Benefits vs. Features in the Health Niche

8 replies
I recently re-read an article on Clayton Makepeace's Total Package on "benefits vs. features" and I'm a little stuck on something.

I have an herbal remedy book I am promoting and I have a list of what the book goes into. Someone mentioned that my list are features and I need to put in benefits instead.

I'm a little stuck on how to discuss benefits with some of the ailments (ie. psoriasis, poison ivy, hangovers, etc). Below is the list I am using in my copy...

This guide goes over the best home remedies for some common ailments, including...

• High blood pressure - garlic and fish oil is good for this
• How your tube of toothpaste can be a ticket to clearing that annoying acne
• How oats, chocolate and lavender can help ease anxiety
• What cayenne and arnica can do for your arthritis
• Psyllium, flax seed & coffee can help get rid of constipation and get you feeling regular again
• Have a night on the town and now you have a bad hangover? Honey and willow bark is your answer
• How to calm down your nausea (peppermint, ginger)
• And much, much more!
#benefits #features #health #niche
  • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
    Is this the article you read?

    Make your product's benefits SPARKLE!

    If not, it should fill in the blanks for you.

    Alex
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    • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
      What you are doing wrong for a sales piece,
      is giving away the answer to what
      fixes the ailments.

      The answers are meant for the paid book.

      Say you know, for example,
      carrots are good for eyesight.

      For 99cents a kilo, this vegetable has more antioxident power than your common
      vitamin and mineral supplement, 6 times more antioxidents than broccoli,
      9 times more than oranges and a stunning 22 times more than green tea.
      Best of all it's available year round at your supermarket.
      [see page 13]

      See the factual tease in action?

      Obviously what I said isn't factual, but made it up to show
      you how to manipulate research for a teaser.

      Best,
      Ewen
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      • Profile picture of the author David Maschke
        Originally Posted by ewenmack View Post

        What you are doing wrong for a sales piece,
        is giving away the answer to what
        fixes the ailments.

        The answers are meant for the paid book.

        Say you know, for example,
        carrots are good for eyesight.

        For 99cents a kilo, this vegetable has more antioxident power than your common
        vitamin and mineral supplement, 6 times more antioxidents than broccoli,
        9 times more than oranges and a stunning 22 times more than green tea.
        Best of all it's available year round at your supermarket.
        [see page 13]

        See the factual tease in action?

        Obviously what I said isn't factual, but made it up to show
        you how to manipulate research for a teaser.

        Best,
        Ewen
        You are comparing features to features, and hoping to God the reader will figure out the price savings on their own.

        The OP also needs benefits.

        In the carrot/eye example, a benefit would be "So you can soak in and enjoy all the beautiful colors of a rainbow during your next tropical vacation."

        Or, "See in high definition detail the old photographs of your now grown children, which would otherwise be lost to you for all time without your good eye sight"
        Signature

        I

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        • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
          Originally Posted by David Maschke View Post

          You are comparing features to features, and hoping to God the reader will figure out the price savings on their own.

          The OP also needs benefits.

          In the carrot/eye example, a benefit would be "So you can soak in and enjoy all the beautiful colors of a rainbow during your next tropical vacation."

          Or, "See in high definition detail the old photographs of your now grown children, which would otherwise be lost to you for all time without your good eye sight"
          A marketer who talks to a knowledgeable group of prospects,
          his are because they are well aware of the benefits of
          antioxidants...

          must show his credibility and factual research.

          In my example it helps the reader to choose the vegetable with the most antioxidants
          compared to other fruit and veges.

          Could add the benefit of no more guessing which gives the most
          antioxidants for their buck.

          Could even dimension it further with antioxidants by weight and per dollar comparison.

          Now that helps a busy woman shopper.

          This fits into her daily reality.

          She thinks about what to cook for a meal at least once a day,
          so you are connecting with her daily inner conversation.

          She doesn't think about rainbows and family photos as nearly as often,
          therefore nowhere relevant.

          And being relevant gets the sale more than mind tricks.

          Best,
          Ewen
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnRomanPHP
    It would be better if you'll have a catching sentence for each topic. In your sentences, I suggest that you put the main topic and some benefits on how it could help. Actually, benefits and features are now being used simultaneously but different in meaning.

    All you can do now is dwell on sentence construction and on how to catch the readers eyes.

    Good luck. ^^
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  • Profile picture of the author markpocock
    Innovator


    You're killing a lot curiosity in your bullets.

    Also write the complaint first.

    Arthritis? Get rid of arthritic pain by reaching in your cupboard
    for this ordinary kitchen spice. Proven in studies.

    BUT you can reveal the cure when it's weird as below.

    eg Get rid of acne... with toothpaste. Strange but true.
    Signature

    Get a FREE 20 minute consultation on your sales letter. Contact me today
    And have the secrets A-List Copywriters - David Garfinkel & Parris Lampropoulos
    use in their multimillion dollar promotions
    www.markpocock.com

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    • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
      It seems to me a huge major benefit you need to sell the reader on is the advantage of buying one product for so many different kinds of solutions, most of which the reader does not need and may never need.

      As I read your bullets, my main thought was that I wouldn't buy this product because the ailments don't connect with me.

      On the other hand, if you talked up how important it was to have something like this on hand because various health problems are bound to come up without warning...

      Marcia Yudkin
      Signature
      Check out Marcia Yudkin's No-Hype Marketing Academy for courses on copywriting, publicity, infomarketing, marketing plans, naming, and branding - not to mention the popular "Marketing for Introverts" course.
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  • Profile picture of the author Iskander
    FAB statement
    Features – describes the characteristic of a product (cost /size/weight).
    Advantage – describes what the product can do (general concerns).
    Benefit – how the Features and Advantage meet the needs of the customer (customer approval).

    If you add the words ‘which means that’ to the end of your bullet points, you will find the ‘Benefit statement’.

    Example:

    High blood pressure - garlic and fish oil is good for this [which means that] you never have to worry about high blood pressure again.

    How your tube of toothpaste can be a ticket to clearing that annoying acne [which means that] your cure for acne has been sitting in your bathroom all this time.

    How oats, chocolate and lavender can help ease anxiety [which means that] there are 3 easy cures for anxiety you can start right now.

    Which is stronger ?


    this…

    • High blood pressure - garlic and fish oil is good for this
    • How your tube of toothpaste can be a ticket to clearing that annoying acne
    • How oats, chocolate and lavender can help ease anxiety

    or this…

    • Never have to worry about high blood pressure again
    • Your cure for acne has been sitting in your bathroom all this time
    • 3 easy cures for anxiety you can start right now

    Always start with ‘Benefit’, then ‘Advantage’ and end with ‘Features’.

    Get rich and quick
    It’s easy
    $24.95
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