It’s the last thing anyone wants to have happen as a marketer or business owner, and yet so many people manage to do it. You come up with a great idea, you get excited, you whip up what you think is going to be a killer advertising campaign, you hype up your product for weeks, spend a small fortune on ads, execute a totally failsafe launch and … bam! The entire thing falls flat.
What went wrong?
Now, I don’t want to point fingers or start making accusations, but, seriously, I think it might behoove you to take an honest and sincere look at a few things and figure out if how you’re presenting your message is making people not believe it.
What Tone Are Your Words Setting?
I want you to go, right now, and have a look at one of your landing pages. Pick one that was a real dud and give it a good once over. It’s all right. I’ll wait.
There. Now ask yourself: Does that page full of super-huge fonts, insane colors, and a cacophony of unbelievable superlatives look as good a month later as it did when your adrenaline was flowing over your launch a month ago?
OK, maybe I’m assuming too much. Maybe you’re thinking that all of that is just peachy and you’re a little miffed that I’m sitting here insulting your hard work.
Maybe you’re thinking that the page would probably work fine if you had a different sales funnel leading to it. Maybe it’s time to tweak your list a little and send the right people to the right pages. Maybe it’s not as bad as I’m making it out to be.
Well, for starters, I’m critiquing, not insulting. I’d like to think you read the headline and thought, even for a second, that the answer might be “yes†and decided, on that basis, to keep reading.
My job now is to tell you why the answer is “yes†and show you how to fix the problem. I will also grant you that any marketing strategy is going to elicit response from somebody. I mean, you didn’t get zero conversions off that landing page, right? It worked to a degree.
Here’s the problem, though: If it only appeals to a small segment of your list, you’re going to get an even smaller segment to actually click through. Not everyone who likes the notion of what you’re selling is going to want to spend money on it.
That is precisely why you need to figure out how to balance out your enthusiasm with a more appealing message, and that means knowing what words to use and how to use them. Of equal importance is knowing what words not to use and staying away from them.
No, there are no specific words that universally attract or repel, but the way you use your words is vital to your ability to get your message across to as many people as possible in the most believable way possible.
Here are a few ways to avoid repelling customers with your words, regardless of the kind of copy you’re writing. These principles work for articles, blogs, landing pages, and a host of other applications where the printed word is doing the selling.
1. Stick to the facts
It’s perfectly fine to posture your product as the best in its market, but simply telling people it’s the best and that they can’t live without it isn’t going to win over anyone. You will get much further providing an honest and objective assessment of the product. List the things it can do for the customer. Identify the problem(s) it will solve and briefly explain why.
2. Avoid Text Bricks
People aren’t going to take the time to read 2,000 words on a landing page. It’s not enough to make the information available; you have to direct attention to it in a way that feels organic, not hyped.
Huge headlines on bright backgrounds using explosive colors and annoying graphics won’t get the job done. Well-placed, well-worded headlines or short, increased-font sentences will.
Remember, people don’t read; they skim. Direct their attention to the most important parts of your message and grab their interest without confronting them with the marketing equivalent of “War and Peace.â€
3. Avoid Overused Phrases
Again, saying that your product is “top rate†isn’t going to convince anyone. What makes it “top rate†or “the best†or “number one?†List the key benefits as headings or bullets and describe them objectively.
If you really think you can pull this off, just do a quick Google search for “amazing breakthrough†(use the quotes), and see what happens.
Avoid using superlatives or colorful adjectives. People will be far more prone to respond positively to a product billed as “an effective stain-fighting additive for most common household cleaners,†than they ever will be to one touted as, “the last and best line of defense against even the nastiest of stains.†Do you want people to respond with, “Oh, really?†or, “Yeah, whatever…†when they read your descriptions?
Finally, don’t describe your product as “groundbreaking,†“pioneering,†or “innovative†if it isn’t any of the above. The super-absorbent towel has been marketed before. It’s not innovative. Forget about the innovation behind it. Make it clear, in objective terms, how it will make people’s lives easier, and tell them why they should buy it from you.
4. Curb Your Enthusiasm
If you come across as overexcited about the subject, most people won’t take what you have to say about it seriously. Yes, it’s important to communicate that you believe in your message, but the more you do to prove how much you believe it, the less believable it becomes.
You might think your product is “amazing,†but if you can’t imagine customers reacting like they’ve been handed the Holy Grail upon unboxing it, maybe it would be best to focus on the emotions it is more likely to elicit. Show your customers that you relate to their pain; don’t try to cram ideas into their heads about how they should feel about the product.
5. Create Realistic Expectations
If your copy promises “fast delivery or top-notch customer support,†you had best be ready to show evidence in the form of money-back guarantees, access to customer feedback, or other means of qualifying your claims. Without that, you should probably keep the focus on the product and not create a picture in the customer’s head that will lead to disappointment down the line.
6. Avoid Internet Jargon
People have heard enough about how products “leverage the power of†things or how they “alleviate the agony of†other things. Keep your message simple and conversational and avoid buzzwords. Simple, straightforward objectivity will gain you trust and increase those all-important conversions.
Now Take a Second Look
Since I’ve now got you thinking about how to best present your message, why not have a look at that landing page again and see if there might be a few things that need a little tweaking? If you don’t think you’re getting it right, you might want to enlist the help of a copywriting company or someone who offers custom writing services to give it a onceover. It’s usually pretty inexpensive, and the ROI can be huge if you give your own writing just a slight professional polish.