[T]his is something that should force you to become more creative. It’s what I call synonymous copywriting.
Here’s how to say what you’re selling is cheap without even writing “cheap.” Or, even how to say your product is healthy without getting in trouble with the FDA.* You should be able to apply these two learnings to many areas in copywriting.
Cheap Copywriting Trick
The word cheap, cheapens the perceived value of your product or service. Make your message sound like a special offer, a one time deal, or a sale that is only available once a year.
These tactics are used by a lot of companies by claiming seasonal discounts; it works, but there may be a better way too. Here’s an example:
Most ads are not able to present enough value to show prices too, but this one does. What some marketers won’t notice is that every phrase before each price shows tons of value. 525 Castles & Palaces is a lot of sightseeing — and it’s only $15? It shows a great deal.
Remember: showing immense value and then displaying the price, is how you should say “cheap.”
“Looks healthy to me”
Vitaminwater. It’s basically sugar water plus synthetic vitamins. And synthetic vitamins are questionable if they provide significant health benefits because of how poorly they’re absorbed by the body. Anyway, I digressed a little.
The word “vitamin” is what most associate as being “healthy.” Vitamin equals healthy to nearly everyone. Basically, millions of people will interpret vitamin water as healthy water.
I believe even if they could call the product Healthywater, it would sell worse because it raises consumers’ questions:
Q: “Well, how is it healthy?”
However, Vitaminwater answers the question by saying it is filled with vitamins. This gives the reason and the perceived feeling of being healthy.
Thing about this: what do people see synonymous with healthy?
- vitamin
- mineral
- organic
- diet
- etc.
Diet soda anyone? The word “diet” in weight loss is associated with being healthy. So the word “diet” is used in other products to give that healthy feeling the consumer desires.
The One Point You Need to Know
What’s a huge benefit of what you’re selling? Is it cheap, healthy, fast? Prove it by changing a word or two. Make sure you use words that are thought to be synonymous with that benefit. These words are the reason the consumer will get their desired benefit.
*Sorry, I cannot actually claim you won’t have legal issues with synonymous copywriting techniques. This post is not meant to help you get around legal compliance; that was just a teaser and an example. Anyway, I’m certain these cases did have legal counsel. Credit to Info Marketing Blog for the Britain ad.
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