I’ve been reading Robert Bly’s book, “The Copywriter’s Handbook,” where he effectively emphasizes the significance of documenting a product’s features and benefits.
The exemplary breakdown of the features and benefits of a standard yellow pencil within the book stands out as one of the most impressive, clear, concise, and jargon-free explanations I’ve ever come across.
This pencil example is something I’ll refer to again and again, so I’ve included the plain text below.
Features
- Pencil is a wooden cylinder surrounding a graphite core: Can be sharpened as often as you like to ensure clean, crisp writing.
- Cylinder is hexagonal: Won’t roll off your desk.
- One end is capped by a rubber eraser: Convenient eraser lets you correct writing errors cleanly and quickly.
- Eraser is attached with a tight-fitting metal band: Holds eraser snugly in place; no pencils ruined by eraser coming loose.
- Pencil is 7.5 inches long: 7.5-inch graphite core ensures a long writing life.
- Pencil is 0.25 inches in diameter: Slender shape makes it easy to hold and comfortable to write with.
- Pencil is No. 2: Graphite core is blended for just the right hardness—writes smoothly yet crisply.
- Yellow exterior: Bright, attractive exterior—standouts in a pencil holder or desk drawer.
- Sold by the dozen: One-stop to the store gives you enough pencils to last for months.
- Also available in a box containing a gross: Easier purchasing and a lower price per unit for large-volume users such as business offices and schools.
- Made in the USA: A quality product. (Also, buying American-made strengthens the US economy.)
Benefits
- Can be sharpened as often as you like to ensure clean, crisp writing.
- Won’t roll off your desk.
- Convenient eraser lets you correct writing errors cleanly and quickly.
- Holds eraser snugly in place; no pencils ruined by eraser coming loose.
- 7.5-inch graphite core ensures a long writing life.
- Slender shape makes it easy to hold and comfortable to write with.
- Graphite core is blended for just the right hardness—writes smoothly yet crisply.
- Bright, attractive exterior—standouts in a pencil holder or desk drawer.
- One-stop to the store gives you enough pencils to last for months.
- Easier purchasing and a lower price per unit for large-volume users such as business offices and schools.
- A quality product. (Also, buying American-made strengthens the US economy.)