We’ve written a lot about content marketing and copywriting lately. One of the areas that many people find difficult is getting a balance in their writing. Today’s customers don’t want ‘sales copy’, they want authenticity.
But what does that mean, exactly, and how can you make sure your copywriting is ‘authentic’?
We touched on this in our last newsletter. (If you haven’t signed up yet, you can drop your email address in the box on the right – we’ll send you a nifty PDF on content marketing just for subscribing.)
In the drive for better results in the search engines, getting more followers or better traffic, some people forget that all the content we produce should be for our customers, not ourselves.
Know thy audience
Who are they? What kinds of things do they want to read about? What knowledge can you share to help make their lives easier? The answers to these questions form the basis of a good content marketing strategy and they help you write content that is truly authentic.
Authenticity is honestly appraising, anticipating and answering your customers’ questions in your content, and sharing with them knowledge that makes their life a little easier.
So, to answer the question we posed in the title of this post…
Yes.
You can sound ‘real’ and authentic in your sales copywriting.
Selling in this way is less about pushing your product or service, but in explaining how you truly solve issues for your customers. You give them the info they need and when they need your help (or your product), they’ll let you know.
Be human
We don’t like robotic, automated updates any more than we like those robo-calls that try to get us to take out PPI claims.
People prefer reading things that sound like they actually come from people. That much we know.
How can you capitalise on this?
When so much ‘sales copy’ sounds just like…well…sales copy, you can stand out in your marketplace by simply adopting a different tone – one that suits you and your business.
To do that, you’ll need to decide on what your brand’s (business’) personality is. Are you flamboyant or conservative? Are you happy or serious? When you visit customers, do you chit-chat or just get on with business?
Take a look at your most successful salespeople; what are they doing and saying that makes them more authentic to your prospects? How can you harness this in your marketing?
Try it in you next newsletter, blog post or sales letter. I bet you notice a difference in your responses.
