Easy money made simple
"Simple" and "easy": Two words that are often used interchangeably, but have two very different meanings, especially for marketers and copywriters.
In fact, it may be fair to say that many of our best opportunities lie in the trough between "simple" and "easy."
Take dieting, for example. Truth is, losing weight is simple: When you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight. You want to drop the pounds? Eat less and exercise more. It's that simple.
But it ain't easy. And as someone who has been struggling to lose weight over the past year, I speak from experience. It isn't easy because I have to juggle my schedule to find time to exercise. It isn't easy because I love to cook and dieting robs me of one of my favorite pleasures. It isn't easy because I hate passing up seconds or a dessert -- especially when I still feel hungry.
I'm not alone in this -- which is why there's a multi-million (multi-billion?) dollar industry in the dieting business. While each plan has its own distinctive hook -- no carbs, more fruits, special pills, and so on -- all of them share one underlying promise: This will be easy. Or at least easier than exercising more and eating less.
That's why whenever I approach a new copywriting project, I always look beyond the obvious features and benefits for that something "easy" (which can be a lot of hard work -- on my part anyway). If there's some way the product or service makes an emotionally difficult or risky thing easier, it's likely to win customers.
Case in point: I've been working on a campaign for a student loan debt consolidator. Frankly, the second-to-last thing graduates want to think about is debt; the very last thing is having to compare and contrast different plans to choose the "right one."
In the copy brief from the client, there were all kinds of goodies about lower rates and special plans that reduced costs even further. Strong points -- but only if people stop to think, which people don't usually care to do.
Buried in the brief, however, was a hidden nugget I hope will pan out to be gold (this mailer just dropped and the numbers aren't in yet). The nugget: You don't need to gather your paperwork -- the client has specially trained representatives who can collect what you need and hold your hand through the entire process.
The key message? "You don't even need your paperwork to get started!" We built the entire mailing on an "easy as one, two, three" concept: Just pick up the phone; dial the number; we'll do the rest. Nothing to compare and contrast. Nothing to think about.
That's what I mean by "easy."
How are you making things easier for your customers?
In fact, it may be fair to say that many of our best opportunities lie in the trough between "simple" and "easy."
Take dieting, for example. Truth is, losing weight is simple: When you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight. You want to drop the pounds? Eat less and exercise more. It's that simple.
But it ain't easy. And as someone who has been struggling to lose weight over the past year, I speak from experience. It isn't easy because I have to juggle my schedule to find time to exercise. It isn't easy because I love to cook and dieting robs me of one of my favorite pleasures. It isn't easy because I hate passing up seconds or a dessert -- especially when I still feel hungry.
I'm not alone in this -- which is why there's a multi-million (multi-billion?) dollar industry in the dieting business. While each plan has its own distinctive hook -- no carbs, more fruits, special pills, and so on -- all of them share one underlying promise: This will be easy. Or at least easier than exercising more and eating less.
That's why whenever I approach a new copywriting project, I always look beyond the obvious features and benefits for that something "easy" (which can be a lot of hard work -- on my part anyway). If there's some way the product or service makes an emotionally difficult or risky thing easier, it's likely to win customers.
Case in point: I've been working on a campaign for a student loan debt consolidator. Frankly, the second-to-last thing graduates want to think about is debt; the very last thing is having to compare and contrast different plans to choose the "right one."
In the copy brief from the client, there were all kinds of goodies about lower rates and special plans that reduced costs even further. Strong points -- but only if people stop to think, which people don't usually care to do.
Buried in the brief, however, was a hidden nugget I hope will pan out to be gold (this mailer just dropped and the numbers aren't in yet). The nugget: You don't need to gather your paperwork -- the client has specially trained representatives who can collect what you need and hold your hand through the entire process.
The key message? "You don't even need your paperwork to get started!" We built the entire mailing on an "easy as one, two, three" concept: Just pick up the phone; dial the number; we'll do the rest. Nothing to compare and contrast. Nothing to think about.
That's what I mean by "easy."
How are you making things easier for your customers?
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