As a marketing writer I frequently get asked to review the text on a company’s website or brochure and then provide ideas for improvement. When owners of small businesses tell me they wrote this text themselves, I can guess one of the major problems with the text before I even see it. The common mistake: They chose words that made the text all about “us” rather than about the reader and the reader’s needs.

Read on to learn what I mean by this.

I've often read that in advertising, "free" is a magic word. Everyone likes to get something for nothing, so ads that use this magic word are often successful.

Which is all well and good—unless giving something away at no cost is not your goal. Even if it is, there’s a limit to how many times you can use the word “free” in a marketing piece before it gets ridiculous.

Luckily, there is another magic word. Or perhaps I should say two more magic words, and they’re real workhorses. These are words that you can use over and over in your marketing pieces and readers will never tire of them.

What are they? You and your.

You need to “speak” directly to your prospects

To be successful, your marketing materials need to make an emotional connection, get your prospects feeling and envisioning that they’re already enjoying the benefits of whatever it is that you’re offering, and motivate them to take action. A proven way to do all of this is to essentially get yourself out of the picture.

Cut way back on we, us, our, I and my

When your text is all about “us,” it just sounds like you’re lecturing or bragging. “We are a full-service company.” “We have been in business for 30 years.” So what? What does this have to do with my needs for your product?

Not only does this approach fail to make an emotional connection, it also tends to focus on features instead of benefits.

Reword things to focus on you and your

To make prospects feel like you’re talking to them, use “you” or “your” to tell them how your company will benefit them. “Get all of your needs met with just one call.” “You’ll benefit from our 30 years of experience.”

Same concepts…different approach…very different impact. 

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT: PURE SIMPLE CONFIDENCE

Life Coach Sandee Lea takes a unique approach to helping teens and adults achieve lasting change. She focuses on the connections between thoughts, feelings, actions and results, helping clients “reprogram” their brains to eliminate negative thought patterns, reactions and behaviors.

If you want to enjoy a happier, healthier, more peaceful and rewarding life, Sandee can help you make it happen. To learn more, check out the website text that I wrote for her at http://puresimpleconfidence.com.