At its simplest, copywriting is salesmanship in print. Think of the copy you send out as a salesman who convinces your prospect to take the next action. It isn’t necessarily clever, but it speaks to their needs and answers all their questions. Good copy moves them closer to the point of sale – in the case of a medical practice, to the point of making an appointment.
It’s the Message that Counts.
This means that good copywriting has as much to do with the message it conveys – in its arguments, graphics and words – than with literary merit. Experts say that it is often easier to take a salesman and turn him into a great copywriter than to do it to a literary genius, because the former has the ability to identify his prospects deepest needs and desires, and speak to them, whereas the latter is absorbed in the words themselves.
Is Your Marketing Effective?
When it comes to the serious business of marketing your practice, you can’t afford to indulge in random exercises, and you don’t want to waste money sending out materials that don’t work. The quality of your copy is the thing that keeps your prospects eyes glued to the page until he gets to the end and takes action. The Return on Investment of your marketing dollars, in terms of lifetime patient value is the number that matters. How is yours doing? If you don’t know, then you need to assess that first.
An effective marketing strategy can recession-proof your practice and even out your patient load. It can also help you to focus on the patients you want to treat, and make every day at work more rewarding and less stressful. Do you have one in place?
Do You Have Your Blinkers Off?
When it comes to implementing your strategy, who writes the copy? Who writes your newsletter, blog posts, and other patient attraction materials? Are they really targeting the issues your prospective patients worry about, or are they too close to your goals to see clearly?
You know what you can do for your patients, and your staff do too, but are you communicating that to patients and prospects? Do your words jump off the page so that he says, ‘That’s me!’ If not, you may be able to increase the value of your practice just by modifying the copy you use in your current marketing system, so that it calls out to your prospective patients.
Yes, you or your administrative staff can write the newsletter or marketing materials for your business. They can follow the most effective direct marketing system in the world (as I have learned to do), but do they have the time, objectivity, and knowledge to craft your message in the way that gives the most impact.
Increase Conversion with Great Copywriting
The multi-step program I use will bring in some new patients in most cases – but why stop at ‘some’? Why not uncover a steady stream of new clients whom you can serve, and who can increase the profitability of your business?
Copywriters (not to be confused with a copyright) have various specialties but they are primarily known as ‘salesmen in print’. They are experts at choosing the right arguments to appeal to readers, and expressing them in a compelling way so that your readers a. Read to the very end; and b. Take action.
If your letter does not attract attention and hit the right buttons, then it won’t be read. If you don’t ask for action, then they won’t take it.
A good copywriter will take care of this for you, and make sure that every piece you send out has maximum impact on your desired target market.
If you believe that your services benefit patients and help people fulfil their goals, you should have no more hesitation about encouraging people to schedule an appointment than a parent has in encouraging a child to eat their vegetables, or a teacher has when he spends time making a lesson fascinating to his students.