Yep, I am jumping on the Valentine’s Day bandwagon with this post. I have been saying this a lot lately, so I thought I should say it to you: Compelling copy is a love letter to your ideal client.
As one client was teasing me about my “dinosaur website” – and I don’t deny that it needs a visual refresh – I got a new client from said website who complimented me, saying my copy was “sharp.”
He was a former advertising executive, so I asked him to tell me more.
He said he knew exactly who I worked with and what I did for my clients from my website. He recognized he was an ideal client for me and then he paid to work with me – bingo!
And while there are a zillion people who will give you copy hacks or swipe copy or whatever, I think the easiest (and most effective) way to develop copy is to write a love letter telling your ideal client why you want to work with them and the outcome they will get from working with you.
Create a persona to write to
I was having a super frustrating call with a client. For the life of me, I could not get him to dial in on WHO his ideal client was. He was all over the map and wasn’t giving me any juicy specifics.
No ideal client equals bland and dismissable copy.
So, being me, I dropped into a rant about how Kyle needed him.
My client was confused. He didn’t know who Kyle was.
I said Kyle had been an inside sales rep for 2 years, had done really well, and was recently promoted to sales executive. He was married with two young kids, and while he knew he was good at sales, this was a different kind of selling.
I said that Kyle needed his help! Kyle needed his 20+ years of experience in sales and how he had personally made this job transition and been successful.
The light bulb went on. What he would say to Kyle came pouring out and turned into a brilliant presentation. Boom!
Create an imaginary adversary
Sometimes it can be helpful to have an imaginary adversary and hold this persona up as what you are not (or what your client is not). Comparison can be very helpful – you’re this, they’re that.
I was working with a social media expert who was trying to better articulate her value and what differentiated her from her competition.
We created “Britney” who was a junior social media professional. We got very clear on what Britney could do well and what she might not know, and how organizations that were in highly regulated industries, like financial services, could get big fines for not being in compliance with regulations for social media posts.
I am sorry to report that we totally threw “Britney” under the bus – but our talking points got crystal clear in no time.
When you know who you are talking to (ideal client), or who you or your client is not (adversary), your copy becomes fiercely personal, relevant, and magnetic.
Your ideal clients will think you are inside their head – because you are!
