Get More Sales By Improving Your Writing (part 2 - The Undefeated BAR test)

In the last article, we made sure that your content doesn’t scare off your ideal prospect. If you haven’t checked it out, you can find it here: Get More Sales By Improving Your Writing

Now that your content looks the part, it's time to make it easier for your readers to breeze through. Once we've drawn them in, it’s our job to keep them engaged and reading.

So, how do we do that?

The same way you would at a bar."Of course, these were just regular ads—nothing strange or deceptive about them. However, I soon found myself caught up in endless discussions, while all my opportunities came to a halt."

Use The BAR Test To Fix Your Writing

"As a business owner, your job is to solve problems. Someone having electrical issues? It’s great that you're a certified electrician with your own business to solve that customer’s problem.

This is the basic principle of running your own business, something most business owners already know.

But what happens if no one even knows you exist?

How are you supposed to solve problems if Larry from across the street doesn’t even know who you are as a business? We market, but we do it in a very specific and strategic way that actually helps us attract clients and make sales."

If you made it through that without feeling like your brain was about to melt, well, you’re braver than I am.

That’s real text from an article I came across recently.

It doesn’t pass the BAR test.

"Ok, What Actually Is This Mythical BAR Test?"

The BAR Test is undefeated. It’s worked for centuries and will work for centuries more. Even if bars vanish from the future, this test will still work. As long as humans walk the Earth, you’ll be able to use this to drastically improve your writing.

Here’s how you use it:

Look at a piece of text (we call it 'copy' in the business world) and ask yourself:

Would I say this to a real person in a conversation?

It’s simple, and it works every time.

Let’s look at this sentence:

"As a business owner, your job is to solve problems. This is the basic principle of running your own business, something most business owners already know, but what happens if no one even knows you exist?"

In a real conversation, it would sound more like:

"Most business owners already know they’re solving problems for a living. But that’s hard to do if no one even knows you exist, right?"

See how that’s easier to understand and much smoother to read?

The first version sounds robotic. The second one sounds like an actual person talking.

The Quickest and Easiest Way To Fix Your Writing

Here’s a trick that works every time. It might sound simple, but if you try it, you’ll be hooked.

Read your copy out loud.

Does it flow? Where do you trip up? Does it sound natural, like you're talking to someone?

Pretend you’re speaking to a friend. Here’s another example I came across:

"But most of the people running businesses nowadays barely even think about what problem their product is solving, let alone whether their most likely buyer is male or female, what their age range is, what their interests are, or even what haircut they have."

This is a 47-word sentence. If you read it out loud, you’ll probably notice it’s a bit of a mouthful. It’s a run-on sentence and needs a break somewhere. Because in real life, we don’t speak in 47-word sentences.

Conversations have a rhythm. Some sentences are long, others are short.

Like this one. Only three words.

Get into this habit. It will change your writing for the better. I promise.

Apply this advice to your content, and you’ll see how much better the response is to everything you write.

Talk soon,

Mohamed

P.S. Want me to check, rewrite, and improve your materials using the BAR test and other principles we’ll be discussing?

Get in touch with my agency today. If we’re a good fit, I’ll personally review your company and marketing, devise a strategy for what I would do differently, and discuss it with you in detail during a call.

No cost, no obligation.

If you want to work together, I’ll tell you exactly how that works. If not, that’s fine too. No hard selling, no pressure, no annoying tactics.

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