Quick Win Copy Tip #3: Use Benefits

by Alexie Basil | Jun 18, 2018

What is something you would do ANYTHING to have taken care of?

We’ve all got something.

A little while ago, I would’ve kicked myself in the face to not be so freaking anxious in social situations.

If the room was too crowded, too loud, or generally too people-y, I would get dizzy and not be able to breathe. Full on panic.

A big reason why was because I was hyper-aware of my lacking social skills. I thought I was uncool and that I’d mess up every conversation. So my body revolted and tried to keep me far, far away.

It wasn’t a huge deal when I was growing up in Kentucky. But when I moved to NYC to study film, it definitely complicated things. (I’m looking at you, Times Square.)

Parties, concerts, conferences, other things that could’ve otherwise been fun? Yeah, I avoided them like the plague.

Then, in 2017, I found out that my sci-fi screenplay was a semi-finalist in the Austin Film Festival.

If you’re unfamiliar with the world of screenwriting, that contest is insanely tough. Making it to semi-finals means that you can get super cheap tickets and attend a ton of exclusive events. Like a chat with the writer of freakin’ Moana.

Plus, agents, managers, producers, directors, and all sorts of talent scouts attend. If you want to make it in film, it’s definitely a good place to be.

I wanted to go.

But at the same time, thinking of going made me throw up in my mouth a bit.

I felt incredibly stuck. This was the point where I would’ve kicked myself in the face to not be so freaking anxious…

. . . and suddenly, who appears in my inbox but my good friend Ramit Sethi.

(that’s my good friend Ramit cheesin’ with Warren Buffett in Forbes.)

My good friend Ramit was promoting a new IWT course called “How to Talk to Anybody.”

In his sales emails and sales pages, he talked about how he used to be crazy awkward. He talked about how much being socially anxious sucks. He KICKED ME IN MY PAIN POINT.

And then, he turned it around.

He promised me he could get me to the point where I could talk to anybody.

If that was true — if he could really give me that “benefit” — that would’ve been an absolute Godsend. It was like the skies parted, angels sang, and my good friend Ramit descended from the heavens offering me the social fluency I’d always dreamed of.

You can bet I bit.

I bit the heck out of that course.

Which brings me to the next QWCT…

QWCT #3: Use benefits to show AWESOME their life will be.

If you can solve one of someone’s most burning pain points, don’t just kick ’em.

Tell them you can fix it.

Or better yet, use benefits paint them a beautiful, stunning image of what their life could look like if that pain point was magically taken away.

Small caveat here: it probably goes without saying, but don’t promise something you can’t deliver. Don’t blow up the benefits of your product to the point that you’re in the “lying zone,” because it will come back to bite you.

Whatever your real benefits are, dig into them.

To jog your memory, here’s where we left off on our copy with QWCT #2:

“Can’t ignore that toothache any longer? Let the #1 dentist in all of north-central Cleveland give you your smile back.”
“The last thing you want is for your raft to pop when you’re towing your kid behind your boat. That’s why you want the raft Minnesotans have trusted since the big flood of 1972.”
“Ever get stuck standing in front of your full closet thinking, ‘I have nothing to wear’? Meet your new go-to shirt.”

After implementing QWCT #3 to slather on the benefits, it might come out something like this:

“Can’t ignore that toothache any longer? Let the #1 dentist in all of north-central Cleveland give you your smile back — without emptying your wallet.
“The last thing you want is for your raft to pop when you’re towing your kid behind your boat. Keep the family vacation going strong with the most trusted raft in Minnesota.”
“Ever get stuck standing in front of your full closet thinking, ‘I have nothing to wear’? Feel confident and comfortable every day in your new go-to shirt.”

Slowly but surely, we’re getting somewhere with this copy.

Notice how the little ego-boosters we started with are getting weeded out. There’s just not room for them anymore, now that we’re putting all our focus on the audience.

What does that mean? It means we can’t guess. We need to go straight to the source.

Action Steps

Reach out to a previous client who you absolutely loved working with.
Be like, “Hey, do you mind if I ask you a few Qs?”
They’ll be like, “Sure, shoot.”
Ask them what the number one thing they got out of your solution was. Try to dig deep get them to describe IN DETAIL the specifics of what changed.
If possible, repeat with other customers.
Compile your data and come up with 3 bullets for the most enticing promises you can make.

Don’t have a client you loved? Or, don’t have any clients at all?

No problem–Reddit to the rescue!

Check out this awesome post from my good friend Ramit’s site GrowthLab to get step-by-step guidance for getting inside your ideal clients’ heads through Reddit.

(It’s specifically for creating a course but can be applied to anything. I followed this guide myself and got huge insights.)

Anyway, I’m curious.

It’s unrelated to copy, but what’s the one problem you’d do ANYTHING to have solved? Comment and let me know.

P.S. In case you were wondering, my good friend Ramit’s course “How to Talk to Anybody” was really solid. I’m not sure if it was placebo or what, but it helped me out a ton. If you’re socially anxious too (and it stems from being unsure what to do in social situations), I’d definitely recommend checking it out.

P.S.S. I’m in no way affiliated with my good friend Ramit. if you ask him, he will 100% tell you we are not, in fact, good friends. Unfortunately.