Wow, yesterday’s “Come to Jesus” talk worked…
I got an onslaught of questions to answer for upcoming Mailbag Mondays!
If you sent one, THANK YOU. And I will respond within the next day or so.
If you haven’t sent one yet, you can ALWAYS submit your questions to [email protected] to get added to the queue!
For today’s Copy Tuesday post, I’m going to do a quick run-through of one of the most important copywriting lessons you can learn…
How to uncover the most powerful benefits hidden in your product!
We’ve all heard that people don’t buy product features, they buy benefits.
They don’t buy what a product is, they buy what it does for them.
They don’t buy a drill, they buy a hole.
And other blah-diddy-blah-blah, feel-good sayings about what makes people want your product.
But those sayings are absolutely worthless unless you have a systematic way to identify what it is your prospect really hopes to get in life — and out of your product.
For this, we can rewind a few years to a Clayton Makepeace tutorial that I’ll link you to at the end of this article.
Every time I’ve followed Clayton’s example, I’ve made more money for myself and my clients.
Clayton Makepeace, “The World’s Highest-Paid Copywriter”
I’ve told him that. I’ve told others that. I’ll tell you that. And if I’ve told you that before, I’m telling you again.
This lesson is no exception.
It’s the dimensionalized-benefits technique…
The idea is that you’re going to look at your product’s features, and find all the benefits that come from them. And from those benefits, the deeper benefits. And from those, the even deeper benefits. And so on…
And that link from Clayton will walk you through a really basic, step-by-step method for doing this — I’m going to speak to the heart of the method here (and how I use it in a far less formal way, for most products — how I’ve internalized the method).
The basic idea of the dimensionalized-benefits technique is…
That you keep asking yourself, “And what will that do for me?”
Start at a product feature.
Let’s use something really simple that everybody knows.
Google.
It’s a search engine.
“And what will that do for me?”
It will help me find things I want to find on the internet.
“And what will that do for me?”
It will get my questions answered.
“And what will that do for me?”
It will help me know more things and be smarter.
“And what will that do for me?”
I’ll be able to be more productive in my job.
“And what will that do for me?”
It will help me earn more money.
“And what will that do for me?”
It will get me respect and admiration from my peers.
“And what will that do for me?”
It will make me feel more confident and better about myself.
“And what will that do for me?”
It will make me more attractive to the opposite sex.
“And what will that do for me?”
Bow-chicka-bow-wow!
Okay, maybe using Google won’t improve your sex life… Or… Will it?
Not EVERYTHING ends with sex in marketing and selling, but the reality is that sex IS one of the core drives in the human mind… And maybe it is one of the ultimate, dimensionalized benefits of your product.
You don’t have to hit it directly as a copy point, but maybe Google could run a set of ads on college campuses where sexy-chic “nerd” guys and gals are pictured (fully clothed, thank you), with the line, “I like girls who Google.” And, “I like guys who Google.”
Okay, I’m having a little fun with it — but you get the point.
Another example…
Let’s take something mundane.
Business card card stock.
Most people who sell business cards would be content to list the thickness of the card stock as the selling point. And leave it at that. A business card is a business card, after all. Ours might be thicker than the rest — but you as the buyer understand what that means.
That’s pure feature selling.
And I assure you, it doesn’t make anyone want your product any more — it won’t make them choose you over your competitor.
But let’s say you’re marketing a thicker, more sturdy business card.
“And what will that do for me?”
When you hand your business card to someone, they’ll feel that it’s more substantial.
“And what will that do for me?”
Your business contacts will think of you of someone who invests more in quality.
“And what will that do for me?”
You’ll be seen as a higher-quality provider, worth spending more on.
“And what will that do for me?”
You’ll be able to command higher fees and prices, with minimal negotiation.
“And what will that do for me?”
You’ll earn more money.
“And what will that do for me?”
You’ll have both financial and time freedom that come with being a success.
“And what will that do for me?”
You’ll be able to enjoy the finer things in life, and have less stress.
“And what will that do for me?”
You’ll feel like a winner.
Now how much more interesting did I just make plain old business card paper?
Not only that, I gave you easy cost justification to spend a little more per card on the thicker card stock — and spend it with me.
It also plays up some copy points…
“Have you ever handed your business card to a prospect and had them say, ‘Wow’?”
“I bet you never thought a simple business card could increase your income 10%, 20%, or more this year.”
Or playing up the advertising meme that floated around the internet a ton a couple years back…
“Weird business card ‘trick’ helps you win every sales negotiation.”
You get the point.
Your product and its features are boring.
What it means for your prospect is exciting.
This simple method can turn boring features into exciting transformations in your prospect’s life — and get them to buy!
Here’s the link to the Clayton Makepeace tutorial.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
Editor, Breakthrough Marketing Secrets
