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Sizzle or Steak
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Have you heard the expression ‘sell the sizzle, not the steak’ Reader? Or ‘focus on the benefits, not the features’? In 15+ years writing online sales copy for other people’s businesses, I have heard those two a LOT. From clients. From other copywriters. From business/marketing coaches who mean well, and are trying to improve a sales page they’re critiquing. But, in my opinion, if you’re selling an online service, coaching, group program, course or similar, it’s really crap advice. ‘Sell the sizzle not the steak’ is a quote from Elmer Wheeler’s book, Tested Sentences that Sell. It was written, almost 100 years ago, to help people selling physical products door-to-door that the buyer could see and touch. You are selling an invisible, intangible concept over the Internet. Before the buyer believes you can deliver the transformation, they first need to understand what they’re going to get for their money. So yes, you do need to communicate the transformation. And also explain how that transformation is achieved. Explain the Features as well as the benefits. Outline how the buyer will use those features to get to the promised outcome. Share testimonials from previous buyers. Make your invisible, intangible offer as real as you possibly can. For a deeper dive - on why focusing heavily on selling the transformation isn’t great for your longer-term buyer-customer relationship, and how to sell in a more balanced way instead, here’s my new blog post Sell The Sizzle: How to communicate the ‘transformation’ on your sales page without sounding spammy |
The Comfy Business Newsletter | Laura
Join thousands of readers building a business that works around Life Stuff (like chronic physical or mental health conditions, recovery from big life events, caring responsibilities). I send two-ish emails each week, to help you enjoy a more comfy business and life.
I’m nearing the end of the third week of having sciatica. Most of the time, I’m pain-free - unless I sit down. And my leg does what it’s supposed to with about 80% reliability. This morning I felt good enough for a shuffle around the supermarket to retrieve some essentials. Sitting in the car park, before embarking on this quest for bread, bananas and Son #2's weekly fix of sausage rolls, I reminded myself of my Doing Hard Things mantra: This can be therapy or torture or somewhere in between,...
It's back - I've missed doing these wrap emails. Every week I come across so many things that make me think 'ooh my Comfy Business people would love this' but I don't really use social media, and so I forget to share them. So I'm bringing back the Weekly Wrap. Here's a selection from the last 7 days that you might love: New blog post from me: Suit Yourself Decision Sprint - 9 prompts to help you decide whether to do that thing you want to do but keep putting off. Repeat Repeat Results...
I knew from the opening scene that I had seen this film before Reader Last Friday morning I settled down to enjoy my weekly movie date with myself, a pint of tea, and a huge bag of Butterkist to hand. I’d chosen Her - a film that had been on my watch list for two years but until now hadn’t been available on any of the five streaming platforms I paid for. So when it rocked up on Netflix last week, I knew it was my Friday morning film. And then I saw Joaquin Phoenix at work in his office job,...