Copy Writing Hints

Here’s a 30 second test for you:

What’s the difference between these two sentences:

1. How you can fix any mechanical problem in 90 minutes or less

2. How you can actually fix almost any mechanical problem in 90 minutes or less

If your answer had something to do with the two words, ‘almost’ and ‘actually’ being added to this sentence… then you’re right on the mark.

Yes, that’s right. The second word is actually. What does this word actually achieve?

Let’s have a look at another example before we attempt to answer this question:

1 .How you can build a million dollar property empire in less than 7 years

2. How you can actually build a million dollar property empire in less than 7 years

3. Doctor reveals new system which reveals how you can actually build a million dollar property empire in less than 7 years

Hmmmm… so what does inserting ‘actually’ into the copy actually achieve?

It says what you are about to reveal is really true, doesn’t it. And it also insinuates (without really stating it) that what other people have said in the past is not totally accurate.

So in the example above… with the market (in Australia, anyway) being skeptical about the property market… this works quite well.

Here’s a few other examples:

1. How you can purchase brand new cars at dirt cheap prices

2. How you can actually purchase brand new cars at dirt cheap prices

Notice how the word actually makes you want to find out more. So rather than just going ‘Yeah. Sure. Nothing in this world is for free’… you’re interested in how it’s actually done.

Let’s try another example…

1. How you can meet the love of your life in 90 days or less

2. How you can actually meet the love of your life in 90 days or less

Are you starting to get the picture here? Ok. Here’s an example I just pulled out of the local TV guide that we can actually apply to what we’re talking about by changing:

- Amazing TV & Radio Antenna Gives Superior Reception At Our Best Price Ever

- Amazing TV & Radio Antenna Actually Gives Superior Reception At Our Best Price Ever

Notice what else the word ‘actually’ allows us to do? It sets the scene for us to explain why it can actually do what we say it can. Which sets up a great excuse to explain our unique
selling proposition at the same time, doesn’t it?

Think about it. We could follow up this comment with a sub-headline like:

WARNING: Not all TV & radio antennaes are the same. Some of them say they give superior reception, but when you plug them in you can’t access all the channels you want. The reason for this is (insert problem with other machines). What makes us different is
(insert your USP here).

So there they are my friend. 2 words which could have a serious effect on the believability of your advertising. Whenever you feel as though you’re making claims which others may perceive as ‘too good to be true’ call on your 2 new friends: almost and actually.

They’ll always be there to help you.

Yesterday morning, I was driving to work, with my wife, via Woolloomoolloo, in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs… on a reasonably busy road at that time of the day.

When… all of a sudden this great big truck jumps in front of us. He had totally disregarded the road rules… and in my opinion, disrespected the drivers going in both directions.

Not only that, he drove over the median strip… and went rather close to tipping when his wheels hit the ground.

And my wife was fuming… calling him all sorts of names under her breath.

Needless to say, she felt justice was done when we saw a cop car five cars back from this big mother of a truck. He put his siren on, and no doubt caught up with him to deliver him with a fine of a few hundred bucks.

And that, is what happens when you disregard the rules. Now in his case… he was only getting a fine of a few hundred bucks. But when you disregard the rules of advertising…
when you spend money on advertising that doesn’t work…

It Costs You A lot More Than A Few Hundred Bucks

For instance, when you run a yellow pages ad… if it fails it can cost you tens of thousands. If you run a magazine ad… and it flops it can cost you thousand of dollars. If you overinvest without testing… I’ve seen it literally put people out of business as a result.

So I thought I’d take a moment to re-iterate 7 of my time-tested rules to advertising success:

1. Always create a powerful headline. Write 30 – 50 and then choose the one that suits you from there. A successful headline can make a massive impact on the success of your campaign.

2. Make sure you’re advertising in the right medium. A great ad in the wrong medium may not pull a great response.

3. Test… Test… Test. Do not plough tens of thousands into anything until you have tested it to make sure it works.

4. Use sub-headlines to draw the reader back into the copy

5. Use the 12 proven words to add ‘mojo’ to your copy

6. Make your copy as long as it needs to be to get the result. f you’re selling Coca-Cola for 50c all you need is a sign on he side of the road saying “Coca Cola – 50 cents – it’s true.”
But if you’re selling a share trading course from a company nobody has ever heard of - you’re not going to sell it in one or 2 pages. You need to make a powerful promise… get the reader to picture the benefits and most importantly…

7. Prove what you’re saying is true. We live in the age of skepticism. We’ve been lied to by politicians, cheated by ‘blue chip’ companies in the stock-market, ripped off by the banks.
And we don’t believe everything we hear until it’s well and truly proven.

So for the sake of your success, do everything you can to prove what you’re saying is true. Use…

a) Testimonials

b) Statistics

c) Quotes from proven sources (a sworn statement from your accountant if you’re saying you’re wealthy from following a wealth creation seminar, a doctor’s word if you’re selling a health product.) You get the picture.

There’s plenty more of course. But if you follow these 7 you’ll be heads and shoulders ahead of 99% of your competitors.

Let me ask you a very important question:

Why do people buy a newspaper or magazine? To read the articles, right? Well, then doesn’t it make sense that if you want your ad to get read, then…

YOU SHOULD DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO AVOID IT LOOKING LIKE AN AD

And make it camouflage in with the newspaper’s articles as closely as possible.

So how do you do that?

1.Read the headlines of the publication you are considering advertising in.

2.Model your style on the way they write their articles.

3.Use the same typeface the newspaper or magazine uses.

So why would this work better than something which looks like an ad? Simple. Advertorials work so well because of the way people disbelieve ads… but tend to believe what journalists communicate within their articles.

Try it next time… and test it out for yourself.

If you received a letter with an asprin, a scratchie ticket, a 20 cent coin, a comb, or a smiling ball in it… wouldn’t you want to know why?

You see, for any letter to work, it:

-Has to get opened
-Has to excite people enough in the headline and first paragraph

Which is why this little technique known as the ‘grabber strategy’ works so well.

So how does a device like a 20 cent coin or comb help you to improve your response?

First, it makes you package a little more bulky… which instantly arouses curiosity… and gets your letter to stand out from the rest.

Then the attached ‘grabber’ encourages people (out of curiosity) to read the first paragraph (which is half your battle).

So let’s have a look at how lets say, a mortgage broker (who helps people reduce their repayments) can ‘link’ these grabbers in their copy:

Headline: Is the cost of your monthly mortgage giving you a headache?

Opening Paragraph:

Dear Steve,

As you can see, I’ve attached an asprin to the top of this letter. Why have I done this? Basically there are two good reasons.

To start with, what I have to tell you is so important, I needed some way to ENSURE I grabbed your attention. Secondly, I wanted to show you how you could structure your mortgage to relieve this headache.

What about linking a 20 cent coin?

As you can see, I’ve attached a 20-cent coin to the top of this letter. Why have I done this? There are 2 simple reasons:

Firstly, I have something important to tell you and I wanted to make sure I got your attention.

Secondly, since what I have to say concerns how to pay off your mortgage years sooner, I thought a coin was particularly appropriate. Because if you structure your loan the right way, you could have thousands and thousands and thousands more of these coins in your pocket.

Interesting stuff, isn’t it? Now go and apply this to your business. I’d love to hear about the response you get.

Remember, as a child lying in bed and listening to stories. Remember how engaged you were. Remember how you never got bored of them and always wanted to learn more.

Well, there’s a good reason why… and here’s how what you learnt as a young child could help you attract, and keep more customers…

Metaphors and stories have proven to be a powerful way of influencing other people. They are also extremely interesting to your potential customer, and connect with a deeper part of the human psyche.

Here’s 10 of the most powerful types of sales stories you can incorporate into your ads and sales letters…

1. Introductory Stories: These are stories about who you are, why you’re writing to them, and how you have assisted other people and/or businesses.

This is a perfect way to connect with your target audience and generate rapport. Reveal something personal about yourself within the story… and establish credibility and trust.

2. Stories Which Overcome Fears: Everyone has fears of some type. Identify the greatest fears and concerns your customer has. And then show how other people… just like them… who had the same concerns… overcame them, and discovered there was nothing to worry about.

If you’re selling a health product, the client may be concerned it will not work for them. Tell the story of somebody else who felt the same and where they are now. Perhaps incorporate this structure within one of your testimonials.

This is a classic “Feel… Felt… Found” approach. I understand how you feel. My previous customer used to feel the same way. His experience now is…

3. Ego-Enhancing Stories: This type of story shows how people respect and look up to people who use your services, or own your product.

For example, if you were selling a Mercedes Benz… you could talk about a guy who bought one recently and how his colleagues, family and friends were so impressed.

4. Attention Grabbing Stories: These are used to get people to focus on you, your products and how you can benefit them. They explain why your customer should sit up and listen to you… right now.

Here’s an example from a sales letter from a company called “The Supper Club…”

“How can I get in on this deal?”

The question was posed by a Daily Reckoning reader who was referring to a deal I mentioned. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a stock. It was a private deal. And it was too late to get in anyway.

But it’s why I’m writing you today.

5. Product Information Stories: Don’t just list the features & benefits of your product or service. Tell a story which integrates this information.

6. Improved Productivity Stories: Outline exactly how your services and/or products have assisted companies to increase their profits, become more efficient, increase output and reduce down time.

Tell a before and after story of one of your customers. You’ll never guess how much (other customers) business has changed since they started working with us…

7. Family Togetherness Stories: This type of story demonstrates how your product or services has caused families to come together.

8. Money Stories: The idea here is to show people how your product or service will save or make money for your customers.

For example, if you’re a mortgage broker, give a case study of a past customer… and how much money they have saved through swapping over to you.

If you’re a PR company, give an example of how you helped one company get out of a rut

If you’re an accountant, reflect on how you helped a specific customer save thousands of dollars on tax last year… because you’re up to date on all the tax changes.

9. Security Stories: This is a prime example of how you would go about selling an insurance policy. Tell a story about how your products have allowed your customers to sleep safely, and with peace of mind.

This could be used in the insurance industry, alarms, people selling trusts, pest and termite controllers, safe cars like Volvos… or any industry where people buy to feel more secure.

At the same time, it could be used for anybody who helps people to make more money… or ensures reliability. For instance, a marketing company could explain how safe one of their clients feels about their business with all the extra income being generated.

10. Closing Stories: Stories can be used here to close the sale and sum up all the benefits you have to offer.

What stories could you use to promote your business?

If you want to write great ads, which sell through the roof, you need to toss all your fears from school… about CHEATING… out the window.

Here’s why:

Let’s imagine you have a competitor who’s doing something which is bringing in bucket loads of cash. Maybe it’s a mechanic who’s offering a complimentary loaner car… or a coffee shop offering a complimentary coffee to draw in the customers.

Many businesses would look at their competitors and think ‘Aren’t they clever. What idea can I come up with to generate loads of customers for my business?’

But the thing is…

ORIGINALITY SUCKS

There’s absolutely no benefit in coming up with new ideas which are not tried and tested. Especially when you can take someone elses idea, make a few small changes and use it yourself - instead of trying out 20 ‘original ideas’ that don’t work.

After all, would you go and invent a new car, instead of just buying one that already works? Of course not!

So why not steal others idea… and get rich!

Of course, to avoid infringing on copywrite, you’ll need to change the wording… and how you explain your product or service. But you can certainly take the concept and use it.

Now don’t just look to your competitors. Get ideas from other industries as well.

Let’s take a fish and chip shop as an example. What ideas could they steal and apply to their own business.

• KFC has 11 herbs and spices. What would happen if the fish shop created their own blend of batter which tasted sensational? And made their Unique Selling Proposition… the ‘7 secret herbs and spices which makes our fish taste so good.’
• Or what about packaging their product like McDonalds do into ‘meal deals’ to increase the average dollar sale. Or upsell by asking ‘would you like fries with that?’
• And if their competitor is offering ‘2 for 1 chips’ every Thursday night, and it’s working, why not do the same?
• Don’t just copy similar industries. What about the hairdressing salon down the road offering every 10th haircut for free. Why couldn’t the fish shop offer $10 free fish and chips for every $100 you spend? If it works for a hairdresser, human nature says the concept will work for a fish shop too?
• Or what about the mechanic who’s advertising: “If we don’t fix your car… you don’t pay.” Could you advertise, “If our fish and chips aren’t the best you’ve ever tasted, let us know… and there’s no charge.”

Ideas are everywhere. So keep your eye out for the next one. In fact, every time you see a great ad or sales letter file it away.

And ask yourself how can I apply this concept to my marketing?