Create a Multisensory Experience
If you're writing a direct-mail letter promoting a new series of cookbooks, one of the first things you will do is put yourself in the prospect's shoes. To get into the mindset of your target customer, you will imagine that you're a cooking enthusiast in a well-stocked kitchen whipping up a gourmet meal.
You want your copy to be so enticing that the prospect will practically be salivating to get those books in her hands so she can indulge her passion for cooking. And the way you do that is by engaging her imagination using every sensation possible: seeing, touching, feeling, hearing, and tasting.
That's what creating a multisensory experience is all about. To maximize the effectiveness of your promotion, you must get all the senses firing — or at least most of them — so that the prospect can really “feel” the benefits.
A big mistake that copywriters make is to utilize only one or two senses to describe product benefits. For example, a car might be touted by how great it looks. But what you see isn't the only allure of owning a great automobile. What about how it feels when you sit in the comfortable leather seats? Or the sound of the engine quietly accelerating? Or the commanding touch of the solid steel gear shift?
Even seemingly uninspiring products can engage many, if not all, of the senses. Consider the following list matching the senses to the features and benefits of an electric toothbrush.
Creating a Multisensory Experience for an Electric Toothbrush
Sound: The quiet hum of the oscillating brushes
Taste: The clean, fresh sensation in your mouth after you brush
Touch: The firm comfortable grip of the handle
Sight: The slim design that fits easily into even the most crowded toiletry bag
Smell: Clean, fresh breath that lasts for hours
You can't always engage every sense for every product or service you promote. But create as broad a multisensory experience as you can for the reader. It helps to make the features and benefits seem more real and affecting. After all, it's not just the coffee that wakes a prospect up, it's the smell of it.
