WHY Do They Want Your Product?

So you want to work from home, you’ve a business idea or hobby niche you can sell online and Yes, you’ve created a product that a certain group desperately wants, so you’re one step ahead of the game.

But the next very important step is that you need to be able to effectively communicate your marketing message (e.g., through your ads, sales letters, etc). If you don’t know why your market wants your product, then your marketing message will fall on deaf ears. End result? Pretty dismal results if you can’t get your target market’s attention!

A large component of this is helping potential customers see the potential benefits and outcomes they’ll get if they buy your product, as opposed to you just letting them know the product’s features.

For example, if you’re selling toothpaste you can list one of the 16 letter ingredients as being a “feature” of your toothpaste. To most people that won’t mean much. But if you tell people that this long word that they can’t spell or pronounce is used to whiten teeth, you’ll get their attention. And if you tell them the potential outcome of whiter teeth (such as attracting hot dates), you’ll be tapping into the underlying desires and wants of your market.

Let’s face it – toothpaste customers need toothpaste to protect their teeth. But what most of these customers want are more attractive mouths, perhaps with the intention of attracting suitors. Here you see that while people know they NEED toothpaste, your marketing message is likely to resonate with them more if you focus on why they WANT your toothpaste.

However, the story changes when you look at children’s toothpaste. The parents buying this stuff for their kids aren’t looking for “whiter teeth and fresher mouths.” What these parents what for their children is exactly what these children need: dependable cavity protection.


Let’s look at another example of getting into your customer’s heads…

Some time ago there was sales letter designed to sell a cookbook that teaches you how to cook your favorite recipes from famous restaurants.

The sales letter was good overall – it had all the right elements, the trigger words and the overall look of a sales letter that should convert browsers to buyers. But in reality the letter should have converted better. The author wanted to know why it wasn’t converting.

After about one minute reading the letter, I had a pretty good idea about why the letter wasn’t converting. My feeling was that the marketer wasn’t tapping into his target market’s main desires. You see, the letter emphasized saving money. The letter suggested that instead of going out to eat at the restaurants, you could save money by cooking the same recipes at home.

Yes, true, that IS a bonus.

But is that the main reason someone would buy the cookbook? I didn’t think so…

My first gut feeling is that the way of positioning the product might be turning potential buyers away. Specifically, you spend the first several paragraphs talking about how much money I'll save by cooking these meals at home versus going out to the restaurants. I don't know about you, but I don't go out just for the food.



I go out for the ambience. I go out so I don't have to do dishes. I go out because it's a social occasion -- a time to celebrate a birthday, or just catch up with an old friend. Price doesn't enter my mind.



I'm not paying for the FOOD...I'm paying for the EXPERIENCE of dining out. So in the beginning of your copy when you tell me how much money I'll save, I have the urge to click away. I'm thinking "this product isn't for me..."In fact, if I were a potential customer I would have clicked away and not bothered reading the rest, I kept on reading.



And then...THEN you grab me when you say:


Now you can cook your favorite restaurant dishes for friends and family right from your own kitchen. They will be convinced that you've ordered in. You'll have them so fooled they won't believe you've made it yourself!


That's it! Screw how much money I'll save cooking this stuff at home... I don't care because that's not an issue. But then you tell me that my friends will be amazed...now you have my attention.



An ego stroke! THAT'S what I want you to do with your new online product, find the root ego stroking reason for someone to read and buy. Then you know how to pitch your sales letter and web site.