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One of the most fundamental copywriting maxims is to sell benefits, not features. It’s human nature that people don’t buy products or services, but rather the benefits those offerings will deliver to their lives. Simply listing product attributes or specs fails to tap into the emotional rewards driving a purchase decision.
Features are descriptive facts about a product – dimensions, materials, specs, etc. But those are just surface-level details. Benefits, on the other hand, are what readers truly care about – the personal advantages and positive outcomes they’ll experience.
For example, saying a treadmill has a 2.5 HP motor, 10mph top speed, and 0.5-10 incline (features) is less compelling than saying it will help you go from walking to running 5Ks in just 12 weeks, quickly burn 700 calories per hour from the comfort of home, and lose those stubborn last 15 pounds to feel rejuvenated, confident, and proud in your beach body (benefits).
How would you write that as a copywriter?
Here’s a short copy:
Get the Best Selling Treadmill in the World!
Features:
2.5 HP motor capable of speeds up to 10mph (top) and can be adjusted from 0.5 to 10 incline.
With just that, who would care?
Another seller could just come along and say they have a 3 HP motor which will help you run at an extremely fast speed of 12 mph.
But, if you focus on the benefits first, like let’s say this copy:
Get the Best Selling Treadmill in the World!
Proven to help you burn 700 calories per hour from the comfort of your home!
No more bugs and bees bothering you as you train for that 5K marathon.
Ask yourself this: Do you want to:
- lose weight fast?
- achieve that beach body?
- feel more confident?
- feel more alive?
You can do all that and lose that last 15 pounds of stubborn fat in just 12 weeks!
This treadmill has a 2.5 HP motor that can take you up to speeds of 10mph! Not only that, you can adjust how easy or how hard you want your exercise routine to be by tweaking the incline from 0.5 to 10.
Get yours now by dialing the number below/sending us a message on FB/shooting us an email.
We’ll be waiting!
By listing the benefits first, you evoke emotions, a visual image of your customer running and sweating and achieving their goals in the end. If you can hit that emotion, you’re one step nearer to a sale.
Hook them in by giving them the idea that there’s more in it for them to get your item than it is for you to sell them the item.
Sell benefits, not features.
