Features, Not Benefits!

Have you ever heard the old copywriting cliché that you should talk about benefits, and not about features?

Instead of telling potential customers about all the cool technical features of your app, you should explain how these features will benefit them. 

For example, don't tout your new phone's 5G connection, but do explain how customers will now be able to watch cat videos on the go. 

A Bygone Era

As tech products got more mainstream, you did see a shift happening. Gone was the era of PC ads with the processor frequency screaming at you in big red numbers. 100 MHz! 500 MHz! 1 Ghz!

We weren't sure what Megahertzes or Gigahertzes really were, but we knew we wanted more.

(Though I think even back then we already knew how arbitrary that metric really was, because over on the console side they only cared about bits, not hertzes.)

On the other hand, these days tech ads are all about feeling young and hip and smiling families and touching moments. How things have changed! 

Going Too Far

But I fear we might be taking this too far. More and more, you land on sites that refuse to tell you what their product is or does. 

OK, it will make my life easier. Yes, it will save me time. Sure, it will save money. But what the hell is it?!

The Art Of Copywriting

Part of the problem is that reading a few blog post doesn't make you a good copywriter. 

So now, instead of boring, technical copy droning on about specs and features, we have boring, vague copy that manages to convey no information at all. 

A Concrete Example

For example, here's some copy from a friend's product site (let's hope he doesn't read this newsletter!):

LocomotiveCMS is designed to save your time and help you focus on what matters: front-end technology, standard development process and no learning time for your client. 

And this is under the heading “What is LocomotiveCMS?“. Oh, “standard development process“? I get it now!

Here's a tip: if what you just wrote could equally apply to 10 other products picked at random, go back to the drawing (or I guess, writing) board. 

And it's too bad, because Locomotive really is a great product that will save you time. But you have to go to the features page to realize that. 

Empty Words

If you keep following the "benefits, not features" guidelines, every product ends up being “easy to use“, “simple“, or “user-friendly“.

But those are quickly becoming empty words. Cross them out, then look at what you're left with: this is what you're actually communicating. 

If nothing is left, then you have a problem…

A Better Rule

At the end of the day, the “features vs benefits“ thing might hold true if you're selling fake viagra pills or weight loss remedies. 

But if you're selling to an educated, knowledgeable audience, I suggest following this rule instead: keep it short, and don't bullshit people.