Sunday, October 01, 2006
Copy too long?
: “Help: my copy isn’t working”
Q. “Copywriters always tell us to use long copy. But my clients are busy professionals. They say the copy for my new workshop is so long they won’t even tell their friends to look me up.”
A. Salespeople like to talk about hidden objections. For example, price often (but not always) appears as a hidden objection. We’re amazed when someone can’t scrounge up the bucks for what we’re selling – a product that will truly revolutionize his life or her business – and in the driveway sits a brand-new Porsche with all the bells and whistles.
So when a client says, “The copy is too long,” I would look for an underlying meaning: “I am not interested.” After all, if we’re seriously considering paying $5000 (or even $500) for a workshop, we want to learn as much as we can before hitting the button to make a non-refundable deposit.
Five reasons you might be hearing the “Too Long” Objection:
(1) New Product means new market
Sometimes an experienced coach or consultant, with a long list of loyal clients, creates a workshop: a live weekend, a 6-week teleseminar, or a weeklong retreat in the woods. And surprise! Those loyal old clients just aren’t interested.
For example, busy professionals often avoid programs that require blocking out a certain portion of time every single week for 6 weeks. And even one short weekend of travel means packing, arranging for pet-sitters, and maybe missing a favorite concert or quality time with a significant other.
So your loyal clients frown, “The copy’s too long.” What they mean is, “We love you the way you are – and we want to continue to enjoy one-to-one phone consulting. Period.”
You can attract a new market. You just need more time.
(2) Warm up the Hot Buttons.
Let’s face it. People buy when they feel pain. So when you offer a new workshop, you have to identify something your clients really want and a problem that’s causing them to struggle.
I find some service professionals targeting the issues their clients faced back when they opened their doors for business – often many years ago. The clients have changed. The world has changed.
And promises that seemed fresh and exciting just a few years ago have become almost trite.
“Take your business to the next level.”
“Focus.”
“Clear clutter.”
Yawn.
(3) Work the numbers game.
Everyone (including me) wants instant feedback. So we revise a web page, sit back and wait...thirty seconds. Nothing happens? We go back and rewrite.
For a product that seems big-ticket to your target market, you can expect response rates of one or two percent. If you’ve got an exceptionally good ezine list, you may get higher rates. If you’re a highly respected name with a waiting list for your services, of course you’ll get stronger responses.
Many of us sigh enviously when Fred Famous tells his ezine, “I just filled up a fifty-seat workshop at five thousand dollars each.”
Wow. But Fred’s mailing list may have fifty thousand names. That means (at most) one out of a thousand readers signed up. His alliance partners also sell his workshop through their affiliate programs (and writing some pretty darned good copy, too).
And Fred’s results probably didn’t come overnight. Your prospects need to see your ad five to ten times (and perhaps listen to some pre-seminar audio) before they join.
(4) Test...and test some more.
Famous Fred probably tested at least two versions of his copy, most likely using the simple features of his shopping cart. You can do the same – it’s not hard at all.
Even a minor change – sometimes as little as a comma – can change response rates dramatically.
(5) Get ready for more changes.
A revision doesn’t necessarily mean your copy was a failure. Sometimes the only way to learn what a market wants is to put something out there (especially for a new product or market).
Revise when you have a logical, rational reason, backed by more than a few faithful old clients who don’t want the new product anyway. You may need to conduct some research, such as a virtual focus group. Some independent consultants and copywriters will conduct this research for you – offering valuable objectivity.
Don’t be surprised if your clients will tell an outsider things they’d never share with you.
After all, they love you like a family. And they’re not sure they’re ready to watch you grow up and change.
Q. “Copywriters always tell us to use long copy. But my clients are busy professionals. They say the copy for my new workshop is so long they won’t even tell their friends to look me up.”
A. Salespeople like to talk about hidden objections. For example, price often (but not always) appears as a hidden objection. We’re amazed when someone can’t scrounge up the bucks for what we’re selling – a product that will truly revolutionize his life or her business – and in the driveway sits a brand-new Porsche with all the bells and whistles.
So when a client says, “The copy is too long,” I would look for an underlying meaning: “I am not interested.” After all, if we’re seriously considering paying $5000 (or even $500) for a workshop, we want to learn as much as we can before hitting the button to make a non-refundable deposit.
Five reasons you might be hearing the “Too Long” Objection:
(1) New Product means new market
Sometimes an experienced coach or consultant, with a long list of loyal clients, creates a workshop: a live weekend, a 6-week teleseminar, or a weeklong retreat in the woods. And surprise! Those loyal old clients just aren’t interested.
For example, busy professionals often avoid programs that require blocking out a certain portion of time every single week for 6 weeks. And even one short weekend of travel means packing, arranging for pet-sitters, and maybe missing a favorite concert or quality time with a significant other.
So your loyal clients frown, “The copy’s too long.” What they mean is, “We love you the way you are – and we want to continue to enjoy one-to-one phone consulting. Period.”
You can attract a new market. You just need more time.
(2) Warm up the Hot Buttons.
Let’s face it. People buy when they feel pain. So when you offer a new workshop, you have to identify something your clients really want and a problem that’s causing them to struggle.
I find some service professionals targeting the issues their clients faced back when they opened their doors for business – often many years ago. The clients have changed. The world has changed.
And promises that seemed fresh and exciting just a few years ago have become almost trite.
“Take your business to the next level.”
“Focus.”
“Clear clutter.”
Yawn.
(3) Work the numbers game.
Everyone (including me) wants instant feedback. So we revise a web page, sit back and wait...thirty seconds. Nothing happens? We go back and rewrite.
For a product that seems big-ticket to your target market, you can expect response rates of one or two percent. If you’ve got an exceptionally good ezine list, you may get higher rates. If you’re a highly respected name with a waiting list for your services, of course you’ll get stronger responses.
Many of us sigh enviously when Fred Famous tells his ezine, “I just filled up a fifty-seat workshop at five thousand dollars each.”
Wow. But Fred’s mailing list may have fifty thousand names. That means (at most) one out of a thousand readers signed up. His alliance partners also sell his workshop through their affiliate programs (and writing some pretty darned good copy, too).
And Fred’s results probably didn’t come overnight. Your prospects need to see your ad five to ten times (and perhaps listen to some pre-seminar audio) before they join.
(4) Test...and test some more.
Famous Fred probably tested at least two versions of his copy, most likely using the simple features of his shopping cart. You can do the same – it’s not hard at all.
Even a minor change – sometimes as little as a comma – can change response rates dramatically.
(5) Get ready for more changes.
A revision doesn’t necessarily mean your copy was a failure. Sometimes the only way to learn what a market wants is to put something out there (especially for a new product or market).
Revise when you have a logical, rational reason, backed by more than a few faithful old clients who don’t want the new product anyway. You may need to conduct some research, such as a virtual focus group. Some independent consultants and copywriters will conduct this research for you – offering valuable objectivity.
Don’t be surprised if your clients will tell an outsider things they’d never share with you.
After all, they love you like a family. And they’re not sure they’re ready to watch you grow up and change.
# posted by Cathy Goodwin @ 10:52 PM 
