Their white knuckle death grip

It’s time to loosen your grip

This one is for those of you working on writing sales copy.

Whether it’s a sales page, preview call opt-in page, or even a signature talk or video.

And you’ve got to zero in on where your ideal clients’ problem is.

Where it festers.
Bubbles.
Churns.

Because to really move people, you can’t just be nice.

You’ve got to connect with the problem.

When you go to the Emergency Room…

They don’t just chat you up and give you a lollipop make you feel good and send you on your way.

They actually study what’s going on with you.

And name it.

And do an intervention.

The same is true with your sales copy.

And you’ve heard me say that sometimes the pain is just too painful. When you write about “are you struggling with XYZ” or “are you overwhelmed by ABC” – and there’s not really any empathy in it at all…

There’s no real connection…

There’s hardly any genuine emotion or care in it…

It’s just some copywriting formula they coughed up.

Like a hairball.

But I digress.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing different “ways in” to connect with your potential clients’ problem.

Especially when your ideal client is more sophisticated, more discerning, and won’t buy regular marketing BS.

#1 The white knuckle death grip
Where are they holding on too tight (and it’s making them sick/crazy?)

Case in point:
One of my writing students – Eunice — is starting a business to teach caregivers how to take care of themselves. They have aging parents and kids. And it’s a lot. So Eunice knows that, and her message is “hey, you’re doing a great job of keeping it all together. But you’ve got to loosen the white knuckle death grip here, or you’re going to kill yourself.”

Another client of mine – who I lovingly call Little Miss Good Enough – is steering her business from nutrition and health coaching to having more of a unique point of view. For her clients, the white knuckle death grip is that they eat really clean and exercise with military regularity, but in their heads, they are saying these TERRIBLY toxic things to themselves.

Her message is: “hey – it’s great to be healthy, but you’ve got to cut yourself some slack and relax.”

Not every business has clients who need to loosen up. But many do. It’s a control thing. Or it’s a “I don’t want to feel uncertain” thing.

In my copywriting business, many of my clients have a white knuckle death grip on not messing up, and writing brilliant and clever things in all of their marketing materials. It’s an impossibly high standard that chokes off the ability to just “put something out there” that’s good enough… and get response.

So, where are your potential clients holding on too tight? And what it that costing them? Curious for what you see, and how you write about it.

Mighty thanks to elise.y flickr photostream for the grip