Copy Tip 37: Three Ways To Use Comparison Tables
The first way we looked at contrast was to take a price and state it in a different way ($320 per year versus less than 88 cents per day).
The second way we looked at contrast in pricing was to compare the product price to other ways of getting the same content (CD package versus cost of attending live event).
Take note: these ideas, including today’s tip, can be combined in your copy!
In today’s Copy Tip, I want to share another popular way to contast what you have to offer versus alternatives and competitors:
Show the differences in a summary table
By doing this you can help build the perceived value of what you are offering.
Here’s an example of what I mean that I saw online yesterday, comparing features:
This comes from Outskirts Press, a custom book publisher. In their copy, they say this:
Outskirts Press offers you the best of both worlds by combining the advantages of independent self-publishing with the advantages of traditional book publishing. Before, during, and after publication you will receive the assistance of a dedicated group of publishing professionals, all the while maintaining all your publishing rights and setting your own retail price, royalty, and author discount.
And the table appears below the copy to really highlight just how you are combining the “best of both worlds”.
It’s very easy to see in the table what they’re talking about — all of the features of their offer that combine the best of traditional book publishing and self-publishing.
While you might have seen this used plenty of times already, it’s a good reminder of what you can use to help your prospect understand about your offer and why it is compelling and should be responded to!
Standard vs Deluxe
Another example of how you can use a comparison table is to highlight the extra value in your premium product offer.
For example, if you have a product with both a standard and deluxe option — you can show both products side-by-side in a table to highlight the value … and also highlight how much extra value is in your premium deluxe version.
Total Value With All Inclusions
In this example, you can compare the price of your product “package” to the total potential value of each individual component within the package, if purchased separately.
It’s another way to demonstrate overwhelming value for what you are offering your prospect.
This is an example of a Copywriting product (originally authored by Jeff Paul, and offered here by Mal Emery, which I also have resale rights to) …
Realistic Value
One caveat with this approach — the values you use must be realistic to your prospect.
For instance, I saw a table used on a sales page yesterday attempting to illustrate how the cost of eye surgery was perceivably smaller when you add up the costs each year using prescription glasses and contact lenses.
They included $1536 of costs for the “competition” each year — new glasses, new designer sunglasses, contact lenses and cleaning solution.
The first thing that came to my mind was that my costs were much less than the example — it seemed way over-valued to me (here I was starting to defend myself, and they haven’t even got me to a consultation).
My contacts and solution cost way less than they suggested, and I don’t buy new prescription glasses and sunglasses every year (hey, my Italian Vogue glasses frames and super-thin coated lenses I wear actually cost way more than their example, but that is not an annual purchase!).
So that unrealistic value was a hurdle to me as a prospect: it can leave a prospect asking, “if they get this wrong, what else do they get wrong?”
Had their copy raised that objection, and provided an answer, it would have been much more effective.
For example…
In a sales letter I recently wrote, one of the bonuses in it was literally worth $30,000 to a student.
Could I value that bonus at $30,000? Well, yes, there is a documented example, and there are in fact others where the estimated value is even higher. But is that realistic to a prospect? Maybe not.
So, when I explained it in the copy, I mentioned that it’s not the same value for everyone.
I mentioned that even if this value was halved, it’d still be $15,000 value. Or let’s halve that again, and it’s still worth at least $7,500 to you. Or let’s be really conservative and say the value of ______ is worth at least $5,000.
Is that more convincing than just putting a $5,000 value on this product bonus? I certainly think so, as the testimonials demonstrate several examples where students value the bonus many more times higher than this.
Despite most of those using this bonus finding it worth much more than $5,000 — setting a lower realistic value ensures the prospect isn’t starting to think you’ve over-estimating the value of what you say (for this AND everything else). And with the explanation, the prospect sees how you’ve arrived at this figure.
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