Writing to Win Customers
In the world where ‘AI’ and the likes of GPT-4, etc. are capable of creating well-written content in mere seconds, you would think that the job of “the writer” is history. The opposite is probably true.
If we look at any niche and what works when looking to dominate it, we will see some trends relative to the specificity of who and what typically leads to an inflection point where growth goes parabolic:
- compelling and creative way of framing the problem
- simplified way of communicating a solution to the problem
- systematic breakdown of features/benefits across all communication channels
Some entrepreneurs and service designers are better orators and do well on any kind of audio channel, others are more visually skilled and perform best on video channels, while finally others have a great flow of written thoughts and dominate the email channels.
In all cases, even video, scripts will be devised through some form of copywriting. Some top audio podcasters will have lengthy ‘ghostwritten’ scripts to help guide their guests through a conversation and open dialogue that will lead to those viral sound bites.
And those writing great copy in emails, blogs, or web pages will go through many different permutations and combinations before ever hitting ‘Send.’
The art of writing to influence hearts and minds is still an inherently human skill.
Building Trust + Credibility
One of the places our minds go when we start thinking about ‘Copywriting’ is to Madmen and the era of marketers on Madison Avenue in suits. The inception of the digital marketing world has shifted a lot of what Copywriting now is, as a lot of it is delivered remotely from every corner of the world.
Part of the digital shift encompasses a new emphasis on building trust and credibility with an audience. As we have seen in looking at data about trust and the importance of establishing credibility (via social proof), most consumers will take recommendations from their innermost circle as ‘gospel’ when making a purchasing decision.
In the absence of a recommendation from a friend or family member, reviews are required to drive a purchasing decision.
Thus, Copywriting and Ghostwriting can be used to create copy that is designed specifically to build trust and credibility with an audience.
Tapping Into the Desire to Belong
As part of the discussion about trust and credibility comes the subject of belonging. There is a strong desire within every human to belong to a community of some sort.
Nowadays, we see the growth of multiple ‘niche’ communities across various different disciplines worldwide. The way that those types of communities grow on various mediums and networks is a direct result of how they shape their narrative about what it means to ‘belong’ in their community.
We saw how Airbnb tapped into this psychology in its earliest days with the ‘Belong Anywhere’ slogan and corresponding narrative. It created a sense of safety among many in the travelling community when they stayed with a verified Airbnb Host in a new city vs. an unverified Couchsurfing host at that time.
Copywriters and Ghostwriters can create narratives about belonging to certain groups, communities, and movements that make people want to join. Instantly.
Shifting Perceptions + Inspiring Action
The real problem for a lot of up-and-coming or nascent brands is that nobody truly understands the problem they are solving outside of a small (typically economically unfeasible) group of people.
The solution itself may be novel and effective, but is the problem truly worth solving in the first place?
The paradox about dominating a niche is that you don’t know in the end whether or not the actual niche itself will be valuable enough to achieve ‘scale.’
Nevertheless, the only way to find out is to make it clear that the problem a) exists and b) is big enough to be worth caring about. This requires a type of communication that is able to shift perceptions relative to a certain area or discipline, and consequently inspire action around those same principles.
We have seen this work, typically, very well in socially-connected campaigns in areas like crowdfunding, where many people buy the product or service to support the cause. People don’t always have to “need” something to feel compelled to purchase it.
Copywriters and Ghostwriters can open doors by hitting on these types of social threads where a problem is so well described that people become inspired enough to get behind it in some way financially regardless of how deep their need truly is.
Jump In to Copywriting
A few examples of where Copywriting can be leveraged to generate alpha in the world of commerce:
- sales scripts
- landing pages and major product pages
- email marketing
- advertising copy
- video scripts
- social media content
- generalized brand storytelling
Target a niche or subniche where there is enough potential value to unlock that it will be worthwhile because it’s always unlikely to hit new ‘copy’ out of the park on the first shot.
More on Writing to Win Customers
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