Copywriting - How To Build Benefits From Features Fast And Easy With The Solution Approach

How To Build Benefits From Features Fast And Easy With The Solution Approach

Every salesperson and fledgling copywriter hears the harangue: DON'T SELL the FEATURES of a product ? SELL the BENEFITS those features bring!!!

The concept's important but it confuses a lot of people. Many sellers don't understand how to build a benefit from a feature. Back when I was first learning to write sales copy, I didn't know how myself. I just knew it was critical I figure it out.

Finally I realized what the problem was. You can't get there from here. You don't actually turn a feature into a benefit. You have to approach it from a different point ? the solution approach.

Here's the full process?

When you're looking for the benefit, don't start by focusing on the feature. Instead figure out the problem the feature is supposed to solve. Then, determine what solving that problem could MEAN to the prospect. This payoff ? what the solution means to the prospect - is really all a benefit is.

Here's an example...

Product: Car

Feature: Cruise Control that automatically maintains a set speed without the constant pressure of your foot on the gas pedal.

One Problem it solves: lets you maintain speed limit without constant attention

What the solution means to the prospect: Maintaining the speed limit means you avoid breaking the law which means you avoid getting a ticket which means you avoid higher insurance premiums. Here's a benefit headline that naturally flows from the Payoff we found in our example:

Avoid Speeding Tickets and the Higher Insurance Premiums They Cause

Cruise Control solves another problem too: the driver's leg doesn't tire from having to maintain a fixed position to keep the accelerator pressed

What the solution means to the prospect: Avoiding the tiredness of a fixed position means you arrive fresher and ready to enjoy your destination which means your companions or family enjoy your company more.

And here's a benefit-based lead we could write from this solution:

Face it. It's not much fun for your family when you finally arrive at Disney but you're grumpier than an old bear with a bad back. After all, you probably feel about the same as if you spent every winter scrunched up in the same position.

It's not your fault. Driving is naturally tiring when you have to sit in exactly the same position for hundreds of miles at a time. Your gas-pedal foot is frozen, your leg is paralyzed. You can't help stiffening up and getting achy. WHO WOULDN'T BE GRUMPY?

Good news. You wouldn't be ? not if you had Easy-Street-O-Matic Cruise Control. Not anymore.

Just imagine. Driving in complete comfort, able to shift in your seat any time to get a more relaxed position. It's okay to move that leg around. It's safe!

Now when you reach Disney, you'll be first to bound out of the car. The kids will have to run to keep up. They won't believe their new Dad!

(Yes, I know this tongue-in-cheek example is pushing the bounds of credibility slightly. But it makes the point. Find the solution that a feature offers and then figure out what that means to your prospect. There's your benefit.)

Here's another example?

Product: Daily Supplement for Men

Feature: Contains naturally occurring nutrients that are not acid-forming like chemically derived nutrients.

Problem it solves: Can be taken on an empty stomach at any time because natural nutrients are self-buffering.

What the solution means to the prospect: You'll be able to take the supplement whenever it's convenient for you without worrying about an upset stomach because you haven't eaten. That means you'll be more likely to take it regularly which means you'll get the benefits of greater energy and health. Ultimately that will lead to a longer, healthier life, especially since to be effective against diseases like cancer that take a long time to develop, you must be taking the defensive nutrients over an equally long period.

I'll leave it to you to build some headlines and leads from this second example. Once you have the benefits, it's a lot easier.

The next time you need to create sales material, use this Solution Approach to build your benefits. It will go a lot faster once you approach it from the right point.

Ronald A Murphy is a Copywriter and Graphic Designer specializing in Direct Response and Internet Marketing. Murphy writes and designs sales letters, direct mail packages, inserts, web sales pages, direct email, newsletters for marketing, Internet articles, white papers, and other sales focused materials. He provides expertise to clients serving financial, business, technology, health, opportunity and fundraising markets. For more information on copywriting and marketing, visit his site at http://RonaldAMurphy.com

Created & Maintained by Empower! CMS Web Sites

Host2Sell Web Hosting | Emarketing Workshops | Site SEO Review | FREE Newsletter

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |

3 Reasons Why Content Is Still King

Back in the late nineties, the phrase 'Content is King' was repeated and repeated and repeated by site owners and marketers alike. The belief was that the more content you had, the greater the number of visitors you would attract. Of course, the content had to be well written, relevant and easy to find. Many sites built very successful businesses as a result.

And then something happened.

Big money from venture capitalists burst onto the scene. Suddenly nobody was talking about content. (Where's the big investment return on 'content'?) Instead the attention went to businesses that came up with some kind of unique 'technology solution'.

Then the dotcom bubble burst.

And here we are.

Is content still impor...(related: Copywriting)

How To Write Adverts That Forces People To Respond
Think for a moment some day and consider the kind of advertising you see in your post box, on the TV, on your computer, on the radio, etc. Then ask yourself this question, "Would I buy this or not?" If you say "No," then ask yourself why. If you say "Yes," then ask yourself why.Consider what is it that makes this advert attractive or what is it that this person's offer is deemed to be unattractive. By carrying out this exercise regularly you will be surprising ...(related: Copywriting)

Online Promotion Beats Traditional Ten-one
While traditional marketing can work for the book author or publisher, the return is dim for the huge effort it takes. You must promote 90% of the time to even get a milligram of attention. While you may have a success or two, most of your efforts will bring poor book sales. Ask yourself right now, what is working...(related: Copywriting)

5 Rules For Effective Written Sales Communications
Most salespeople have great ideas, but when it comes to putting those ideas on paper for their prospects, they ramble on for pages and quickly lose their readers' interest. Why do brilliant salespeople often have such a difficult time writing effective sales materials? Quite simply, these professionals haven't mastered the 5 rules of effective written business communications.Unfortunately, few salespeople receive formal training on how to write. While they may have taken a few writing courses in college, such courses don't adequately prepare people for real-world business writing. But with the proliferation of e-m...(related: Copywriting)

Five Tips For Writing Eyeball-grabbing Headlines
If you made it this far, the headline for this story has caught your attention. Hot headlines are a hit with readers because they stick out, grab attention and urge them to read the rest of the story.We're all exp...(related: Copywriting)

Copywriting: Secrets Of A Freelancer
Lately, I've been getting emails from other copywriters who ask me questions like "What's your secret?" and "How did you do it?" and "Can I be your apprentice?"Aw, heck, are you serious? People are talking to me like I'm some kind of demi-goddess... when really, I'm just a humble girl from Jersey who's having a fun time running a freelance copywriting business.I take that back. Freelancing isn't fun. It's AMAZING. Brilliant marketing, like beautiful music, makes my arm hairs stand up. Meeting people who share my passion for writing and dreaming up clever advertising strategies exhilarates me. Connecting with entrepreneurial geniuses who can teach me things I didn't know before is such an incredible privilege. Having the option to walk away from people I don't respect... well, ...(related: Copywriting)

Its The Headline, Stupid! - Writing Powerful Headlines
"It's the headline, stupid," is the sign that hangs over my computer screen. It reminds me that to write effective articles, press releases, sales letters--whatever I want people to read--I need a powerful, grabber headline or title.You are competing with a lot of others to get the attention of potential readers and customers, and you have only a few seconds to grab them. By using the tips and techniques here, you can stand out from the crowd ...(related: Copywriting)

Your Usp Is Useless
One of the keys to writing good marketing copy is to differentiate your product or service from the competition with an effective selling point. And it is on precisely this element that many otherwise competent writers flounder and flop ? and so does their copy.Because the key word here is "effective" not "different" or "unique"."But wait!", you say, "Isn't my Unique Selling Proposition what makes the sales message eff...(related: Copywriting)

How To Write Headlines That Grab Your Prospects Attention
It doesn't matter if you're writing an article, a newspaper or magazine ad, a web page, or even a Y...(related: Copywriting)

Progressive Headlines Guide Customers To Buy
Headlines are, without a doubt, one of the most important elements in copywriting. As has been said countless times before, if you don't get your readers' attention with the headline, the chance of them reading your copy is virtually none. But headlines (and sub-headlines) play a vital part in the copywriting process for other reasons, too.Whether ...(related: Copywriting)

16 Golden Rules Of Master Copywriting
You could spend thousands of dollars on advertisement and have extremely low or no results in sales because of your poor planed copy. You shouldn't be amazed by the fact that huge corporations all over the world do that mistake and waste millions of dollars on false advertisement campaigns.However, how can you write good sales copy, killer ads that get the attention of people? There are no ...(related: Copywriting)