It's Not What You Say, It's How You Say It: 3 Factors To Watch Out For
If there’s one thing about copywriting that a lot of people don’t understand, it’s that they don’t realize that it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.
Because you need to realize that in order to get the sale, you have to relate to your target audience.
Let me give you an example.
#1 – Differentiating Between Features And Benefits
If you’re talking to gardeners trying to promote a product that does the tilling for them (I only give this example because I’m starting my garden this weekend) – there’s no point in telling them the FEATURES of a specific tilling tool.
You’re not going to say, “this device contains 3 long blades, rubber handles and a rotating device which churns up the dirt more than a pitchfork can”.
You’re going to tell them that the rotating device which churns up the dirt more than a pitchfork is so great because it saves you the pain of jamming your foot onto the pitchfork (which makes your feet hurt at the end of the day), risking back injury, and reducing or eliminating exhaustion later in the day. You’ll say that the 3 long blades slice through the dirt like butter and get deep into the dirt so you can mix up the nutrients, leaving a long-lasting healthy garden each and every year without the worrying of the soil losing it’s nutrients leaving you with a lack of luscious vegetables to eat.
In both examples I’m essentially saying the same thing, but the second example is much more powerful because as I said, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.
In the second example I’m relating it to their frustrations they have while tilling up the soil every year. I’m being understand and showing them that I truly care about them
#2 – This Goes Especially Well For Video
Since video is becoming so popular on the web, I figured I’d give another example just to make this more clear.
Video #1 – The person is talking about how to lose weight and offers a really valuable tip that the person has probably never heard before. The tip is a study they found showing that fasting for 24 hours doesn’t actually cause muscle loss. In this video they simply continue the same conversation in a normal tone just like every other part of the video, not emphasizing the fact that they just shared an incredible tip.
Video #2 – As they come to the part about fasting, all of a sudden their eyes light up and their voice gets more pronounced. They use hand gestures showing this is an amazing tip and really play on the fact that they just gave you some incredible information.
Which of those do you think will have a bigger impact on you?
#3 – Watching Out For The Ambiguity Blunder
Have you ever been talking to someone and said something and they took it the wrong way?
For example, maybe you were giving them a compliment but for some reason they took it as an insult? Or maybe you were telling them a story and they took it to mean a completely different thing than you were trying to convey?
This is because of ambiguous language, and you have to look out for it.
One thing I like to do before I finalize a piece of copy is look for any ambiguous language within the copy. Look line by line, paragraph by paragraph and ask yourself “is there any other way to interpret this than the way I’m trying to convey the message?”
If so, change it immediately.
You want the person reading to only interpret the copy as you intend, and you have to look for spots which that might be a problem.
Because if they take it the wrong way they’ll either get offended or confused – and both of those emotions will cause a loss of a sale!
So keep those 3 factors in mind the next time you’re writing a piece of copy and you’ll be much better off!
