Why Copywriting for Solar is Different

Here’s a typical story - A solar energy company hires a general copywriter, one who writes for everything from baby oils to insurance policies. When the company starts publishing content, days pass, weeks turn into months but they see no increase in engagement, nor a boost in sales.

The hired copywriter has an extravagant vocabulary in his/her arsenal, and he/she skillfully employs words like incredible, awe-inspiring, and transformative all throughout the copy. Sadly, nothing seems to really work.

At some point, after spending hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars, the company decides to apply brakes to the campaign. It is a fairly familiar story in the solar power world. But why does this happen?

The solar industry is different, it is unique. You cannot sell solar power systems like you sold shampoos or shoes. It has a language of its own, an approach of its own. People who have sold solar for years will agree with me.

But what exactly is different, and what kind of copy or content can actually sell solar? Let’s go over some reasons for why copywriting for solar is, and has to be different:

It is a big change for someone:

When you are selling toothpaste, you can set out with the expectation that you will write something and the reader will buy your product on their next visit to the store. You are not asking much from them - just replacing their existing toothpaste with a different one, costing them somewhere in the range of their existing product’s price.

When it comes to solar, we are asking them to spend about 150 times the amount they will be spending on electricity that month. Although that saves them enormous amounts of money over 3 decades, it is still a massive decision, and we have to respect that fact when creating content.

Often, “Let’s discuss how much a solar system can save you” is more effective than “Buy your solar system today”.

All that is gold does not glitter:

Let’s face it - writing for solar is difficult, not only because of reason #1, but because no human being ever grew up with a poster of a solar panel on his wall. Among those who are willing to spend tens of thousands, many will be dreaming of buying a shiny new car.

If I had to write about things people already love, like fast cars or sexy smartphones, my life would have been much easier. Solar is not something people dream about, there are no fan posters, no movies about solar panels like there are about cars or sports (imagine Vin Diesel in his sleeveless shirt installing a solar panel!).

Sadly, we have all seen many copywriters write about solar like it is a customer’s dream. With all the fluff that goes into it, it does not work.

“Presenting, the all-new, incredible solar power system. Get ready to experience awesome bill savings” does not work.

This inevitably also takes us to the discussion on good copywriting in general. Forceful, contrived language turns people off.

Think of all the greatest ads ever made, such as Ogilvy’s Rolls Royce ad - “At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in the new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock” or John Caples’ “When I sat on the piano, everyone laughed, but when I started playing…”. These have no grand adjectives, no show-off of lingual skills, just a plain, powerful story.

It’s the correct story that sells solar, not a random collection of fancy words.

Being pushy does not help

Every single piece of marketing advice starts with this - “Know your audience”. People do not buy solar on a whim. Those who buy solar spend time researching, making sure they will actually save money in the long run. Someone seeing an ad for a solar system for the first time is not buying it the same day, maybe not even the same month.

Writing about solar is mainly about giving them pieces of information that matter to them, with a certain regularity. Very few people are sternly against solar, for instance, Pew research showed that 92% of Americans were in favor of solar power. All we need to do is to untangle their fears one by one.

Our job is to answer their concerns as soon as they arise, or before. Our job is to take them step-by-step to the point where they are convinced enough to buy a system, but here’s the catch -

We are not the ones who convince them, it’s the right information at the right time, in the right manner that does it.

Summing it up

The world of solar power is unique. Anyone who has not spent years interacting with hundreds of prospects, leads, and customers does not fully understand what their concerns and needs are, what their stories are.

Everyday objects or fancy materialistic pleasures can be sold with decorative words and flashy promotions, but solar needs a more mature approach - informative, assuring, and measured.