Know-How Exchange : Copywriting

The reason I would go solar is to break away from being dependent from the blood sucking power company. I expect there are others with similar thoughts.

what is the real payback...
If you buy a solar panel today, how much money will be saved over the 30 year life?

If you buy a solar panel today, how many pounds of carbon emmissions will you avoid?

If you buy a solar panel today, what kind of credits can you recieve?

If you buy a solar system today will Al Gore put you on his Christmas Card list?

I agree with Frank. You can't just say "high return on investment", but instead should quantify it. How many years is the payback and/or what is the total savings over the life of the system?

You may want to back things up with case studies.

Many municipalities offer tax rebates for going solar. if your area is one, don't forget to list this as a selling point.

One of the objections I have heard about is the installation cost to set up the system. If some way could be found to overcome this, I think it may speed up adoption.

"Going Green" or "Natural" is pretty trendy now, and only going to get more popular. I would play off the American & human concern to 'save the enviroment' if I were you. Try adding emphasis to that, reorganize the bullets, and make it a little more personal:

"Harness the power of the sun with clean, free and renewable Solar power. With the power of the sun you can:
- Reduce your carbon and gas emissions
- Save $$ (detail ROI here, perhaps with average savings percentage)
- Enjoy self sufficient, long lasting and virtually maintenance free power
- Make a positive environmental impact: Every kilowatt hour of solar power generated is the equivalent of planting 100 trees.
- Enjoy quick and easy to installation

BTW I love what you're doing! When I own a house I plan to go Solar.

You can provide the current average cost of kWH in their region and show the trendline of estimated costs for the next 5 years. Then, show the average cost for a kWH solar (30 year estimated lifespan, etc.). Then, add "your costs may be higher or lower than our averages..". Then it's a simple ROI calculation that businesses can perform.

Also, if your region has government subsidies/tax breaks for solar, mention that (as well as when the break is planned to end) to create a sense of urgency.

Businesses care about making money. If solar can save them money, they're potentially interested. Saving the planet, etc. are all secondary concerns (for most businesses).

Well, if the RoI varies so much, is it really fair to state it as 'high with little risk'. Something that varies is high risk to me.

And about 30 years lifetime - it's a statement of faith, since in 1978, there were few solar panels. You could state it if you're willing to provide a warranty for 30 years, ...

Why people go solar? There is often a genuine concern for the environment, and this segment does not care to pay a little more, as long as they're doing the right thing. Often, solar energy is combined with an efficient home, low energy appliances, efficient lighting, ...

But solar energy is also becoming a financial opportunity. This is a paradox, since the cost per kWh is much higher than retail electricity, but subsidies and other incentives can make the investment very attractive.

So whether you're targeting the first or second group (or both) will make a difference whether to emphasize the economic or environmental benefits. In any case, I'd put the other argument as secondary.

For still other people, the zero-energy argument applies, i.e. to generate as much energy as they consume, and to become 'energy neutral'.

One could take this one step further, and go off-grid, but this is an extreme solution, because it requires sufficient storage to bridge a few cloudy days.

On the other hand, there are off-grid applications, which have been the bulk of the solar market until recently, where solar PV compares to no electricity. Solar PV in terms of quality of supply is inferior to grid electricity, but it's certainly superior to no electricity.

So overall, it's thinking about your target group, and carefully wording the argument to avoid unwarranted claims.

Some arguments:
- long-term performance (20 years) demonstrated - e.g. Switzerland
- reliable, maintenance free - no moving parts
- fixed price for electricity over the lifetime of the installation (as opposed to tariffs, which might change)
- clean - no CO2 emissions in exploitation
- cost-effective: costs have gone down dramatically over recent years; with the right incentives, electricity can be cost-effective
- with batteries, you'll continue to enjoy power in times of blackout

Maybe start with a headline like:

Make Oil and Gas a Thing of the Past. Let the Sun Shine!

Then follow with these bullet points:

Solar power is clean, renewable and FREE!

Solar Systems are easy-to-install and low maintenance

Modules last up to 30 years

Low risk and high ROI

It’s green and environmentally friendly

Here's an approach: Develop a list of the toughest questions you can think of to ask yourself (a champion of solar). Make the questions as pointed and tough as you can. Pretend you're a knowledgeable investigative reporter, and see if you can come up with some that go right to the heart of why people don't buy solar today.

Do this exercise like you mean it. Don't pull any punches.

Once you have the list -- at least 2-3 dozen -- start developing a Q&A with the best responses you can come up with. That will become the core of your brochure and the selling points you need to make.

Get others involved in the exercise too. You'll find it makes you all better proponents of the product/industry.

Is this a B2B product or B2C? I would use two totally different approaches. Here are some simple ideas for jazzing up the language assuming it's B2C:

1. Green for the earth and green for your pockets
Solar power is the environmental choice AND the economical choice. (go into specifics about cost savings)

2. Harnessing the power of the sun is a breeze
(Talk about why it's easy to set up & maintenance free. E.g., it takes x hours to install, compare maintenance of alternative w/ solar....)

3. Planning for the future pays off - for the earth and your home
(Talk about long-term cost savings)

4. Every kilowatt hour of solar power generated is equivalent to planting 100 trees in positive environmental impact. -- This could be stated visually.
Hope that helps - good luck!

Make money out the place where the sun does shine!
Reduce your carbon footprint.
Solar...good, clean fun.
Reduce costs from sunup to sundown.
Go solar so you won't get burned.
Solar energy..cheaper, easier, better
It pays to catch some rays!

I agree with Mbarber. I think the folks that buy into solar power have to come to the conclusion that it is the right thing to do, for every reason in the world EXCEPT price. Focusing on the benefit to the world, not so much their pocket.

I thought of something for a brochure that included a lead like:

"Want to be a part of the only power company in the world who has never had ONE outage?"

then, a beautiful picture of the radiant sun powering a city...something along those lines. From a marketing perspective, inclusion may be the key direction here. Getting folks to be a part of the club. As for the commercial direction, perhaps there is a way that your program can have an element that gets the word out to the public at large about advertising what businesses have decided to "go green" maybe a newsletter that gives going green tips and features a listing of all the business who have adopted these practices (these newsletters are popular right now and if you hit the right groups and offer the members to opt in to your email newsletter, you will get plenty of subscribers, thereby offering an additional value...exposure...to the businesses you are targeting.

How long does it take to "pay for itself" on average?

Are they any complementary products you can use to make your point e.g. Energy saving bulb reduced my light bill by $x, now Solar systems reduced my bill by $x.

Soaring oil prices makes everything more expensive, why should your pay for lighting etc... when you can get it from the sun for 'free'.

What about backup plans? - Allay the fears of users over outages during long periods of bad weather.

Can users feed excess energy back into the grid and get paid for it? This would be a great incentive since not only do you not have to pay an electric bill, the feeling of getting paid by the electric company would be indescribable. Also the system would 'pay back' for itself even sooner.