The “Jogging Test” for Flagging Down Customers with Your Sales Copy
The other day my business partner John had this weird encounter while he was out jogging in the park.
First, some quick background:
In addition to our shared interests in software development and online business, John and I are both interested in fitness.
While John is a serious fitness enthusiast and former body builder, I’m more of a fascinated outsider. I’m one of those guys who’s taken a number of runs at the brass ring but still looks like the kid all the bullies loved to shove into lockers in junior high.
Obesity is a huge problem in the programming community, and over at Simple Programmer, one of one of the products that we’re considering launching in the next 6-12 months is a fitness product.
John is not afraid of punishing himself, and right now he’s in the middle of putting together this hyper-extreme fitness program—basically drawing on his 20 years of scientific research and trial-and-error experiments to design the “optimal” program.
This is for people who just want to get in the best shape of their lives, and they’re not afraid of pain and suffering.
(Gee, I wonder who’s going to get the “privilege” of writing the sales copy for this thing?)
OK, back to John running in the park.
He’s chugging along, enjoying the balmy San Diego spring, and he passes this guy going the other way.
“Do you know what ketosis is?” this guy shouts at John. “I can show you how to get into ketosis in 60 minutes.”
Now, if you’re into fitness you might know about ketosis.
The simple version is, ketosis is a “mode” your body can shift into where you’re burning body fat for fuel instead of glucose (sugar).
When you’re in ketosis, you can go for long periods (even days) without eating and without your energy crashing. You also get heightened mental and sensory awareness.
From what I understand, you almost feel superhuman.
The thing is, it’s very hard to get into ketosis.
You have to go for days without eating any carbs or much protein—lots of nuts and butter and other high-fat fuels.
During the transition you feel AWFUL: exhausted, grumpy, depressed. These “carb flu” symptoms can last for days or even weeks.
So when this stranger says, “you can get into ketosis in an hour,”
John stops in his tracks, wheels around, and jogs over to the guy to hear what he has to say.
Turns out the guy is in an MLM deal, and he’s selling this product that claims to flip the switch so your body can run on ketones right away.
No carb flu, just instant unlimited energy and mental sharpness.
John bought some, and he’s experimenting with it now.
This is a killer example of what good sales copy does (especially headlines).
When you’re writing headlines, imagine that you’re running through the park like this, and you pass your ideal customer.
What’s the one thing you could say that would stop him dead in his tracks, eager to hear more?
Depending on which slice of your market you’re talking to, what you say will be different.
“Ketosis in 60 minutes” is a perfect “hook” for me and John, because we already know all the benefits of ketosis, and we understand how hard it is to achieve.
But for the general public you might have to start by touting the benefits for fat loss or “unlimited energy.”
Your challenge is to find the hooks that resonate with each of the major segments of your audience.
And then know your audience well enough to select the most arresting angle for any given situation.
Nail this, and you’ll have no problem flagging down hungry customers.