Words make a difference. Copywriting can make a dilapidated garage sound like your future home, it is feasible build George Costanza clang spongeworthy, and it can build online consumers click your digital ad in a sea of them.
That is–if you know how to write copy.
Our team recently attended the 2021 AdWorld Conference to learn the most recent marketing hacks from Seth Godin and other marketing monsters. My favourite seminars came from Joanna Wiebe of Copy Hackers and Alex Cattoni from the Copy Posse, who each shared the ingredients of their secret sauce–their establish strategies for copywriting that spark interest and generate clicks.
Here are some of my favourite takeaways 😛 TAGEND 1. While technology and media vary, psychology stands the same
Ads have gone from catalogues to emails, and from flyers to Facebook. Our industry alterations fast, but at the root of it all is consumer psychology and that doesn’t change overnight. When it comes to successful ad messaging, we should always be maintained in mind the “if this, then that” formula to create a clear association between your product and a valuable outcome.
For example, “Free up time& simplify your procedure with 12 free banquets. Try it today! ” may invert the formula, but it still communicates that I can save time, save money, and get free food all by trying Goodfood meal kits. BRB while I start sign up.
In looking at other ads for meal kits, Goodfood is the only one offering anything for free. Everyone mentions delivery. Everyone mentions great recipes. But no one else grabs my attention with free food.
This delivers us to the next tip…
2. Separate yourself from the battalion by finding your niche
This is ultra-important for companies in saturated rooms. There’s a fridge-full of companies selling banquet kits and every buyer is going to have to choose the one that’s right for them. One behavior you can stand out to consumers is by finding a market niche and calling it out in your messaging.
While Goodfood and Chefs Plate mention recipes and parts, Yumba is the only one calling out sustainability. As a person who has hates throw away food and broken off containers on garbage day, this scores points with me. Yumba takes it further on their website, utilizing the headline, “Your dinners make a world of difference” followed by a quick snippet about their mission to eliminate food waste.
I’ve known the identifies HelloFresh, Chefs Plate, and Goodfood for a while, but I’d never heard of Yumba. Despite this, if I’m left unsatisfied with Goodfood’s 12 free banquets, Yumba would be next on my list because of its niche strategy.
3. “Should” is the brand-new “Could”
As presented by Joanna Wiebe, there’s a big difference in how these two convicts property 😛 TAGEND
“You could be as famous as Kim Kardashian.”
“You should be as famous as Kim Kardashian.”
“Could” is a powerful word in marketing because it pushes consumer interests to daydream about a world where they’re on top. “Should” turns the volume up by suggesting this daydream should be a reality already. You’re good-looking, you’re charismatic, you’re filthy rich, you should be as famous as Kim Kardashian but you’re not. What’s missing? Maybe it’s this course on how to master makeup? It’s even on sale!
The word “should” gasses up the consumer then frames your products or services as the missing ingredient. They’ve been shortchanged and merely you and your give can establish things right in the world by imparting them the outcome they should already have.
4. Show your audience they’re on their style with “already” and “still”
The customer journey is just that–a journey. Excursions take time. We’ve all asked, “How long until we’re there? ” simply to be told we’re not even halfway. It’s deflating. It’s exhausting. You may even question why you’ve embarked on the jaunt to begin with.
But then you hear, “We’re almost there! ” and everything modifications. You get excited. You’ve attained it this far–what’re another few miles? What’s another couple of hours?
You can create this same energy with your copywriting by employing words and phrases like “you already” and “still”. Together, these terms signal the successes and imply that consumer interests is getting closer to their goal.
Consider a protein saloon with the messaging, “You already work out, but you’re still skinny. That’s because you don’t get enough protein”. The term “already” connotes steps have been taken–you’ve fix to a workout routine–while “still” shows a lack of progress. What’s missing? Protein bars.
5. Take an unexpected turn to separate your ad from your competitors’
Continuing with the last example, “That’s because you don’t get enough protein” is the expected conclusion. For a company selling protein bars, playing on the idea that you need protein to gain muscle is a good way to get lost in the shuffle. To stand out, follow up “already” and “still” with something unexpected.
“You already know you need protein to build muscle, but you’re still skinny. That’s because all other protein saloons cause tapeworms.”
Maybe don’t continue that far, but you get the point.
6. Erase doubt with “Even if”
This is the age of cynical consumers. You’ve been sold snake oil too many times to be clowned again. Everything is too good to be true because you don’t look like the people in the commercial-grade. The last thing you bought didn’t work, then why would this one be any different?
Ad messaging isn’t a conversation. You have one shot to not only build interest but wash away all mistrust. For instance, “Smell like a summer night right before it starts raining” sounds good, but what if your diet consists of tapeworm-infested protein barrooms? Your copy should foresee and spread any likely rebuttals. Luckily, you can do that with the words, “even if”.
Smell like a rainy summer night even if you worked a 14 -hour shift.
Smell like a rainy summertime night even if your reek has left countless dead forms in your wake.
Consumers are people out looking for reasons not to believe. Meet them where they’re at by dispel these mistrusts with “even if”.
7. Fear is a motivator
Circling back to the top, as engineering and platforms alter, buyer psychology( for the best part) abides the same. People will still take action to avoid missing out, to avoid falling behind, and to avoid becoming part of the minority–unless minority communities is successful. There’s a reason why millions of copywriters continue to use the phrase, “Millions of people use…”. It’s because 48% of millennials have expended fund they didn’t have in order to keep up with friends. 60% of people attain acquires because of FOMO, and 36% of people are concerned about feeling like an outsider. Use this to your advantage by communicating what the masses are doing.
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