Even if you are not writing – even if you failed English class in college – you can still write great copy for your blogs, websites, and newsletters. In fact, you can still write copy that makes customers want to buy. All you need to understand is what customers are looking for:

1) Customers are looking for something that makes things better. Customers do not just want perfumes – they want a scent product that will make them irresistible to others or will make them feel glamorous. By the same token, customers are not looking for Trapp candles – they are looking to have glamorous homes or to feel as luxurious as rich celebrities. Your products or services likely fall into one of two categories – wants or needs. You may provide an essential service – such as plumbing – or a luxury product – wedding flowers. If your provide a need or an essential service, your advertising should emphasize how you will make a customer’s life better – “Our plumbing service will have your problems fixed in an hour.” If you provide a luxury, you will need to stress that your product will enhance a customer’s life – “On your wedding day, our flowers will make you a gorgeous bride.”

2) Customers are looking for a benefit or a low price tag. If you are selling t-shirts for a $1 per item, you only need to write that – the low price tag will draw customers to look further. If you are selling something of high quality with a higher price tag – Tocca candles, let’s say – you will need to stress the benefits of the product first and list the price last.

3) Customers are looking for something exciting – but they are not looking for long. You only have a few seconds to grab a customer’s attention. That’s why you need an exciting headline, tag, or promise to make customers want to keep reading. Look through your own junk mail – which ads make you keep reading? Keep those ads in a separate folder and read them over again. What made you look twice? Was it a quote, a shocking statistic, an outrageous claim, or a sentence that seemed to make no sense? Whatever it is, you can likely use a similar technique in your own copy.

4) Customers are looking for something different. Most customers see ads all day. If you want to make an impression, you need to offer something different. Maybe you can offer better service, faster shipping times, better selection, or lower prices. Find out what you are doing better than the competition and then make sure that customers know that you excel in that area.

5) Customers are looking for something believable. Don’t exaggerate claims, make promises you can’t keep, or lie in your ads. Customers will notice and your credibility will be ruined. Worse, you could run afoul of truth in advertising laws and regulations. Today, customers are very wary of anything that looks like a scam, and exaggeration or hyped claims always tend to look suspicious. It’s certainly not the impression you want to make.