copywriting

Copy and Messaging

The Care and Feeding of Copywriters

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This letter is courtesy of fellow copywriter Rick Duris who is also a fellow Warrior on the Warrior Forum. I think he has some great points in this letter than a lot of marketers need to hear, and he gave me permission to share it. Warning: Somewhat long, but a great read regardless. Thoughts and comments are welcome!

Dear Fellow Marketer,

Like you, I am a marketer.

But at my core, in my heart, I am a copywriter. I get paid thousands per sales letter and email. Frankly, even more than the late, revered Gary Halbert, the Prince of Print.

Many online marketers frequent this forum to find that one, special, gifted copywriter who has what it takes to write copy for them.

It’s to *YOU*, this post is directed.

Mindset and Inspiration

Dear Twitterheads- Ya’ll Are Awesome!

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Coffee and Convo… Let’s Chat!

I created this post because, let’s face it… you really can’t get to know someone in a 140 characters or less. And that’s kind of crappy because the point of Twitter is to connect, get to know people, and build relationships! So to that end, I thought I’d post a little about me so that you can dig around and see a bit of what makes me tic.

Copy and Messaging

21 Ways to Create Engaging Web Content

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If you own a website or blog, you probably already know that the bulk of your visitors have the attention span of a gnat. Unfortunately that’s just the way it is. So if you are creating content, and you want them to stick around and read some of it, it’s got to be engaging. So here are 21 easy ways you can spruce up your content and make it more engaging and interesting to your readers.

Copy and Messaging

Universal Laws of Good Copywriting Part 4

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Congratulations – you’ve made it to the final article in this series of copywriting rules. Here is Part 3 in case you missed it. By the time you’re done here, you should have an excellent idea of how to craft the best possible sales letter, using the most triggers possible.

Here’s a quick refresher of what we’ve gone through so far:

* Set out writing to one person.
* Use your prospect’s language.
* Use emotion.
* Time’s ticking, make sure you keep their attention.
* Make the copy visually compelling.
* Make it easy for people to buy.
* Use scarcity.

Let’s move on to the last 2 important rules.

Rule #8: Social proof can make or break you.

Use testimonials as often as you possibly can while creating sales material. If other people have used your product or service and liked it, ask them for a testimonial (just make sure the testimonial adheres to the new FTC guidelines).

Prospects feel a lot more trust when they know that other people have used the same product or service they’re thinking about buying. They believe that you (the seller) will obviously brag about yourself – but seeing neutral peoples’ opinions changes that.

If you don’t have testimonials, borrow as much social proof as you can. For example, if your product is about golf clubs, find a quote from Tiger Woods talking about how important the right golf club is. If you’re selling copywriting services, find a quote from a top marketer talking about the importance of the right kind of copy.

Rule #9: Have a clear call to action.

Copy and Messaging

Universal Laws of Good Copywriting Part 3

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If you’ve been following along, you will see that we’re now on Part 3 in this “Copywriting Rules” series of articles.

Throughout these articles, we’ve gone through several important copywriting rules. To reiterate, these rules were:

* Set out writing to one person.
* Use your prospect’s language.
* Use emotion.
* Time’s ticking, make sure you keep their attention.
* Make the copy visually compelling.

Now we’re going to go through even more rules you should know about in making the best possible piece of sales copy.

Rule #6: Make it easy for people to buy.

Don’t give your readers a reason to say no. Remove as much risk as you possibly can. You can do this in a few ways, with the most obvious being a secure guarantee.

Many copywriters find that the more outrageous and secure the guarantee, the better the conversions. The ironic part, though, is that the longer the guarantee period, the less refunds a company usually gets.

This could be because most people put off putting things back until “later”, whereas they have a sense of urgency with a shorter guarantee period.

Whatever the reason, a strong guarantee makes it hard for your prospect to say no. If you tell them that if they don’t like your product they can get their money back, they have no reason to object. They have absolutely nothing to lose by trying your product out.

On the other hand, if they have to take on a lot of risk, they’re going to be more apprehensive about buying. In this Internet age, a lot of people are nervous about being scammed. If you haven’t yet done business with a prospect, they’re going to be wary – and rightfully so.

Don’t give them any reason to turn you away.

Rule #7: Use scarcity.

Like we mentioned earlier, people are quick to put things off until the elusive “later”. By using scarcity, you will force people into moving NOW.

You probably see this in action all the time. Department stores use sales to get people to buy by a certain time. Infomercials will give you an extra widget if you order “in the next 5 minutes!”. High-end automobile manufacturers only have “x” amount of limited editions for certain cars.

There are several ways in which you can implement scarcity. You can:

* Limit your product or service to “x” amount of people

* Only give special pricing to “x” amount of people

* Have a special deal/coupon for people who order by “x” date

All of these things are designed to make people move quickly, thinking that they’ll “lose out” if they don’t.

It’s important to remember that whatever scarcity tactic you choose to employ, that you make sure to honor and uphold that. Lying one time may get you sales the first time, but it can severely damage your ability to make more sales down the road.

Copy and Messaging

Universal Laws of Good Copywriting Part 2

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In Part 1 of this series, we went over some important copywriting “rules” to follow in order to have the best possible copywriting material.

To refresh your memory, these rules were:

* Set out writing to one person.
* Use your prospect’s language.
* Use emotion.

In this article, I’m going to go through and give you even more tips you can use to make the most compelling sales material possible.

So, let’s get going.

Rule #4: Time’s ticking, make sure you keep their attention.

Your sales letter should be captivating from the beginning to the end. A lot of people liken a sales letter to a “slippery slope”, saying that the letter should be consistent and easy to read the entire time through.

Imagine falling down a slippery slope. The ride is easy from top to bottom, and you go down one clear path. A sales letter should be exactly like this.

If you have ANY disconnects, it will be very easy for a reader to lose interest and stop reading right away.

Think about it like this: people stay on websites for an average of 30 or so seconds. This is ESPECIALLY true if they think they’re being sold something. As you know, 30 seconds isn’t a lot of time. If you give your readers any reason to leave whatsoever, they WILL take it. Make sure that every point you write about makes complete sense. Don’t get too off topic.

It’s also important to have a compelling headline that will make your readers’ eyes bulge. Get them emotionally invested in reading on. Don’t over-hype or make promises you can’t keep, but really reel them in with the “wow” factor of your product or service in your headlines.

Don’t use wordy, verbose language that bores your reader. World class copywriter John Carlton actually says to write as if you’re writing to a third grader.

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