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Copywriting Tip:
Explain The Benefits Of Your Features
by Larisa Thomason,
Senior Web Analyst,
NetMechanic, Inc.
One of your hardest tasks is writing Web page content that encourages visitors to buy your products. It isn't enough to say that you sell the "best spices on the Web" or have the "largest selection of fishing lures anywhere." You have to credibly explain to visitors why they need your product and why they should buy it from you. Use page content to sell the benefits, not the features.
So, What's The Difference?
Entire books are devoted to answering that question, but let's try to cover it briefly.
- Features: Characteristics that physically describe your product or service. For a good example, go to an individual product description on a computer or electronics site and read the technical specifications.
- Benefits: Describes how the product or service will help the customer solve his problem. Tells the customer what she will gain by using the product.
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Both components are important and should be clearly explained on your Web site -just make sure that you understand which one goes where when you create page content.
Use Benefits To Educate The Customer
Almost every beginning copywriter has heard this criticism from a customer or editor: "You're selling features, not benefits!" In most cases, selling the features is an easier task. You refer to the technical specifications, list them, check the spelling, and the task is complete. That's critical information and it may well be all that some customers need.
Consider the customer who has already decided to purchase an MP3 player that's bundled with an FM radio and voice recorder. That customer wants to know which specific features differentiate a particular player from the others. That might include such information as:
- Available memory
- Battery life
- Size
- Connectivity to other devices
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Selling benefits though, is much harder: it requires more knowledge about the product, insight into the targeted customer base, more imagination, and better writing skills.
That's because selling benefits requires a fair amount of customer education. You have to clearly explain why the features enhance the product and the user's experience.
Consider a different customer who has just heard in passing about MP3 players. She's going to want completely different information - at least at first. Your copy should answer her probable questions:
- Why would I want one?
- What can I do with it?
- Why is this one better than the others?
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Note that when you answer these three questions, you need to understand and draw upon the product's features, but need to present the information with a slightly different slant.
Presenting Features And Benefits In Page Content
Here's a sample list of MP3 player features. Compare that list with the accompanying benefits:
| Features |
Benefits |
| 512MB of memory |
Stores up to 120 songs. |
| Digital FM tuner |
Record radio broadcasts for later listening. |
| Impact resistant case and armband |
Worry-free workouts. Listen to your favorite music at the gym without damaging the unit. |
| USB connection |
Easily transfer music and other files between home, work, and school. |
| Uses 1 AAA battery |
Listen up to 15 hours on a single battery. |
So how might you write some page copy that incorporates this information?
Here are some actual product descriptions we've selected from different MP3 ads:
| Product |
Sample Web Site A |
Sample Web Site B |
| 5GB MP3 player |
Load music and photo files fast with the USB 2.0 connection. 5GB of memory stores up to 1200 songs. |
Plays MP3, WMA, and WAV files.Stores over 1200 songs.Rechargeable battery. |
| 512MB MP3 player with digital FM tuner with armband |
This sport-ready player can go anywhere you do. Record radio and listen when you get to the gym or select from 120 of your favorite songs. |
MP3/WMA player.Stores about 120 songs.Up to 15-hour playback with one AAA battery.Armband included. |
Assume that you know very little about MP3 players or file extensions. Which type of copy is more likely to make you really interested in having your own player?
Optimize Pages For Features Or Benefits
Web site B give us "just the facts" about the product, while Web site A takes some time to explain how exactly the features make the product more enjoyable or valuable. All the information is important to the customer, but make sure you know when to discuss the benefits and where on the site to do it.
There's no absolute rule because the placement depends on what you're selling:
- Discuss benefits on your Web site home page if…
- You offer a single individual service like pet sitting, house moving, or custom wedding cake designs.
- Your online business is an authority site for a broader category topic like a city entertainment directory, organic pet supplies, Asian cooking ingredients, or Brazilian literature.
In these instances, you're selling your personal services and/or knowledge along with a product or service. Use the benefits discussion to impress potential customers with your site's depth of knowledge, service level, and reliability.
- Discuss benefits and features on product pages if you're selling broad categories of products like personal electronics, clothing, winter sports equipment, or restaurant supplies.
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In these cases, the home page should contain links to each major product category or each product if there's just a few. On each product home page, discuss the benefits and then prominently display either a list of features or a link to the features or technical specifications page. Some customers will want to jump right to the technical information, so make sure it's easy to find!
Distinguish yourself from competitors with product comparisons and explain why your service is better. If you offer free shipping, hassle-free returns, a toll-free number for questions or technical support, then make sure customers know it. Those are great benefits that aren't always easy to find.
This probably sounds like you have to write a lot of content - and you do! People come to ecommerce and informational Web sites to get information.
Always do usability testing to make sure that potential customers understand your page copy and like it as much as you do. Then, let NetMechanic's Page Primer tool scan your page content and alert you to content and coding issues that could hurt promotion. Get search engine-specific tips for page content, keyword analysis, and more with this affordable promotion tool.
Search engine spiders need text content to index and rank your site. Good content that describes your product (both the features and benefits!) satisfies both humans and search engine algorithms.
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