Far Too Many Copywriters Fail to Do This

Yesterday, I shared the first step on your roadmap to copywriting success. That tip and those that follow the rest of the week come direct from Clayton Makepeace – seven figure copywriter and living legend in our industry – who has a passion for helping the next generation of copywriters succeed.

Today, you’re going to discover the next major skill you’ll need. Mastering this one skill will go a long way to multiplying the selling power of every promotion you create for your clients … and increase your success rate, royalties, and income accordingly.

Clayton sees far too many new and experienced copywriters fail to do this. As a result, their copy is lukewarm at best. And it’s all because they didn’t go the “extra mile.”

So what is it?

Make your benefits sparkle.

Going beyond just features and tapping into the deeper, emotional benefits a product or service provides is the hallmark of an “A-level” copywriter. Clayton calls this “dimensionalizing” the benefit. You paint an emotional picture of how your prospect’s life is going to improve when he or she uses the product … and show them all the great emotions they’ll feel as a result.

Remember, we humans don’t buy solely on logic. We buy, for the large part, on emotion. Then, we use logic to rationalize the decision we just made.

The features of any product or service speak to the logical mind. Benefits start delving into the emotional realm. But to really cinch the sale, you’ll need to go even deeper, and show how the product will light up your prospect’s underlying, almost subconscious emotions.

These are the emotions they hold dear and close to their heart … those dreams, beliefs, fears, wants, etc. that almost no one knows about. Discovering what they are takes effort, but going this extra mile will pay off for you in spades.

The good news?

Clayton’s created a straightforward, systematic way to uncover these deeper benefits … and give them that polish and shine that’ll make your copy speak directly to the heart of your prospects.

  1. Write out a list of the product’s features.
  2. Write down why each feature exists … what is its purpose?
  3. Write down what the benefit is to each answer in step 2.
  4. Dimensionalize the benefit in step 3. Ask “What does that mean for the prospect?”

This is what the process would look like, if you were writing copy for a drill bit:

Feature: Constructed of carbon steel.

Why: Never wears out.

Benefit: The last drill bit you’ll ever buy.

Dimensionalized Benefit: You can save up to $75 a year in broken drill bits … hours of unnecessary trips to the hardware store … and hundreds of dollars in lost income!

That's a simple example. I strongly suggest you read the in-depth article Clayton’s written on how to do this. Check it out here.

My recommendation? Go through this process and practice it – even with products you find around the house – until it becomes second nature.

If you’ll do that, you’ll be well on your way to being head and shoulders above the competition … and squarely on the path to becoming a high-paid copywriter, living the writer’s life!

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Published: February 26, 2013

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