Writing in the language of your customer

When I stood up at my first networking meeting and announced that I was a copywriter, I was met with blank faces all round – apart from those already in the know.

Afterwards I realised that I had done exactly what I encourage people not to do. I had talked about what I offer in the language of my industry, when I should have been talking in the language of my audience. So this is what I said at the second meeting …

I see myself as an interpreter. I help businesses translate all that they see as fabulous about their products and services into reasons why people would want to buy from them. And when we’ve got that sorted, I help them get the words right for their web site, brochures, newsletters, case studies, ads – just about anything that helps to sell.

Take the example of the two leaflets advertising massages and therapies. The one lists all the services that the therapist provides – deep tissue massage, Indian head massage etc etc, and leaves the reader to work out what they want. The other lists the issues that the customer wants to address – sports issues, pregnancy pains, stress … This therapist is talking about what she does from the point of view of what the customer needs. And she will be more successful in getting business in.

Take a look at what you say about your business. And then consider if you’re selling the benefits. Will it make them feel good, or save them money, or save them time? The more steps you can fill in for your audience, the more likely they are to buy.

You can read more in-depth articles about copywriting on the Wrightwell web site blog

Write what you know. It makes more sense

Are you an expert in your field? Do you get asked to write about what you know by your marketing department? How do you go about that task?

I ask because I find so many times that people write what they think they should write, not what they know.

Marketing departments ask me to help shape knowledge into words that make sense to customers. The expert has put together the first cut, and it's complex, convoluted and sprinkled with jargon.

So I get on the phone to the expert to get a better understanding of what they're saying. After all, if I can't understand it, I can't explain it to an audience.

Nearly every time, the expert explains the story to me lucidly, and answers my questions clearly. They could have used those words to write their piece. Writing doesn't have to be that far apart from speaking. Don't be afraid to write as you would talk, just with a little more polish.

Five things I will want to talk you out of putting in your newsletter

1. We've rebranded the company and have a fantastic new web site to show for it
2. We've just returned from a brilliant golfing holiday to Portugal with our top 2% of customers
3. We have two new receptionists and an office manager and here are their happy, smiling faces
4. Please fill in this extensive survey
5. If you want more information, just go to our web site and see if you can find it

You can talk me back into any of them by successfully completing the following sentence...

“And this will benefit you my customer because …”

Tips on brochure writing

Have just been helping a new client with their brochure copy. They had already written the text, but recognised that it wasn't quite there. Two things stood out to me as needing attention:
- it was very wordy
- it was about the client, not about their customers

It's very easy to write too much. If you've ever had to write an essay of at least x number of words, you know how easy it is to pad your story with repetition and deviation. When you're writing to sell, you need to go the other way. Pare your words down to the minimum and keep your sentences short. It's the fastest way to get your message across.

It's equally common to start a brochure from the wrong point of view. You're writing about what you do, so you start with a description of your business and what you offer. But if you want to attract custom, you need to turn that on your head, and write from the buyer's perspective. What do they need or want, and how do you meet that need? Then you can start talking about the unique aspects of your proposition that make you a better supplier than anyone else. Anything about corporate vision, company mission, organisational strategy - save it for your web site.