don’t force customers to burn calories trying to figure out what we do and how we solve their problem
reduce confusion and noise
music vs. noise: “story makes music out of noise”
character → has a problem → guide → gives plan → calls to action → either fails or succeeds and is empowered
anything that doesn’t serve the story has to go (music or noise?)
3 key questions: What do I offer? How will it make my life better? What do I need to do to get it?
companies tend to sell solutions to external problems, but people buy solutions to internal problems
National, CarMax aim at frustrations
philosophical problem use “ought” or “shouldn’t” “deserve”
guides: empathy + authority/competence (we understand how it feels to… nobody should have to experience… we care about…)
Express authority: testimonials, statistics, awards, logos of other businesses
first impression: can I trust this person? Can I respect this person?
Give them a plan: removes risk and/or clarifies purpose of business
Process plan: describe steps customer needs to take to use product, or post-purchase steps (alleviate confusion)
Agreement plan: list of agreements you make with customers to help them overcome their fear of doing business with you (list all potential concerns and counter them) (our quality guarantee, customer satisfaction agreement)
direct call to action: order now, call today
transitional call to action: free trial, testimonials, samples (on-ramp)
What will the customer lose if they don’t buy our product? What are you helping customers avoid?
where is your brand taking people?
make an offer above the fold
a single statement relevant to customer needs to explain what we do: character, problem, plan, success
newsletter: offer something valuable so they’ll sign up
“nurturing emails”: talk about a problem, explain a plan to solve the problem, describe how life can look for the reader once the problem is solved, with PS.
testimonials: questions about their problems and frustrations before product and life and transformation after product