3 ESSENTIAL things you didn't realize you were selling in your launch copy
So you know that writing copy is all about empathy—that you need to show your ICA you understand her problem and that yours is the solution that can solve it.
That you need to persuade her that your process + your expertise = results.
And that it’s safe to choose to work with you.
But if you’re launching a high-end product or service, you might find that straight up presenting those facts just isn’t doing it for your audience.
No matter how much storytelling you do.
Or how clearly you communicate your message.
Maybe your emails aren’t getting opened. Or your posts aren’t getting much engagement.
Your audience is interested, but for some reason your copy isn’t moving them to action...
You might have every aspect of your funnel calibrated perfectly, but if you’re forgetting to sell your ICA on the following three things, you’ll find it harder to make the sale.
These three elements are essential to helping your ideal clients actually BELIEVE that your offer will solve their problems… not just on a rational, logical level, but in their hearts, where the real change has to happen.
You’re selling your observation skills
That is, the fact that you know what your reader’s life looks like. You already know that you need to reflect your ideal client’s reality back to her-- show her that you understand the problems that she’s experiencing and their impact on the rest of her life.
But your understanding of where she’s at needs to go beyond knowing that she wants more sales (because… duh, we all want more sales).
In the same way we all love it when a horoscope is so spot on it gives us goosebumps, a quiz gets our favourite Spice Girl right, or a personality test accurately describes your biggest strengths and weaknesses…
You want your copy to read like you’ve got a crystal ball that lets you see right through your ideal client’s walls.
If you can show your reader that you understand:
→ What she’s already tried to solve her problem,
→ Where she’s already failed (and what she needs to forgive herself for),
→ What her day looks like (down to the smallest details), and
→ How she feels about the tasks that she has to complete (e.g., thrilled that she’s finally migrated her email list from MailChimp to Active Campaign, bugging out when her booking software malfunctions, discouraged when a FB post falls flat, elated when her kid tells a friend “my mom is a CEO”)...
She’ll start to trust that you understand her problems (better than your competitors, who are still talking to her like she’s some two-dimensional avatar, instead of a living, breathing human who has to do the damn dishes every day, just like you).
2. You’re selling her on herself
You know that your copy isn’t supposed to be all about you.
But trust me when I say, you’re still spending way too much time talking about YOUR product and YOUR results.
There’s no shame in it.
Hey, this is what the vast majority of sales seems to be about, it’s what you see on TV and in print ads, so it makes total sense that you’d focus on this.
But in online marketing, where your message reaches your reader in as intimate a place as her inbox or her social feeds…
And where she has to make thousands of decisions a day about who she’s going to listen to and who she’s going to scroll past or archive without reading…
You need to spend WAY more time talking about how you know that THIS TIME, she’s actually going to see results.
While talking about what those results look like is important (see #3), here, I’m talking about what you know about HER that will help her get to where she wants to be.
This means validating the micro-commitments that she’s already made to be seeing your messages - like signing up for your list in the first place or seeking out your freebie.
And it means reminding her of other moves she’s made that show you she’s decisive, committed, and got what it takes to actually see results this time.
When you can coach your ideal client through the sales process…
Reminding her that, with the right tools, she’s totally got this…
Your countdown timer becomes an afterthought and your scarcity becomes real.
Because your prospect is empowered to decide whether or not your offer is right for her right now.
3. You’re selling her on the results of the results
You know that benefits > features.
So you focus on the benefits that your prospect will enjoy as a result of taking you up on your offer.
Maybe that’s clarity, confidence, or the freedom that comes with consistent 10k months.
That’s great, but there’s still something missing.
How will she feel once she’s got that clarity?
How will her world shift once she’s got that extra confidence?
How will her perception of herself change once she’s making more money a quarter than she made last year?
Instead of focusing just on the results that your offer will create in her life… Speak to the shift that will come about as a result of taking action and seeing herself in a whole new way.
The results of the results that you offer.
As I said up top, you can get results without selling your prospects on these three things…
But when you add them to your copywriting mix, you’ll be amazed at the kind of connection that you can generate with your ideal clients.
And by how ready they’ll be to take action when you make the right offer.
Grab The Sales Page Power Hour to get your hands on:
My RCA Sales Page Flow (incl. a Google doc template that makes it easier than ever to make my flow your own)
My system for repurposing your sales page content— without sacrificing freshness or platform relevance
A pre-publication sales page checklist that covers your copy, your design & your tech (and so much more!)