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]

Three Sensory Triggers You Need For Great Copywriting

May 28, 2013 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

And how art journaling can make you a better copywriter…

Good copy asks a reader to take action. Persuasion is required. Without any human sensory interaction, great copywriting does that with text.

By “text” I mean all those words we throw together on a printed page or a webpage. The word “text” is the commonest of nouns to describe writing in ink or any digital format. Bland text hardly packs a punch. It’s like saying “food” to describe minted carrots and beef Bourgogne. The empty word “text” lacks value.

Text is dry, boring and ugly. So how do you make it “connect?” How do you find the right words and link them together in just the right order to make a difference to your reader on a level that fuses a gut-level connection? How do you move someone?

I’ve been reading Ultimate Power by Tony Robbins over the weekend. He asserts that connections are made by mirroring another human being and building rapport. The trick though, is understanding yourself enough to drop your own sensory preferences and assume those of the person you want to connect with. Not all writers need to rise to this challenge, but copywriters definitely do if they want to get really good at their work.

You may have heard this one before, even if you’ve not studied NLP a la Tony Robbins…Your experience of the the world is dominated by one of these three senses:

Visual: You respond to sights and images.
Auditory: You respond to words and sounds.
Kinesthetic: You respond to feelings and touch.

Even if this theory is not 100% true, let’s assume for the sake of this blog post that everyone at least tends toward one of the three. What does that mean for the copywriter who must make connections with their readers and spur action? Should she try to develop one sense over another, or pay more attention to one type of sensory reader over another?

The copywriter’s skill, first of all, needn’t cater to a reader’s strength in any one of those sensory tendencies. Neither does a writer’s tendency toward any specific way of perceiving her environment matter to the quality of her copy — because the barren world of mere text holds no power over any of those territories. The copywriter’s ability to make connections with the reader depends mainly on her experience; her understanding of the market she’s writing for and, to some extent, psychology; and the skill with which she handles words and copywriting elements.

Now you might argue that the auditory person likes words and the sound of them, so that person must be most easily persuaded by them, or might readily absorb text “better” than another kinesthetically or visually oriented person. But I don’t believe that’s true.

Auditory words have rhythms, tonality, pace and depth. Text has none unless the writer adds it through sentence structure, varying word and sentence lengths, grammar, and raw skill. If by chance the auditory reader of copy absorbs text at the pace of the spoken word — saying it aloud in his mind as he reads it — then maybe the auditory reader is easier to reach, but probably not by much, based on reading strength alone.

How would that account for the reader whose eyes fly over expanses of text intuitively searching for the words that strike her visual fancy? Words that connote light, color, speed and shape?

And what of the soulful, kinesthetic reader who resonates with textures, temperatures, movement, and intuition? They are just as moved by words as the auditory reader, as long as there’s something there for their sense to respond to.

Do copywriters need to think about all of these things in order to connect with all types of readers? Or can we simply apply all the copywriting tips, tricks and elements, as if following a recipe, and hope for good results?

I think the best copywriters at least try to encompass all the senses when writing. We all have our personal preferences, but I don’t believe for a second that auditory people make the best copywriters. I’ve personally known many copywriters who have an intense visual bent or kinesthetic vibe who write such brilliant copy that it makes me wish I could be inside their brains for just an hour or two!

A writer’s hobbies add depth to their copywriting. One of mine is art journaling. Before you write this off as “too far out there” to be of value to you, let me say I believe there’s a connection between journaling and great copywriting.

My first assumption is that you like words, books, reading, and journals. Most copywriters are “writers” first, and copywriters second.

Consider a chef. All chefs work with food, but the best chefs don’t necessarily place a value on different foods themselves. In the same way, most bibliophiles and writers generally keep an open mind about different genres. (I’m asking you to, anyway!)

Think about the cook-off challenges on the Food Channel, where world renown chefs are asked to use ingredients like Velveeta and pork rinds. I’ve never seen any of them refuse the challenge and stalk off the kitchen set. They just buckle down and do their best. On the flip side, just as a chef may specialize in one technique, like baking or BBQ (where I come from, BBQ’s an art form), I’ve never heard of a copywriter who doesn’t also explore other avenues of writing for the pure joy of writing.

Art journaling, and journaling in general, rewards your clients because it fosters creativity. One word of warning, though! Copywriters should ever allow their personal creativity to get in the way of the needs of the client and his customers. Journaling is an exercise that flexes the mind muscle that makes connections; NOT a means to infuse your copy with imaginary themes that simply don’t exist in your client’s business. It took me awhile to drop all my clever stuff and focus on what’s obvious and important to my customers and their target markets.

When I finally understood that great copywriting didn’t require creativity, the way I initially thought, my copy got better.

Creativity, combined with basic copywriting skills, will improve your copy. Either one without the other will make your copy fall flat dead.

Would you like to explore how art journaling cracks open your auditory, visual and kinesthetic parts of your brain and helps you to connect with readers of all stripes?

I made journals before I officially hung out my shingle as a copywriter. I still do, especially in summer when I stay up later at night. Most of my journals are just hand written words. But four of my journals are “arty,” meaning they are visual and physical objects of color, glue, texture and heft. They are not created in any linear time frame, although I do have a process as I go. They are never quite “finished,” although at some point I just stop and move on. After that I rarely go back and add anything. My art journals are so packed with goodies, they don’t even shut properly. I have to make covers and wind them closed with ribbons and string. Their bulky, overstuffed imperfection reflect my heart and trigger memories far more powerfully than photographs, although there are photos in my books.

Personally, I think art journaling contributes to the professional writing I do for my clients. While they don’t directly help build great copywriting chops, making them allows my creative side to get it’s kicks out. When I force myself to play among the inconsistent and messy parts of life, I can mull over all the non-linear, multi-dimensional answers to questions I didn’t even know were hanging over my head. This hobby helps me crack open new connections.

Let me share some pages with you and walk you through the process a bit. You’ll begin to see how the three sensory connections — auditory, visual and kinesthetic — all meld together. You may also become enchanted with the idea of making your own art journals to see how they fuse the three “sensory experts” within to make you a more “well-rounded copywriter.”

Over the next few days (or weeks), I’ll show you how I pull from my deepest, untapped resources when I make these juicy little journals. Then I’ll show the connection between the creation of these books and my experience writing copy.

Hobbies push you to be better at your career. Are you ever surprised by the ways your hobbies contribute to your professional expertise? Are you interested in learning more about art journaling for copywriters? Why not share?