Whenever I finish writing something I wonder if the reader still has a good reason to go: So What?! If yes, I’m not finished. My text isn’t focused enough on the reader.
How does that work? Simple. So what?! means why should I care? But you need the reader to care; that’s when you get their attention.
Why Readers Don’t Care
You can showcase the amazing features of a product or service, but if your readers don't care, they won’t act. I’ll go even further: readers won’t make it beyond your introductory paragraph if it doesn't tell them how they might benefit.
Such is the digital world. No one has time to get hung up on something they are not sure has value to them. Time is crucial and competition is fierce. A reader will move on to the next search result on Google in the hope of finding something more compelling.
For medical products and services, it's no different than any other topic people inquire about on the internet. The only difference is that searchers pay more attention to the credibility of the source when it comes to health-related queries.
This doesn't mean they can stomach university-research style articles. Such texts may convey expertise, but no one will get through them. Somewhere along the line, they’ll say So What?!
Would You Care?
Let’s say your child has been wearing glasses since she started school. Her prescription changes each year because her eyesight keeps deteriorating. You have recently heard about a modern alternative, called Ortho-K lenses. Someone mentioned it, but you have no idea if it's relevant for your child.
You check your optometrist’s website and here’s what you find:
Ortho-k for Myopia Management in Children: Ortho-K are rigid, gas -permeable contact lenses, which means they “breathe”. Your child wears the lenses overnight as they gently reshape their cornea (the transparent front part of the eye). Optometrist Dr. X first maps your child’s cornea with highly advanced digital equipment to determine its curvature. Based on the measurements, a unique set of contact lenses is designed specifically for your child’s eyes.
This paragraph explains the main features of Ortho-K lenses: rigid, “breathing”, custom-made, reshaping the cornea, worn overnight… So what? Why is that good for your child? You also learn that the doctor uses advanced equipment. So what? Good for him/her.
The writer neglects to explain why this should interest you. Before you pick up the phone and call Dr. X you need to understand where your child fits into the story. You want to know that there’s a chance for your child to benefit from the call, not the optometrist or the lens manufacturer.
How about this:
Ortho-K has proven to be effective in significantly slowing down the progression of myopia in children, eliminating the need to frequently renew prescriptions. The custom-made overnight lenses free your child from wearing glasses or contacts during the day and help keep their eyesight from getting worse in the future. This gentle reshaping therapy is also used to reduce other refractive errors, such as hyperopia and astigmatism.
It’s a lot harder to say So what!? You’re told that this treatment has been effective, which lets you hope it could work for your child. You can imagine how getting rid of her glasses during sports and play will make life easier for her. And you are reminded of your child’s future ahead. After all, it’s your job as a parent to provide her with the tools for a healthy future.
This paragraph draws the connection between the features and your child. That’s what you care about. Everything else, whether the lenses are soft or rigid, and what equipment the doctor uses are secondary. You want to know how all this affects your child and whether it could improve her life and health.
The Writer’s So What?! Test
As a writer, you can use So What!? to identify how well you are focused on the reader. As long as the reader can hit you with that response to your content, you are stuck on the product or the provider. Why should readers care, if it doesn’t do anything for them?
P.S,
In the healthcare industry, this is more challenging than most other sectors. Read my post on Why Writing Marketing Content for Doctors Is Profoundly Challenging.
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