Are you in business to feel good or make money?
It drives me crazy that so many mindful entrepreneurs and service businesses have been lead to believe copywriting comes down to this choice: you can be honest and yourself and most likely struggle to make sales OR you can use high pressure hype and sleazy sales tricks to make lots of money (even if it makes you feel dirty in the process).
What is it with extremes?
A lot of online copywriters talk about ‘hot button phrases that make people buy’, ‘insanely hypnotic copy customers can’t resist’ and ‘ripping competitors apart’. It’s highly emotional, aggressive and strangely impersonal language that’s reflected in the copy itself.
If that doesn’t sit well with your business approach they’ll tell you to ‘get some balls’ and ‘get in the game’ (yes, it tends to be male-oriented as well).
When this is presented as the only way for marketing communication, it’s no surprise mindful entrepreneurs run to the other extreme. Copywriting becomes synonymous with manipulation, exaggeration and exploitation, and you don’t want to have anything to do with it.
You focus on being yourself and hope it will be enough.
Then, when sales are slow, there’s that nagging feeling that maybe, if you want to put food on the table, you’re going to have to ‘get some balls’ after all…
A case study in extremes
A friend is selling a very useful and inexpensive ebook. She has a website that gives plenty of helpful, free information and a specific sales page for her ebook which explains who will benefit most from its content etc.
When I last spoke to her she was talking about setting up a ‘yellow highlighter sales pages’ (with insanely hypnotic copy and lots of exclamation marks) because her marketing pals were telling her this was the way to ’skyrocket’ her income. She was willing to give it a try, but was so embarrassed by the idea she was going it set it up under a pseudonym!
Let’s end this craziness!
If your copy embarrasses you, you’re going to avoid sending people to your site, or you’re going to do it apologetically. Neither is good for business.
Switching to ‘hard sell’ isn’t necessarily going to attract more clients. If your copy is not aligned with your business voice, people notice – it raises their defenses.
Hypnosis only lasts so long. Most businesses grow best with ongoing client relationships built on trust and mutual respect.
Thing is – you don’t have to choose between being human and making sales.
How about feeling good AND making money?
You’re in business because you have something – a product or a service – that you believe other people need. Hopefully, you feel passionately that what you offer is a Good Thing. And of course, as well as helping people, you would like to make a profit. This allows you to make and do more Good Things.
Your potential customers have a need and they are willing to spend money to have their need met. They want to know if the product or service you offer is a Good Thing and if it is really right for them. They don’t want to be bullied, but they do want you to make it easy for them to make their decision.
So, be honest about your offering and use the best copywriting techniques to make sure you’ve given your potential customer everything they need to make their decision.
Non-sleazy copywriting – it exists!
Non-sleazy copywriting draws on the essence of your business value and connects directly with the people you can most help. It is informative, engaging and compelling. It inspires confidence and builds trust. Not only does it sell, it keeps your customers coming back for more. Because they don’t feel like you’re constantly selling at them.
I write non-sleazy copy for my clients (also known as relationship copywriting) and, I’m happy to say, I’m not the only one beating this drum.
Naomi Dunford (Ittybiz) and Sonia Simone (Remarkable Communication) are a couple of amazing marketing rockstars who long ago ditched corporate to become very successful in their own right and help lots of solo and small business types along the way.
They’ve joined forces to create a new course called Marketing for Nice People. It’s about “business that pays your mortgage and feeds your heart.” It includes lessons on how to market yourself without sounding like a “weird Internet Marketing creep or high-pressure sales-hole.”
Whether or not you have any intention of buying the course, sign-up and get hold of the free stuff they are giving away including a one hour recording on, you guessed it, non-sleazy copywriting.
PS If you’re wondering what happened with my friend…
…the one considering the yellow highlighter sales page? Unsuprisingly, my advice was to stick with something she was proud to put her name on, but consider strengthening the copy and presentation with a more compelling headline (no exclamation marks please) and stronger subheads throughout. Take the best of both worlds and make it yours!
18 Responses
May 13th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Bec, this is just completely wonderful. Dude. You have so hit the nail on the head with this article. So so so so SO helpful. Oh my goodness. You’ve just articulated what a thousand conscious business people are feeling!
Goddess Leonie | GoddessGuidebook.com’s last blog post..Goddess Journey Check-in
May 13th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Thanks Leonie! Such a big compliment because connecting with people about their business is exactly what I love to do :)
PS. I had to snip the “.com” part of your ID because it is too long for the template space – I hope that’s OK and sorry!
May 13th, 2009 at 10:26 am
It’s so wonderful that people like you and Naomi and Sonia are out in the world, teaching us soft-hearted business people that we don’t have to grow a pair of balls or turn into slimy people in order to make money in business.
Thanks you for doing what you do!
Victoria Brouhard’s last blog post..Review: Dance of Shiva Starter Kit
May 13th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Thank you so much for the support Victoria.
Honestly, the way some internet marketers and copywriters play on shock and fear tactics, *I* feel the pressure myself to just ‘do what it takes’ and swallow down those icky feelings.
But we can’t live like that, and I believe that business people and consumers alike are thirsting for a way to sell and buy, a way to exchange Good Things, that is more meaningful and respectful.
May 13th, 2009 at 11:01 am
That kind of dualistic thinking is a little scary. And when we read those yellow highlightered pages, those are really scary. And if we start to believe all the bad things that will happen to us if we don’t BUY IT NOW then we start getting doubts and fears we prolly never even imagined before we read the dangblasted scary thing. Lucky stars there IS an alternative and YOU’ve got it! :)
Barbara Martin (@Reptitude)’s last blog post..About The Artist’s Way
May 13th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Scary is right Barbara – and do we really need to be adding to the fear in this world to make a living? I think we’ve arrived at the same answer :)
May 13th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Rebecca,
I love your writing, and how you offer clear information without every coming across with hype or highlighter. I’ve felt such pressure to consider typical web copy, and it just feels really uncomfortable. I don’t buy from people who use it, so why would I want to have customers that would?
Christine Martell’s last blog post..Letting go of fossilized dreams
May 13th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Hi Rebecca,
What a great article! I am one of those sensitive healer hippie types who at one time I thought I would rather be strung up than ever write a sales page.
And then I got desperate last year because a really great program that I was offering just wasn’t getting the response I had hoped for. So I bit the bullet and wrote a a damn sales page already, minus the yellow highlighter but full of my own voice and even more importantly, my own integrity, and hot diggity darn if it didn’t work like a CHARM!
And then I found Havi and Sonia and Naomi and got even more permission to be myself and life and my business are a beautiful thing! Although I must say that I have a veritable addiction to exclamation marks!!! But I think that’s just me.
Thanks for a fabulous and beautifully written post!
Chris
chris Zydel’s last blog post..Creative Miracle Grow: The Crazy Wonderfulness That Can Happen When Someone Believes In YOU!
May 13th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
@Christine – I agree! Why would we think our customers are so radically different from us when we are being customers? We all want to feel safe and informed when we are spending our money.
@Chris – Yay for hot diggity darn!!! I also love exclamation marks and have a habit of using them liberally at all times :)
But I definitely don’t like to see them lined up at the end of a Bold, Red, Title-Cased, Yelling-At-Me, Faking-Urgency Headline. Bit of a turn-off.
Thanks for all your wonderful feedback!!
May 15th, 2009 at 12:41 am
I love all these stories of empowerment! No more yellow highlighter!
With the new model of customer engagement/conversation, there’s no reason we need all that desperate attention stuff. There really has been a revolution in “advertising” and salesmanship in the last year or two. And the new way is so much more fun. (Plus, your business works better when your customers love you.)
Sonia Simone’s last blog post..What I Love About My Job
May 17th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Couldn’t agree more Sonia :-
The new model of conversation is better for the person in business, the customer, the business itself, and heck the whole system. Is that a win-win-win-win?
Sounds good to me!
May 18th, 2009 at 10:54 am
It is such a breathe of fresh air, to hear someone say that you don’t need to have a set just to make it in business!
Ive just recently re-branded my business based on my clients wants and needs rather than the clinical in your face approach some have adopted and its working sooo much better than the latter. Ive established great working rapports with my clients and they love it and I love it!!
Why would anyone force fed another person something that just turns them off? Its insane.
May 20th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Thanks for sharing your experience Maryanne.
Listening carefully and responding openly to what your clients are saying is one of the most powerful things you can do in business.
When I write copy, my most important work is helping the business owner tap into the truth that exists at the point where the service or product meets the customer. By going to that point together we discover and articulate the most powerful and effective business messages.
May 24th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
What’s wrong with making a profit and making a living wage? Is business not what makes the economy grow? Certainly, some businessmen and entrepreneurs could be a bit more focussed on the bottom line. Rgds Vince
June 4th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Hi Rebecca,
Your writing is indeed refreshing, as is your point of view. You’ve got a definite online presence that is unique, attractive, and attention-getting, without the hype. I enjoy your blog hugely and learn a lot from each post. The quiet professionalism is tops. Way to go and thanks!
Stephanie Valentine’s last blog post..Online MLM Keyword Tracking: Can You Hear Me Now?
June 4th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Why, thank you Stephanie.
Pleasure to meet you!
June 27th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Hello Rebecca
How wonderful to know that other copywriters are telling their clients just what I tell mine – express your passion and personality when you write, and make it as easy as possible for your readers to get your message’.
A large part of my work is editing, but I still do my best to meet those two goals.
I get quite cranky about the current push for everyone in business to write an ebook, articles, books, etc. If it’s badly written, it will lose customers, not attract them, which should be the point of writing.
I look forward to hearing what else you have to say.
Desolie (Accredited Editor and owner of Perfect Pages)
December 5th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
[...] You can absolutely do it with integrity, and honesty, and respect for your audience. I’ve talked a bit about how this works with non-sleazy copywriting. [...]
Leave a Reply