11 Major Components to Consider for Your Marketing Copy

If you’re not a marketing professional or in the business of promoting yourself or your clients, you may often wonder what it takes to write great copy. Many people who understand the importance of good copy recoil from the idea of having to write it themselves, and for others it comes as naturally as rain. The truth is, everyone already knows how to do it! How? Because you probably already know how to tell stories.

Once you know the proper structure and unlearn some of the stuff your high school teachers taught you about writing, you’ll be well on your way to creating mouth-watering copy.

11 Major Components to Consider for Your Marketing Copy

Pictures attract attention, but text is what sells.

A key component of crafting compelling messages is to make a strong impression. The message is everything. You either paint the picture of the joy the prospect will get using your product, or you paint the view of the hardship he will continue to endure without it. Why? Because people love stories.

To be a great marketing copywriter, understand that you should write as you talk – not formal, dull, perfect English-type speak, but with a clear, conversational style of writing. To get into that zone, imagine your prospect is right in front of you. Then have a conversation with her!

Once you’ve had the conversation, use these 11 Major Components for Your Marketing Copy:

1. Kickers – A kicker helps qualify your prospects and gets them to read the headline. It’s like the headline for the headline.

Kickers will intrigue the target market by being enticing and believable. Think of emotion words that would stop a prospect in their tracks.

2. Headlines – This is, no doubt, the most critical element.

Did you know that, on average, five times as many people will read a headline as read the content of your copy? Unless your headline sells your product or service, you may have wasted 90% of your money!

3. Subheads – Supports the headline and moves the reader to the body copy.

Subheads should hold attention, build on the headline, and compel the reader down the page. They are like a signpost, showing your reader which way to go.

4. Benefits and Features – Make a list of your benefits, features, and advantages. It’s vital to attract attention to benefits and then use features to support your claims.

Just speaking in the prospect’s language and focusing on the benefits to him or her is about 80% of compelling copy. Benefits are “emotion or feeling-based” and usually non-tangible; they are the result of what your product or service offers. A benefit answers the question, “What’s in it for me?” If what you are saying is about you, your product, service, or company, then it’s a feature.

5. Testimonials – Third-party endorsements help the prospect feel more confident.

There are several types of testimonials you should be gathering, including written reviews, video testimonials, and customer feedback. Also, don’t be afraid to ask a happy customer for feedback. Chances are they will have something great to say that you can show prospects to build confidence in their buying decision.

6. Your Offer – What’s your proposition? What problem do you solve, and how can I get it?

Refer back to your target market, the conversation with your prospect, and the core emotion. Elaborate about why your product is precisely what your target market needs or wants. Have you ever had to sell a family member on the reasoning behind a purchase you made? How did you convince them? It started with a conversation…

7. Consider Specials, Up-Sells, and Bundles.

People love bundles of products and services because of the increased perception of value. It’s easy to do – just bundle several related products or services together and drop the price below what the total would be if the customer bought all the products separately — using a bonus as an incentive to purchase works great, too. For up-selling, focus your efforts on meeting the customers’ needs, rather than merely pushing more products and services.

8. Credibility – Why are you the best choice? Give your customers and prospects reason to believe.

If you make a claim, prove it. To establish a claim that you’ve made, you must tell the truth about your product or service. Don’t use unsubstantiated claims. Instead, use support points to provide more detail. If you lack evidence or proof, you’re going to lack customer conversions.

9. Pricing Strategy – Don’t reveal the price until you’ve created the value unless the price is the most compelling reason to act, but it’s better to use other benefits first.

Price isn’t the most effective way to create value. Value comes from the total customer experience. When they are comfortable with your offer, they will be more likely to be more comfortable with the price. So, start by showing them first how valuable your products and services then justify the price after you reveal it.

10. Risk-Reversal/Guarantee – Do you have one? Guarantees usually mean more sales.

Chances are, your company has some guarantee, but many companies keep their guarantee a secret for fear that promoting it will cause customers to abuse it. Smart companies know, however, that for every customer that abuses their guarantee, there are hundreds of people who will become customers because they feel secure in knowing that if there is a problem, they’ll be taken care of until satisfied.

11. Specific and Measurable Action Step – What do you want the prospect to do, and how should they do it?

Ask for the order – be specific and give an incentive to act now.

Now that you have the major copy components and elements for your marketing material, you’ll be able to spot weaknesses and room for improvements. You may even be better able to notice the flaws in your competitors’ copy and can leverage your marketing to capitalize on their mistakes.

Either way, utilizing this list means you are headed in the right direction with your marketing copy. If you feel like you need more tips and tricks, or maybe your schedule is too full to implement the best marketing practices available, get in contact with us! Prime Concepts Group is here to help you. We’ll do the heavy lifting, so you can get back to enjoying results!