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10
Steps to Writing More Persuasive Marketing Material
By
Amanda E. Vogel, MA
As
a personal trainer, workshop presenter, fitness manager
or entrepreneur running a health- or fitness-based business,
you probably don’t have the budget for expensive advertising.
Chances are you write some or all of your own ads, sales
flyers, pamphlets and brochures. But could your promotional
materials be doing more to bring in business?
Fitness
professionals often design a brochure to relay business
information but they overlook its capacity to sell. Or they
recognize the selling potential but their writing is not
very persuasive. Ads and brochures don’t have to be slick
to be effective. But the way you write them can have an
impact on how much profit you generate. What’s the secret
to writing promotional material that attracts more leads
— and sales? Here are 10 tips you can use to help unleash
the power of persuasion in your next flyer or advertisement.
1)
GRAB ATTENTION WITH A STRONG HEADLINE
The
headline is the first, and sometimes only, part of your
ad prospective customers read. But if it interests and intrigues
them enough, they’ll keep reading. Many fitness professionals
make the mistake of using their business name or a meaningless
phrase like "Cutting-Edge Fitness" as a headline.
Unfortunately, these are not eye-catchers.
2)
FOCUS ON THE CLIENT
Persuasive
writing should be about the interests and needs of prospective
clients, not your interests and needs. Be careful about
including long-winded mission statements. Potential members
are interested in themselves. They want to know how they
can benefit from your services.
3)
EMPHASIZE BENEFITS
When
you are focusing on the client, you want to emphasize the
benefits of your business, not just the features. The fact
that your facility offers massage is a feature. The fact
that massage helps busy members manage the stress of a hectic
travel schedule is a benefit. Having a university degree
in kinesiology is a great feature but how does it benefit
your clients? Don’t leave them guessing — tell them.
4)
KNOW WHAT MATTERS TO PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS
Sometimes
fitness entrepreneurs get carried away with advertising
what they think is really great about their facility or
business. Luxurious change rooms are an attractive selling
point but are they a top priority for members? Maybe, if
your centre caters to a high-end, professional market. But
if it’s a family-oriented complex, you might be better off
highlighting your child care services.
5) ENGAGE THE READER
One
of the best ways to engage readers is by writing to
them, not just about them. This technique is as simple
as employing the word "you," like I have done
in most of this article. Writing in the second person also
helps make copy more conversational and easier to read.
6)
USE TESTIMONIALS TO SELL
If
you use testimonials in your marketing materials, make sure
they help make the sale. “A great workshop!” counts as a
testimonial but is it effective? Not really. Select comments
that praise something specific about your services so potential
clients understand what’s in it for them. Like this: “A
great workshop — the presenter explained anatomical concepts
clearly, which helps me plan safe upper body exercises for
my fitness participants.”
7)
STRESS YOUR UNIQUENESS
What
sets you apart from others? What is your specialty? Stress
the things that make your business different from the competitors.
Don’t assume potential members recognize your uniqueness,
so highlight your niche in the market.
8) WRITE WITH CLARITY (OR FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN)
Clear,
concise writing is a must. If you struggle to write articulately,
consider finding someone else — perhaps a friend or a professional
writer — to draft your marketing materials for you. People
usually take only a few seconds to skim brochures or flyers.
Most do not have the patience to wade through lengthy copy
or muddled sentences.
9)
USE LISTS, BULLETS AND SHORT PARAGRAPHS
Since
people don’t spend a lot of time reading advertising copy,
you want to make it easy for them to get the gist as quickly
as possible. Use lists, bulleted points and short paragraphs
to highlight the features and benefits of your services.
10)
PROOFREAD
Its
important to proofread copy before it goes to print. If
the preceding sentence didn’t bother you, read it again.
Confusing "its" and "it’s" is a common
error but the two words have different meanings. Everyone
makes mistakes — proofreading can help you catch them before
its (oops! I mean, it’s) too late.
At
the end of the day, you’re a fitness professional, not an
ad copy writer. Clients who detect a grammatical or spelling
error in your brochure probably won’t be deterred from spending
money on your services. But sloppy writing and poor grammar
do say something about your attention to detail — an important
virtue for successful trainers, presenters, managers and
entrepreneurs. So why risk it? Making the effort to develop
a professional marketing package will contribute to the
overall image you want to portray.
Amanda
Vogel, MA Human Kinetics, is a fitness professional, writer
and owner of Active Voice Writing Service for fitness professionals.
Her work has appeared in publications such as Shape, Chatelaine,
Self, IDEA and ACE. To receive her free e-newsletter on
writing for fitness professionals, go to www.activevoice.ca
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