The only marketing skill you will ever need

Want to know the only marketing skill you will ever need? First, let’s start from the beginning.

Hey Adi, do you know what’s copywriting?

No Ayush. What’s that new word?

You employ it daily. What do you do when a customer at your phone shop comes to buy a phone?

I tell him about the phone, how it can help him, why is it the perfect phone for him and why he should buy it just now, lest the price increases or the handset goes out of stock!

Yes! That’s copy.

I get the picture. But can you dilate it a bit?

The only marketing skill you will ever need 

Yes, what’s your motive with the customer?

To sell him the phone.

And you do that with your words. Your words help, compel, persuade him to take a particular action. That’s what is copywriting

Yes, I get it now.

What is my point of view on copywriting?

Adi sells smartphones and uses persuasion on a daily basis to sell the product. This is a generic way all the folks on the planet, use copywriting. You see, Adi is trying to persuade a person who is already inside his phone shop. That’s a relatively easy scenario where you just nudge the customer a little and he becomes a buyer. Here the buyer intent is very high.

So, what is the difference between an ordinary seller and a pro copywriter?

Apparently, selling a $10,000 Real Estate Training isn’t the same as selling a $299 smartphone or for that matter, a $1M condo. That’s when a pro copywriter comes into the picture.

Copywriting is a verbal salesmanship.

Any money in the world is made only when a sale is made. Companies sell products and services, a freelancer sells his service, a shopkeeper sells his grocery and an employee sells his time for a monthly salary.

So, for you to make money, you have to do one or more of the above things.

Actually, people don’t like to be sold. When a guy approaches you with something to sell, your immediate reaction is a ‘no’ unless it is something that you intended to buy.

But People like to be helped. People have problems and they want their problems to be solved. A salesman who approaches the to-be customer with an intent to solve his problem is more likely to make a sale than one who does hard selling.

But what if the salesman is not present in person? How does the sale occur? It might occur through mail order or an email, or the customer being directed to a landing page or a prospect brought into a funnel through a Facebook or Google ad.

Notice, all these mediums where the salesman is not physically present, the sale occurs through words, words written by a copywriter. Even the words spoken by the salesman is copy because that is what he uses to convince you.

That’s the role of copywriting in sales and marketing.

Copywriting is the heart of all sales

A seasoned copywriter knows how to go inside your mind, the prospective buyer. He knows his items of concern which, sometimes, even you don’t know and moves you towards the desired action he wants you to take. Sounds like manipulative.

But a good copywriter understands your needs, informs you of your problem, the probable issues the problem may cause and the solution. And it eventually takes you to the product pitch where he explains to you how the product is the solution to all your pain points. Copywriting is meant to be persuasive, not manipulative.

A good copy is just like an expert salesman conversing with you. It’s personal, understands you, is rigorous, insightful and overcomes basic sales objections. A good copy also makes you the central character of the conversation and you feel satisfaction after going through the words.

A copywriter translates the attributes or features of a particular product or service to the benefit that is going to solve your trouble. He is always alert of the flow of the words that interact with you.

Continue Reading: 5 lessons I’ve learnt from 5 years of running a content marketing agency

“No research is ever quite complete” – Mervin Gordon

And a good copywriter knows this perfectly well. Mastering sales techniques, sales pitch, sales page all work when there is solid research of the product done by the copywriter.

Copywriting and advertising legend, David Ogilvy after winning the Rolls Royce account, did 3-week research of his client, and then came up with the headline. It became the longest-running and the most successful advertisement for Rolls Royce. Ogilvy himself said it’s “the best headline I ever wrote.” He states:

“On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.” 

The statement is rather straightforward. Now you know, what to spend most of your time on. Ogilvy came up with 26 different headlines for his Rolls Royce ad. And the success of the headline was due to his thorough research of the company and the car. You won’t be able to produce a winning headline unless you know the features and benefits of the product and the legacy of the brand.

All copywriters know their trade, the techniques, the tools, hooks, tactics. What differentiates them is how much effort they put in understanding the product. This aids them to put unfeigned words in their copy that resonates perfectly with the audience.

In conclusion

• Copywriting is used by everyone in day-to-day life just like Adi sells phones in his shop.
• All marketing activities employ copywriting, either in print on spoken by a salesman.
• A well-researched copy is more satisfying to read than a copy you write just after going through the product superficially. This will please your customer. So, the customer will be more inclined to hear your directions.
• The first element of your copy is the most important – the headline. You win or lose the customer at the headline.
• You may have an amazing website design, eye-catching photos but unless your visitor connects with your words, he won’t do what you want him to do. So, it boils down to your copywriting.

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