Date: 5 Jun 2003 05:24:48 -0000 From: Ken Evoy <support@sitesell.net> To: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Netwriting Masters 303 Message-ID: <20030605052448.1823.qmail@success.e-corp.net>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Netwriting Masters... an intensive 5-Day e-mail course on how to write sales-clinching copy on the Net. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you have a friend who would benefit from taking this course, please pass this on. Or tell that person to receive the 5-day course by sending a blank e-mail to... proventwms@sitesell.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Refer to this course over and over again as you refine your NETwriting skills and become an effective e-persuader. Print each e-mail out, pour yourself a beverage of choice, bring along a pen to jot down some ideas, and take it all to your favorite sofa. This is serious -- your online words must SELL. Go for best learning results -- get comfortable. :-) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thu Jun 05 01:24:48 2003 Netwriting Masters 303 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome back! Notice the firm footing? You have a MWR, a good sense of the key components of an effective sales site, and a detailed thumbnail sketch of your ideal customer. And it only took two days! Perfect. Now to build towards THE SALE! (or whatever your MWR is!) -- "There is no such thing as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person." -- G. K. Chesterton (1874-1915) Great sales copy grabs a reader's attention and holds it by intensifying her interest in what is being presented. It d-r-a-w-s the reader down the page and over to the next and so on right to your order page. As long as the information is realistic, relevant and answers the question, "What's in it for me?", the reader will continue to scroll. For as long as it takes. Slip even once, though, and the mouse finger clicks. Your words alone increase the perceived value of your product or service.... ... And persuade your reader to become a customer. -- What you write has to reflect your knowledge and passion about what you are selling (or PRE-selling if you are an affiliate). Insincerity, unsureness and a lack of enthusiasm will easily be detected "between-the-lines." Hype, as we both know, is in a (sub)class of its own... fatal. So become the expert on your product or service. "Isn't that obvious?" Yes and no... You know your product from *YOUR* perspective, for sure. But you must know it inside and out, from every possible angle... o Ask for opinions from other people. Do they see it the same way? Have they discovered a new dimension? o Compare it with your competition. How does it measure up? o Look at what's happening in the marketplace. Where is its position? Is there movement? Be a real sleuth. Uncover as much detail as you can -- positive and negative. And then... You guessed it! Get out that pencil and paper again (yes, your keyboard and word processor will do!). Write down all the features (i.e., what your product does or is) of your product or service. This will be a very long and objective list if you spread your sleuthing net far enough. ... ... ... Finished? No feature left unexamined? Great job! Now bring out that thumbnail sketch of your customer and put it beside your just completed features list. Imagine that your ideal customer is examining those features. Will she be persuaded by what she sees? Will the features immediately trigger a "must-have" reaction? Sadly... no. At least not for the majority of customers. And why not? Because most folks don't have the imagination to immediately see "what's in it for them" just by seeing features. People buy with their emotions, not with their logic. So you have to transform that list of features into a list of benefits. Only benefits tap emotions by answering "what's in it for them." This is important, so please allow me to repeat... > Only benefits answer THE critical question... > "What's in it for me?" -- So make the change. Do the transformation. Take that thumbnail sketch and BECOME the customer. Work through the features and figure out how each one benefits you, the customer. Don't rush. Really become your customer. Get the mindset right. Here are some examples to get you started... o Does a certain feature save time, especially if someone is presently over-extended at work? *That's a benefit. o Does a key feature encourage a child to read, just for the fun of it? *That's a benefit. o Does another feature provide independence, a chance to make decisions for oneself? *That's a benefit. In short... Features are elements of a product (or service) that *DO*, or that *ARE*. Benefits are the results that *DO FOR YOUR CUSTOMER." They connect at an emotional level by delivering a gain or curing a pain. Let your benefits list grow and grow. You can never have too many. All benefits add to the perceived value of your product or service in your customer's mind. The higher the perceived value, the greater the chance of a sale... or download... or subscription, depending on your Most Wanted Response. -----SIDEBAR----- I could go on for days, just about getting benefits right. Because it is *THAT* important. Confusing features and benefits is not just the amateur's #1 copywriting problem. Pros do it every day, too! MYWS! shows you an awesome method to develop a huge list of "most relevant" benefits quickly and easily. It's called the SWAT? technique. You just keep SWATTING those features until they are rock-solid, irresistible benefits. The SWAT? technique is indispensible for Netwriters (that's you and me), online or off, experienced or not. Because benefits will always be... ... the bottom line that SELLS! http://proven.sitesell.com/myws/ -----SIDEBAR----- A long benefits list provides the key information you need to write persuasive copy on your Web site. Benefit-laden words strike visitors "where they live." They fulfill wants and provide solutions for your ideal customer. They guarantee that you will keep her attention and increase her interest. You are well on your way to a sale! -----SIDEBAR--- Take a few moments and visit the sales site for Make Your Knowledge Sell! (MYKS!). http://proven.sitesell.com/myks/ My target customer is someone who has a book or infoproduct inside her brain, waiting to be set free. She has knowledge and insights gained from life experiences that other people want, and are willing to pay for. Can you see the benefits that I'm stressing? Can you see the pain that MYKS! cures and the gain that it delivers? MYKS! offers the solution of how to create, publish, market and sell an infoproduct successfully on the Net. The gain for the customer is both personal and financial -- a fulfilling outlet and extra income are just two examples. http://proven.sitesell.com/myks/ -----SIDEBAR----- The benefits list has a second function which is really just an extension of the first. It will help you create your *USP*. Your "Unique Selling Proposition" tells your reader what differentiates you from your competitor. Your USP is your *single best benefit* that every visitor to your Web site will perceive as being unique to you. It tells your visitor why they should buy from you and not the business on the next site. As the Net expands, a compelling USP will be essential. You have to be able to stand out from the crowd. So here's your homework assignment for tomorrow... Go back to your benefits list. Start to narrow down your choices, one by one. Whittle them down until you are satisfied that you have identified the very best benefit. Not sure? Ask for a second or third opinion. Then package this benefit into... o a sentence or phrase that persuades... o a collection of words that highlights an outstanding benefit that a visitor/ reader can't ignore... o a message that makes her think "Your product/service is the only one for me." -----SIDEBAR----- Building the perfect USP will be the hardest thing that you'll ever have to do. And the most important. Yet another reason why the SWAT? technique is an indispensible tool in your Netwriting toolbox... it does more than help you identify the maximum number of benefits. It builds your USP. http://proven.sitesell.com/myws/ -----SIDEBAR----- The key to the USP exercise is keeping your customer's mindset up front and center at all times. On Day 4, we'll see why it's worth some extra "cyber elbow grease" to get your USP exactly RIGHT... the best it can be. I know you're anxious to get typing (finally) so I'll leave. See you tomorrow. - Ken P.S. If you have the time, compare the MYKS! copy with that of Make Your Price Sell!. MYPS! has a completely different customer. My ideal customer for MYPS! already has a product, or is about to launch one, or has a good idea of what she wants to do. So she has a different set of wants (i.e., gains to be acquired) and pains (to be cured). Can you spot them? Can you spot the USP?... http://proven.sitesell.com/myps/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TO UNSUBSCRIBE To unsubscribe, send a blank e-mail to... unsubscribetwms@sitesell.net NOTE: You must send it from the same e-mail address that is subscribed to this 5-day course. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contact info: E-mail us at support@sitesell.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Written by Ken Evoy, M.D. President, SiteSell.com (c) copyright 2003 SiteSell.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Make Your Words Sell!" TM SiteSell.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Filtering software may prevent you from receiving important SiteSell communication. To ensure that you never miss an e-mail from us, follow these tips... http://www.sitesell.com/whitelisting.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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