After attracting the attention of the target audience and generating interest in marketing and public relations messages, the final step in creating compelling copy is to elicit action. The aim of writing sales copy is to get people to act or react. Beyond this, it is important to decide whether a prospective customer should remember the name of the business, whether they should visit the company website, or whether they should make a purchase decision. The process of getting the target audience to become actual customers is not always the easiest. Given below are ways to appeal to the target audience in order to get them to act.
Be explicit
As Marc Roberts of Miami a master marketer notes, “Being too explicit does not mean insulting the intelligence of the target audience . It is risky to assume that the audience knows what a business wants them to do or how it wants them to think of the business and its products and services. It is wise to be explicit and to tell the audience what to do next.”
Direct marketing advertisers often call this ‘the call to action’. The target audience might not know what the next steps are. It is important to be specific. For instance, ‘Fill out the attached form for a free lesson’ is one possible call to action. It seems simple and obvious.
Make direct offers
Whether it’s a brochure or an email pitch, the offer is the most important part of any promotion or digital PR campaign. There are certain questions that should be considered. What is the price of the product or service? What is in it for the customer? The offer should be as direct and as straightforward as possible. For instance, ‘buy one get one free’ is among the most popular types of sales promotions. The offer made should not be compounded with a whole lot of other things. For instance, an offer that sells a dealership on a product as well as tools and offers free samples could appear complex and confusing, and could be rejected before a decision is made.
Create a sense of urgency
Prospects should be given a reason to order a product while they are thinking of a product or a service. Using phrases like, ‘limited quantities available’, and ‘special price until such and such date’ can do the trick. Urgency intensifies the feelings of wanting something in audiences. An effective way of producing urgency is to use a countdown timer on a site. For instance, on their product pages, Amazon often highlights how soon customers will have to order something to get it by a specific date.
Offer incentives
To promote conversions, incentives can be extremely useful. It is important to pick incentives based on specific intentions. To motivate purchases, companies can offer discounts, coupons, or free upgrades with purchases, which can prove to be extremely beneficial. For instance, the first fifteen buyers of a product can be given a free surprise gift. Sweepstakes where each customer gains an entry through their purchase can also be productive. For instance, the Starbucks rewards program enables customers to load a digital card with money and earn points for every dollar spent. As points accumulate, customers receive free drinks and other discounted items.
