Q: "I offered a valuable tele
seminar to my ezine readers: no charge and lots of value. But only 3 people signed up! How do I make my copy sizzle so more wil.come?"
A. You can probably identify a dozen potential reasons,
which may have nothing to do with the copy. Let's start by asking these five questions.
Question 1: Am I addressing my client's pain?
SJane coaches single moms who want to start a business.
SWhat's their biggest pain? I asked.
She thought a moment.
SWell, most of them have to work at a day job for awhile. So they're juggling a real' job, along with driving the kids to soccer practice and running the household.
SGreat, I said. SBut your copy is all about the joys of having your own business. Freedom from bosses. Getting to stay home and work in your bunny slippers. Quality time with the dog.
SBut that's their goal! Jane protested, puzzled.
SExactly. They're already sold on starting a business. Your mission is to sell them on your ability to make that happen...which translates into overcoming their greatest obstacle: finding more time.
Jane needs to focus on her readers' pain. And she needs to find a pain that's meaningful to them. She needs to a headline like, SAre you struggling to find time to start the business you've always wanted?
Question 2: Do my clients know they're in pain?
SThor was determined to solve a critical Human Resource problem: holding on to valuable knowledge workers, such as scientists.
SIt's costin.companies millions of dollars, he said. SI can save them huge sums but they have to hire me.
SSo, I asked, Swhat's the problem?
SThey don't realize how much they're losing or how easily the problem can be fixed, said Thor.
A closer look revealed tha.companies don't even want to know. The loss of money is invisible. SCutting costs or Searning more makes more sense to a busy executive.
Thor decided to get a foot in the door of thes.companies, perhaps by offering a service they could understand. Once he gained their confidence, he could promote his pet project.
Question 3: Am I offering concrete, unique benefits?
Suppose you promise to help clients find their life purpose. You need to show why you're different from a thousand life coaches, members of the clergy, psychotherapists...even pet adoption agencies.
The more specific you can be, the more likely you'll triumph over th.competition. In fact, you can even blow away th.competition because you're the only service who makes your claim.
Question 4: Will clients pay for these benefits?
Customers and clients will pay to relieve some pains but not others. For instance, books on heart disease sell much better than books on other medical conditions, such as lung cancer. I'm not sure why. But if you want to write about lung cancer, you'll probably get a smaller advance from the publisher and sell fewer books.
Closer to home (I hope), you'll find higher spending levels and more Internet searches among dog owners than among cat owners. Are dog owners more affluent? Do dogs seem more like part of the family? Who knows? Certainly some businesses targeted to cat owners have been very successful.
Question 5: Am I fishing where the fish live?
SMaggie came up with a great idea to help twenty-something men and women find their soul mates. A retired teacher, she wanted to create a live event that would bring together young executives in her small city. Maggie planned to invest several thousand dollars and sell tickets to make a profit.
I encouraged Maggie to talk to friends and acquaintances. She discovered her target market was addicted to online dating. They didn't want to get all dressed up and drive three hours in hopes of meeting someone. Instead, they wanted to stay home and surf in their sweat suits!
Now Maggie needs to decide if she wants to create events for a different market or cr
