2 Most Important Words in Copywriting

“You only benefit when the readers benefit first.”

-Copyblogger

I burnt a poem written by Copywriting legend, ​Vic​ ​Schwab, into my memory when I started my copywriting journey some years ago and it’s the perfect icing on the cake for this article. It goes thus:

“​So tell me quick and tell me true

Or else, my love, to hell with you

Less — How this product came to be

More — What the damn thing does for me”

The truth is, your readers/audience do not care about you or your product, they are only interested in the benefits of your products and how they will make their lives easier and better with your product.

Here are 2 most important words in copywriting that I have learnt thus far in my copywriting journey.

1. YOU

YOU is an important word in copywriting, sales, marketing and even blogging. A sales copy filled with “I or me” will not be read because it doesn’t focus on those who really need them.

The word YOU speaks to your audience directly and makes them feel important. When you use YOU in ad copies, sales copies or blog posts, your readers see you as someone who understands their problem and can solve it.

YOU is the cornerstone of customer-centric copywriting and that’s the kind of copywriting that converts readers into customers.

2. BECAUSE

This word simply answers the WHY OF YOUR PRODUCTS/SERVICES/CTA/SALES COPY.

Why should I buy your product?

Why do I need your services?

Why should I click the link?

Why should I read your sales copy?

BECAUSE is the mitochondrion (powerhouse) of your sales message because people always need a reason to take action. When you ask people for help, especially random people, they tend to shrug off their shoulders and pay no attention to you but when you tell people I need this because of this, they are more inclined to hear you out.

Social psychologist Ellen Langer tested the power of a single word in an experiment where she asked to cut in line at a copy machine. She tried three different ways of asking:

• “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?” — 60% said OK
• Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush?” — 94% said OK
• “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?” — 93% said OK

Keep your audience in mind every time and always give a reason for every action you want them to take. It works!

Which words do YOU use in your marketing campaigns? Do YOU have more important words you would like to share? Kindly leave a comment below.