Glaring red fonts and highlighted text aside, there’s one facet of copywriting that’s true no matter who you’re writing for – Yelling louder doesn’t make your writing more believable. You can paste up all the screenshots you want as “proof”, but when it comes right down to it, the customer’s innate resistance is giving them every reason NOT to place that order.
One of the most effective ways to overcome that resistance is not to butter them up with benefits (although that helps!) but to make your copy believable. Online, there’s no shortage of fantastic claims about every product under the sun. By now, people are attuned to and have learned to weed out the bull in the sales pitches they read, to the point where lesser – but more believable – results are what stands out.
Adding Believability to Your Copy
One of the best ways to make your copy more believable and “real” is to get down to specifics. If you’re promoting a weight loss product, don’t just say “Participants lost an average of 5 pounds a week”, but showcase the individual results of different people, body types and commitment to the program or product. When readers see that these are average folks, just like you and I, with varying degrees of success, dedication and results – it paints your product as a possible solution, not a cure-all. Bonus points if you can include audio or video testimonials of the person explaining their results.
Believe in Your Product or Service
Believability in writing doesn’t just come from your customers believing you, but also you believing in yourself or the product you’re selling. Know what makes it great, but also what it doesn’t or won’t do. Offer a money back guarantee without excuses or restrictions. Don’t hesitate to put your credentials out there to show that you’re the right person for the job and to answer that all-powerful question of “Why should I listen to you?” Follow up with “Because…” and give your prospects a dose of both irrefutable logic and visual images through your words, and you’ll have conquered just about every reason they can think of to say “no”.
Borrow Expertise from Those Who Know
If you’re low on credentials or expertise, you don’t have to feel like you’re sunk – just look to the experts. Countless numbers of doctors, athletes, scientists and celebrities have lent their opinion on something, and this can be just as believable in the eyes of your products (when used wisely) as if you’d said so yourself. Be sure to use this method ethically though – some questionable sites used “quotes” from Oprah, Dr. Oz and other TV celebrities to endorse their products, when no such endorsement was ever made. If the person was paid for their endorsement, U.S. law states that you need to make this clear up front on your web page.
Is Your Message Believable?
What are some ways you add believability to your product or service? Testimonials? A Guarantee? Tell me about it in the comments below!
