One of the biggest hang-ups business owners tell me they have around writing copy is that it doesn’t SOUND like them.

It’s like they are one person when they are on the phone with clients (or in person). Warm, genuine. A guide. An authority.

“But Stella, when I sit down to write – ARGH! – it’s like there’s a stranger typing at the keyboard. And I don’t like that person. How can I stop?”

It’s a valid question – and one that needs to be answered if you want to grow your business online, through writing great copy.

Because your real personality, point of view, and voice are your greatest asset in business. And that goes QUADRUPLE online, where so many people are faking it. Or worse, writing what sounds like advertising.

So today, let’s take a look at why so many business owners feel the need to Write Advertising… and make the case that it’s actually costing you a lot of business.

There’s a myth out there that to get business online, you have to write sales copy in a certain way.

When I was a greenhorn copywriter, I certainly thought this was true. I thought I had to write the headlines that I saw everyone else writing. Even though they were cheesy and unbelievable.

Since then, what I’ve learned is that it can be quite helpful to study other people’s copy – but if you want to build a tribe of people who actually care about you before they meet you in person (and show up to sales conversations KNOWING they already want to work with YOU)… you need to…

SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!

“take the rules about what moves people and what persuades them to act… and infuse them with YOUR voice.”

All those trainings in “marketing” are useless without this work.

One of my clients in the Writing Brigade learned this first hand – and then decided to do something about it.

Case Study #2 – Robin of Women Behaving Wealthy

Robin is a financial advisor and mentor who is on a mission to change the way the way educated women handle their money. In her former job, she’d managed the accounts of over 100 millionaires. When she set out to open her own business, it wasn’t long before her client roster was full.

And she did what so many business owners do – she started looking for ways to leverage her time. She bought an info product on how to do an online launch. The creator of the product knew his stuff – his business was well into 8 figures. So Robin thought it would work for her, too.

She followed the plan. She made videos. She wrote copy. She wrote emails.

She made $500.

“I was completely and utterly disappointed,” she says. “So what I decided to do was to go back to face to dace marketing and networking and speaking. Connecting with people one on one, not one to many.”

A charismatic woman who knows her stuff, she had no trouble getting clients.

But the feeling that she was missing out on a huge opportunity online haunted her.

She joined the Writing Brigade to find out what wasn’t working in her copy – and how to fix it so that people resonated and responded more.

The biggest thing she worked on was being conversational, like she was when she was with clients on the phone or in person. She was used to writing factually.

Which is the kiss of death in writing copy.

Your people don’t want “just the facts” from you. They want to feel something. They want to know that something else is possible for them – and you know how to get them there.

I like to help people work on writing like they talk by working on a money-making project. So Robin decided she wanted to launch a group program online.

She wrote an opt-in page for her teleseminar. She wrote emails to get people on the call. She wrote emails inviting people who were interested to set up a time to talk with her. And she wrote a sales page, describing her program like she would if she was actually sitting with a potential client, face to face.

“Before the Brigade, my writing was factual. After the Brigade, I got how to be conversational, interesting, and inviting with my copy.”

And that conversational style – that human-ness – paid off. Robin signed 12 people into the program, at a price point of $2,000.

Being conversational – and really connecting with people through her writing – made Robin $24,000 from one launch. And those are skills she’ll use for the rest of the life of her business.

“And now I actually enjoy the writing!,” she adds.

So, THAT is why you should write like you talk.

And here’s a tip for how to start: Talk out your copy with someone sharp before you sit down to write. This is a lot of what I do with clients in the Writing Brigade – ask them questions about their ideas, until we find the ones that are really juicy. THEN they go write.

If you don’t have anyone right now that you can have that conversation with, you can also do this with yourself. On a piece of paper, brainstorm 5 questions that your ideal client would ask or want to know about what you’re offering. Imagine that they are really excited about your offer, they just have a few questions before they’re a yes.

These are usually really simple – like “when does the class meet?” or “can you help me clean out the junk food in my fridge?” Then, once you are done imagining what they might want to know, just write your answers. BIG HINT: Don’t use marketingspeak or try to convince them of anything. Just write what you would actually say to a REAL LIVE PERSON, if they were sitting right in front of you.

June 2014 Issue