I have a confession to make. I read all the reviews. 

Yep. That’s me. I’m that person who takes a one-way trip down Analysis Paralysis Lane and turns right at Inability to Commitsville when I need to make a purchase. Need an example of what I mean?

I can spend hours, days, and weeks trying to pull the trigger on an offer, like an Airbnb for family vacation. This can result in me either a) scoring an amazing deal on a beautiful home, or b) losing out on said beautiful home because I waited too long and it got booked out from under me.

You might not think that’s such a big deal. A week’s vacation can be a rather large investment, right? Of course I want to be sure I’m making a wise choice and checking out all my options. 

Unfortunately, this character trait doesn’t just come out for larger purchase decisions. I can also spend a considerable amount of time trying to decide which long-wear lipstick to buy. I’m not just making that up. A couple months ago, I did extensive searches on lipstick brands on Google, Pinterest, and YouTube. I also read reviews on Amazon, Ulta, and Google. 

It was only after I had settled on a brand and watched approximately 5.25 videos of women with my skin tone trying on all the shades that I decided to pony up $7 for a tube of lipstick. That is so embarrassing to admit, but in my defense, I bought three at once so I wouldn’t have to go through the process again anytime soon.

Decision-Making in the Digital Era

So what is it that makes decision-making difficult? Having more options should make it easier to find the perfect fit for whatever you’re looking for … shouldn’t it?

I think it actually makes things harder. Too much information can be as damaging as not enough. A person could read reviews and research and reports forever and never come to the end of it. The amount of access to information we have today is incredible, and it can be both a help and a hindrance. 

Our job as copywriters is to use words to clarify the offer while making sure to highlight the exact information the reader needs to make an informed decision. Just enough, but not too much. In the rest of this article, I’m going to give you three more things you need to know about the offer before you write killer sales copy. These three things will help cut through the massive amount of information out there and move the reader from paralysis analysis to action!

Value Vs. Price

Imagine that you’re driving through the Arizona desert. It’s hot, it’s dusty, and you can’t wait to get off this lonely two-lane Highway and get back to a place where it doesn’t feel like the inside of an oven. Suddenly your car engine gives a shudder and dies. You pound the steering wheel with your fist in frustration and look down at the gauges, then groan in frustration. 

Out of gas. How could you be so careless?

There’s not a gas station, house, or even a shade tree in sight. Not only did you not stop for gas when you should have, you also aren’t carrying any extra water with you, and you can’t get a signal on your cell phone. You’re going to have to wait for the next car to come by to get help. 

The first few hours isn’t so bad. You sweat through your shirt in the first five minutes. It’s HOT. You tell yourself you’ll be fine – you’ve been hot before. You abandoned the inside of the car and sat down in the little bit of shade the car’s shadow casts. Someone will be along soon.

But no one comes. Most people who live in the area know better to venture out in the heat of the day. It’s hovering around 115 degrees, and after 8 hours, it starts to sink in how serious your situation is. 

After awhile, you think you must be getting used to the heat because you stop sweating. Then your vision starts to blur and you start feeling lightheaded and sick. You realize you’re no longer sweating because you’re severely dehydrated. Your body literally has no fluids to sweat out. If you don’t get some water soon … 

Just as the sun starts to sink below the horizon, you think you hear something. Is that an engine? You crawl around the back of the car to where you can look down the long stretch of highway, and sure enough. A car. With the last of your energy you drag yourself to your feet and start waving your arms. 

An hour later you’re resting safely in a local hospital bed hooked up to an IV bag of fluids. The doctor has already been in to say that you were found just in time to avoid head stroke. And on the tray table next to you sit something you know you’ll never take for granted again. The nurse had tried throwing it out, but you wouldn’t let them, because it had saved your life. What was it?

A water bottle.

It’s amazing how the value of things can change with a person’s perspective, isn’t it? A bottle of water costs $1.97 at your local gas station. Most people can scrounge that up from under the seat of their car. Chump change.

But when you’re stranded in the middle of the desert in 115 degree heat, that bottle of water can be the difference between life and death. It may cost $1.97, but it’s value in that situation is much, much higher.

That perception of value is important to be able to communicate in your sales copy. There’s this common misconception that value is equal to price. Price is one indicator of value, but it’s not the ONLY one.

Make sure you understand the difference between the price of your client’s offer and the value. Not only should you understand it, you need to be able to describe it to the reader so that they understand it too. So ask yourself a few questions.

What would the separate components of the offer cost if they were sold separately?

What will they pay for a similar offer from someone else? 

What non-monetary benefits and results can this offer help produce?

How easy is it to get or use this offer by themselves?

Those four questions can help give you a baseline for what the value of the offer is so that you can compare it to the actual price a buyer will pay. This creates a great contrast between what you’re selling and everything else out there on the market.

For info products, a good rule of thumb is to put so much valuable stuff inside the offer that it’s worth ten times as much as the customer will pay. Physical items are different. With physical items, make sure to have strong descriptions for all the features of the item and that descriptions are on target.

When it comes to value vs. price, it’s not that one is better than the other. It’s just that value and price are different, and both need to be addressed. Talking about both value and price is one of those things that can really help the reader avoid analysis paralysis. It gives the offer one more way to stand out from the competition and not just get lost in the sea of offers.

Know the Result Buyers Can Expect

The second thing you need to know about the offer before you write killer sales copy is the result the buyer can expect. When you boil it all down, sales copy is all about selling the result. The result is why people buy, not the item itself. if you can clearly describe the exact results someone may experience because of the offer you’re instantly cutting down on the time your target audience will spend in analysis paralysis. 

Why? Because many offers focus only on the features, the features can go on and on forever. If you don’t qualify what those features will do for the person, the temptation for them is just to keep trying to find something with a longer list of features whether it will help them or not.

There are a couple types of information you need to know in order to communicate about the results effectively. First, you need to know how the offer will change their lives physically. Will it make them stronger? Will they sleep better at night? Will it give them the knowledge they need to hire the right employee so they don’t have to work such long hours?

Second, you need to know how the offer will change their lives mentally and emotionally. Will it help them feel more confident? Will it reduce stress? Will it give them the push they need to keep going in the right direction?

Emotional and mental benefits can’t be measured in dollars and cents, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not important. In fact, the emotional and mental benefits are almost more important simply because the value can’t be measured monetarily. What is a changed life worth? It’s priceless.

Know the Guarantee or Refund Policy

The final thing you must know about the offer before you start writing that killer sales copy is whether or not there’s a money-back guarantee or refund policy. This can be a big deal to people. People don’t like to think there’s no way out. They don’t want to be trapped with something that ends up not being a good fit.

A money-back guarantee or refund policy can make all the difference in terms of conversions – and in terms of helping the reader make a decision they feel good about, instead of just continuing to research and read and agonize.

Why do they work so well? Money-back guarantees and refund policies remove risk, and anytime you can remove risk you’re removing a more barrier to purchase. If the reader knows that they will have the option to get their money back, they will feel much safer in making that investment in the first place. 

Don’t overlook this feature. If your client doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee or refund policy, that’s okay. It’s not under your control. But if they do, make sure it’s included in your sales copy, because it can be an immediate analysis paralysis stopper.

More from Christa Nichols

So how do I survive as a business owner who has to make dozens and dozens of decisions every day? Well there are two things that save my sanity here. First of all, I don’t have analysis paralysis when it comes to anything except online shopping. I don’t struggle the same way when I shop in person, and I don’t struggle the same way when I’m making day-to-day decisions for my household or my business. 

The second thing that saves my sanity here is my husband. Thankfully, my husband does not have analysis paralysis. If an online purchasing decision needs to be made fast, I put it in his more than capable hands, and we send it. 

Using these “before you write” tips will help you create sales copy that’s dialed in from the get-go. Want more tips on how to write sales copy that converts? Download my FREE guide on “8 Must-Ask Questions For Sales Copy That Converts” for the eight questions I always ask about the offer before I write. Click here to download the guide now.