Copywriters like to stay home and write.
Right now, I’m sitting in my living room, writing this article.
What’s the problem with that? Nothing… except it means I’m not out doing customer research by talking to actual humans.
This is a major pitfall of being a direct response copywriter… instead of a face-to-face salesperson.
Of course, the benefits of living the laptop lifestyle far outweigh the struggles… any day you can write in your bathrobe is a good day.
But seriously, the risk of hiding behind your laptop is that you lose touch with what real-life people need and want. And since the world changes faster than ever before, this could tank your sales… without you realizing what happened.
Quick Note: Most of the time, I work with business owners who write their own copy. But if you no longer write your own copy, please hand this list off to your copywriter and let him work his magic with it.
Useful Stuff About Humans that Copywriters Sometimes Forget
- People are massively stressed out. Their responsibilities are kicking their butts. And as much as they might like to… they don’t have time to read long-winded copy. Don’t get me wrong, I love long copy. But when you are editing it, ask yourself, “Is there any way I can say this shorter?”
- People are bored. Yes, people are busier than they’ve ever been. But they’re also bored out of their stinkin’ minds. If you want people to buy from you, say interesting things and back them up with cool proof.
- People are lonely. This one is for real. And it’s awful. We live in a world surrounded by tech, which is cool, because it means I can work with anyone I want… anywhere in the world… in real time. But it also means that people spend more time inside their phones than talking to real people. Which means the sense of connection has vaporized. If you want loyal customers, you need to offer them a connection to a real person.
- People will be annoyed if you’re different in real life, than you are online. This is a corollary to #3. And it’s permission for you to be a real person, warts and all. If you show a couple non-fatal flaws, people will find it charming. (Weird, but true.)
- Buying stuff feels okay… but shopping feels amazing! The reason malls exist, even in the face of the Amazon machine, is that people like to go shopping. There’s the going. And there’s also, the shopping. (Two separate pleasures.) But what people don’t like is buying. Buying costs money. And it ends to shopping experience. Once the need is fulfilled then you have to make up a whole new reason to go shopping again. What a letdown! And that’s why people abandon online shopping carts. What can you do about that? Make sure you have an awesome cart abandonment email sequence. Research shows that you’ll get a huge lift from adding that one sequence.
- “Confusion” is almost never the reason. If you do a focus group, people will say the reason they haven’t lost the weight, bought the house, or found the perfect partner is that they’re confused. Then, they’ll blame Google for having too much conflicting information. But that’s not the real reason they don’t buy. The reason people don’t buy is that they’re afraid of the unknown… not fear of failure… and certainly not fear of success. The more you can paint a picture of what their life will be like while working with you… and after working with you… the easier it will be for them to let go of their fear of the unknown and buy from you.
- People like proof. All promises feel empty until you back them up with proof. Even if you know with absolute certainty that your system will work, you still need to back it up with stats and studies, because people don’t know you… yet. They’re going to need help learning to trust you. It’s just a natural consequence of the jaded world we live in.
So there you have it! 7 handy tips that most copywriters don’t think about, but definitely should. The takeaways?
- Trust is fragile, so be real in your marketing.
- Add more proof to your stuff. Whatever it is, you can always use more proof.
- Make sure your follow-up email sequences are rock solid. That’s where you’re going to get a lot of traction.
What to do now: If you’d like to know more about how a former 9th-grade Algebra teacher helps multi-million-dollar businesses increase sales with simple “teach for action” techniques, then go to www.9BuyerSystem.com
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