Direct Response Copywriter On Differentiating Your Product/Service

How To Smash Your Competition To A Pulp, Legally Take Their Market Share Forever, and Win Every Marketing Battle Before That Battle Even Begins ... How I Took Eight Sales Pages From 2% Conversion to 11% By Differentiating The Product ...

Maybe I'm guilty of being a smidge bombastic in the headline, violent even, but, in this essay, I'm going to show you how to become the dominant force in your vertical.

Here’s something super-cool. Very few of your competitors understand the importance of differentiation. Even better, very few of the companies who want to differentiate their product or service know how to make this happen.

So when you take differentiation seriously, you can be the winner in your category. How would you like that? In 25 years writing direct response copy and working with many of the world's top direct marketers, success requires ... DIFFERENTIATING YOURSELF FROM THE COMPETITION. So in this post, I'm going to show you how I've done this and thus helped companies generate millions of dollars in revenue, often out of thin air.

Most of your competitors are just thinking, “I’ll just throw money at traffic and I'll win.” I recommend you spend money on traffic judiciously and prudently but when you differentiate, guess what happens? You get more, a lot more, from your traffic spend.

Suddenly, your sales pages and VSLs are converting at 11% instead of 2% and that can mean a ton more revenue. First of all, I never want you to differentiate simply by price. That might work for some companies but I’ve never been a fan of advertising to reduce top-line revenue. It’s just not how I work.

I’m going to bounce around a little bit in this post and I make no apologies. By the end of this post, you’ll know how to set yourself apart from the competition so that customers buy what you’re selling, even it has a higher price.

Where Differentiation Must Start

It all starts with research. This DOES NOT mean pumping a prompt into AI: “what differentiates my skin cream from other skin creams?” David Ogilvy’s agency was advertising Rolls-Royce cars back in the 1960s and 1970s. He came up with this famous headline for ad ad …

“At 60 miles per hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.”

This epic headline came from meticulous research and differentiates the product.

This headline came from meticulous and deep research. The copywriter basically unearthed this headline in a "boring" technical manual about the car. 80% of the time, deep research will give you the fact or factor or whatever it might be that will set your product or service above the competition. In many markets, you can try the following.

Find a powerful USP. If you don’t know what a USP is, make it a priority to understand this crucial concept.

Unique mechanism … something that’s genuinely unique that leads to a powerful benefit … something about how the product or service works that’s new and different.

Something new and newsworthy. The latest science/developments ... only available here.

People. A person or people who have enjoyed huge success.

Value. Stressing the many benefits.

Unique ingredient … unique blend … unique formula.

A new study that reveals something that leads to a powerful benefit.

No risk. A big guarantee.

Sometimes, I see the approach that says, “We’re #1” or “We’re The Best” without anything to back this up. I know one copywriter who runs around saying, “I’m #1” when he’s not.

A Note of Caution About Celebrity Endorsements

Every day, hundreds of marketing decision makers think, “if I give a vast amount of money to a celebrity to endorse my product, money will fall from the sky.” So a company will send $10 million to a celebrity to appear in ads, or do something, and there’s never any indication there’s any ROI. Why? Because there isn’t. Simply slinging a celebrity out there is a poor way to differentiate a product. Hiring an expert to share their expertise and selling that expertise is totally different.

Would You Like An Emu?

Massive, multi-billion dollar companies hire advertising agencies and spend tens of millions of dollars to differentiate themselves. You can see this in the insurance industry. I rarely watch TV but I see the insurance ads for Flo, the emu, the people who are becoming like their parents. If you feel the urge to spend tens of millions of dollars on TV advertising plus tie your company to a lunatic emu … have at it. But if you still want to differentiate your product without spending all that money, hang with me.

Graphically, a logo and a “look” can help you stand out. However, it’s not going to generate much of a bump in revenue and it’s hard to measure the impact. I’ve worked with super-successful direct marketing companies that have paid very little attention this part of branding.

Maybe someone has told you to stick with the "brand voice."

Quick ... how often have you bought a product or service because you loved the "brand voice" of the company that makes that product or service?

Q: What’s The #1 Way to Differentiate Your Product In A Crowded Space? A: Follow the fundamentals of direct marketing and direct response copy …

Motivate prospects to read the copy with a compelling headline.

Pile on the believable proof.

Provide reasons to try the product.

Justify the price by stressing the value.

Reverse any risk with a guarantee that’s way better than what the competition offers.

Empathy … we understand what you’re going through.

Copy that gets the prospect nodding their head in agreement.

Plus … put a 3-5 minute video above the fold. The goal of this video is to motivate the prospect to read the copy.

Give the prospect information about the real person behind the product and the real company behind the product.

Build everything around clarity.

A comparison chart that’s not overwhelming.

When you follow the fundamentals of direct marketing and direct response copywriting, you will differentiate your product in a crowded market and bludgeon the competition … competition that thinks that direct marketing is for the birds.

A Powerful Technique ... Rarely Used ... Your customers will tell you what's different and better about your product or service. Ask them in a survey or look through online reviews. It's part of my research process.

There’s Nothing Wrong With This … I regularly write copy that directly addresses the faults of the competition and the magnificence of the product or service I’m selling. The subhead reads something like this … Here’s Why People Choose The Acme Can Opener Over Other Can Openers.

It's not simply saying, with no proof or logic, “we’re better than everyone else.” It's using logic and proof to prove the product is better.

The Difference Between The ‘OK’ Direct Response Copywriter And The 'Elite-Level' Direct Response Copywriter … And What This Means For You ...

Every day, I see really poor copy, probably produced by AI. I also see copy that’s “OK” … if that. Sometimes I see copy that’s really powerful and motivates me to try a product or service.

When you hire an elite-level direct response copywriter who can successfully differentiate your product from the other products, your revenue can skyrocket. An “OK” copywriter will not know how to differentiate your product and thus your revenue will be flat.

I see a lot of sales pages that scream “we don’t really care about differentiating ourselves from everyone else” and that means only one thing: hemorrhaging money.

**How I Do This … **

I position myself as the copywriter who is the most likely to help you generate the most money. I can back this up because many of the companies I’ve worked with have kept me around for several years. It’s not because they like the way I dress or talk or ski. It’s because I drive more revenue than any other copywriter.

**And If You Want To Build A Brand … Don’t Do This … Do This Instead … **

There are lots of branding “experts” who can tell you how to build a brand. Avoid them. If you want to build a brand, which is another way of saying, “we want to differentiate our product” then hire direct marketing people plus an elite-level direct response copywriter. Your brand will emerge.

If you have any thoughts and/or want me to help you with generating more revenue, more often, please leave a comment below or contact me directly through LI.

Direct Response Copywriter Has A Message For Marketing Managers and Marketing Execs

This blog is for marketing managers and marketing decision makers, especially if you manage a copywriter or a team of copywriters.

This blog is not an easy blog to write.

Why?

Because we’re humans and, as such, we cherish loyalty and friendships. My friends are super-important to me and I’m loyal to my friends, even when they let me down.

And in this blog, I’m asking you to put aside the admirable trait of loyalty and even move beyond a friendship.

That’s not easy.

But hang with me for a minute because it’s really important for your career.

Your career depends, in large part, on your ability to generate measurable revenue. Awards and kudos are nice but, when it really comes down to it, you have to show the people above you that you can maintain and grow top-line revenue.

If you fail, you get fired.

And if you get fired, your career in marketing will come to a screeching halt and you’ll have to find another career.

Brutal, but true. I've seen this happen.

To find that increase in revenue, you must have the following.

• A great traffic buyer.
• Products and services that people want.
• Marketing systems/automation.
• Testing.

And …

**An elite-level direct response copywriter. **

What does your current copywriter look like?

Or … if you have several copywriters on your team, what do they look like?

Are they nascent rookies? Are they mediocre? Are they genuine all-stars?

You have to look at yourself as the coach of a professional sports team. The top coaches are ruthless when it comes to performance.

If there’s a player who isn’t performing at the highest level, the coach is looking around for another player.

Look at your direct response copywriter (or copywriters), full-time or contract. Are they performing at the “elite” level? Or are they mediocre? Are they constantly striving to improve, learn, and generate more revenue for your company?

If the answer to that last question is “no” then you MUST find copywriters who write direct response copy at the very highest level and know how to generate revenue.

Your career depends on this. Seriously.

You have to be ruthless. You have to replace the mediocre copywriters with elite-level copywriters … just like one of the super-successful coaches that routinely wins games and championships.

Maybe you’ll get some hassle from HR. Maybe someone in accounting will say, “you can only pay this much.” You need to break through this or find a company that “gets it.”

Look at all the most successful coaches in professional sports and you’ll discover that mediocrity is not tolerated. Why should you tolerate mediocrity when it comes to copywriters?

Remember ... the progress of your career depends on this.

You can either find an “elite” level direct response copywriter to replace the mediocrity or you can help your current copywriters reach that elite level.

The former will help you get results a lot faster. The latter may placate the HR people but will take 1-2 years, at least. And some copywriters are always going to be mediocre. That’s just the way it goes.

But either way, you MUST have “elite” level direct response copywriters or revenue will stagnate or decline. You will get the blame for this decline, by the way.

If what I’m saying resonates with you and you want to continue this conversation, then contact me here.

One more thing … you might be friends with the copywriter or copywriters on your team. And you might feel loyalty to them. And that says a lot about who you are as a human being. But business is business and your career is crucial. But, ultimately, your responsibility is to increase top-line revenue.

This may seem harsh but, I’m confident you understand the dynamic.

Direct Response Copywriter On The Bad Side of Marketing

I’ve been working in marketing for a long time, close to 30 years. As such, I’ve worked with some great marketers and some marketers who are not so great.

What’s the difference?

The great marketers understand what a direct response copywriter can do for them. They actively search for ones who can help them generate significant revenue. Also, the great marketers speak a very specific language …

• Call to action.
• Headline testing.
• Highlighting benefits.
• Cost per acquisition.

The language is precise. They treat direct marketing as a science.

What about the not-so-good marketers? That’s easy. Here’s what I hear … jargon.

• Low-hanging fruit.
• I’ll be untangling the spaghetti here.
• I’m going to bird dog that for you.
• We have to maintain some brand equity here.

What did the great David Ogilvy say?

“Our business is infested with idiots who try to impress by using pretentious jargon.”

At the risk of sounding like an ornery so-and-so, I’m not impressed when someone in marketing starts speaking in jargon-ese. I like to spend time with direct marketers. These are my people and I love speaking the language of direct marketing.

Direct Response Copywriter on "Reasons Why" Copy

I see a lot of direct response copy. Much of this includes the “fundamental” elements:

• Pre-head
• Headline/deck
• Lead
• Features
• Benefits
• Guarantee
• Close
• Call To Action

All good. But here’s something I rarely see: “Reasons Why" Copy. I always include this copy element in my long-form copy. I sometimes include this in shorter copy, including opt-in pages.

I use the format:

23 Reasons to Try INSERT PRODUCT

It might be fewer reasons … it might be more.

I write this element after I’ve written all the other copy. It’s basically a summary of the benefits, presented in a numbered list. Yes, I fully admit I’m going to repeat myself. But let’s remember that around two-thirds of people don’t read all the copy. A list of “reasons why” might be the one thing that really grabs their attention deep in the body copy. There might be one benefit that will ultimately motivate them to try the product or service. They will likely find this benefit in the “reasons why” copy. Plus the other benefits will buttress their decision.

In a perfect world, I want the reader to sell themselves on their buying decision. If you’re like me, you’ve justified a purchase to yourself by including some additional benefits beyond your original ones.

For example, you might decide to buy a car because it’s fast and powerful. If you’re on the fence, you might ultimately "sign on the dotted line" because of the color or the promise of a super-high resale value. I pity the salesperson who doesn’t introduce the other benefits of the car beyond its raw speed.

If you’re a direct response copywriter, I encourage you to start using “reasons why" copy. It’s one reason my copy has helped my clients generate millions in revenue. Sometimes the list isn’t that long. Sometimes it’s really long. I include as many of these as I think I need to make the sale.

And one more thing … the inclusion of this element will make your copy longer. That’s always a good thing when the copy is relevant. Long copy almost always beats short copy.

Direct Response Copywriter on A Lesson You Can Learn from Sir Sean Connery

Sir Sean Connery, the wonderful actor, passed away a few days ago.

We all know about his acting career and perhaps you know about some of his other passions. These included golf and Scottish independence.

He left school at 13, as you could back in the day, and he had numerous odd jobs and, before he hit the big time, had a career that could only be described as peripatetic. His jobs including being a milkman and babysitter. He came third in a bodybuilding contest. He beat up a bunch of Edinburgh thugs and nobody went near him again with any violent intent ... until the Bond movies, of course.

I read the obituary in The Daily Telegraph and I learned something interesting but not surprising.

Early in his career, a fellow actor gave this advice to Sir Sean … from The Telegraph piece …

Having played football for Scotland juniors, he toyed with the idea of joining Manchester United, but an American actor persuaded him to work on his voice so as to lose part of his Scottish accent and to acquire a literary background by reading the classics.

He did so in public libraries, devouring the complete works of Shaw, Wilde, Ibsen, and James Joyce, and later on would raid the lending libraries of every town and city he visited on his travels. “It’s the books, the reading, that can change one’s life,” he remarked. “I’m the living evidence.”

What did those classics give Sir Sean? It’s hard to say, perhaps. But here’s one thing about every Sean Connery performance I’ve seen: he always came across as hyper-intelligent. There’s only so much a script can do to provide that trait. He was always the smartest person in the room.

In direct marketing and direct response copywriting, what can we learn?

Read everything you can about our little part of the business universe.

Thankfully, many of the world’s greatest practitioners, including many of the great direct response copywriters, have written excellent books and, for around $25, you can get all their wisdom. Gary Bencivenga never officially wrote a book but he’s given us The Bencivenga Bullets … the same thing as a book and totally free.

There’s one important caveat: be careful who you follow. Most of the great direct marketers and direct response copywriters who wrote books believed in selling ethically. Some people who wrote books did not.

I can just imagine Sir Sean spending hours of his free time in the local library, devouring the work of the great writers and playwrights.

Now I know why I always admired Sir Sean. I wish I could have played golf with him.