Every experienced copywriter has a few trustworthy tricks up their sleeve when it comes to crafting and editing copy. As you develop your copywriting skills, it helps to be aware of a few basic shortcuts that can help you balance and refine your copy. Read on to find out about one of these insights: highlighting benefits over features.
What’s the difference between benefits and features?
No matter what you are writing about, the goal of copywriting is always to motivate your audience to act. Whether you want them to purchase a new appliance, buy tickets to a show, open an email, or listen to a podcast, the emphasis is on action. Copywriters achieve this by writing about a particular feature (the item they’re trying to “sell”) and then demonstrating its the benefits from utilizing the feature.
Features
Sometimes the feature you are writing about is easy to distinguish. For example, if you are creating a billboard campaign for a local childcare company, then the feature you are writing about is the childcare that viewers must be convinced to seek out. In this case, the feature is the product you are selling.
Sometimes, however, the feature of your copy may be more subtle. Let’s say you are tasked with writing an end-of-the-year recap email for a sportswear company’s subscriber list. There are a few sales offers embedded in the email, a story about how much the company has grown in the last year, and a brief interview with the CEO. For a project like this, you’ll want to home in on what exactly you are trying to feature.
Is the feature of your copy the sales offers? Is it the story? The interview? In this case, the feature of the email is most likely the story of the company’s success. Your goal as a copywriter is to demonstrate how well the company is doing so that patrons will continue supporting and buying products. The feature is not so much the specific products sold, but the chance for subscribers to feel like they are a part of an up-and-coming success—to be “in on the secret.”
When starting a new project, always make sure you know clearly what feature you are writing about.
Benefits
If features are the meat of the copy, benefits are the gravy. In other words, copywriters talk about benefits to make the features they’re writing about more enticing. The benefits create a sense of urgency and relevance in the reader’s mind.
Let’s return to the examples from before. If you are creating a billboard campaign for a childcare company, you know your feature is childcare. Now ask yourself, what is the benefit of this particular feature? Is the childcare more affordable? Is it easy to access and reliable? What will my audience gain if they access this feature right away? Answer these questions and you will know the benefits of your product.
The same applies for the previous example of the email. When brainstorming for such a project, you can ask yourself guiding questions like, What will the readers gain if they read to the end of the email? What will readers miss if they unsubscribe? What good things are predicted for this company that readers will benefit from if they continue to support?
Such questions can help you appreciate the benefits of your feature and relay that information to your audience. (see also: How to Write Copy That Sells – Use Benefits)
Why does it help to highlight benefits over features in your copy?
Now that you understand the basics of benefits and features, you can turn a critical eye to the balance of these two elements in your copy.
Although it may seem counterintuitive, great copywriters know the secret here: emphasize the benefits more and the features less. You may want to dive into the details of your product, show all the bells and whistles of what you’re trying to sell. But this will bore most of your audience! Leave the work of descriptions to the label. Your job is to show how valuable the product is.
Remember, your audience must feel a sense of urgency when reading your copy. They need to know how acting immediately will benefit them. Whether monetary, experiential, social, or otherwise, your product will improve their lives and they need to know it.
It will take practice to find the right balance. Remember that the key is to establish the feature succinctly, and then dive into all the benefits.
Examples of ad campaigns that highlight benefits over features
To get a sense of how you can strike that perfect balance between benefits and features, take a look at these successful ad campaigns that hit the mark year after year.
Geico’s “15 minutes could save 15% or more”
There is probably no better example of an ad campaign that highlights benefits over features than Geico Car Insurance ads. The slogan, “15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance” is common to anyone who has watched television in the last fifteen years.
Notice how the Geico commercials never went very deep into what exactly their insurance covered, or how enrollment worked. It would put their audience to sleep! Instead, the emphasis was on the money patrons would save—in other words, the benefits of the product. This ad created a perfect balance. It gave the audience just enough information about the featured car insurance to call Geico and enroll, and then spent the rest of the time reiterating the guaranteed savings.
The McDonald’s Dollar Menu
Another classic example of benefits over features is the McDonald’s Dollar Menu and the ads created for it. Once again, the features are simple—smaller portioned burgers and fries—while the benefits take center stage. The Dollar Menu is all about getting more food for less money.
The ads for buying off the Dollar Menu focus on how much variety there is for such a low price. Instead of talking about all the different flavors and ingredients in different products, the viewers (and eaters) are shown all the perks of buying off the menu. You get more bang for your buck, and cash in on this high value product.
Volkswagen: Think Small
An oldie, but a goodie, the Volkswagen: Think Small ad campaigns of the late 50s and early 60s were a revolution in marketing cars. The posters showed a small image of a VW Beetle with accompanying text about the benefits of driving a smaller car. This encouraged drivers to rethink their next car purchase and opt for a more economical vehicle.
The campaign masterfully demonstrated one feature of the new car—it’s small size—with a simple picture. Then, instead of going on and on about the power of the engine or other specifics, the ad focused on how a driver’s quality of life would improve when they started driving a small car. Drivers would have better higher gas-mileage, cheaper repairs, easier parking, and other perks.
The ads made a case for the great benefits of the car and it worked.
Find more examples of powerful ad campaigns from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s at the SF School of Copywriting website.
Tips to get started
Now that you understand the difference between features and benefits, and have some ideas for how to use them, it’s time to apply the practice to your copywriting. Here are some tips you can keep in mind while you write. Each tip will help you find that proper balance between benefits and features.
– Get clear on what you are featuring in your copywriting. It should be short and sweet.
– Think about who your audience is when you’re writing. Ask yourself, how will what I am featuring be beneficial to my audience?
– Don’t skip out on brainstorming! Allow yourself time to get the creative juices flowing so you can write compelling copy.
– Make your readers feel good about buying your product. Remember, if they feel good about it, they’ll want to act.
– Give enough information about your feature to keep it interesting, but don’t get bogged down in details.
When you see ads or read other writers’ copy, see if you can discern the features and benefits that they are writing about. This will help you refine your skills even more. Follow these steps and you will notice the positive changes in your copywriting.
Highlight benefits over features and get published!
Now that you’ve gained a great copywriting tool, try it out. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it right away. If you want support in developing your copywriting, take a class at the San Francisco School of Copywriting. You can take classes online at your own pace, and get support from experienced copywriters who have been working in the field for several years.
Take time to build up your skills and practice. You will see the benefits in your writing sooner than you think!
Leave a Reply