What to Talk About When Writing to Prospects

It was a summer day when I sat down to have lunch with a large national client. I’m not going to name them so let’s call him Joe, who’s a VP of Marketing.

As I took a bite of what was the most delicious burger, Joe told me he had just hired a Head of Content.

She had been on the job for about four weeks but — they still didn’t know what to say to their customers when writing content.

I walked them through our Intent Engine framework. Joe was excited. He was nodding along until he raised his eyebrow pensively and asked…

“Dev, what are the exact words we need to include in our content?”

I smiled. This is the type of thing I love geeking out with my fellow marketers.

We spent over 2 hours brainstorming ideas for him, but today I’m going to share the same principles in under 5 minutes so that you can write your first piece of marketing copy, even if you think you aren’t a good writer.

Keep reading to learn how.

Every piece of content you create should communicate these 3 Key Concepts.

1 // Problems 

If you could zoom into the exact moment when your future customer could use the thing you sell, what would you see?

Describe what’s going on and vividly capture the struggle they’re facing.

Here’s how: Mirror the problem, in the same way, your future customer would describe it. Want an example? How about this: “Are you a marketer who wants to send emails but doesn’t know what to say in those emails?”.

2 // Promises

When the problem goes away, you’re on the way to the promised land.

Promises create trust, install authority, and position you differently than the competition. You’re going to want a promise that you know you can deliver on, without using marketing-speak or cute slogans.

Here’s how: A promise should simply state: “Use my product or service, and I’ll make your problem go away so that you can get to the future you want.”

Want an example? How about this: “I’ll show you exactly what to talk to about when writing to your prospects.”

3 // Prescriptions

Just like the doctor, you’re going to want to say “take two of these, and call me in the morning.”

No one questions this because doctors are trusted, not questioned. Your prescriptions are the exact next steps that give the transformation your prospect wants.

Here’s how it works: Position the immediate action they need to take as a necessary step to getting them the result they want.

Want an example? How about this: “Keep reading to learn how to use the exact words that make customers buy.”

See?

This isn’t pushy or sales-y. You build preference by teaching and selling, all the while building authority.

Dev “The Prescription Doctor” Basu