Issue 152 of the Excess Voice newsletter for online copywriters

For information on my coaching service for freelancers copywriters, visit:

Excess Voice Newsletter
April 2007, Issue # 152

In this issue:

>> Intro: Writing Goals?
>> Review: Favorites again.
>> Article: Do your headlines identify urgent pain points?
>> Survey: Do you have a set of written goals?

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Find out about my COACHING service for freelance writers and copywriters. NEW coaching and pricing options...

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Greetings,

As always, many thanks for the replies to the last issue's survey on depression. As with the last time I raised this topic, it seems that many of us have to deal with bouts of depression from time to time.

This issue's survey is on the topic of setting goals for you career or business.

Do you?

In the article I take a close look at how one can add a real sense of urgency to web page headlines.

Until next time,

Nick

Nick Usborne

>> Feedback: mailto:nick@excessvoice.com

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Reviews:

#1. The 2008 Landing Page Handbook from MarketingSherpa

Whether you purchased the first edition of this handbook or not, you should be running to get a copy of this latest edition. It reveals the latest best practices for optimizing a broad range of landing pages, with data drawn from over 3,000 online marketers.

Read my review:
http://www.excessvoice.com/landing-page.htm

#2. Writing Rituals

My productivity guide for marketing writers and copywriters. This set of 5 rituals will help you stay focused on your writing tasks, avoiding the perils of procrastination and writer's block.

Learn more...
http://www.writingrituals.com/

#3. The Freelance Copywriter Fee & Compensation Survey, Volume 2.

This is the second volume of this survey, fully up to date, and with a lot more information on what to charge for 40 different types of freelance copywriting work, how to find new assignments, and more.

Read my review...
http://www.excessvoice.com/copywriting-fees-survey.htm

#4. Michael Masterson's Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting

This is the only copywriting course I wholeheartedly recommend to any copywriter who wants to write copy that drives results.

Read my review:
http://www.excessvoice.com/michael-masterson.htm

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ARTICLE: Do your headlines identify urgent pain points?

I was talking with one of my coaching clients the other day and the topic of "urgent pain points" came up.

"What the heck are those?" he asked.

Here's what I wrote back to him:

"If you haven’t been to the dentist in two years, it’s important that you make an appointment and go. But it’s not urgent. When you get a blinding toothache, it becomes urgent.

If you weigh too much it’s important that you shed a few pounds. But that’s not urgent. When your doctor tells you your blood pressure is way too high, then it becomes urgent.

When a company knows that its home page isn’t expressing its core value proposition very well, it’s important that they fix it. But not urgent.

When their top salesman calls in and says he lost a major prospect because the prospect read the site, but misunderstood the company’s value proposition...it becomes urgent.

In life and business, nothing becomes urgent until we actually feel the pain or fear."

It's worth looking at a few of your key web pages and thinking about your headlines a bit more carefully.

Let's assume that all of your headlines contain a benefit.

The benefit will touch on a "a pain point".

One way or another, you are offering your reader a way to tackle a need or a pain.

For instance:

"Give your kids a winning advantage with the 22-volume Encylopedia Galactica."

The pain point here is a parent's concern over the quality of their children's education. There's a guilt thing happening here too. Implicit in the headline is the message that if you DON'T give your children a winning advantage you're somehow being a bad parent.

That's not a bad headline. But is there any urgency there?

Not really. As a parent I might think, "Sure, it would help Johnny a lot if we had a really good encyclopedia. I'll check that out some time."

Traditionally, we try to overcome that inertia, or lack of urgency, with some kind of offer – like a percentage discount if the reader buys before a certain date.

But it's a lot more powerful if you can build that urgency into the headline's benefit.

So let's try a variation on the encylopedia headline.

"Are your children ready for their upcoming exams? Give them a winning advantage with the 22-volume Encylopedia Galactica."

Suddenly there is an urgency there. As a parent you start counting down the months or weeks before your child's next exam. Scary...you'd better order the encylopedia right now.

You can take the same approach with most products or services.

Find the benefit that addresses the reader's pain. And then find a way to make that pain urgent.

>> Feedback: mailto:nick@excessvoice.com

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SURVEY: Do you have a set of written goals?

Whether you are employed or a freelancer, have you written down your goals for the next year, two years, five years?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Comments:

(NOTE: Any comments and your name may be published in the next issue, or on the Excess Voice web site.)

Cut and paste your replies to me at mailto:nick@excessvoice.com

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NICK USBORNE'S SERVICES:

Yes, I do more than write articles and publish newsletters.

Ask me to give a training seminar or webinar for your writers or web team.

http://www.nickusborne.com/speaking.htm

Ask me to write for your site, emails and newsletters.
http://www.nickusborne.com/copywriting.htm

Ask me to optimize your key offer pages...
http://www.nickusborne.com/consulting.htm

Writing For the Web #1

7 Challenges every Writer and Copywriter faces when writing for the Web

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