To create effective website content, it is not enough to know what you want to say. You have to make sure that anyone who reads it cares. To understand the motivators and forces that transform a shrug into an avid interest, you must understand the wants, needs, and desires of your customers.
It’s not about you, it’s about your customers
Many companies write the text of their website as if they are talking to themselves. This type of writing reads like a hymn to the glories of the company or product. You can always detect this type of writing by the number of times the company refers to itself and how the text is read as if it were theirs … and not you.
The problem is that most business owners and entrepreneurs gravitate towards this type of writing. It’s easy to write about what you know, and as an entrepreneur or small business owner, you are passionate about your business, your products, or your services. However, what interests you most, your business, is not what the people who read your text are interested in, or at least not yet. First they have to know and like you, but for them to take the first step and get to know you online; They must be attracted to something you say in your marketing materials or on your website.
So consider this: what are your customers interested in? What do they want and need to know? Start with the benefits to them and put yourself in the shoes of your customers. If you can get into the mindset of your customers and understand what motivates them to buy your products or services, you have found an important clue that will help you write compelling marketing messages.
Create a list of features and benefits
I like to start any copywriting project by starting a list of features and benefits. Features are facts. In many cases, the features do not sell the product, but customers still need to know the facts about the product to make a purchase decision.
When writing marketing copy, profits are often the first thing the reader is interested in. That’s because benefits refer to your wants, needs, and desires. Effective marketing messages almost always incorporate product benefits first and are backed by features.
When I start with my list of functions, below I write a corresponding profit statement next to the function. A list of features and benefits of a blue pen might look like this:
- Feature: blue ink
- Benefit: Blue ink is a standard ink color that is appropriate for personal or business writing. This pen can be used anywhere and anytime when you need a reliable writing instrument.
The benefits of blue ink (a feature) are multi-use appropriate color (benefit) and reliable performance (benefit).
If you turn this profit statement into a marketing message, it will need to be edited to be clear, simple, and compelling. “Get the new Blue Pen for reliable performance” might work, or even an attractively priced headline: “Only 99 cents per Blue Pen with reliable performance.”
This is a very simplistic example, but it should give you enough information to understand the differences between features and benefits. Benefit concepts can be incorporated in headlines and body alike; Including the support function with the benefit statement helps clarify the messages.
Writing from profit statements takes time and practice. A skilled copywriter or marketing writer can save you time and effort, or you can hone your own writing skills and practice creating profit statements. Be sure to test and analyze any new statements, and be prepared to modify or adjust them until you see the desired results.