Turning Features Into Benefits In Your Sales Copy
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So many people have a hard time understanding what are features and what are benefits when they’re writing sales copy. In fact, there are quite a few seasoned marketers that still get it wrong.
Why does it matter? Simply put – if you get the benefits right, you will see more sales. If you don’t believe me, do a test… one sales page listing features and another sales page listing benefits, and see which converts a lot better.
It’s true that people reading your sales letter want to know what’s in it for them. So it’s up to you to paint that complete picture for them, not leave them with a dot-to-dot where they have to connect all the dots to see the whole picture.
Let’s take a look at what features and benefits are and how they differ.
Features are all about what a product does or has. So features for a vacuum cleaner might be extendible attachment, clean air filter, or ability to suck up wet spills.
Benefits are what those features mean to the reader. You can also consider benefits the end-results of using the product. For example, the benefits of this vacuum cleaner could be, "Able to easily clean away cobwebs before your mother-in-law spots them", "doesn’t send dust into the air where your kids will breathe it in", and "takes care of Fido’s accidents quickly so you don’t have to spend time on hands and knees scrubbing stains out."
Another way to look at it is through progression:
The long arm attachment is the feature, the perk of the feature is that it enables you to easily clear away cobwebs, and the end benefit is it makes you look like a good housekeeper to your mother-in-Law.
Typically, benefits have to do with triggers. What triggers people, specifically your readers? The promise of freedom, more money, better skin, good looks, sexy hair, skinny and sexy body, financial freedom, more time, fame, ease of use, success, washboard abs, love, etc.
That’s why it’s so important to know your potential customers. What are they looking for? What will make their life better, easier, richer, more successful, happier, skinnier and so on.
Put yourself in the reader’s shoes. I wouldn’t care two hoots if you told me your diet program comes with 14 meal plans. I would buy if you told me if I followed the easy meal plan I could possibly lose 10 pounds before my next vacation!
If you’ve been confused about features and benefits, hopefully this has helped. It may be easiest for you to list out the features, then take each one and turn it into a benefit on your sales page. Features are nice, but benefits sell!
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Bill Vannot teaches lasting, marketing survival skills. Visit Bill today at www.BillVannot.com and download a free report that’ll show you how to CRAFT Explosive Emails that will convert like Soda Machines in the Sahara Desert?s
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