Getting your clients to act
As part of our series on how to stand out from the crowd, we’ve been looking at the tools you can use to build and grow your audience and provoke action. Previously we looked at the art of growing your audience through value-adding content marketing. This week, we’re looking at how you can use the skills of direct response copywriting to get your readers to take action.
Razor sharp copy is your weapon of choice
Let‘s be clear on what we’re talking about here. After all, action can mean all kinds of things. Are we writing copy to encourage our readers to wash the pots? To jet wash the patio? Or to get around to cleaning out the guttering? While there might be advantages to provoking that kind of action, that’s not really what we’re concerned with here.
We’re looking to provoke the kind of action that has palpable business returns. Specifically, we want the actions our readers take to make us more money in the long run.
Old school direct response
If you’re aware of the phrase “direct response”, you probably associate it with sales letters, direct mail or the shopping channel. In its purest form, direct response finds its place in copy that gives you the hard sell. The best example of this is long–form sales letters, where every sentence is carefully placed with an action driving motive in mind. You’ll find this in plentiful supply on affiliate marketing sites like JVZoo and ClickBank.
Not every business needs this kind of hard–sell marketing, least of all the property sector, where services rendered often come in at millions of pounds and relationships are built over years of collaboration. But there are lessons to be learnt when it comes to inspiring action.
How direct response can help you
So, how can we apply the principles of direct response to our world? Well, there are hundreds of little actions we ask our clients and prospective clients to take in every online interaction.
Want someone to sign up for your newsletter? That’s a job for direct response. Want prospective clients to book a consultation? Direct response can win you the day. Trying to get more click–throughs on your email campaigns? Direct response is your go–to choice.
Benefits, benefits, benefits
So now that we know direct response copy can help us, it‘s time to look at how we can leverage it for our needs. The most important thing to remember is this: people want to know what’s in it for them. It might sound callous, but your audience doesn’t care about you or your business. They only care about how you can improve their life or positively affect their business.
This is where we can leverage benefits to get those all–important clicks. If you want your customer to sign up for your newsletter, you need to tell them what they stand to gain. Likewise, if you’re looking to get your audience to book a consultation, you’ll need to do a good job of laying out how you’ll improve their lives/business.
Example
Let‘s say you specialise in sustainable building projects. You might think all you need to do is list the features of what you do on your website. But while features are important in getting across what you do, they don’t have persuasive power. To leverage the power of persuasion you have to convert those features into benefits.
Feature statement
‘We’re experts in sustainable design and build projects. We have extensive knowledge on green energy solutions and high fabrication standards.’
Benefit statement
‘Our expertise in sustainable design and build means you get buildings that are environmentally friendly, cost–efficient and in line with the push for net-zero.’
If you’ve got an eagle eye, you’ll notice that the second statement is about your client, while the first talks only about you. Remember, your audience wants to know how you’ll improve their lives. If your copy is laden with these kinds of client–focused benefits, your audience will be much more likely to take action when you ask them to.
Phrasing your call to action
Your calls to action are where you ask your reader to do something. At this point, you should’ve already given your audience a good reason to do what you ask, but there are a few things you can do to improve your chances of getting them over the line. Let‘s look at another example.
Newsletter example
‘Subscribe now’
This seems simple enough, right? Well yes, but we can make it better.
‘Subscribe now to get all the latest insight on how to improve the sustainability of your builds’
In the second example, you’re telling your customer exactly what they’ll get from signing up for your newsletter. The benefit is made transparent.
Depending on your offering, there are other strategies you can take. Let‘s imagine you’re running a seminar about sustainable construction. The call to action on your landing page/email campaign might read
‘Book your place now.’
You can inject some more persuasive power into this CTA by introducing scarcity.
‘Places strictly limited. Book now to avoid disappointment.’
We’re all susceptible to FOMO (fear of missing out) and this notion of scarcity plays on that emotion. This isn’t always appropriate. A newsletter has no limitations to how many can receive it so it‘s pointless to use it there, but where numbers are limited, it pays to make your readers aware that they could miss out if they don’t take appropriate action.
If you’re looking for a marketing agency to inspire your audience into action, contact Luma today and we’ll find the keys to your audience’s hearts.
First published on Place North West