the hardest part about finding the root of your customer’s nebulous problem?

[Updated from a 2013 blog post]

Get Over Yourself — Why A Third-Person Mindset Helps You Play A Bigger Game

October 21, 2014 by jennifer mcgahan 2 Comments

It happens a lot, especially when I’m writing an about page, or a bio for LinkedIn. A client reads the copy I wrote for them, and stops dead in her tracks.

“I’m…this good? Are you sure?”

Then they want to add a disclaimer, or soften up the piece. It’s almost as if they are afraid they won’t live up to what the copy is promising.

See, in my copywriting work, I have the great pleasure of working with many personally driven entrepreneurs. They are doing business with heart and soul. They do it because they love it, and they’re on a mission to change the world with each client they serve.

While it’s cool being a part of someone’s business and helping them shine and get seen online, the challenge is promoting their work in a way that feels “right” to them. Small business people and solopreneurs are often so caught up in who they are, and how they present themselves to the world that they often forget their marketing purpose to attract and win new business.

The challenge of objectivity

Some of my clients (especially those new in business) balk when they read about themselves in the third person because they feel they are “selling” themselves.

It’s a problem they take personally, and it keeps them playing smaller than they should.

One helpful piece of advice I give when delivering copy for a sales page or email, is to try to see your own business from the outside.

Read the copy with the eye of someone who desperately needs your services or product. Know that it will change their life. Stop reading the copy from inside your own narrow perspective.

Overcome it With Confidence

Good marketing takes confidence. It also requires that you assume a level of efficacy you may not be used to. It’s an accountability thing, a belief in your abilities and how well you actually perform a task. As my copywriting mentor Sandi Krakowski told me, “Being a business owner means you have to drop the drama.”

When you decide to go for it in your business, you have to release your hesitancy. Seriously and with intention, you must let go your fear of not being good enough. It’s not a business if you don’t ask for money; and asking for money requires authenticity and integrity. People want to know and feel that they’re in good hands.

As you create your marketing strategy and produce your copy and content, the easiest way to get over your own junk is to ask yourself, “If I didn’t know myself, would I want to do business with me?”

If you’re running and marketing your freelance business, especially when you’re working from home in a bit of a vacuum, you might be susceptible to seeing our business from a single point of view.

You can add a lot of unnecessary drama if you don’t believe you’re good enough. You might even try to disguise a lack of confidence by telling about yourself too much. Believe me, I’ve done it!

Solo-preneurs and small business people can become obsessed with their preconceived view of themselves — what they’ve done, what they do, what they think, feel, and say — and unable to see themselves objectively as their most satisfied clients might view them.

An inexperienced copywriter or someone marketing her own business may use “I” in her marketing and copywriting, and totally miss the connection she could be making with her customers. You remember that customers really only want to hear about themselves, not so much about the person behind the selling.

That takes confidence and the ability to see yourself as others do, and then to relay that information objectively. You’re not bragging, just asking for the sale.

Yes, even if you are the face of your brand, you have to get out of your own way.

Illeism, the habit of referring to oneself in the third person, is symptomatic of someone who is not only uber-confident, they imagine how they’re viewed by others. Ever notice that it’s pretty common among sports and political figures? Generally, thinking, speaking, and writing from a third-person point of view may lower your dependability factor. Take this example spoken by Lebron James:

I wanted to do what was best for LeBron James and what LeBron James was going to do to make him happy.

A bit much, don’t you think? You’d probably laugh if someone talked like that in person. However, when you’re writing copy, knowing how someone would describe you or refer to you is invaluable! Lose the bravado and this is exactly what you should do!

Can you project too much confidence in your copy?

It’s OK to hold yourself to a high standard.

It establishes importance and authority in your brand. However if you frequently do business from an “I” point of view (how I help, what I do best, the way I serve you), you impede your ability to connect with your best customers.

In a misguided effort to assure their customer of their honest intentions, beginning copywriters may even assure the reader, “I promise I’m not selling anything,” (I’ve actually seen this in sales copy!) which looks like you really don’t know what you’re doing, or you don’t have the chops to deliver.

People want to buy from those who have the confidence to make a bold, declarative promise. Many customers truly want you to make an offer because an offer shows honesty, clarity, and purpose within a business.

I’m not telling you to promise something you can’t deliver on, but be confident that what you have is worth paying money for — at least if you want to succeed in your business!

As long as you come from a place of service to your customer, a genuine offer reveals honest-to-goodness possibility. It feels good to deliver the offer and it feels authentic to receive it. Buying customers rely on the quality of confidence because it dissolves their own doubts and inner objections.

As psychologist James W. Pennebaker points out, the third person point of view relates to speakers who assume a higher status than those who use the first person. We often think of someone who uses “I” a lot as someone who’s self centered at worst, and confident at best. But Pennebaker counters that “I” reveals a touch of insecurity and an internalization of others’ opinions and observations.

Get over feeling weird about third-person language.

break out of your narrow perspective — Break free from your narrow perspective!

Marketing — especially self-marketing — demands some stretching. Look up and out. See yourself from the outside in order to grow and say what you do with assurance.

“I” Vs. “She”

Two ways to start seeing how others perceive you, and market your business with confidence

Viewing your business from your own point of view, is a first-person mindset. It is actually a good thing, because this mindset reveals a commitment to clients and customers. Using “I” in your writing also allows you to tell your personal story, to share your purpose for your business, and to solidify your personal brand. It shows you are willing to be “on the hook” for your work and that your word is gold.

But internalizing your work also gets in the way of being able to claim a place in the market and the (presumably) positive outcome of working with you.

If you want to start getting a good idea of how others see you, and gaining that third-person mindset — ask your clients! They will tell you how you are different, where you stand out, and why they like doing business with you. They may also tell you where you trip sometimes. Negative feedback is sometimes hard to hear, but listening is a skill that will pay you back in spades. Unless you can read minds, you should come right out and ask those questions in an exit interview or a survey for your ongoing clients.

Additionally, you may try getting some valuable insight from Sally Hogshead’s book below. I did this work and was found to be an “Intrigue”: Discerning, Perceptive and Considerate. It’s a fun test you can take online, or buy the book How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination, and learn even more.

Looking for more inspiration and copywriting tips? I’ll show you how to connect with your customers and market your business like a highly paid copywriter…

Mobile + Email + Content + Talent = 2013 Small Business Edge

January 1, 2013 by jennifer mcgahan 2 Comments

It’s the beginning of 2013 and the perfect storm is brewing for small business. Mobile + email + great content + available creative talent.

You don’t need a vast marketing department to make the most all of these variables and get your message out. It doesn’t have to be that hard. You can use simple tools and guidelines to make your email more readable on smartphones and tablets. You can learn tricks to get people to click through to your website easily on their mobile gadgets. You can send email without a lot of fuss and expense. In a matter of weeks you could be in your customer’s pocket. Literally!

Now that you understand the power of mobile + email, how do you get people interested and keep them coming back? It takes content and people to write and design it.

The third factor in the perfect storm: Content, content, content. No one even reads traditional ad copy anymore. The whiff of “Look how great I am” advertising repels customers like weevils in white rice. Why should anyone blindly believe you? They need proof, and that means providing content: information, your rare brand of it, your particular take. [Read more…]

“Complexity” Kills Copy

October 9, 2012 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

…And an entrepreneur’s ability to connect.

Quick, what do you do? For whom? How are you good? You have about three seconds before you’ve lost your reader.

This article by venture capitalist Brad Feld tells of a brief exchange with an entrepreneur who contacted him. At Mr. Feld’s request for a brief descriptive paragraph about the company, the entrepreneur politely declined.

“Too complex,” he argued and as Feld tells it, “…missed his chance to engage me more deeply since he couldn’t articulate what he was doing.”

Why would someone who needs interest and money focused on his business neglect that promotional step? In order to move forward, even small bootstrapping businesses need to fall out of love with every bit of minutiae that fueled their original plan. Outsiders and customers just don’t care to hear it.

Furthermore, an entrepreneur with vision would view the request for brevity and clarity in their copy as a challenge. At the very least, a sign that he has more work to do before asking for money.

Does a job applicant tell an employer that his qualifications are too involved to fit on a one or two page resume? Absurd.

Here’s why I think the entrepereneur couldn’t grit his teeth and wield the scalpel: Self-importance.

His emotional investment in all parts of his invention/business up until that point made him unable to paint a concise and moving picture for someone else. And, if the truth is known, because he’s not ready kiss those details goodbye, he’s probably not ready to open up the Pandora’s Box that is venture capitalism. Some entrepreneurs never do leave their honeymoon with their own idea. Not being able to share the “gist” of a thing translates into “not ready for prime time” with investors/customers/the public.

I understand the pain of cutting out parts, by the way. The process of editing copy is often so painful that I delete redundant but dazzing (self-dazziling, I should say) sentences and save them in files called “unused, but good,” never to be seen again.

To put it in a non-business way, fashionable women know the indelible rule made famous by Coco Chanel: “Get dressed. Then take one thing off.”

The elevator speech — that prepared, 60-second description advised for entreprenuers and job seekers, means something’s going to get left out — even something precious and dear — but that’s exactly why it’s so important that YOU whittle those parts out. You may love them, but details are not the most exciting thing to the listener. They want to see the picture of your vision in action — in the end user’s hands, not yours. They want the trailer, not the whole movie.

The irony is that YOU are the most qualified person to slice and dice, so you must be brave. Kind of like holding your kid’s hand or while the doctor stitches his head. No one else will do.

The good news about removing complexity in your copy is that you don’t have to do it alone. Some copywriters are skilled at distilling a big unwieldy idea into a tidy nutshell…Perfect for approaching VCs, customers and the press.

If “all you need is love” for your idea, then you better not reach out until you’ve cooled off and cut the complexity from your pitch. Level enthusiasm mixed a few strategic points will win the hearts and minds of people you want on your team.

Copywriting Credibility Crash Test

August 23, 2012 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

If you don't want your copy to crash and burn, you need Credibility. Tweet this.

Your copywriting sets the standard for your customers' expectations. Yes, the words you use in your emails and blog posts constitute "copy." They have an awesome duty.

Credibility bolsters your believablity and moves people to connect with you. Tweet this.

If you raise the bar (and you should strive to do that), first make sure you are honest and able to deliver on your claims.

Then, employ some techniques to show you are worthy of your customer's trust. You'll need to work harder than just stating outright, "Hey, you can believe me!"

How do you prove that your products and services are what you claim they are?

By illustrating that they do what you say they can do, you make the customer receptive to your message.
By showing real-world examples of how you solved a problem for a customer, you spark their interest in solving their own similar problem.

But did you know that customers also want to know more about you?

This is where credibility comes in. Credibility is the second believability factor in Mark Joyner's book The Irresistible Offer.

Credibility. Many customers receive your offer with a "yes" if you share your personal and business credentials. Use a variety of sources:

Endorsements. Consider the value of having a famous or well-respected person associated with your product. If someone stands by your product and gives an authentic recommendation, the effect can be phenomenal.
Customers with high status. Just imagine you created an app that helps students make flashcards. (My daughter just found one she likes.) imagine what would happen if a bunch of teachers in a single school district began referring parents and students to your flashcard creation app? Think how you could leverage that information to increase believability in prospective customers. A satisfied group of high profile customers is bar-none your best credibility booster.
Qualifications. Does your industry have some sort of certification process? A test that verifies your professionalism? Years of experience are important, but a simple certificate of achievement validates your ability to serve.
Awards and recognition. Bragging rights belong to the victor, but don't overdo it. Provide a humble blog post on your website, a simple press release, or a logo sitting quietly on your marketing materials. These will exert the pull of believability without you trumpeting your award at every touchpoint.

You're in business to make the connection with the right people so that they become your customers and clients. While there's no magic method for making them receptive to your offer, you can work to achieve believability in your copy. A credible voice sure helps!