You are about to start writing an online sales page.
Your client has given you the briefing information you need. You know all about the product or service you are going to be selling. And you also have some information on the demographics of your audience.
Let’s say the demographic information is reasonably complete. You know that prospective buyers are between the ages of 18 and 65, with the bulk of buyers being in the 35-50 age group. Most own their own homes. 65% female and 35% male.
Hopefully you can now form a picture of your buyers in your mind, and write your sales copy in a way that will resonate with them.
But hang on.
Just because you have that demographic information and know who you are writing to doesn’t mean that everyone in the target audience will respond the same way to your sales copy.
There may well be distinct segments within the overall audience comprised of people who would respond better to a more carefully targeted sales approach.
For example, the best approach for the female prospects may be very different from the best approach for the male prospects.
Let me illustrate what I mean be using Geico Insurance as an example. (And many thanks to Charlotte Hicks for sharing her knowledge of the insurance industry with me.)
The talking gecko commercials are aimed at women. Women like those ads a lot more than men do.
The caveman commercials are aimed at men. Most men like them. A lot of women hate them.
The Maxwell the Pig commercials appeal most to the younger demographic. That’s why he is used to sell services like the Geico app and electronic proof on insurance.
The key here is to understand that instead of creating a single character or group of commercials for their entire audience demographic, Geico created distinct campaigns for separate segments of the audience.
Smart move. Because if they had created just one campaign they would have had to find a middle ground that would “sort of” appeal to everyone – male and female, young and old. And when you find that middle ground you are doomed to mediocrity. You can’t create strong advertising by compromising.
Now for the part about impressing your clients.
When faced with a broad demographic, you might want to sit back and ask your client whether they believe everyone in that group will respond to a single approach. If they want to know what you are talking about, just explain the Geico example.
Then suggest that you write two or three versions of the sales page, each aimed at a distinct segment. The client can then use online advertising to drive the right groups to the right sales pages. (Adverting on a website with a strong female audience to drive traffic to the sales page optimized for women, and so on.)
When you do this you’ll not only impress your client with your marketing and copywriting savvy, but you’ll also end up with a larger and more valuable engagement, writing two or three sales pages instead of just one.
That’s a pretty nice way to impress your clients and double or triple your income.
NOTE: If you have yet to receive any professional-grade training in the craft of online copywriting, find out more about my program, Copywriting 2.0. Copywriting 2.0 is published by AWAI, and you can find their information and sales page for the program here…
About the author: Nick Usborne is an online writer, copywriter, author and coach. Read more…
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