10 May Attention, Interest, Desire, Action
Words have work to do
Our objective is to first get attention. Next, get the reader’s interest. Then we want the reader to desire what we are offering. Last, we want them to take action. That could be BUY, subscribe, book, enquire. It’s a handy acronym to use for when you are writing email sales copy, an advertisement, a poster, or an infomercial.
What’s In It For Me? (WIIFM)
Here’s a tip with your business writing. It’s not about YOU. It’s about THEM. We need to ask ourselves this constantly when we are producing words.
Think from the point of view of your prospect. Why are they reading? Why are they investing their precious time and energy reading about how great your company is. They don’t care.
They just want your benefits. And they want it to be easy. And reading (like listening) to someone’s ego-trip isn’t easy. Neither is wading through loads of jargon. It’s awful.
Voice of Customer
One trick is to use the voice of your customer.
Imagine you are Betty Bankstown or Mary in Mittagong or Ken of Kempsey (whoever your target reader is). Speak like them. Talk about your problem and the solution. The blessed relief of finding…you guessed it, YOU!
Now you’re the hero. Now you can tell us about your history and unparalleled customer service or whatever.