When writing copy for a product’s homepage, one mistake I see everyone doing is they keep talking about all the features that their product has. I see a lot of websites that keep listing down the different features and how it is better than the competition. I can go to 10 websites and at least 8 of them would have listed their features in it.
One great example that everyone talks about is how Apple sold the first iPod. When all it’s competitors were selling 2GB MP3 players, Apple was the first to sell “all your music in your pocket”. Instead of selling a 5GB player, they said “store more than 1000 songs”. That is the power of benefits vs features.
The problem with listing all the features is that your visitor/prospective user has to do all the hard work of understanding the product and how the features will help him. Your visitors don’t care about the features or technical specs or what patented technology you are using. He is interested in learning how your product is going to solve the problem he has. In other words, what benefits he is going to get from your product.
Steps to turn your features into benefits
There are very easy steps to convert your features into benefits. Let’s take the example of a video conferencing product that I saw in ProductHunt. I will walk you through the 3 step process to convert the features into benefits.
Step 1: List down all of your features.
These are the features that were listed on the site.
- No downloads
- 50 person meetings
- Dual screen shares
- Custom domains
- International dial-in
- Meeting recording
Step 2: Add “so you can” suffix
Now add the words “so you can” at the end of the sentence and try to finish the sentence with a benefit for your user.
- No downloads needed, so you can begin conversations immediately without waiting to download some software.
- Conduct 50 person meetings, so you can invite all the team members in your call.
- Dual screen shares, so two people can share at the same time, without waiting for one person to finish.
- Custom domains, so you can get easily shareable links.
- International dial-in, so you can take calls even if you are on the go.
- Meeting recording, so you can go back to refer when you write your meeting notes.
This exercise has allowed you to truly understand what your features really mean to your customers.
Step 3: Make it emotional
Take each feature that your product does and ask yourself how it helps achieve your user’s desires or helps alleviates his fears.
- Start your meetings on time without waiting for your attendees to download some software.
- Invite your entire team without fear of missing out because of space.
- Easily share two screens simultaneously and collaborate in real time.
- Setup your own custom domains so that your meeting links look professional in front of your clients.
- Are you traveling? Don’t reschedule. Instead, call our Free international dial-in numbers and join over the phone.
- Unlimited recording allows you to remember every piece of conversation during the call.
See how with just a short 3 step process, we have converted our list of features into benefits that are easily understandable to your users. Reading each bullet point in this makes the user want to start signing up immediately.
Create benefits which are emotional
Always follow the process and complete all 3 steps listed above. The 3rd step is the most important one which evokes strong emotion in the reader. He might have had a bad experience before and if your product fixes it, this step will make sure that he signs up for your product.
Tip: To learn to use his own language to identify his fears, uncertainty and desires, check out my previous two articles.
Sometimes, you would be tempted to reuse the same points you uncovered in step 2. Here are some more examples of why understanding your user’s inner desires and fears are important.
Instead of
“The quickest way to burn all your fat.”, write “Slim down in few weeks, without feeling hungry”. “Deliver your project by improving the efficiency”, write “Pull off a great project and look like a hero in front of your boss.” “Easily change your website design without even paying for a developer”, write “Don’t get cheated by expensive developers when you can easily click and drag to change your website design”.
Remember, use benefits instead of features and hit your users at the emotional level. Use these steps and remember the above rules when you write your next copy. That will ensure that you will convert more and sell more.