Thanks for the post. Very good, and very true.

Elio

Thanks for this great post. Good to see someone out there truly passionate about the art of copy.

Best,

Larry

Chuck, you’re getting a LOT of good advice here. But one thing I see that is problematic (for me, personally, as someone who is interested based on what you just said here) is this:

There’s only 1 option you’re giving me.

Pay you.

Your Webinar would do very well (I’m betting) as a freebie … where you up-sell me from the freebie into a lead-nurturing program.

There, you give me some “results in advance” of my purchase.

This PROVES to me you’re worth the investment. By changing my success rate at __________ (you have lots to pick from) you earn my trust. Plus, what you sell looks more like a “logical next step” versus something I need to think about investing in.

Hope this helps.

The problem as always, is there so much contradictory information, as anyone who’s been studying marketing for awhile eventually finds
out.The ‘ask your audience’ is one.It’s based on
conventional thinking that says that people know
what they want and make rational choices.I think
it was Steve Jobs or someone equally well known that said”don’t ask”. More likely,emotion
decides and then rational mind agrees.

you would get me with arguments like being more effective, being more focused, being up to 20% more productive, easy to learn and implement in my current working schedule

You may have broccoli ice cream on your hands … something that might be very, very good for your prospect, but doesn’t sound tasty to them.

I did much of that, Demian – informing readers that bloggers tend to view mind mapping software for only 1 role (content development) but it can actually do at least 10 things – most at more of a strategic level. I also explain how it can improve their productivity by 20%+ (based on survey results, not my own estimation). I also cite my thought leadership. I guess it’s too much of a leap for many bloggers – I would need to convince them to not only invest in my webinar, but also download and learn some new software…

Hey Chuck, that is a tough nut. The problem with your proposition is that it’s not entirely unique. The mind map/brainstorm for blogging bit has been played before.

If you want people to listen to you then you need to establish a distinction that no one else can offer … like you’ve got 20 years of research on mind maps and bloggers … your method will make them 90 times more productive … an angle that people would feel stupid missing.

Thanks for the advice, Sonia. Yes, that is a tough nut to crack. All I really have right now is a perceived problem (bloggers tend to face information overload) with little to connect it to my proposed solution. I don’t know if most bloggers consider that to be enough of a problem to invest in my solution. Time to talk to some bloggers and learn from them!

That’s a more advanced copywriting problem — essentially, you need to figure out the bridge between what they know they want and what you know will be useful and beneficial to them. That will take lots of talking with (and listening to) your audience so you can understand their problems.

That’s why it’s much easier to market a solution that comes out of your audience need, vs. something you think is cool and beneficial. You may be 100% right that they would love it, but it’s much harder to “push” that desire than to use the “pull” of what they’re already looking for.