Copywriting secrets of “soap kingpins” revealed

Shower time…

Those sacred 10-15 minutes in the morning where your mind freely wanders, collecting all sorts of crazy reminders, to-dos, calendar events — and even marketing ideas! Today’s email is straight from that source.

Funny thing about being a copywriter… once start looking at life through a professional copywriter’s lens, you see copy EVERYWHERE.

Which is both a good and a bad thing.

Bad for your personal relationships, as you annoyingly point out copy your friends and family have absolutely no interest in.

“Uh-huh… that’s great, Ross. Can we just pick a pack of chips and get out of here?”

On the flip though, it’s good for the ol’ copy & marketing skills.

When you’re constantly analyzing copy, relevant stuff pops out at the perfect time.

Quick story:

This past week I’ve been helping a client develop their USP. At the end of our USP Discovery Session they asked 2 questions. For whatever reason, I felt like I didn’t nail it with the examples I provided to illustrate my point.

So, this was bothering me.

Which meant my brain was chewing it over in the shower the next day.

So, I reach for the soap and then…

BAM!

Out of the blue, I found the answer to my problem:

dove-1

DISCLAIMER: Picture not taken in actual location of marketing problem revelation.

Alright, alright – let me explain…

The 2 questions I was asked were:

  1. “Where/how do you I use my USP once it’s done?”
  2. “Ross, what did you mean when you said I should ‘collect the Facts to support my Claims of Value?'”

Before I go into how to use your USP, let’s clear up what that second question is all about.

Quickly, “Claims of Value” are the statements you make that explain the value of your offer.

  • “Made with 100% natural organic ingredients”
  • “Access to 90,000 songs from over 2,000 bands”
  • “Provides a 200% service satisfaction guarantee”
  • “Shows you how to write a best selling book in less than 6-weeks”

These claims are all great.

But — at the end of the day — they’re just claims. EVERYONE makes claims. And they’re easy to disregard.

But — at the end of the day — they’re just claims.

EVERYONE makes claims. And they’re easy to disregard.

Facts — on the other hands — are different story.

If you present someone with the facts, their only option is to draw their own conclusion.

And a conclusion the prospect arrived at by themselves is 100X more powerful than a claim you shoved down their throat.

But, what is a “Fact” exactly?

Well, facts are the small, specific and quantitative statements that support your claims.

They’re critical to lending Clarity & Credibility to your marketing message.

So, how exactly did the box for a bar of Dove solve my problem with answering the question?

Well, on the back I noticed the following.

dove-2

Now imagine me pointing out to strangers in the supermarket that David Ogily’s USP for Dove has lasted decades. Don’t judge!! It’s a great way to make friends.

There’s a lot of messaging work crammed into that a space.

Which is why it was such a great example for my client. It illustrates perfectly how your USP should go to work in your copy.

The USP is communicated in the headline.

There’s some supporting copy to clarify the offer.

And then facts, facts, facts to let the reader draw their own conclusion.

You could say this copy is… clean-ly… written.

(I’m guessing that pun probably cost me a few readers — but I regret nothing…)

To get some specialized marketing insight into your USP — along with a healthy dose of more terrible puns — slip on over to the form below to get my free Microbook.

It’s a 5-minute read and will show you how companies are getting on the fast track to success right now…

 

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