5 Persuasive Copywriting Ingredients (Often Missing in B2B Copy)

Over the years, two pillars have served marketing writers well: features and benefits.

They have become the building blocks for B2B, and deservedly so—they do a lot of heavy lifting for marketers.

But features and benefits are just two out of more than a dozen copywriting ingredients available for marketers and writers to choose from. Why not tap into the other copywriting ingredients and put them to use?

By using a few (often missing) persuasive ingredients in B2B marketing copy, you can increase engagement levels with your audience.

Mix and match different techniques to see what works best for you.

Tip #1: Write benefit-driven headlines

When writing headlines, focus on the benefits an audience receives from your ideas. “How to Speed Up Your Blog Post Writing (by 60 Percent)” tells the audience exactly how they will benefit from your idea. “Time to Get Moving” doesn’t tell your audience a thing; it leaves them guessing what you’re going to say. B2B folks are too busy to decipher whether or not a message is relevant to them.

Tip #2: Demonstrate empathy

Instead of introducing your solution right away, consider starting the copy with the problem your audience is facing. Create empathy by demonstrating that you understand the particular problem. Talk about the consequences of the problem and how it affects them. Create context and empathy first—before rolling out your specific solution.

Tip #3: Spotlight your testimonials

Are you using testimonials in your copy? Consider adding a mini-headline above the testimonial. Use a different color and a different font from what’s used in the main copy. Bold the headline too. These three small changes will help give your testimonials the attention they deserve.

Tip #4: Raise and overturn objections

Most prospects and customers have objections when buying something or receiving free content. Instead of ignoring these objections, use them to your advantage. Include an objection or two in your copy and then overturn each one by using testimonials, endorsements, awards, statistics, etc. You’ll be a step closer to moving the prospect along in your sales cycle.

Tip #5: Write persuasive calls to action

Many calls to action provide a phone number or email address and nothing more. Take your call to action a step further. Tell your audience why your offer is valuable. Then walk them through the call to action by describing the offer, listing the benefits, and outlining what the prospect has to do to receive the offer. Adding a persuasive call to action on each page is another simple (and easy) way to boost engagement with prospects and customers.

Did you find these tips helpful?

Stay up to date on the latest writing and business communications tips by receiving free blog updates (and other special announcements) from me.

If you haven't done so already, just enter your email address in the top-right corner of this page. You’ll receive an email to activate and confirm your blog subscription.

When you subscribe for future blog updates, you’ll receive a professionally produced and designed e-book that will help you write faster, better and easier. The strategies in the e-book will help you overcome five common writing challenges:

1. Staying organized
2. Generating ideas
3. Writing quickly
4. Using time efficiently
5. Eliminating distractions

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

I just finished writing a three four-part blog series on how to plan, prepare and direct content expert interviews. It's a simplified version of my current copywriting system based on 1,500 content expert interviews. Stay tuned.

Here's what you'll learn in the series:
Part 1:How to capture content you need from a subject matter expert by planning and developing a system.
Part 2: The two important steps to take when preparing the interview (with two interview checklists included).
Part 3: A simple (but powerful) strategy to direct the interviewee to give customer-focused answers.

Written by ThomasCliffordB2BCopywriter Google+ profile

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Get your FREE 28-page e-book now

5 (Ridiculously Simple) Ways to Write Faster, Better, Easier

"Thomas Clifford has made something useful here. This report will give you some really catchy, useful ideas. It made me reconsider how I do what I do, so you might give it a look-see too!"
— Chris Brogan, President, Human Business Works
_______________________________________________________________________________________

When you subscribe for future blog updates, you’ll receive a professionally produced, gorgeously designed, 28-page e-book that will help you write faster, better and easier.

Here’s what you’ll discover:

• How to beat article chaos and stay organized (in just four steps)
• How to never run out of ideas—even when you’re up against the wall
• Why the “Whack-a-Mole Factor” prevents you from writing at your optimum speed
• The little known trick to writing faster that your teachers never told you about (but probably used themselves)
• How the 10-20-30 Principle can help even the busiest person find time to write

Just enter your email address at the top right of the page or click the button below.