Chapter 5 - Write for Your Ideal Customer
If I could be you and you could be me for just one hour we could find a
way to get inside each other’s mind
--Lyric from "Walk A Mile In My Shoes," Joe South, 1970's Hit
Got your MWR firmly planted in your brain?
Fantastic! Have you also made notes from your assignment about those six key components -- MWR, Opening Headline, Opening Paragraph, Sub-headings, links to the MWR, and Body Copy?
What do you mean by "The dog ate it”? If you have not yet done so, review the example site now (http://auctions.sitesell.com/). You'll learn a lot more, if you do the exercise. Or if you cannot identify with auctions, go to http://find.sitesell.com/. Find your type of business there and click to that site and review its sales copy.
Read it with the following in mind... How are these words affecting me? What are these words trying to do? See how the copy is trying to get into the targeted customer's mindset.
Okay, we're ready to work on the foundation for a successful e-biz…
Surprised? Are you thinking to yourself?...
”Where's the keyboard action?”
”What about formatting?”
”No headline creation?”…
Well, just like most things in life, you can't skip to the front of the line, without some unpleasant consequences. Effective PREselling and selling are no different. Every word-headline-sentence-paragraph has a persuasive role to play… a powerfully persuasive role.
A firm foundation is critical for whatever actions you take from now on. So let's go back to ground level. Your business, whether it is...
• big or small,
• pioneer or mature,
• high-tech or labor-intensive,
• top-end or bargain-basement,
... depends on the perceived value of your product (or service) by your customers.
If they do not see a benefit or "what's in it for them," then their relationship with you will go no further. Your prospective customers will look elsewhere. And your competitors are always willing and waiting to greet them.
How do you prevent this?
Know your target or ideal customer first... put yourself in her shoes and get inside her head…
He represents the majority of people who would be specifically interested in your product or service. No tire-kickers… no curious cruisers… just prospects with a specific interest in your specific business. You have to understand her thoughts and feelings, figure out her personality type, sense what makes her tick.
Basically, you have to get inside her head. Once you know your customer, you can anticipate her wants, appeal to the right emotions and show her how your product/service will benefit her. We both know what happens then. Value always outweighs financial cost in a shopper's mind.
You PREsell by providing valuable content! Then, and only then, you sell by providing valuable benefits. A satisfied customer becomes a lifetime customer, as long you “overdeliver” on everything you say and do.
On the Net, you don't have the luxury of face-to-face contact or a slow pace to get to know your customers. That's why it's critical to develop a thumbnail sketch of your target or ideal customer before you begin to write any copy on your Web site. Remember your words are like a virtual salesperson, behind the counter or stationed in the aisle.
Your sales copy has to make your ideal customer feel that you are talking to her, one-on-one, welcoming her, providing attentive service and fulfilling her wants. You cannot write effectively unless you know her mindset.
Oh, by the way... when we talk about a customer, as you may have noticed, we use the feminine pronouns (he, her). Why? Two reasons…
1) To jar your thinking -- we are all so used to reading "he" and "his." Reading the female pronouns will remind you to think that people, males and females, will be reading your words.
2) To drive home the fact that women account for up to 80% of purchases on the Net (depending on your niche, of course). "Normal" use of the male pronouns would keep you "thinking male."
A thumbnail sketch of your ideal customer, paints a picture in your mind of whom you are dealing with... and more importantly, to whom you are writing. Success will not come if you write for yourself. You don't need to be persuaded. You already know and love your product/service (or those that you represent). Write for your target customer…her needs, wants, worries, interests.
Boil your target down to a single, ideal customer. Picture her. Now write for her. Thinking of a single person automatically helps your copy feel "one-to-one" as you write. If you think of thousands of people as you write, your copy will take on an impersonal, broadcast" tone. You know her best so talk to her!
Want to see this approach in action? Jim Nelson juggles his words perfectly. Visit his site and see for yourself…http://www.jugglenow.com/
Let’s proceed to the next level of this “customer-first” approach …
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