Sales. Ooh. Scary. I know – people recoil when you use the word sales. Let’s address that concept before we deal with direct response copy.
Sales is NOT about being pushy and in your face and convincing someone to do or buy something they don’t really want, that doesn’t help them and makes you money and does nothing for them.
Not at all. But – and this is a BIG BUT – I bet you associate some of those concepts with sales.
Sales is simply filling needs. I need a new refrigerator; you help me find the one that fits my needs, my budget and my aesthetics.
I need a new computer and you learn how I use a computer. Do I need it to be portable? Do I play games or do graphic work? Do I own programs that take up a lot of disk space? Do I use it just for writing or listening to music or watching videos?
Once you learn my needs, you find the machine that will become my new best friend and you show me all its’ features. Oh, it’s perfect, but weighs too much? How about this model. A little more expensive but 3 pounds lighter? Don’t like the screen size? Budget isn’t a problem you say? Well, let’s take a look at the XYZ. I have needs, you have solutions, you don’t push, you consult.
See the difference? Direct response copywriting does the same job with words. We find problems and we provide solutions. Sure, it goes deeper.
We need to know what the problems are and then understand the symptoms of the problem. If I’m writing for a product that cures baldness, I’m not writing about not having hair, I’m writing about the pain that not having hair causes. It makes him feel less virile; he looks older, feels less attractive and powerful.
We tell him how HairGro for Men will make him feel more attractive in 30 days, will make him feel almost as if he’s 2 inches taller. He’ll be turning heads as he walks down the street. That’s digging deeper to the emotion behind the need.
Direct response ALWAYS has a purpose, a call to action, a way to buy, to order, to make the appointment. It’s the very definition of direct response. It works and it’s an in-demand skill that can build a fantastic copywriting career and an excellent income.
And, you can learn how to master the skills in our comprehensive online course: Mastering Direct Response Copywriting.
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