When your customers visit your website, they immediately want to know–amongst other things–what your product will do for them before they continue reading and commit any more scroll time and attention to you.
What they want to know is how many of these four things your product can do for them: help them do something, gain something or save something.
The fourth?
They’re looking for signs to see what they can become by using your product or service.
This is about their identity and there are seven things you can address in your copy that spell out clearly how they’ll be a better version of themselves if they purchase your product.
To be a good parent
Most people, at least those who are parents, want to be good parents.
But it's also fair to say that it's tough being a parent–it's always been a hard job.
You don’t get an instruction manual–it's not like when the baby comes out, the baby hands you a printed book of instructions.
At the same time, you don't just get one instruction manual–you end up getting many at the same time and they may end up giving you contradictory advice.
There are expert book series on parenting and childcare. There are spoken manuals, like grandparents, neighbors and anyone who always thinks they’re right. Plus, there are countless other manuals, influences, philosophies, ideas you need to contend with.
Every parent goes through some version of this and their greatest fear is that they're not being a good mom or a good dad, or not being good enough (since nobody really knows what to do most of the time anyway, even if they were sure they do.)
Kids always provide enough random, unexpected stuff to challenge the confidence you think you have… This means anything you as a business owner can offer to help parents feel more confident that they're doing a good job or doing the right thing will appeal to a huge number of people.
Your product doesn't even have to do anything with parenting.
In this instance, you can make the case that by learning a particular skill from your course, app or service, you will make them a better role model for their kids.
Suppose you have a course on fly-fishing–that doesn't seem to have very much to do with parenting.
But if mom or dad are going to be a fly-fisher person, they would want to model this properly for little Tod or Jenny. You can emphasize the being a good parent identity in your copy as one of your benefits, even if it’s not the main benefit.
“By the time little Tod wants to learn to fly-fish, you'll be better at it. So you'll be a better dad.”
Who wouldn’t want that?
SUVs, minivan commercials and peanut butter brands have all used reinforcing being a good parent in their marketing because it’s a sure way to tap into the desires of identity.
To be sociable and hospitable
Perhaps you’re an introvert and you don’t know why anyone would want to aspire to these identities. But people do!
Otherwise, why would they be buying things like Weber grills? You know, the ones cooking up a dozen hamburgers at a time...
Of course, it's for being sociable and hospitable. Plus. Men can get competitive about their grills and their grilling ability. That also just goes to show you that competition and sociability go hand in hand, like a hot dog in a bun.
What else do social people love buying?
Breath mints are popular among social people so their breath smells just like a sprig of fresh mint. 95% of toothpastes are mint flavored–the mint flavor is not a preventative agent to fight against tooth decay–it's for breath freshening and it appeals to our sociable identity.
Have you ever heard of a guest bedroom?
Of course. Everyone has.
Most people have guest bedrooms, which is a marketing name the developer or the realtor gives to one of the bedrooms to acknowledge how hospitable the future homeowner will be.
It sounds so much more sociable than having a third bedroom or fourth bedroom.
Always consider how you can help your prospect see how they would become more sociable and hospitable when they have and use your product.
To be creative
The urge to be creative and to express that creativity is something a lot of people have, and something that as a marketer or business owner you can cash in on.
People go into business not so much to make money, or even to be free from a job but to express and realize their vision–they’re painters, and their business is a combination of paints, brush and canvas.
Creativity doesn’t mean it has to have a star quality to it, that you have to make it in Hollywood, the music industry or the media.
Marketers and business owners don't always realize the full scope of activities people engage in. Besides running a business to express their creativity, there are a lot of things people do that aren't glamorous or recognized by the media masters are still creative. And because these things are not deemed as glamorous by people, we don't realize they're creative.
Restoring cars is very creative but not seen as cool as being a movie star in popular culture. Neither is knitting, cooking, and woodworking. So whether you have a product that is for an obviously creative purpose, or not, remember that people generally want to be creative.
The more you can appeal to that urge, the better off you are likely to speak to their creative identity.
To be proud of one’s possessions
Maybe it’s not your thing, but people love luxury items such as Rolex watches, Mercedes cars, Honma golf clubs…
… yes, people really buy 14 golf clubs for a cool 75 grand…
But possessions don't have to be expensive for people to be proud of them. Think of family heirlooms, antique grandfather clocks, or jewelry that has more sentimental than monetary value…
… quilts, grandma’s iron skillets, commemorative coins, medals, dolls, and sculptures.
And thus, If you can highlight the power of collectability in your copy and can launch your products as part of a collection, you’ll do well.
This works for all types of products and services!
McDonald's put the toys in Happy Meals, and people bought a bunch of Happy Meals just so they could get the whole line of the Batman toys that came out for the 1980s Batman movie.
Can you figure out a way to incorporate collectability into the selling appeal in your copy or into the positioning of your product or service?
It's a very powerful appeal.
To be influential over others
In case this isn't obvious to you, let’s update the wording to 2022 and see if this instantly turns on a light bulb in your head...
Social media influencers.
People have wanted to have influence since the beginning of human time and you can use people's desire to be influential in your copy in a number of ways.
The most direct way to tap into this desire is in books, seminars, and courses on persuasion.
But there are less direct ways you can do this.
Whatever vertical you’re in, you've probably noticed some mastermind groups imply that you'll become more influential when you join. In some cases, it’s likely to be true, because some of the other people in the group will give you status and influence by power of association.
The desire to influence is probably one of the biggest motivating factors for why people get into marketing, sales or copywriting in the first place.
To be efficient
Just about every technological innovation plays on this desire–most people want to be able to get things done faster.
For some, it's so they can get more done, for others so they can spend less time working and have more time to do other things.
A great example is the app Slack–which can replace email, text messaging, and direct messaging.
Or, another efficiency example is coffee machines–some are terribly complicated and take a long time to brew truly the world's most perfect cup of coffee or there's the Cuisinart grind and brew (which anyone can get on Amazon for a reasonable price). It grinds, brews and makes up to 12 cups of coffee fast–you pour the stuff in and push the button and you're off to the races.
People want to be efficient–how can you show your prospect that your product will make them more efficient? (*hint: everyone loves a template)
That should help your sales.
Be an authority
Why do people write a book?
The title of the person who writes a book, author, is the root of the word authority. They
both come from the Latin root auctoritatem, which means originator or promoter.
But regardless of the academic stuff, when you write a book, nine times out of ten you do so to become an authority on something by presenting information you had to gather, organize, synthesize and present–of course, you get all the recognition.
People put effort and resources into getting or creating something to become recognized as an authority.
These efforts include obtaining professional degrees where a doctor or lawyer is assumed by most people to be an authority. This is not to say recognition is the only reason for these professionals to do what they do but it definitely comes as part of the package.
Closely linked to wanting to influence others is public speaking which many are afraid of but willing to do because of influence. Being the person in the front of the room conveys an image that you’re a recognized authority.
On the periodic table of elements, gold is the authority of all precious metals. It’s listed as Au–it comes from the Latin word Aurum, which means to be shining down.
And thus, the term “authority” and the very beginning of it, the Au part, it's long rooted in our history.
When you want to be an authority figure, you want to be seen as the person shining down on the rest of the tribe or the rest of the community.
That's exactly what you do when you're speaking on stage.
How many ways can your product help your prospects be…
… a good parent, social and hospitable, creative, proud of your possessions, influential over others, efficient and recognized as an authority?
If you can just get one of them in your pitch, you'll do fine.