How do I make what I do sound different?

This week, a question from the mailbag:

Dear Stella,

My biggest challenge in writing about my work is how truthfully articulate what the actual benefits are from what I’m offering.

I feel like I can kinda sorta come up with stuff to say based on what I’ve seen on other people’s sales pages, but being able to really articulate what I TRULY offer and how it’s different is where I really get stuck.

So the page sounds like every other “do this and your life will be saved” kind of sales page. Yuck.

For many business owners, this is the crux.

You know you need to write about benefits and results.

But the trouble is, you look around the interwebs, and see people promising the same thing.

So you feel like you are caught between a rock and a hard place.

Because on the one hand, you need to write in a way that MOVES people to take action (which is what writing about benefits and results does).

But on the other hand, you want it to be different.

So, a couple suggestions for those of you who feel the pinch on this:

Step 1 – Figure out what your main benefit is. Here, it’s helpful to distinguish between a “nice” problem, and an urgent one. People pay to solve urgent problems, not nice ones. (You know you have picked a nice problem when you tell people what you do, and they say, “oh, that’s nice.” But they don’t buy).

Step 2 – Don’t worry about making this benefit “original” – this is where people get hung up. Main benefits are straight-forward – find a soulmate, get a promotion, make more money, have enough money to live well now and pay for the kids to go to college. Do not get fancy here. For many of us, this feels counterintuitive – we want to say something new. But save that for how you write ABOUT the benefit (and their problem).

Step 3 — Brainstorm 3 things that make you great at what you do. Here, most business owners revert back to schooling, training, and credentials. That’s all well + good, but to REALLY show up with a human touch online, you need to think in terms of stories, not facts. (Please please please don’t send me emails saying I told you not to write about facts.) Remember the old line: Facts tell, stories sell. Think of 3 things in your LIVED EXPERIENCE that influences what you do with your clients today. Hint – one of them is often something you are ashamed of, or try to hide from your clients.

I’ve had financial planners tell me that what sets them apart is that they were doctorate level chemists.

I’ve had health coaches tell me that what sets them apart is that they eat at McDonalds every now and again. (And LIKE it).

I like to tell people that I’ve never worked in advertising – I learned my craft by understanding how to connect with people as a high school teacher, world traveler, and playwright.

The point is, I’m seeing too many of you put WAY too much pressure on yourself to invent a new outcome, result, main benefit or promise – and it’s got you all twisted up in your underwear (thanks, A.W., for my new fave expression).

Stop.

First of all, accept that everything under the sun has already been done.

People love buying results. So, offer clear and compelling results.

And second, what makes you different isn’t your training, credentials, or the letters behind your name. It’s YOU. Your voice, your point of view, the way YOU talk with people who are clients or friends or people you run into at the grocery store.

The originality – and the human touch – comes from the way you EXPRESS the problem your audience is having… (you know, the one YOU help them solve).

Can you see the difference?

And once you get that, then the skill is to just learn to write like you speak. That is, like you are having a conversation.

Mighty thanks to Barb Steinacker flickr photostream for the conversation hearts.