the link is here.
Business-to-business copy persuades readers by giving them useful information about the products being advertised. The more facts you include in your copy, the better.
When you have a file full of facts at your fingertips, writing good copy is easy. You simply select the most relevant facts and describe them in a clear, concise, direct fashion.
But when copywriters don’t bother to dig for facts, they fall back on fancy phrases and puffed-up expressions to fill the empty space on the page. The words sound nice, but they don’t sell because the copy doesn’t inform.
Here’s a four-step procedure I use to get the information I need to write persuasive, fact-filled copy for my clients. This technique should be helpful to copywriters, account executives, and ad managers alike.
Step #1: Get all previously published material on the product.For an existing product, there’s a mountain of content you can send to the copywriter as background information. This material includes:
Step #2: Ask questions about the product.
Business-to-business copy persuades readers by giving them useful information about the products being advertised. The more facts you include in your copy, the better.
When you have a file full of facts at your fingertips, writing good copy is easy. You simply select the most relevant facts and describe them in a clear, concise, direct fashion.
But when copywriters don’t bother to dig for facts, they fall back on fancy phrases and puffed-up expressions to fill the empty space on the page. The words sound nice, but they don’t sell because the copy doesn’t inform.
Here’s a four-step procedure I use to get the information I need to write persuasive, fact-filled copy for my clients. This technique should be helpful to copywriters, account executives, and ad managers alike.
Step #1: Get all previously published material on the product.For an existing product, there’s a mountain of content you can send to the copywriter as background information. This material includes:
- Tear-sheets of previous ads
- Brochures
- Catalogs
- Article reprints
- Technical papers
- Copies of speeches
- Audio-visual scripts
- Press kits
- Swipe files of competitors’ ads and literature
- Blog posts
- Web site URL
- Online ads
- Landing pages
- Internal memos
- Letters of technical information
- Product specifications
- Engineering drawings
- Business and marketing plans
- Reports
- Proposals
Step #2: Ask questions about the product.
- What are its features and benefits? (Make a complete list, say, of Adobe Photoshop.)
- Which benefit is the most important?
- How is the product different from the competition’s? (Which features are exclusive? Which are better than the competition’s?)
- If the product isn’t different, what attributes can be stressed that haven’t been stressed by the competition?
- What technologies does the product compete against?
- What are the applications of the product?
- What industries can use the product?
- What problems does the product solve in the marketplace?
- How is the product positioned in the marketplace?
- How does the product work?
- How reliable is the product?
- How efficient?
- How economical?
- Who has bought the product and what do they say about it?
- What materials, sizes and models is it available in?
- How quickly does the manufacturer deliver the product?
- What service and support does the manufacturer offer?
- Is the product guaranteed?
- Who will buy the product? (What markets is it sold to?)
- What is the customer’s main concern? (Price, delivery, performance, reliability, service maintenance, quality efficiency)
- What is the character of the buyer?
- What motivates the buyer?
- How many different buying influences must the copy appeal to? Two tips on getting to know your audience:
If you are writing an ad, read issues of the magazine in which the ad will appear.
If you are writing direct mail, find out what mailing lists will be used and study the list descriptions.
- To generate inquiries
- To generate sales
- To answer inquiries
- To qualify prospects
- To transmit product information
- To build brand recognition and preference
- To build company image
Bob Bly
Copywriter, Consultant and Seminar Leader
31 Cheyenne Dr. Montville, NJ 07045
Phone 973-263-0562, Fax 973-263-0613
email: rwbly@bly.com
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