Why Your Copy Shouldn’t Be About You

Lately, I’ve seen way too many websites, sales pages, emails, and even Instagram captions that read like an autobiography. 

Every word that’s written highlights the business owner, their interests, their story, their favorite ice cream flavor, who inspires them, etc. I’m not saying those aren’t great things to weave into your copy; what I am saying is that by talking predominately about yourself and not linking your interest directly back to your audience, you’re leaving money on the table for your business.

Because your copy shouldn’t be about you

When you write copy for your business, you should absolutely be focused on your reader and how they will benefit from your words.

Why do they care about what you have to say? What about your offer, or your story will motivate them to live their dream life? What action do you want them to take after reading your words?

When you tell your story, you always need to think about how that story serves your audience. 

We are benefit-driven creatures. That means your readers are more interested in how your offer, your product, your service, or the information you’re presenting through your copy benefits them. What do they get out of it? 

• You can be a numbers whiz and tell a story about how you aced all your high school and college math courses or saved a guy from grossly overpaying his mechanic. But unless you tie that skill back to how it can specifically help your audience interpret the analytics on their website or help them accurately calculate their taxes, it’s not relevant to them.

• You can have a previous life as a counselor and a masseuse, but unless you’re tying that directly back into how that’s helped you better understand the mind-body connection for your work as an energetics coach, it’s probably not relevant for your audience. 

• You might have worked retail at Nordstrom’s for over a decade, but unless you’re using this to showcase your skill with customer service and how it’s helped you become the expert in serving customers with excellence, then it’s not really beneficial for your audience. 

Do you see where I am going with this? You need to approach your copy from your reader’s perspective. Talk to them in a way that allows them to empathize with what you are telling them but also see where they can benefit from what you’re saying or offering them.

You need to answer the question, what value is your audience getting from what you’re saying about yourself? If you aren’t addressing this in your copy, I can guarantee that your reader will not take the desired action you want.

Copy Hack To Help You Write For Your Audience

Here’s a little trick to make sure everything you’re writing is reader-focused, not self-focused. Everything you write should be followed by the question, so what?

You’re certified in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, so what?

You used to manage 10+ person teams in corporate, so what? 

It’s the hard truth, but nobody wants to know your story unless you can link it directly back to how what you went through will help them. 

Have a read through your current copy and see if anything you’ve written is heavy on the “me” side. For every statement, you make about yourself, follow it up with, so what? If you’re answering that question in your copy –great! If not, let me know!

If you need help making your copy benefit-driven and relevant for your audience, check out the different ways we can work together.