YOUR FOCUS

Forget ME, think YOU
For too many marketers, creating a sales letter is a running battle between features and benefits: which comes first?

To my mind, there should be no contest. Benefits rule.

The reader who consumes your mailing starts with one burning question: What's in this for me? To keep him reading, the answer should jump off the page. And stay front-and-center in every word that follows.

Sure, your prospect will eventually want more meat—How does this work…What does it cost…How does it stack up against the competition? But foremost—Why should I care?

Ask yourself, what is there in this letter that would sell ME if I found it in my morning mail?


* Does it speak MY language, satisfy MY needs, appeal to MY self interest?
* Does it address MY business imperatives, solve challenges MY company faces, improve MY bottom line?
* Most important, does it excite ME—in words that are simple and clear—TO ACT?

An offer only becomes great when it becomes great for the customer.


So when you've got what looks like a solid first draft, get out your red pen. Cross out words like "I," "my," "our." Replace them with "YOU" and "YOUR."

Common objection: What if my offer appeals to a wide slice of customers who all look for different benefits? Isn’t there a danger in using "You" so much?

Good point. Raising benefits that all readers won't share can seriously dilute your message. The answer: Don't restrict yourself to one blockbuster campaign. You're better off creating half a dozen letters for half a dozen markets. This is the beauty of direct mail. You can tailor your language to your readers. The cost difference is negligible. Often it's simply a matter of re-aiming your copy, not starting over from scratch.

Don 't get me wrong, I'm not knocking in-company expertise.


In fact, when it comes to profiling your customers—translating the features of your products into the strongest customer benefits—don't blindly trust any copywriter. Your sales and marketing folks are the real experts. They know better than anyone what your particular customers find most appealing about your particular products.

On top of that, they also have a built-in radar for appropriate language—the kind of shop talk that people in your trade will find convincing. Your writer should come to the table with a good sense for this, too, but when it comes to speaking the language of YOUR customers, about YOUR products, nobody knows better than the people on your front lines.

Great customer-focused copy starts with great customer instincts.

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