What articles (or swipe files) are out there that would help a copywriter persuade business owners into the using the power of copywriting for their marketing? How do you do it?

I want to reach website owners and "normal" business owners and let them know the power of copy and not so normal marketing techniques.

I have my own ideas and some swipe files for this but very few and I want a different perspective and you all always have that!

The secret starts with not using the words "copy" or "copywriting." You need to explain what you have to offer in words and concepts they are already familiar with and goals they know they want to reach.

Then the task becomes rather simple.

Marcia Yudkin

My educated guess is your target is clients for web design.

So, what's familiar is typical (bad) web design... and the angle is that's what keeps business owners from reaching their goals and desires.

You may think you have as good a skill as everyone else. You may correctly believe the sites you build look as good as anyone else. And you may believe your sites validate and your code is as tight as anyone else.

The problem is that may be the absolute truth. ...And that's the problem.

Looked at from the other side of the table. You have five, ten or twenty other designers you're looking at as a business owner. You may have a high regard for the stock photography you chose for "Example Website #182734673837675646534653" you did for free just to fill your portfolio.

To the business owner, they see just another website ...no better or worse than any other. Unless you really mess up on the code, your site will probably show up and (most likely) the "flaws" you see they won't even notice. It shows up in their browser ...so it must "work" technically.

All the technical factors, just about every one designers obsess about and use as selling points, are nearly irrelevant to most business owners.

Believe this or not, business owners expect to put the key in the door of their store or office, turn that key ...and not think about whether the door will come off the hinges and the whole thing collapse in a heap. Yet most web designers think getting a site to show up in both IE, Moz and Safari is some kind of accomplishment.

It may be some kind of accomplishment -- for you. It's basic minimum "show up for work" competence for business owners.

...People expect to not have their stomach pumped from the hotdog they just bought.

...People don't think getting a signal should be in any way, shape or form something to base your marketing on ...."Can you hear me now?!"

Yet, somehow, the illusory idea of bare minimum site validation and, perhaps, some business irrelevant (or outright response dropping) gimmicks is all you need to open a web design business. And 50,000 look-alike, sound-alike, do-alike "me too" competitors are the result.

People expect bare minimum competence, it doesn't give you a competitive advantage. And sorry, but you're going to have to develop a competitive advantage to have some chance with a business owner of any size business.


The Secret to Eating Everyone's Lunch: Get Out of the Web Site Business

Stop building websites and start business building. Your competition is in the "building a website to have a website" business. You want a site? We build sites...

When web design guru Jeffrey Zeldman says this about ....the winners ....of a design contest, you have to know the industry is off the tracks.

The vast majority of web designers are clueless about what in the world of web design produces a conversion. Even the SEO people are (mostly) about driving raw traffic. Yes, they have every trick about what Google likes. No, they have no clue about what users like and what converts site visitors into customers.

So get out of the web design business, and start developing a philosophy which is about building the client's business. You'll find there is far less competition that way.

Related:

A List Apart Never Get Involved in a Land War in Asia (or Build a Website for No Reason) Normal, regular, "familiar" web design for most people is having a web site just "to have a site." That's not a purpose -- that's an excuse. Far, far too many web sites are excuses ....excuses for using PhotoShop ....Excuses for learning Dreamweaver or irrelevant PHP tricks. An excuse is not a reason.

Position yourself against excuse driven web design, don't jump on the bandwagon.

What Would Direct Response Graphic Design Be Like? The marketing opportunity here is positioning against the people who don't know and honestly could not care less.

Your DESIGN may be costing you thousands of dollars... Learn from my mistake. Get out of the graphic art business and get into the Visual Merchandising business.

Visual Mechadising Catalogs, infomercials, advertorials ...all have successfully used good looking graphics as a crucial part of the selling message. You'd think it was against the law to mention them based on how little of that information has gotten into the act of graphic design for the web.

Consequently, the grade "A" typical graphic designer is hazardous to your wealth. And 99.5% of graphic designers fit this mold.

Very nice thanks!!

If you haven't read Andrew Cavanaugh's "Offline Gold" you might
consider it. It doesn't have swipe files but it does discuss the nitty-
gritty of winning over local business owners to doing business
with you.

If you can design nice-looking websites AND have a grasp of how
direct response works you are miles ahead of most of your competitors
who will sell local businesses websites that don't make sales.

You tell them in order to walk the walk they need to talk the talk!

Most people understand these days that different approaches have different effects

ie,

Ads on right side of publication more likely to be read than on the left.

Yellow and blue are the most eye catching colours in spectrum so signage in high street with these colours will stand out more than others like red/green/etc

I learned in art class that 3 colours is max an ad should carry and that graphics should sit to side rather than centrally, some psycho babble followed, can't recall it now.

Perhaps list some of those points and then tell them there are a thousand more 'tricks' at your disposal if they'll allow you to lead the way!

Perhaps show them two Ads that seem similar, and ask them which they prefer, then go though a list explaining why they prefer A to B based on your knowledge of the psychology of selling!

Keep it simple.

Tell them you have the ability to give them marketing that produces more sales and produces them more often than what they are using now.

Remember... tell them what's in it for THEM, not how you will benefit from getting paid your fee.

Good luck,

Mike