Small business owners often end up doing it all.
You man the desk, make and answer phone calls, create, produce, serve and manufacture.
At some point many of you will turn a bleary eye toward marketing and try your hand at copywriting.
While it’s tempting to focus on your excellent products, low price and fabulous service; your customer is really craving something a little more “elemental.” That secret ingredient? Hospitality.
When you think of hospitality, you probably think about restaurants and hotels. That industry is the cornerstone of hospitality, sure. But you can easily bring that mindset into your copywriting and make your readers and prospects want to stay awhile.
After all, the whole point of your copywriting is to make the reader feel compelled to read “the whole thing” and then take some sort of action.
The mindset that focuses on hospitality will attract your ideal clients simply because you have anticipated their needs, their questions and their concerns — and address them with each point you make.
Here’s how to infuse your writing with that extra flavor that will entice your reader to continue.
Bring the reader in. Great headlines guide readers to the first part of your text. Every chunk of your writing from there nudges the reader further along. The idea is to get the reader to read the whole thing. Just like sitting down to a great meal, you want him to stay for dessert!
Connect with the reader through an emotion. You know in an instant whether your guest is feeling calm, excited, distracted, or in a hurry to get in and get out. The same is true for your reader. Speak to the reader “as if” that emotion exists… because for your ideal customer, it most certainly does!
Use the words they use. Salespeople know this well. By just repeating a phrase, comment or gesture of their customer, they raise the customer’s comfort level and help them get closer to a purchase. Think about it: The salesperson selling a car to a mom with four kids will have a very different conversation than the one he’d have selling the same car to an executive of a large company.
Even the tone of voice should mirror the customer style, just as we similarly adjust our gestures and positions while engaging with people we enjoy. (She touches her hair, you touch your hair. She leans in, you lean in. You know how that works.) Make a point to notice this in everyday life and then practice repeating a phrase your customer uses in your copy. (By the way, I listen very carefully when my customers speak, and I often use their words in the copy I write for them, too. It makes a difference.)
Offer clear explanations and choices. Think of a menu. Use bullet points and short descriptions. Too much information, and you’ll lose your customer. Studies have shown that limiting choices to just a few results in more sales than if you offer too many. Keep It Super Simple (KISS) and be ready to expand on your explanation if asked or clicked. Online copywriting often includes links to more information.
Make your point and stick with it. Don’t jump around from theme to theme. Pick one idea or keyword you’re going for and support that concept with each idea you present. Just like a diner would be confused if the waiter brought french fries to an Indian meal, your reader appreciates one train of thought. Save all those extra thoughts for another day.
Keep a content file. Efficient copywriters keep a folder of ideas for future blog posts, emails, etc. Someone asked me recently if I could think of enough things to write about his “boring” industry — multifamily housing insurance. While I haven’t written about this particular industry yet, I confidently assured him that I will never run out of ideas. Writing seems to generate more ideas the more you do it. It’s the editing that’s difficult, but so important! (Refer to “Make your point,” above.)
Neaten up your closing. Clear the table; remove the plates and dirty silverware. Bring the reader back to a simple and clean finish. In fact some copywriting experts even suggest that when you are finished, take that closing sentence and move it up to the top. It should not only fit well there, it might even make a better opening line than the one you started with!
The copywriting that connects with your reader has these elements of hospitality – and many more! Simply anticipate your reader’s needs and serve up a solution they’ve been craving.
Copywriting that really speaks to your customers also satisfies them. It should make them want to come back for more (and bring their friends next time!) because it resonates on a level as sincere and basic as food and conversation.
Hospitality is the ingredient we all crave. Why should the restaurant industry have a corner on it?
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