Boost Response Rates With This Under-Used Article Secret

By Lisa Sparks

No matter what you write to your clients or customers, the
benefits have to be up front. That's the rule we all know it.
Now how do we stick to it?

Make a benefits list. Just write down what you know your
readers want to get out of life or in their profession. List
what they need to make easier.

Making this list helps you:

- write benefit-laden headlines and articles

- choose article subjects that interest your readers

- increase sales (After all, readers respond when you focus
only on them.)

By creating this list and posting wherever you write, you'll
have a quick point of reference whenever you need to come up
with an article quickly.

Here's an example of a list I made for accounts payable clerks:

- keep independent contractors separate from employees

- reduce paper

- keeping up with sales tax issues

- stay out of legal trouble

- checking expense reports against receipts

These are all things they'd want. Now you can use this to
create headlines. Try to put the benefits in the headline
first. Here are a few examples:

An Easier Way to Determine Worker Status

Small Steps to Going Paperless

Heads up: A/P Could Pay for DOR's Sales Tax Losses

Here's Poof Spot Checking Expense Reports Pays Off

It's best not to pull this list out of thin air. As much as you
think you're close to your audience, and you know exactly what
they're thinking, they can often surprise you with new
interests. Here's how to stay current:

1. Start calling or e-mailing a select group of customers.
You'll want to choose people who you speak with on a regular
basis and who are opinionated. They are not hard to find. These
wonderful gems are on every businessperson's client list.

2. Ask them these questions:

- What keeps you up at night?

- What's the toughest thing about your job?

- What's the one thing you would change about your job?

- Could you please describe your day from the time you sit at
your desk in the morning until you leave at night?

3. Draw out their emotions. Once you have this info, look for
any emotions the respondent has. Are they angry about new
regulations? Tired of having to match invoices? Eager to remove
paper from the accounting process? Loving a new kind of computer
software? Use these emotions to write your lead paragraphs and
headlines. They're the undercurrent that will keep your readers
glued to just about everything that flows from your computer and
into their inbox.

What You Can Do Now: Think of who you can ask today, so that
you can start building your benefits list. It's the secret to
the success of your e-mail marketing campaign.

About The Author:

Boost traffic, get more leads and increase
sales by learning the secrets to writing well and writing fast.
Get Lisa Sparks' no-cost special report on the secrets to making
article marketing work for you by visiting:
http://www.ArticleSecretsRevealed.com