About a month ago, I stumbled onto a site called Enchanting Marketing.
Personally, if I was naming the business, I probably would have gone with “Enchanted Marketing.” But that’s me. I don’t like too many “ing” words back to back unless they’re part of a list.
When it comes to writing sales copy though, here’s the thing… That’s me. Maybe it’s even “just me.” Or maybe it’s me and a bunch of other people you don’t have to worry about.
Maybe we’re not your intended audience. And as Enchanting Marketing writes on its “How to Write Persuasive Sales Copy” page:
Sales copy aims to persuade a reader to take a specific action – to buy a product, inquire about your service, join your email list, download a free report, or follow you on social media.
For the purpose of this post, the key term you should be focusing on is “a reader.”
The right reader.
Your reader.
When it comes to writing sales copy, there’s a difference between just any reader and the right reader.
Stupid, obvious statement?
True. But people ignore stupid, obvious statements, signs and warnings all the time.
Everyone knows the risk of dating a bad girl or bad boy, for instance. The chances of “turning” that person to the light are a lot smaller than the chances of getting hurt.
Yet how many of us have gone out with the wrong person anyway, even after seeing all the signs?
Likewise, how many of us understand how healthy it would be to look away from our computer screens or phone screens or TV screens more often? Yet how many of us keep right on staring at screens anyway, even after our vision starts to get blurry?
In other words, bear with me. This information is worth reading.
Because this information is about to tell you how to identify your ideal reader – the reader who will actually buy whatever you’re selling.
Back when I was working for “the man,” the company in question knew its ideal reader was a conservative, older, white male. And let me tell you, they got into that guy’s shoes for all he and anyone like him was worth.
Which, for the record, was hundreds of millions.
This company’s sales copy very often would center around retirement. Retirement headlines worked for that crowd, let me tell you. Because that’s what conservative, older white males are often interested in.
If you’re interested in writing sales copy that makes a mint, stop trying to please everyone. Figure out who your ideal reader is instead.
What’s their age, if any? What’s their gender, if any? What’s their ethnicity, if any?
How about their occupation, their frustrations, their likes and dislikes, their dreams?
Don’t worry about being politically incorrect in targeting what you’re pushing at a certain group. Worry about being unethical, but not politically incorrect.
Your ideal reader doesn’t see himself or herself as a non-PC entity, and neither should you.
Your sales copy won’t work on everyone because it’s not meant for everyone. Because it’s selling something that not everyone wants or needs or cares about.
Get that into your sales copy-writing head. And, once you do, never let it go.