So, you have designed your avatar! You sit down to write your first email to your new imaginary friend. You can use your avatar to distinguish features and benefits.
The point of the avatar is to humanise your writing. Have an image of a person in mind. Write to them as you might write to a real person. Your writing will come alive when people who share the characteristics of your avatar read it. So, if your avatar is a twenty year old woman, your writing might appeal to other twenty year old women. But hopefully, as your writing will be more human, ie free of jargon, it might appeal to sixty year old men as well! So, if your avatar is not very clear, don’t worry too much, focus on writing to a human being and not a committee or a machine and your writing will be much improved!
Examples of Copy Using Features and Benefits
Here are two extracts from imaginary copy – the avatar is a twenty year old woman who likes frogs.
“Amphibiana Plus provides a system dedicated to the welfare of the garden frog. The pond meets the latest industry standards in spun polyester pond linings. It comes in several designs and provides security from predators …”
“You have been delighted at the recent plague of frogs and knowing how these beautiful creatures can control pests and enhance the interest of your garden, Amphibiana Plus has some exciting ideas. Just imagine sitting beside one of our beautiful ponds, with a unique design, watching the frogs swim around, knowing they are safe from cats and herons.”
Comparison of These Examples
Now, I’m not necessarily the world’s greatest copy writer so don’t be too critical! Do you see the difference between these examples?
- I wrote the second with a twenty year old woman who likes frogs in mind. I’m not a twenty year old woman and so this may be a bit odd but hopefully you can see the difference it makes.
- The first passage is about Amphibiana Plus and its product. It is copy based on features, what the product is like. There is a place for this, once the customer has decided whether they are interested.
- The second is about benefits: frogs control pests, enhance your garden, the pond is something to sit by, frogs are entertaining and you have peace of mind that cats and herons aren’t going to get them.
- Note the language of the first is objective, describing a product in the third person. The second is in the second person. This feels a bit strange at first but it seems this style does connect with most readers. If nothing else, using ‘you’ means you are addressing your avatar!
You need to be clear about the difference between features and benefits. People buy benefits, whether by paying money or supporting a campaign. They respond to the benefit. This may be a benefit for themselves or for some other group of people with whom they have sympathy.
People sometimes talk about WIIFM – “What’s in it for me?” This may seem crude but why should anyone be interested in Amphibiana Plus? I’ll buy a frog pond if I can see the benefit to me, not Amphibiana Plus!
How do you respond to copy online? What makes you buy?
