The special magic of 'you' in advertising

It's true what they say, you know. Nobody does it quite like you, especially when it comes to advertising.

That one little word has a magic power of its own. It captivates, seduces and personalises advertising copy like nothing else.

Why nothing else comes close to 'you'

Consider the following two sentences...

As soon as they arrive at the event, everyone gets given a gold coin. It's worth £75, and can be kept!

As soon as you arrive at the event, you'll get given your own gold coin. It's worth £75, and is yours to keep!

The second of these sentences is more compelling, isn't it? It feels warmer, because it's personalised with the words 'you', 'you'll', 'your' and 'yours'. That's 4 times the power, for the price of one.

Your online lead generation copy benefits greatly from this type of personalisation. That one magic word (you) allows the author to direct his/her message directly at the reader without having to know his/her name.

Now you get even more power

The word 'you' contributes more to your copy than personalisation. The example above also demonstrates the difference in style that comes when you're writing to someone specific. In this case, that specific someone is anyone reading the letter. What makes it specific is that magic word 'you'.

By addressing 'you' directly, the author is forced to write in the present tense. So the lack-lustre '...and can be kept' is transformed into the far more dynamic '...is yours to keep'.

We all tend to be orientated toward instant gratification, rather than some future reward. The phrase 'can be kept' implies either something that might happen. Or worse, something that might happen if you deign to do so (implying the freebie may not be worth keeping).

Contrast this with the present orientated 'yours to keep'. It's written as if you already have the item in your possession, and carries with it a great deal more persuasive power as a result.

The best thing of all about the word 'you', is that it's hard to get wrong. Feel free to use it liberally throughout your copy, and enjoy that feeling of power that comes with writing to a specific someone.