There are a few common pieces of copywriting advice that are similar. Copywriting is one of the bestkept secrets in the job market. Dec 05, 2012 one of the biggest traps a marketing writer can fall into is confusing features vs. Although closely linked, these two concepts are completely different animals, and if you dont consider user intent from the outset, even the most innovative, revolutionary products will fail to hit the mark. The reason is that to an insider, features are code words for what these things do for the customer. It might mean a watertight seal, 24hour service, or 8 gb of ram. Overcoming fears starting a business, talking to strangers, etc. Features versus benefits, a case study last week i talked about how many companies list features about their products but nothing about how it benefits their customers. Heres some suggestions to help you absorb this copywriting course effectively. This is a guest post from daniel from daily blog tips if you are interested in internet marketing, copywriting or even marketing in general, youve probably already heard the saying benefits sell, features dont, right. Copywriting and content marketing arent synonymous with one another, but theyre often used in the same context, which makes the terms highly confusing content marketing refers to writing. Copywriting is advertorial in nature as its intent is to pitch customers to use a brands products andor services. What would the benefits of something like this be like. I didnt really read the whole book yet because i was stopped in my tracks with the features and benefits part because thats what i was interested in most.
The best copywriting fuses the products and ideology of a brand together to create branding. Features advantages benefits fab features what you or your product can do. This copywriting formula highlights one of my favorite bits of advice on writing. Jul 11, 2016 copywriting is selling your personas on your brand. This is the process for extracting benefits from features that was outlined by our friends over at copyblogger. A stepbystep process to finding benefits in your features. Mar 15, 2010 my most challenging part of copywriting has always been writing features and benefits of a product.
Notice how when we talked about the features of the pen, it sounds like any. Use proof such as testimonials to get people to believe you. Overall, the description of your benefits should highlight your personas desired outcome. There really arent any disadvantages of copywriting in general unless you have some really bad copy. The secret to writing great marketing copy is market research. It is hard, as an example, for many businesses to translate what they do into language that means what they can do for the client. Benefits, on the other hand, show the advantages of a product or service how its features are useful, affordable, interesting, or productive to the reader.
Both features and benefits are equally important for effective advertising copy, but at the end of the day, it will be the benefits that give you the best advantages for converting customers. On the very first day of copywriter or sales 101 class, you will hear the featuresversusbenefits conflict. The rules help you create the right balance of features and benefits. The amount of users per account, pricing, integrations, etc. In todays post, well be taking a look at features versus benefits. Think of this next copywriting rule as the golden rule of online copy. Features something that your product is, has, does. The difference between features and benefits youtube. Fast preheating is a feature, because its a fact about the oven it explains what the oven does. Yes you need to be talking about the benefits of your product.
Benefits, on the other hand, are emotions and experiences the customer will gain from using your product. Jul 26, 2016 there is a big difference between features and benefits when it comes to copywriting and marketing. A benefit is the value of your product to a customer. You will hear the professor say that people buy because of benefits. The features are black ink, a felt tip, and it comes with a lid. In other words, while experienced perl masters might say perl 5 is great because you have access to the cpan, thats a feature. Most people who want the benefits of your product or service only want the benefits, the result, the big promise of whatever youre selling. Accomplishing goals increasing conversions, losing weight, etc. This ebook helps you save money passively so its painfree. Often when selling a product or service, copywriters merely present a list of features and thats simply not enough to make a sale. You can apply it to nearly anything that you want to sell or give away, so give it a try with your product or service.
We just went online with a new product and frankly was struggling with the whole features versus benefits thing. Benefits in marketing and why it matters in home business. Features are basically facts about products or services, and they add credibility to your product. Drill it into your head and practice it everywhere you possibly can. Ive been a top copywriter for 30 years or more, with clients ranging from. What is copywriting and why is it not content marketing. This version will still give information, but also entice the person to buy a specific product. Benefits thing is a real challenge for most business people. She is also a va accredited attorney as of 2015 and is licensed to practice law in new jersey and in new york. There isnt a business owner in the world who hasnt wrestled with the features vs. It basically states that if you want to sell something, your marketing messages should focus on the benefits of your product to potential customers, and not on its. Ahead are 10 copywriting strategies that will improve conversion rates and are easy to implement. For saas companies, this is typically functionality offered by a software program that enables users to do something. If youve been crafting content on your own, it might be worthwhile to consider hiring a professional copywriter instead.
To translate features into benefits, answer the question so what. The idea of highlighting benefits over features seems simple. Copywriting is the art of selling people on an idea, brand or ideology. The key to success is for you to fully understand all of the. The high point of the book so fara technique ive used on three projects in the past week to great resultsis to distinguish between technical features and customer benefits. Copywriting secrets how to write copy that sells udemy. Books are great for your mind, but they also do the body good, too. Other copywriting gurus including lianna patch, sam woods, and amy hebdon also share their advice on how to create a great copy. The ultimate guide to persuasive online copywriting. Directresponse copywriter clayton makepeace asserts that fake benefits will kill sales copy, so you have to be on the lookout for them in your writing. You cant rely on your audience knowing how every feature will directly benefit them. In fact, this was the first book i picked up years ago when i entered the online world of copywriting. I could come up with stories, headlines, price offers in minutes and all the fancy buy now.
Interestingly, however, critical and straightforward as this concept may be, many businesses struggle to identify the real difference. Copy hackers founder joanna wiebe breaks down concepts like features vs. You should know concepts like call to action, features versus benefits, elements of proof, and many others. The abc of copywriting 6 most copywriting exists in order to promote something. Features fail, benefits convert there are many conversionboosting benefits of talking about the benefits your brand generates for your customers vs the features your products or. The difference between features and benefits there is a big difference between features and benefits when it comes to copywriting and marketing. Copywriting vs ing is a debate commonly held between those who copywrite, and those who well, dont copywrite.
Simple tips to follow on how to design your copy for all cases separately. Website copy says a lot about a business, and most companies display what they think potential customers want. Perhaps most famous for its definitive features versus benefits checklist including a twentytwo point examination of a no. There is a big difference between features and benefits when it comes to copywriting and marketing. Copywriting 101 ff how to craft compelling copy 3 copywriting is one of the most essential elements of effective online marketing. Copywriting can boost your sales, improve your market penetration and your margins. These brakes are good, so even in the rain they brake well. Simply, a feature is something that your product has or is. If you find the whole thing a strain on the old brain cells, youre in good company. Mar 22, 2016 a benefit is the value of your product to a customer. Useful book on everything related to copywriting except of how to copywrite.
If you want to protect the use of character, the arrangement of advice or the selection of travel destinations to write about, then registering your work will put. How to use features vs benefits to generate more sales. A good copywriter can instantly identify the difference between a feature and a benefit. Copywriting is the act of modifying the information to where it makes someone want to buy. With the constant demand for more quality content and the growing need for effective copywriting one to attract visitors, the other to convert them to leads and customers consistently producing powerful, highquality copy is tough. Features versus benefits, a case study dude, its marketing. Youll learn how to optimize your credit cards so you get rewards like firstclass plane tickets. The copywriters goal is to communicate the strengths, advantages or benefits. Features versus benefits may indeed be marketing 101, but a quick glance at the sales pitches of many online businesses makes me question whether anybody took that particular marketing nugget on board through the selfimposed hangover of their college years. Features tell but benefits sell is a phrase that will likely be spoken. Jul 01, 2012 although successful copy combines both,the best copy for most products focuses on the benefits. To illustrate this, i need to tell you about a few guys who started a band.
An informative blog post about the benefits of copywriting on a copywriters profile. Boost the relevance of your content with benefits and features. Both features and benefits are equally important for effective advertising copy, but at the end of the day, it will be the benefits that give you the best advantages for. The important creative choices that you madethe characters, the story or even the elements of a nonfiction book are all protected, in some way, by the to your book. One of its special features is a fast preheat system. Both are important in the advertising and marketing process, but there is a critical difference between the two that can really be boiled down to this. Learn about promotional copywriting and penning marketing materials that make people take action and buy from your home business. The rules show you how good copy provides both substance specific features and emotional appeal benefits. When writing product and service descriptions, dont forget to include the benefits of what youre offering. The supersportylooking guy is now explaining both features and benefits of the bike on offer. Persuasive copy requires a mix of features and benefits. Follow the links, i need a copywriter to write one weight loss article 1500 words per day.
If you have bad copy, it can easily turn off your customer. You need to put into words the reasons your product is the best available and better than your competitors products based on the added value it provides to consumers. While this seems like one of the basic rules that everyone should follow, i wondered why i keep seeing this rule broken time and time again. The art and science of directresponse copywriting involves strategically delivering words whether written or spoken which get people to take some form of action. The first step of the copywriting outline is the foundation for your advertising campaigns. He also advocates a scientific approach to writing ad copy, constantly emphasizes testing, and always reminds the reader of. This video will explain what a feature is and what a. And yes, overfocusing on features is a common copywriting. Persuasive online copywriting takes you gradually from copy writing techniques and general dosdonts for example, focusing on benefits, not features, when writing copy into the specifics of writing successful copy for the web. What are the advantages and disadvantages of copywriting. This 25 minute copywriting training is for complete beginners who barely know what copywriting is. There are already like 26 good answers filled with lists of copywriting books. I have a lot of copywriting books and courses, and if i were starting out fresh from square one today, id want to start here. So we can still give out great information, but tweak it in such a way that gets someone to buy.
This video will explain what a feature is and what a benefit is, and the difference between the two. In addition to the basic skills into, youll also get a longer discussion on the importance of features vs. The fiveminute feature check quick, take a look through the last persuasive piece you wrote blog post, sales page, podcast script and take note of all of the features you talk about. Follow along as i explain what this technique is, how to use it, and real examples. In other words, a benefit is what the product can do for a customer or how the product can help a customer. Other examples of product features might include razors with fiveblade heads, power drills with interchangeable bits. Copywriters are needed everywhere and there are not enough good ones to go around.
If you can grasp this copywriting strategy, you are guaranteed to see better performance from product pages. Features physically describe what your product or service entails. This e book helps you save money passively so its painfree. Benefits features are raw facts, statistics and information about your product or service. Benefits the value your product can bring to the customers. Advertising copywriting on features and benefits big.
Jul 24, 2019 your content and copy will never be truly relevant to your audience until you translate your features into customerfocused benefits. In terms of the copy basics you need to dominate to increase conversion rates for your web site, this book is it. Joe sugarman is a direct marketing legend, and he does a great job of getting basic copywriting concepts across in an enjoyable way. The benefits are that it reduces hand cramping and eliminates smudges.
In copywriting, theres the principle of features versus benefits. The book has 500 pages feature, meaning it will keep me entertained for longer benefit. The best copywriters on the very best copywriting books. Unfortunately, its not uncommon for that difference to get a bit fuzzy in web copy. Jul 02, 2019 the idea of highlighting benefits over features seems simple. Jan 24, 2020 features versus benefits may indeed be marketing 101, but a quick glance at the sales pitches of many online businesses makes me question whether anybody took that particular marketing nugget on board through the selfimposed hangover of their college years. Block out about 32 minutes to watch these training videos. The copywriters goal is to communicate the strengths, advantages or benefits of whatever they are promoting so. Distinguishing features from benefits is important when writing copy because, while features are important for appeasing our logical side, benefits really hit home.
Explore seven of the biggest benefits of using a copywriter for your business or your website. Mar 29, 2019 this article was coauthored by srabone monir, jd. To see what im talking about, look at evernotes homepage. As long as people use words to communicate, there will be an abiding need for writers who can use words to get a message out persuasively.
The reason its still one of the best books on copywriting is caples willingness to go beyond simply teaching us how to write a killer headline. This is chapter 2, part 2 from the copywriting for social media guide. Promoting perls features versus benefits modern perl. Kids play out the story in their heads, consciously and unconsciously and that can boost their imaginations. And nice photos and case studies two minus points to notice. May 16, 2015 so even though blogging can be different from copywriting in many respects, you can use many of the tactics of copywriting within your blog to help you take your skills as a writer and your blog to the next level. Both classic and newer books on copywriting set out the fundamental principles of the craft and should be studied in depth.
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