One of the big hindrances to the “next level” of success is identifying weaknesses and overcoming them. Unfortunately, few people are willing to learn new skills to overcome their weaknesses.
For example, when some people start out, they are reluctant to learn how to build web pages, be it through HTML, software, applications, or any of the other methods for building web content. Yet learning this small skill opens up a whole new realm of opportunities that do not exist when you can’t create a web page.
Recently, I discovered one of my weaknesses, and I am trying desperately to gain new knowledge to help me overcome it.
That weakness is in writing sales copy.
Now, I’ve won awards for my writing before – but sales copy is a whole new ballgame. Writing for the purpose of selling is something that I’ve never done before, and I believe that learning it will open me up to a whole new level of success.
After all, just about everything is sales copy. The way you speak is sales copy. The articles that funnel traffic to your web pages are sales copy. Your videos are sales copy. Everything that you do can be classified as a lead-up to a sale.
And while I am not yet an expert at copy, I have improved drastically since I start to buckle down and practice it. Here are some cliff notes that you can use and implement immediately into your writing behaviors:
1) Get to know your prospect. Learn the innermost feelings of your target audience. What is he like? What are his objections? What has he purchased before? The more you know about your prospect, the better you can reach him. Online, you can learn about your audience from browsing forums, reading blogs, or answer customer emails.
2) Identify your prospects desires in your copy. Restate the outcomes that he or she is looking for. Describe them in detail and paint a picture in your prospect’s mind so that he or she can visualize what the end looks like.
3) Push benefits. For a long time, I got caught in the trap of selling the FEATURES of a product instead of the benefits of a product. Instead of listing all the features that a product has, explain what those features will DO for the customer. People won’t care what a product is unless it can DO something for them.
In the last week, I’ve simply been implementing these three elements to my copy, and I have seen significantly higher response rates. However, I am just scratching the surface of getting to know sales copy, and I’m excited to see what it can do to my business.
To close, I feel important to suggest that you are never too old or too successful to learn a new skill that will take you to a new level of success. While it is never easy to learn something that is new, I have never heard someone say, “Man, I wish I hadn’t bettered myself by learning that skill.” This is especially true with running your own business; if you want to be successful and keep up with your competition, you better get used to training yourself to stay on top.
