You may be asking, "What the heck is benefit-driven copy and why is it so important?"

Well, in short, the term "benefit-driven copy" is simply a way to describe a product or service in terms of benefits offered to your target audience. This type of copy entices a potential customer to buy by specifically explaining how each feature will deliver a particular type of benefit.

The first installment of this amazing 3-part series is meant to provide an introductory overview of what benefit-driven copy is and help you distinguish benefits from features in order to write more effectively and persuasively.

The first and most important aspect to wrap your head around is the difference between benefits and features – benefit-driven copy is more engaging and effective than feature-focused copy. For this reason, in order to grab the attention of your target audience, the words used must convey specific feature-inspired benefits, rather than simply features, for customers to understand what they are receiving and why it is valuable to them personally.

Benefits vs. features:

• Every feature equals an important advantage, so engage readers by explicitly selling them on the benefits of each feature - if a vacuum features improved efficiency, easy steering and minimal clean-up, then some benefits could be one extra hour each week and no more painful back injuries.
• Benefits encourage potential buyers by illustrating what a product or service can do for them.

To influence your target audience, the copy must make the advantages of each feature obvious, therefore inspiring an individual to drink the proverbial kool-aid, a win-win for both the buyer and the seller. Instead of building up the company's reputation, strive to explain how features such as price, usability, comfort and/or compatibility will deliver the benefits that customers are looking for. The majority of consumers buy based on benefits, not features.

Today's fast-paced lifestyle means readers have less time to search, and they tend to rapidly scan pages to find what they want. Your job is to offer quick, convincing ways that successfully demonstrate what benefits are delivered ” keep in mind that people want to know specifics, and are not interested in general could save you time and money scenarios.

Now that the fundamentals of benefit-driven copy are clear, identifying useful benefits and then prioritizing and structuring those benefits within the copy itself will be the heart of parts 2 and 3. The following questions will help to ease the transition into Identifying Benefits, the next, more advanced segment of this 3-part series:

• What specific benefits does your company offer to its customer?
• What methods or exercises are helpful to a you when organizing benefits vs. features?
• Why is the structure of your copy so important?

Keep reading...

Part 2: How to Write Benefits-Drive Copy: Identifying Benefits

Part 3: How to Write Benefits-Drive Copy: Prioritize and Write!