7 Steps of Writing Marketing Copy that Motivates Clients to Hire You
Guest post from Kristie Lorette McCauley of The Wedding Planner Copywriter
If you are like most planners, it can be a struggle to find the right words for your website, emails, a brochure, and other marketing materials. Most make the mistake of writing marketing copy that is all about them instead of focusing in on their DREAMIEST of dream clients’ needs, wants, and desires.
While writing marketing copy is not brain surgery by any means, it does require a certain approach to write PROVEN and EFFECTIVE copy—the words that get your clients to act by calling you, visiting your website, or scheduling a consultation with you.
Check out this 7-step approach to writing marketing copy that sizzles and motivates event clients into action.
Step 1: Identify Your Clients
Before you can put pen to paper or type away on your computer keyboard, take the time and do the research to understand who your clients are. If you are just starting out in business, you may not have a database full of clients, but this doesn’t matter. Whether you have been in business two days or 20 years, you can approach getting to know clients as a fact-finding mission that you are willing and able to complete.
What may differ is how you go about learning about your prospects and clients. Some ways to get started are to:
– Survey existing clients
– Pull customer data from the Small Business Administration, U.S. Census Bureau, or the survey results of a similar business
– Study other types of businesses that attract the clients you are targeting and learn everything there is to know about what these clients like, dislike, need, and want
Only when you can truly identify with your DREAM clients can you choose words, craft messages, and put together marketing copy that speaks to them.
Step 2: Focus on Your Marketing Purpose
Each marketing piece has a different purpose. While a business card may have the purpose of sharing contact information so that a potential client calls you or visits your website, a website may have the purpose of getting the client to click the “Book Now” button.
Deciding on the purpose for the marketing piece you are writing is two-fold:
First, determine what it is you want the client to do after reading what you write.
Second, determine what the client is looking to glean from the marketing piece they are reading.
Once you know your own purpose for the piece and what the expectations are of the client, then you match these two lists to create copy that meets the needs on both sides. Knowing what the purpose of the piece is can help guide you into including all of the information and components of writing marketing copy.
Step 3: Craft Your Attention Grabber
With 20 seconds or less to grab the attention of your prospective client, you better start off with such an attention-grabbing headline, subject line, or first sentence that they can’t help but move on to reading the rest of what you have to say.
If you’re writing the subject line for an email, think back to some of the subject lines that get your finger itching to click on the mouse to open it. You can even go through some of the recent emails you have received from companies and see what it is about the subject lines that motivated you to open it.
If you’re writing the headline for an article or blog post, flip through some of your favorite magazines and newspapers. Note how writers use certain words and phrases to grab the attention of someone who is flipping through the publication. What kinds of characteristics in the headlines urge you to read the rest of the story?
While you certainly do not want to copy a subject line, headline, or any other marketing copy, you can mimic this copy to create your own original copy that captures the attention of your audience.
Step 4: Create a Compelling Message
Grabbing their attention is just the first part of writing compelling copy. Once you get their attention, you have to deliver on the promises you’ve made with the headline or provide the information the bride or groom was led to believe they would get from your information.
This starts with a strong opening sentence — no matter if you are writing a client referral request letter or a promotional email. Also, go back to the basics of writing and include the five Ws:
– Who
– What
– When
– Where
– Why (and sometimes How)
Step 5: Package the Benefits
Step into the shoes of your event clients for just a moment. Think about why they should book you over the competition. Think about why your service is the one that resolves their problems or fits their needs or wants. NEVER list out the features your service provides to clients. Instead, focus on how it benefits them. Weddings are one of the most important day of a bride or groom’s life, so make sure that your content is ALL about them. When they are reading marketing materials or information on a business or service, they often stop and say, “That’s great, but what’s in it for me?”
If nothing else, make sure that your marketing messages, information, and other materials TELL THEM precisely how they benefit from hiring you.
The best thing to do is to step into the shoes of your clients and ask yourself what kind of information you would want to find if you were searching for an event planner.
Step 6: Call on Them to Act
After you package up all of the benefits, then you have to get bossy – in a good way. As a final wrap-up, always include the next step that you want them to take.
In marketing terminology, this is called the “call to action.” A call to action may be:
“Call today…”
“For more information, visit our website…”
“Book now…”
It doesn’t have to be complicated to come up with the call to action, but it is one of the most important components of marketing copy because it leads clients to book you.
You may be thinking that it is obvious that you want them to contact you, but never leave this to chance. Whatever it is you want event clients to do after reading what you’ve written just tell them!
Step 7: Just Market It
Once you take the time to identify your client, understand the purpose for what you are writing, get their attention, deliver your message, tell them how it benefits them, and tell them what to do next, you have to use the marketing copy you have created.
That’s right, JUST MARKET IT.
That email promotion isn’t going to do anything sitting in your email box. Send it to your email list.
That referral request letter isn’t going to bring you in new events sitting in the documents folder of your computer. Print it, stuff it in envelopes, and mail it!
While you do want your marketing message and content to be right, to be professional and to be effective, using something that isn’t quite perfect is better than not using it at all.
Some kind of marketing is better than no marketing. Getting it out there allows you to measure the results, tweak it, and get a better version out the door the next time.
Kristie Lorette McCauley is a former certified wedding planner. She’s now The Wedding Planner Copywriter. Kristie offers wedding planners DIY + do-it-for-you copy solutions that book calendars solid.
Want to write copy so swoonworthy wedding couples are standing in line to hire you? Grab Kristie’s FREE Writing Survival Kit for Planners, which includes a Dream Client Worksheet, 40 Marketing Lessons for Planners, a Headline Cheat Sheet, and 25 Blog Post Ideas for Planner. Kristie will also be hosting an 8-week online copywriting program for wedding planners (+ wedding pros), designed to turn your words into delicious copy that attracts your dream brides + grooms + books your calendar solid with weddings (not into next month, but into next year). This is not your typical copywriting course that you’re not going to finish. It’s not the course where you won’t see results if you use the info. It’s a virtual copywriting workshop that offers 1 on 1 accountability, support, and guidance from someone who has been where you are now. Enrollment is only open Aug 15-Aug 29, so if it’s right for you, join here: www.weddingplannercopy.com/write-sweet-spot-copy-bootcamp.
0 Comments