Remember watching The Karate Kid for the first time?
Daniel, the new kid in the neighborhood, is repeatedly targeted by some hard-core bullies. To defend himself, he trains for a karate tournament with Miyagi as his mentor.
And in the famous climactic scene where he assumes the “crane” stance, he pushes through intense pain and is declared the winner! Everyone cheers. Daniel gets the girl and the respect of his nemesis.
Daniel is the hero.
Miyagi is just the guide who helps Ralph earn his hero status.
Like Miyagi, our role is to make our customers the hero...we just help them get what they really want.
Zig Ziglar said that when you’re selling, remember that you can get everything you want in life if you simply help enough other people get what they want.
So with that, here are the top two secrets to writing copy that sells without being salesy:
Here’s the Twist: We’ve already established that you’re not the hero. You’re the guide. But to be believable and worthy of your customers’ trust, you have to share your story in a way that’s relevant to them.
If you’re selling a course that teaches how to become productive, your story could say something like this:
I know exactly how you feel. Every year I made a resolution to wake up at 5am and get a jump-start on my day...and for the last five years, I haven’t lasted for more than a few days. I felt like a complete failure.
2. SELL THEM WHAT THEY WANT - GIVE THEM WHAT THEY NEEDI call this “pill-pocket marketing.” If you have a dog who has been sick, you know first-hand how impossible it is to get them to swallow a pill. But with a pill pocket (those yummy treats where you hide the pill inside) it’s a snap. They get what they want (the treat) and they get what they need (the medicine.)
Here’s the Twist: This is where you can go one step further – sell them on the transformation! Show them what their life will be like if they do purchase your product. Explain what the alternative is if they don’t. And don’t skimp on details.
If you sell an exercise product for middle-aged women, try this approach:
Paint a picture of how they’ll feel when they can with wear a bathing suit this summer with confidence for the first time in years. How they’ll feel when their husband takes a second and third look when they come down the steps for date night.
And then describe the opposite scenario. If they don’t get their weight under control, they’ll need to stay on their blood pressure medicine and run the risk of side-effects. Most likely they’ll go another summer making excuses to not join in when the rest of the family hits the beach. And they’ll continue to worry that they aren’t attractive to their spouse like they used to be.
Many years ago, famous copywriter John E. Kennedy (no...not the President) said that all advertising copy is just “salesmanship in print.“
He’s right. Every marketing effort in your arsenal involves copywriting…emails, webinars, sales pages, podcasts, videos, blog posts, tweets. And the job of marketing is to sell.
But if no one connects with your message...if no one reads your emails or watches your videos or listens to your podcasts and says, “They get me. They understand what I’m dealing with. They’ve been where I am and they found a solution. I want to have the life/the business they have” you won’t get the results you want.
What is your story that your customers can relate to? How can you be the Miyagi to their Daniel?
Seize the day!
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