Entrepreneurs: Benefits vs. Features - Know the Difference!
Judy Cullins c. 2005
Entrepreneurs know their business. They know their product, their
service. Many of them write creative Web sites. But, one thing they
are not as adept at is promotional copy. The same goes for authors.
It's not the book, it's the hook! It's not the beautiful Web site,
it's the one with benefit-driven headlines that lead your visitor
straight to your sales message. What you say outside the book covers
matters. What you say about your service on your site must be so
much more powerful than your story, pleasing personality, or mission
statement.
Benefits sell. Features explain.
Always promote with benefits over features. Benefits show the value
of your products. They solve your particular audience's problem!
They tell your clients and customers what they will gain--and what
they will lose from your product or service. Some common benefits
include: more money, less trouble, more time, less stress, desirable
relationships, less drama and trauma, and more zest and energy,
less fatigue.
Apply this Essential "Hot-Selling Point" Before you Write:
1. Write down a list of 5-10 benefits of each product and service.
Think about your number one benefit your book or service solves.
For example, your clients and customers don't want to know only
how to get their book written, they want to know why should they
write it? How much will their business thrive from putting that
effort out? Will they get more credibility, more trust, and more
lifelong income?
For her book, "Tug of Heart," one client wrote this partial
list of benefits: experience deeper hues of joy, enjoy more passion,
trust yourself, engage in work you love, more energy from being
in a state of unblocked flow, life on terms that fit you, experience
greater confidence in making choices that are right for you, more
through challenging decisions with ease and confidence, and live
your juiciest life yet!
From these, this client wrote the sales piece for her book's back
cover and her Web site.
2. Write down specific benefits. Include how your customer will
feel after buying your product. For instance, after you buy my book
or product, you'll look and feel 10 years younger without a face-lift.
Let them see a picture of what it's like to be the happy author,
who sells enough books to take that Caribbean vacation each year.
3. Include some of your personality in your promotion copy. For
example, "My book is less than the price of a good dinner,
with wine of course! And the skills in it will serve you every day
for as many times as you choose to duplicate your success results.
Always answer your customer's question, Why should I buy
your product or service? with strong benefits to help them
solve their problems. Benefits sell.
For more information about book web marketing, promotion, and publicity click here.
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Book and Internet Marketing Coach, Judy Cullins, can help you build credibility and clients, sell a lot of books, and make maximum profits. Author of 11 books including Write your eBook or Other Short Book Fast and The Fast and Cheap Way to Explode Targeted Web Traffic" Get her free eBook"20 High Octane Book Writing and Marketing Tips" and two free monthly ezines at http://www.bookcoaching.com
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