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Copywriting Selling Secret 12: What the Australian Idol Judges Have In Common
Copyright (c) 2008-2023 Scott Bywater
If you're in Australia and have had your television turned on the last couple of nights, you would have noticed Kyle Sandilands, together with Mark Holden and Marcia Hines, gracing the stage.
One thing you'll notice about Kyle and Marcia, is they are very, very, very different.
And there is sure to be some fireworks along the way!
However, they are still motivated, just like everyone else in the human (and I suspect, animal) population, by 2 common drivers.
The desire to avoid pain, and,
The desire to move towards pleasure
So how does this apply to copywriting, and creating killer ads?
Simple really.
Decades of scientific research clearly shows people will do more to avoid pain than they will to gain pleasure.
What this means to you when selling your product or service, is you need to make people very, very, very aware of why not having your product is causing pain.
In short, bring up the PROBLEM, it is causing.
Here's an example of how I would start a weight loss advertisement for women...
-------------------------------------
Don't you hate it? The feeling of putting on your summer clothes after 6 months of keeping warm over winter, and they don't fit? It feels uncomfortable to go to the beach when you don't look your best, doesn't it.
It's natural to put weight on over winter. It's a time for hibernating. However, when summer comes around, the last thing you want to see when you jump into your bikini, is cellulite.
Well, it doesn't have to be this way. There is a solution. With the new XYZ diet and just 5 minutes of exercise a day, you'll be shedding weight in no time.
Here's how it works. (etc. etc. etc.)
-------------------------------------
Notice the formula.
Step 1: Identify the problem
Step 2: Aggravate the problem
Step 3: Provide the solution
Who else could use this formula?
1) A bookkeeper could use it when sending mail to small business owners who do their own finances. (Don't you hate tax time?)
2) A home alarm company could use this approach to talk about the problems of burglaries, statistics of break-ins, etc. in the area.
3) A travel agency who sells holidays to Hawaii could talk about how tough it is to be slogging it out, the problem of working 50 hour weeks, week in and week out, before referring to what a joy it is to be in Hawaii.
That's all for now,
Scott Bywater
Scott Bywater is well known for getting results as a professional direct mail copywriter. And also the author of Cash-Flow Advertising. To get a free subscription to his "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter where you'll discover the truth about why most ads and sales letters don't work (And how to make yours different) scamper over to his web site at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au
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Top-Level Category: Writing and Speaking Articles || Related Categories: Business Offline Articles and Business Online Articles
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