How to Establish Trust with Your Target Demographic

Trust is generally low among consumers. In fact, about 32% of consumers have trust for businesses and only about 13% trust advertising. So, if people don’t trust advertisements who do they trust? Their family, friends, and co-workers.

You can take advantage of this trust. By establishing trust with your target demographic and making it a priority, you can dramatically increase referrals and word of mouth advertising.

Why should you prioritise customer trust? Because it’s key to repeat business. This is one of the top factors that lead customers to either stay or leave a business.

Make Sure That You’ve Got a Quality Product or Service

Customers want quality. If you’re purchasing a pair of pants and find that they’re uncomfortable, you probably wouldn’t purchase the same brand in the future. This applies to your products or services.

It’s hard to be impartial about the quality of your own products or services. The best way to find out if they’re living up to the expectations of your customers is to get their feedback. When you send a “thank you” email following a purchase, include a link to a simple online survey.

Keep track of the input that you get from customers. When the time comes to revise or update your products or services or release a new item, you can use this feedback to improve the quality. You may even find additional features that your customers want that you wouldn’t have considered.

Don’t Use Misleading Claims in Your Sales Copy

Your sales copy impacts your conversions. But, it also impacts customer trust. Don’t use misleading claims or promises that you can’t deliver in your sales copy. If you expect customers to trust you, you need to be truthful.

Truthful sales copy is beneficial for both you and your customer. By giving honest claims, stats, and figures, you’re setting realistic expectations for your products or services.

Solve Customer Complaints As Soon As Possible

When a customer has a problem with a purchase, you should resolve the issue as soon as possible. This helps you establish a positive relationship with a customer that may otherwise take their business elsewhere and damage your online reputation.

Contact the customer as soon as you discover their complaint. Respond promptly. Use their first name, if possible. Don’t make excuses and don’t try to pass the blame onto the customer. You simply need to fix the problem in any way possible—even if this means giving a refund.

Don’t Bad Mouth Your Competition

If you’re discussing your competition, either directly to a customer or in your sales copy, don’t be disrespectful. Customers are smart. They see trash-talking as a method to make your products look better than the competition.

Instead of focusing on your competition, you should focus on your own qualities. If you can highlight the strengths of your products or services, there’s no reason to bad mouth your competition.

Always Stick to Your Promises

The final suggestion for establishing trust is to always stick to your promises. When you make a guarantee, you need to stand by it. The same is true of any claims that you include in your sales copy, promises that you use in marketing and personal guarantees that you give to customers.

When you say that your product or service can deliver a specific result, you need to ensure that you can keep that promise.

Establishing trust with your customers doesn’t need to be difficult. Keep these tips in mind. If you want access to more powerful marketing tips, as well as a way to generate conversion-ready marketing prospects every month, then click here to learn about my done-for-you system.

Essential Copywriting Formulas Every Writer Should Know (and Why)

Last week I did a Google+ Hangout with Max Minzer. During the interview I argued that everyone — especially experts — could benefit from learning how to write direct response copywriting.

Of course I first defined what direct-response copywriting is: the ability to write something to get action, and then measure that action. That feedback will tell you what is working … and what is not … helping you write in such a way that your best ideas get noticed, shared, and acted upon.

During the interview I mentioned a popular formula I use for creating persuasive copy: the four Ps. If I had more time I would have shared even more. Well, I can do that now on my own blog.

Ready? Let’s go. 

Four Cs

Everything You Need to Know About Creating Killer Content in 3 Simple Words

This was only the second post I’d written for Copyblogger. But it summed up what I’d learned in the preceding eights years of studying copywriting, web marketing, usability, and SEO.

In the following three posts I expanded on each on of the Cs.

Writing Clear Copy: The Only Rule You Need to Worry About

The number one rule when it comes to web writing is this: what you write must be clear. So how do you write copy that makes sense? Fortunately the answer is simple.

The Art of Writing Concise Copy

This is my process for editing web copy — from omitting useless words to abandoning a post. This is where you make your money.

How Cancer and Death Can Make a Dull Product Irresistible (Compelling)

We have to get to the heart if we want people to care. If we want people to respond. Here is how one company did that with their query-free insight discovery tool (I know, right, so exciting!).

Four Ps

Gimpy Web Copy? Use This 4-Step Formula to Make It Killer

Your prospect doesn’t care about your product. He just wants to know how he can solve his problem and turn his life around. He’ll worry about the actual product once he’s picked up the phone and called you. Great object lesson using ugly men.

Four Us

The Art of Writing Great Twitter Headlines (using the 4 Us)

Sure, this post is geared to Twitter headlines, but it’s a great introduction to the four Us approach to writing headlines.

Two Ways to Add Urgency to Your Headlines Right Now

The question I most often get asked when it comes to the four Us is this: “Can you explain what you mean by urgency?” I finally set this in print.

Problem-Agitate-Formula

Problem-Agitate-Solve: Best Formula for Writing Potent Web Ads

Absolutely love this formula across the board … but found it particularly useful when writing short content like product or meta descriptions.

A Formula for Controversy

5 Ways to Write Something That Catches Hell

Kicking up controversy is something every writer should know how to do. I don’t recommend you build your bedrock content on controversy, but once in a while it won’t hurt.

Over to You

The most notably missing formula is AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action). I find that one confusing because I always get the interest and desire parts mixed up. Besides, the four Ps says the same thing … but better.

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