SPEAK TO YOUR CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS

Know and address known concerns of your customers or readers, because they will be foremost on their minds when they evaluate what you are presenting. Write in the customers’ language. Tell them what they will get from your product or service. Appeal to their emotions. Tell a story, paint a picture. Tell them what the product will do for them, not what it is. An 8-megapixel camera with 10x zoom lens may mean nothing to the reader, but if you tell them this camera will let you take pictures that get you closer to the action, that’s valuable information which can make the sale.

SOLVE YOUR CUSTOMERS’ PROBLEMS

Become an expert on every benefit your product or service offers. Develop a profile of the type of customer you are selling to, what the person needs and desires, the person’s most pressing problems, and what will directly solve his problems. Address your customers with an appropriate tone, and use words and phrases the customer likely uses. Use strong, active language to describe the most appealing benefits of your product or service. Make an offer they can’t refuse, and include a call to action. You will know you addressed your customers and their problems when the orders come in.

USE ACTIVE VOICE

Use active voice to get your readers attention, and make your point clearly. The guidelines are clear on the use of passive voice:

Worst: The passive voice should be avoided.
Bad: The passive voice should be avoided by writers.
Better: Writers should avoid using passive voice.
Best: Writers should use active voice.

DON’T MAKE FALSE PRODUCT CLAIMS

Everyone has highly sensitive BS detectors these days. Readers can tell when you’re trying to sell them something. Passion and commitment for your product is a good thing, but expect that readers will spot it when you are the least bit dishonest. I was in “traffic school” a week ago, and the instructor began telling stories about how he rides his bicycle in traffic. “Forty miles per hour — that’s the speed I ride my bicycle.” Being a longtime cyclist, I had to challenge him on this. Lance Armstrong doesn’t maintain that kind of clip. Nothing that instructor had to say the rest of the class had much meaning to me, and the only thing I particularly remember from the experience is that he didn’t know what he was talking about, at least when it came to how fast he could ride a bicycle. Be aware that any false claim you make about your product or service will be spotted, and remembered. Once your reader recognizes that you have misrepresented your product or service, he will be resistant to any offer you make.

A “conversational style” engages and persuades people. An informal conversational style in sales materials, Websites, eBay listings and marketing collateral can be more persuasive and effective in selling products and ideas. A book entitled Presentational Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery by Garr Reynolds describes what conversational style is.

“When you are in a conversation with someone you are naturally more engaged because you have an obligation to participate. You are involved. Formal speech and formal writing devoid of any emotion whatsoever is extremely difficult to stay with for more than a few minutes. Your conscious mind has to remind you to “stay away, this is important!” But someone who speaks in a natural, human, conversational style is far easier to stay engaged with.”

“I get up every morning determined both to change the world and to have one heck of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning the day difficult.” — Author Unknown