What's the blow job in your marketing?

I recently shared a copywriting tip with one of my strategy client groups that I thought you might find useful.

The entire group was struggling with communicating to their ideal client the value of what they do.

Like most of our copy clients, these guys were saying things like:

“My copy just doesn’t convert”

“I explain the benefits of my offer and I hear crickets”

“I can’t seem to articulate what I do in a way that people understand”

Sound familiar at all? (Raises hand mid-typing this post…)

Not only do our copy and strategy clients run into this problem regularly, but as entrepreneurs in our own business, Tom (my husband and copy partner in crime) and I do as well.

As the guides for our clients, all of us entrepreneurs are naturally further along the learning curve of the service we provide than they are.

If we weren’t, they wouldn’t need us, right?

Well, when you’ve got a PHD in your particular area of expertise, it’s often tricky to talk about your subject of genius to someone who’s got a 3rd grade comprehension level of it.

And if you can’t (for lack of a better term) dumb your message down for them so they can see the value, they simply won’t.

So it goes right over their head, carrying with it any chances for a conversion.

But if you can effectively TRANSLATE that message into a language they’ll understand, then that’s where the magic happens.

Now, know that sometimes this translation is necessary because your languaging is too advanced.

But most often it’s because your ideal client simply isn’t READY for what you have to offer yet.

Oftentimes, the depth with which you can help transform their lives through your product, service, or offering hasn’t yet occurred to them.

You’ve got to meet them up closer to the surface where their consciousness actually hangs out right now.

When we can speak to what they're actually present to RIGHT NOW, they'll get where we're coming from, see what's in it for them, and want to learn more about us.

Translate YOUR speak into THEIR speak and you'll instantly connect on a deeper level.

Have you ever heard the term “Sell em’ what they want, give em’ what they need”?

That’s a drum we beat loudly and consistently with our strategy and copy clients because it’s CRITICAL to improving an entrepreneur’s ability to convert.

So since Tom and I keep running into this conundrum with both our strategy and copy clients, and since he’s a research junkie, he wanted to find an easy way to explain our position on this.

And lo and behold, he stumbled across this great Mindvalley video that shares a 45-second example that blew our doors off. (Forgive the pun that you’ll understand momentarily…)

In the video, Chris Haddad gives a full 15 minutes of tactics on how to tap into your market’s primal desire. Good stuff in there, for sure.

But it’s what he talks about at the 1:50 mark that had us both in stiches AND forever grateful to Chris for providing us with such a memorable example to share with our clients (and now YOU!) about why it’s so important to speak in a language that will really resonate with your people.

If you want to skip the video, here’s the long and short of what Chris had to say…

Chris wanted to teach men how to be a better boyfriend, how to have better relationships, really lovely touchy-feely stuff like that.

Now, how many dudes do you know that hop on Google looking for courses on how to connect more deeply with their spouse?

Uh, I could probably count on one hand how many I know, what about you?

OK, so if we know that most dudes are not actively in the market for coaching around how to be a better partner, AND if you know this is ultimately what they REALLY NEED deep down (even if they’re not conscious to it yet), how can you get their attention otherwise?

You sell them a course on how to get more blow jobs.

THAT is what these guys are present to right now.

They are all ears when you suggest that you can get them more BJ's because that's what their brains tell them they WANT.

The magic here is that Chris sells the BJ course (and teaches them real tactics to improve their BJ close ratio) but ALSO teaches the principles of how to have a happier relationship within that course.

Does that sound like a win/win to you too?

And here’s the bonus magic...

Because it's just an entry point into Chris’ community, and because the BJ course lays the groundwork for these dudes to see how much better their relationships can be (yes, with more BJ's and all), now they’re actually open and aware that they might need a little more help in the relationship arena.

So they’re primed for additional sales opportunities from Chris that are even more aligned with what he really wants to teach them. Good stuff, right?

So the moral of the story?

As you think about YOUR copy, really consider WHO you're speaking to and where they are RIGHT NOW.

Are they totally, 100% conscious to and thinking about what YOU know they need?

Or are they going to resonate more with a message about something THEY WANT that's still aligned with what you can offer?

(My guess is the latter…)

Yes, this might be a bit of an extreme example but Tom and I loved it because of the way it perfectly illustrated something we teach our copy and strategy clients all the time.

I mean, really... As you’re writing your next sales page, how easy is it going to be to remind yourself to “find the blow job in your marketing copy”?

xo,

Amy and Tom

PS… If the idea of finding the blow job in your copy sounds more overwhelming than fun, Tom is the absolute BEST translator there is to ensure you and your ideal client are speaking the same language. And his Copy Consult Call is the easiest place to start. Learn more about that right here...