How to make your messages more engaging, original, and effective

When you think about the factors that contribute to an effective marketing campaign, none is as important as the message you send. And that message is almost always tied to the copy you write. Yet we often see jewelry store owners promoting a diamond ring with a brief description of the item, written in industry abbreviations such as TDW or H-I SI2—which many people don’t understand or relate to—followed by the price. Store owners then wonder why they get price-shopped by people treating diamonds as a commodity! To make sure your copy is effective and motivates customers to buy, here are six simple guidelines:

1.? Appeal to your clients’ emotions. Humans are emotional creatures. We use logic—but usually after the fact to justify the choices we’ve already made. Effective marketing appeals to human emotions; it makes us feel rather than think. To apply this principle when promoting jewelry, you must emphasize how your product will make the buyer feel. Jewelry is an inherently emotional product—more so than most items that consumers buy—and to neglect these emotions is to overlook one of its most potent selling features.

2.? Emphasize the value of what you sell. Value is not the same thing as price. If your product is not seen as delivering more value to the user than through price alone, no one will buy it. In a nutshell, the perceived value must outweigh the perceived cost. You can increase value by lowering price, but you can also get the same effect by explaining what the product will mean to buyers by comparing it with other items (in a favorable way) and by including free offers or bonuses.

3. ?Appeal to a buyer’s self-interest. By nature, people think mostly in terms of “What’s in it for me?” When we see an ad, our first thought is: How will this product or service help me?

Advertising copy often appeals to the vanity of the seller. Keep “What’s in it for my customer/visitor?” in the back of your mind and you can’t go wrong.

4.? Sell benefits, not features. Identify the problems your product solves and show how it solves them. What problem does jewelry solve? Easy: the need to feel loved, special, or important. People don’t buy a Rolex because they need to know the time; they buy it because of how they feel when they wear it. Figure out why people buy your products and write your copy accordingly.

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5.? Be believable. There are only two reasons people won’t buy from you: They don’t want what you’re selling, or they don’t trust what you’re saying. Believability and credibility are extremely important—especially when selling online. Many buyers are concerned with potential credit card or ID fraud, or paying for a product only to never have it arrive. You should do everything possible to boost your credibility in your customers’ eyes. If you have testimonials from happy clients, include them in your advertising. (And if you don’t have them, get them!) If you have lengthy guarantees or generous return policies, mention these as well.

6.? Assume a buying decision has already been made. Believe your visitor is going to buy—and act accordingly. In your ads, use phrases like when you buy, not if you buy. It will help channel your positive thoughts about the ad.

Above all, keep at it. Don’t give up if an ad fails: It may require some tinkering with words or a total rewrite. Perhaps it needs a different marketing medium. But with a little patience, you’ll see that intelligent wordsmithing makes all the difference.