What’s the difference between a piece of killer copy that results in thousands and thousands of dollars in sales…
…and a complete dud that doesn’t bring in any moolah?
Well, there are a bunch of reasons like…
* The headline (or subject line)
* The big idea
* The lead in and hooks
* The offer (including urgency and scarcity)
The list goes on.
And yes, these are all important.
Each one can make a massive difference in a campaign.
But none of them have power if you can’t answer one question.
Before I reveal what this question is, here’s a quick story:
A while back, I wrote about how podcast hosts read their adverts in “ad voice.” And how reading (or writing) with an “ad voice” is a dead giveaway to your customers that you’re trying to sell them. Plus, using “ad voice” signals that you don’t believe in whatever you’re promoting.
Today, we’re going back to the illustrious world of podcast hosts.
Because they make an even more fatal error than reading their ads in “ad voice.”
In fact, if they just fixed this fatal error, their ads would perform better. Even if they kept reading them in “ad voice.”
Just so happens that many and many-a copywriters make this mistake too.
(And selfishly, my thumbs are getting tired from smashing the skip button every time an ad comes on in the middle of a podcast.)
Anyway, here’s the story:
There was an ad in the middle of the podcast episode I was listening to recently.
Don’t even remember what the host promoted.
But I do know this:
The podcast host kept saying “I,” “I,” “I,” “I,” “I,” “I,” “I,” “I,” “I.”
“I used XYZ product and love it.”
“I’ve been using it for months.”
“It’s made my life sooooo much better.”
On and on.
Which brings me to the one question your copy must answer:
“What’s in it for me?”
See, these podcast hosts—and apparently the “copywriting” teams at these companies who use podcasts to promote their products—don’t understand this fundamental copywriting lesson.
Here’s the cold, hard trooth:
Nobody cares about you.
They only care about themselves.
And if your ads only talk about you, everyone’s gonna tune out faster than a satellite dish during a brutal thunderstorm.
Doesn’t matter how good your offer is…
How “tight” your headline is…
How addicting your lead in is…
Or how good any other elements of your copy are.
If you can’t immediately let your audience know what’s in it for them, your copy will always fall on deaf ears (or eyes).
Reminds me of the main lesson in Story Brand from Donald Miller:
You’re the guide to your customers’ hero’s journeys.
You ain’t the hero, cap’n.
And if you don’t answer the fundamental “What's in it for me?” question?
You won’t make as many sales, enjoy as much freedom, or have as much peace of mind as your otherwise coulda.
Sumtin to ponder.
And implement to a ruthless degree.
Onto bidness:
You might be wondering what’s in it for you if’n we work together.
Well, lemme tellya:
1. More moolah coming in every single month (without you doing any extra work).
2. Building a stronger bond with your audience, so they scarf down anything you offer.
3. Improving the value of your company if’n you’d ever wanna sell it. (In fact, the more active buyers on your email, the more you can sell your company for. You can even just sell your list of buyers for absurd prices in many cases.)
4. Boosting your peace of mind because you don’t have to worry about email (or any of the technical aspects that come with it).
5. Wiping away your worry about the coming recession’s impact on your business.
6. Creating more content which you can repurpose (without lifting a single finger).
And the list goes on.
One of my clients even got out from under his mountain high credit card debt that took decades to accumulate in as little as a couple years.
What say you?
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