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Home::Copywriting
Writing The Before & After Formula
Author : Charles Brown
The Before and After Scenario is one of the
oldest, and best, methods used by advertisers and copywriters.
And why not? It works because it paints a vivid portrait for
your prospect of how he can realize a major change in his life.
A "Before-Scenario" depicts a person whose circumstances are
much like that of your targeted prospect: overweight, broke,
stuck in a dead-end job, bald or what have you. This is a person
your targeted prospect can identify with because he or she
languishes under the very same circumstances.
Then you present an "After-Scenario" depicting one of your
satisfied customers who is delighted with the changes your
product or service has brought about. She is now fit and trim
(and has the requisite bathing suit pictures to prove it), they
now has enough money to live the life they always dreamed about,
or he now has a full head of hair and is irresistible to the
opposite sex.
The simple truth is that now matter how familiar we are with
this kind of advertising, it still works because the targeted
prospect identifies with your Before-Scenario and strongly wants
to escape from those circumstances. And the After-Scenario
offers the prospect the very life he or she wants to escape to.
But at times the very familiarity of this formula may simply get
old in your market. Nevertheless, there are a few ways to get
even more mileage out of this old advertising workhorse by
adding a few twists:
1. Create A "Virtual" After-Scenario. Sometimes you may
not want to use a real person's situation, but want your reader
to visualize his or her own Before and After Scenario.
You do this by injecting a lot of emotion into the problem your
product or service is designed to solve.
Suppose your company provides auto financing for people with
poor credit. You could create a Before-Scenario by vividly
describing the embarrassment of driving an old, dilapidated car.
Remind the prospect of the constant fear of driving a car that
could break down on a remote highway late at night or on a busy
highway in the middle of rush hour traffic. You could also, stir
up the humiliation of being turned down for financing from
traditional lenders.
Then you paint a second, emotional-filled scene of your prospect
driving an attractive, dependable car, after being treated with
dignity and respect by your finance officers. Paint an emotional
picture of your prospect being seen by friends and neighbors
driving this nice looking, late model car and having the peace
of mind that the monthly payments are reasonable and that the
car is in very good working order.
2. Depict a Negative After Scenario. Sometimes you have
to educate your prospect about why buying your competitors'
cheaper product is more costly in the long run. Here is an
example, written by Dan Kennedy, to sell an ordinary product
like shoes: "...but if you insist on just wearing any old pair
of ordinary shoes, here's what you have to look forward to in
your so-called golden years; fallen arches...intense lower back
pain...even pain from just walking around a shopping mall!
You'll be asking your friends to slow down so you can keep up.
You'll be futilely soaking your feet at night like some old
fuddy-duddy. You may even need pain pills just to get to sleep."
With a Negative After-Scenario, you are projecting an
undesirable future resulting from your prospect's shortsighted
attempt to save a little money now by buying an inferior
product, or by not spending any money at all to solve a known
problem while there is still time.
3. A Back-Story Scenario. This Before and After formula
is not seen by your reader, but is sketched out for you the
writer and marketer. Even if I am writing copy that follows a
different format, I will often write out a before and after
comparison for my own use when I begin my work. This enables me
to clearly see the benefits the prospects are seeking in the
form of specific changes they want to experience in their lives.
I want to know what the prospect is dissatisfied with now, and
how intensely that dissatisfaction feels. I also want to know
how the prospect wants to feel in the future and what changes
must take place in order to achieve that desired state and the
emotions that will come with it.
Let's face it, I don't want to overlook a single benefit that my
readers might be seeking. And without my own draft version of a
before-after sketch, I might miss the very benefit that will
trigger the most response.
Every worthwhile product or service helps to bring about a
desired change. And let's face it, all of us, regardless of what
we sell, are really in the business of selling change. A person
who is satisfied with the status quo is not a prospect, and will
never be a customer. But when that person is ready for a change,
and has become dissatisfied with the way things are right now, a
strong Before and After Scenario can show them the way to find
that change.
COPYRIGHT © 2005, Charles Brown
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