Copy Writing Hints

Years ago, when I first started out as a copywriter, started rewriting the great sales letters in my own handwriting, spending every spare moment reading another piece of sales copy… I found that something strange occurred…

When I was working on a piece of copy, I’d start getting ideas while I was in the shower, lying in bed at night, and basically while I was focusing on things other than writing.

This happened intuitively. But since then, I’ve learned that dozens of other leading copywriters… from Gary Halbert to Joe Sugarman…do exactly the same thing.

They incubate.

What the heck is incubation? Basically, it’s the process of taking a break from your work and doing something pleasurable while your brain sorts the information around and comes up with a solution.

So let’s say you’re writing a sales letter for your business.
The first thing you should do is go over all the material about your subject, ask yourself a series of questions about your business to get your brain ticking.

Questions like: What are the benefits? What are the features?
What’s unique about my product or service?

Think about what you want to write. The angle. The ideas.
Jot down a few headlines and some of the main points you want to cover.

Jot it all down on paper. Visualise the end result you’re aiming for. And then…

Go To The Beach

Or take a shower. Or go and have a cup of coffee, a jog around the block, put on some music. Whatever.

Don’t think about writing copy.

It’s time for your subconscious mind to get busy and come up with a solution. You don’t need to do anything about it.

Of course, you could also switch to another project, and come back to the sales copy once your subconscious mind has had time to sort through the various solutions to your marketing problem.

The point is: get out of your own way and just allow it to happen.

Remember, your mind will take everything you know about your product or service, copywriting, advertising, marketing and psychology and come up with the appropriate solution.

Imagine the life of a hunter…

You wake up in the morning, gather your weapons and head out to combat. Some days you come back with a boar, other days your family goes hungry.  The pressure is on you every single day to make the ‘catch’. It’s a battle.

Now imagine yourself as a farmer…

You plant your seeds and wait for them to harvest. In the meantime, you nurture them and treat them like your baby.

When they’re ready you simply start harvesting your crop.

In my experience, most businesses are hunters not farmers:

• they cold call to generate new customers
• they spend forever getting a new customer and then forget about  them
• they chase after the quick fix
• they advertise for the direct sale rather than the ’shy yes’ which will germinate in the future

This became blindingly obvious to me when I created some copy for real estate agents a few years ago.

- I would write an ad offering a free report.
- Without fail, they would receive calls from those ads.

However if the sale didn’t come off right away… they would

NOT put them on a database
NOT follow them up
NOT nurture them

… even though they had responded to an ad which identified them as their specific target market.

… even though each sale was worth several thousand dollars

… even though it would cost less than $12 a year to keep in touch with them

Why not? Well, I believe it’s because we live in a world of instant gratification. I remember reading a book, a long time ago now, by M.Scott Peck which said one of the keys to happiness was to be able to delay your gratification. In a marketing sense, that means…

Accept the fact people may not buy right away

Put them on a database

Mail them something every month to stay in touch and position yourself as an expert

And like a farmer, wait for that customer to harvest. (of course you can touch base with them by phone in the meantime and nurture the relationship personally)

Most people won’t do it. It’s too much work. Writing letters & keeping in touch. They would prefer to knock their head against a brick wall cold calling and doing things the hard way because at least they feel like they’re keeping busy.

But by doing this… you’re being ineffective. I know because that’s how I used to operate. Heck, two of my first jobs were as a door to door salesperson (selling cleaning chemicals to
businesses) and a telemarketer (selling hotel cards) and I can tell you that business gets a lot more enjoyable when you are…

- an invited guest (when others call you because you have educated them of the benefits of your services)

instead of…

- an uninvited pest (where you cold call and use other archaic marketing methods)

The most important thing you can take away from this message is to become a farmer. How do you do this? Simple:

1. Build a database
2. Nurture your database

… and prepare yourself for a rich harvest in the near future.

Not last weekend, but the weekend before I popped into the local supermarket after taking my baby boy for a swim and saw a sign which read…

If You Can Vacuum, You Can Rug Doctor

And I couldn’t help but think what a clever phrase that was. You see, after grabbing their brochure to check out their marketing I realized that The Rug Doctor positions themselves as a cheaper alternative to using a carpet cleaner while still achieving professional quality results.

Obviously, a lot of people would think they can’t possibly clean their carpets like an expert and that’s why this phrase works so well.

Let’s look at a few other businesses who could apply this sort of phrase to their marketing…

- If you were selling a teleseminar series,  you could say…

If you can pick up the telephone, you can (whatever the benefits you are selling)

- If you were selling a ‘how to’ handyman course,  you could say…

If you can use a hammer, you can…

- If you were selling a gourmet cooking course, you  could say…

If you can make baked beans on toast, you can…

Are you starting to get the picture? Good. Basically, this phrase can be used whenever your prospect is
thinking: ‘that’s too hard for me. I’ll never be able to achieve that.’

Here’s another twist of the same concept for a resume writing course by the American Writers and Artists
Institute:

Imagine… making $30,000… $50,000… $70,000… even $150,000 per year or more — in just a few hours per week — with a system that’s as simple as turning on your computer…

To finish off with, I’ll give you two other strategies which take this objection out of the customers mind…

1. Without

Who Else Wants To At Least Double Their Income Without Working Longer Hours, Without Spending Thousands Of Dollars, Without A Higher Education

Or…

Give Me Just A Few Minutes A Day, And I’ll Show You How To Quickly And Easily Play The Guitar… Without Complicated Theory.

In fact, it’s so easy a child could do it.

2. Even If…

How to make a fortune on the internet… even if you’re a computer dunce like I am.

So there you have it. Three strategies for taking away the ‘it’s too hard objection’…

1.    If you can ___________, you can_________
2.    Without
3.    Even if

I hope you can apply these tips to your business and if you are already implementing these revolutionary advertising strategies, I’m sure your bank account is already enjoying the experience.

I’m glad you’re reading this because you’re about to learn one of the fastest way to build rapport with your prospective customer.

And it’s…

NOT finding a common interest

NOT talking in their unique language (i.e. talking differently to accountants than you would to hairdressers)

NOT making them feel special

NOT telling them how wonderful they are

Have you ever noticed how quickly people develop rapport when they are talking about someone they despise?

For instance…

- Members of a family being angry with another member of the family
- Environmentalists who hate industrialists
- Keen political followers hate the opposite side
- Two countries having a war (one country hates the other side)
- Business Owners hate the tax man
- And just about everybody seems to hate lawyers

You get the picture! The reality is that often the best way of creating rapport with your reader is to define a common enemy.

Here’s a simple paragraph so you can see how you can use this strategy in your ads and sales letters…

Think the tax man is operating in your best interest? Well, here are just a handful of examples of the ways
our government has found to spend the hard earned money you pay them for taxes:

(give examples of how much they spend on election advertising, silly research, etc)

Then follow this up with a sub-headline like…

You can (and should) stop supporting this ridiculous waste of money

Before you finish reading this copywriting secret, you might want to grab a pen and paper and answer
this question:

Who is your prospective customers enemy?

Have you ever been told you should work on your weaknesses because you already know your strengths? Well, today I’m going to offer you some contradictory advice.

I’m going to tell you to work on your weaknesses within your strengths.

What?

‘What’ is right.

Let me explain: A friend of mine markets his business using a number of different mediums…

Fax
Internet
Classified Ads
Direct Mail Postcards
And a handful of others

Now, recently he measured where his sales were coming from. And the majority were being generated online from the internet. His quarterly statistics looked something like this:

Internet Income: $31,000
Classified Ad Income: $0
Fax Income: $5,000

What do you think he should do? Well, let’s take a look at the additional income he could generate if he could improve any one of these areas by 20%:

Internet: $6,200
Classified Ads: $0
Fax: $1,000

Makes sense doesn’t it? Sure. The internet already generates strong results for my friend. But there are certainly areas for improvement.

Let’s break take a look at what would happen if he lifted his results in a few different areas:

1. Subscription / Squeeze Page: 20% lift
2. Sales Copy To Quote: 20% lift
3. Increase Visitors: 20% lift

For the sake of simplification (and to protect my friend’s figures) let’s make up a few numbers:

Current Visitors: 700
Current Conversion On Squeeze Page: 10%
Current Conversion To Quote: 10%

As a result of this, he’d be generating 70 subscribers a week and converting 7 of these subscribers into clients.

Let’s take a look at what would happen if he could generate a 20% lift in each of these areas:

Current Visitors: 840
Current Conversion On Squeeze Page: 12%
Current Conversion To Quote: 12%

Now he’d be generating 100 visitors per week (an increase of 30 visitors per week) and 12 quotes per week. He has increased the number of quotes he’s generating by 71% (and consequently his turnover) as a result of a 20% shift in each of these three areas.

Based on this, his quarterly turnover from the internet would jump from $31,000 to $52,700. A $21,700 increase which is four times the amount he was making as a result of his fax streams – simply from increasing the weaknesses in his strength by a mere 20%.

Your priority for this week should be to analyse where the majority of your business is coming from:

If it’s from the Yellow Pages – how can you increase the results of your yellow pages ad?

If it’s from walk by traffic – how can you increase the amount of walk by traffic you generate?

If it’s from word of mouth – how can you increase the number of referrals you generate?

One of the best ways to cover off objections and peak the curiosity of your prospect is to tell them what something is not.

For instance, if I was promoting a business opportunity, I might excite the prospect about the potential of the product, and then tell them it’s…

NOT labour intensive (as little as a few hours a week) NOT network marketing NOT real estate or stock market oriented NOT a hard business to learn

Let’s look at what this strategy achieves…

1. Curiosity: Once somebody knows what the opportunity is, they might pre-judge it, and say ‘Oh no, I’ve heard about that. That’s not for me’ without having the necessary knowledge to truly make that assumption. This allows you to keep them interested long enough to convince them of what you have to offer. Or alternatively, to send away for a free report / CD or whatever whereby they give you their details and you get an opportunity to provide them with a full sales presentation.
2. Covers Objections: Think about it. If people have a predisposed bias against network marketing or real estate or stock market oriented businesses, then they are not going to respond to your advertising if you feature this in the ad. But when you tick off all the objections they may have (network marketing, labour intensive, real estate / stock market oriented, hard business) then you knock over those objections without giving anything away.

Makes sense?

But this isn’t just for the business opportunity market. For instance, if you were a gym selling a fitness program, you could say you can lose weight…

Without hunger
Without pills
Without low energy
Without giving up tasty food

Notice I used the term ‘without’ in this case instead of ‘not.’ That’s an alternative way of doing it.

Let’s look at another business. Imagine you’re looking to hire a plumber and you’re flicking through the yellow pages. How would you respond to someone who told you they could fix your pipes…

- Without waiting around for a plumber who shows up hours late
- Without getting your house messy (because we’ll take off our shoes before we come in
- Without paying through the roof for call out charges

Bang. He’s just knocked all your objections off their stand and differentiated his business with three quick sentences.

How can you apply this strategy to your business?

How do you deal with competition within your ads and sales letters?

Should you avoid the issue? Or should you address it head on?

Well, firstly you should know that whatever you are selling within your copy is only one option, a choice; he has other alternatives.

Sure, your prospect may not know of them. But as a result of your copy, you could motivate him to seek other alternatives.

And that’s why you should seek to methodically invalidate every other option other than your own that he may consider.

But how do you do it without advertising them at the same time? After all, if you give attention to them, you’re essentially offering advertising his business for free.

As you can see, this is quite a touchy subject. Here is one approach you could use for a real estate agent:

Seven “Deadly” Mistakes People Make When Choosing A Real Estate Agent

Mistake # 1: Choosing a real estate agent without enough experience

Mistake # 2: Trusting the agent to give you an accurate appraisal

Mistake # 3: Underestimating the lust of the agent to sell your property for whatever he can get

Mistake # 4: Wasting your hard earned money paying more commission than you legally must

Mistake # 5: Giving in to confusion. Spending thousands on advertising without really identifying which strategy will work for you best

Yada. Yada. Yada.

You get the picture, right?

The whole aim is to put question marks in the mind of your customer about your competition. And highlight your strengths - and their weaknesses.

Here’s a sub-headline you could use for copy about financial services:

A Critically Important Warning About “Financial Planners” To Avoid. Why Most Financial Planners Don’t Have Your Best Interest At Heart

(Insert your industry for financial planners. And use this for yourself)

Or what about this line if you’re using a self development program:

Frankly, there are a ton of lousy self development seminars out there. Get-rich quick events held by people who are almost dead broke. Events by hyped up gurus who leave you punching the air, only to come down like a ton of bricks a few days later once they have your money.

Nothing like that here at (your company)

Are you getting the picture?

You don’t need to name your competition personally. You simply need to place doubts in your prospects mind about the alternatives.

Use these templates in your business. And gain a definite edge over your competition.

One of the biggest challenges many people have in writing is getting started. So it helps when you’ve got a few sample templates and opening strategies which do the work for you. And that’s what I am going to give you today:

Opening Strategy # 1: The Problem / Aggravation / Solution Formula

This is probably one of the most common approaches used in advertising and it works so well because people are generally more motivated by avoiding pain than gaining pleasure.

In a nutshell, what you do is

a) identify the problem

b) aggravate the problem

c) explain why you can offer the perfect solution. Here’s an example:

Do you suffer from back pain? Do you find it hard to get out of bed in the morning? Are you concerned your back pain could deteriorate even more and you could end up with a permanent and worsening problem in your old age?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, then this could be the most important message you ever read.

Here’s why: My name is Jim Anderson – and in the next few minutes, I’m going to show you a revolutionary new back care service that is going to show you how almost anyone can say goodbye to back pain for good.

Opening Strategy # 2: The Shameless bribe

This strategy works wonders in holding your prospects attention through your entire ad or sales letter. It basically involves “telling them what you’re going to tell them.” Here’s an example:

In the next few minutes, I’m going to show you how to sell your property for 20% more than other homeowners.

Specifically, I’m going to reveal 7 little-known strategies which add thousands of dollars to the value of your home with very little outlay on your part.

Furthermore, I’m going to reveal a simple strategy for selling your home fast… no matter what the state of the economy.

My clients have paid me hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to get access to these secrets. But now you, too, can use them – FREE!

Opening Strategy # 3: The crossroads opening

This is the ulimate pain vs pleasure opening, offering a contrast of what will happen if your reader listens to what you have to say compared to the consequences of ignoring your message. Here’s a sample:

TWO YEARS from now you could be enjoying the sort of lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of. Or you could be running around the rat race… struggling to get by… and wondering why you haven’t had a holiday in years.

The choice is yours.

Ok. So there you have it. There’s no longer an excuse for not putting pen to paper. I have given you three ways to get started right here. So start using them right away.

I was at a seminar over the weekend critiquing a sales letter for one of my subscribers. And the lack of proof within the sales letters was blatantly obvious. I pointed this out to her and was hit with the response:

“But it’s not about me. It’s about them.”

Mmmmm… interesting. And I guess I can’t blame her for thinking that given the fact this is exactly what we’re told in copywriting school:

Focus on You. The less times you use we in the copy and the more times you use the word you, the better.

And that’s absolutely true. However…

You Must Establish Your Authority

Why? Because the questions going on in the back of your readers mind are:

Why should I listen to YOU?
Why should I listen to you ABOUT THIS?

After all, in a sales letter you may be required to:

• Convince people of facts they don’t believe  (they are highly skeptical)
• Recommend your reader do something differently (nobody likes to change)
• Ask for their trust
• Warn them about what could happen if they don’t listen – not everyone wants to hear this

In order to do this, you’ve simply got to be viewed as an authority. Otherwise why would anyone listen to you?

Ok, let’s step outside of the ‘letter’ scenario for a second to illustrate my point:

Let’s imagine you go to a conference and a speaker stands up… doesn’t introduce himself… and just starts talking about a subject. What’s going on in the back of your mind?

Let me take a stab in the dark and say you’re thinking:

Why the heck should I listen to this guy?

And that’s why every professional speaker is backed up with an introduction explaining their accomplishments… what they’ve achieved… and what makes them an authority on the subject.

And you should do the same in your sales letters.

One more thing: The more skeptical your group of prospects the more you must “pile on the proof” in order to cement your authority. Here’s some things you might want to include within your sales presentation:

Your accomplishments

Any endorsements (particularly from people or institutions they respect)

Your experience

How you’ve overcome significant adversity which people cannot dismiss

Credentials

And anything else which sets you up in their eyes as an expert.

So something like…

“I have 16 years in the industry” simply won’t cut it. You’ve got to go deeper than that.

I’ll leave you to work-out what details help establish your own authority, but I’m sure you get the idea.

Several years ago, just after I met my wife, she invited me to her boss’s holiday home in Kangaroo Valley. Kangaroo Valley, for those of you who haven’t heard of it, is a beautiful little town about 2 hours from Sydney.

And it gets a little cool around there. So we had the fire going all weekend.

And as I sat looking at the fire I got inspired by the lessons nature had to teach me that weekend.

You see, I was broke at the time. Every week was a struggle just to get by. Always worrying where the next sale was going to come from. How to pay the rent. Those are days I was happy to leave behind.

But I noticed a few things about the fire…

1. It starts very slowly. And it takes effort to get started. You have to chop the wood into little pieces… lay the paper down… and gently position everything so it will catch alight. And then, you have to blow on it again and again to get it fired up.

Even then, unless you are an accomplished master… you can get it wrong. And then end up having to start all over again.

2. But once it gets started, something quite amazing happens - It’s impossible to stop. In fact, as we see from the many bushfires in Australia every year, it can take over the whole countryside if left unchecked. And it takes absolutely no effort to keep going. In fact, it can take many hundreds of men to stop.

So what’s all this got to do with advertising, marketing and running a business?

Everything!

Think about it. When you first place an ad, you have no idea whether it’s going to work or not. You may, in fact, lose money, and decide to give up after your first effort. Or you may have to try 3… 6… even a dozen times in order to hit a winner.

And your returns are slow. Perhaps you’re starting and nobody has heard of you.

But once you get a successful ad or sales letter… one that makes you money every single time you run it… what effort is required then? Other than using this ad or sales letter (or google adwords campaign, or flyer, etc) over and over and over again.

Everything goes on autopilot, doesn’t it?

And you can keep reinvesting your profits over and over again.

That’s how to turn a small business into a big business… the safe way.

Yet, most people don’t even get the fire started. They give up before it starts burning - their first ad or two doesn’t work, and they throw in the towel saying ‘advertising doesn’t work’.

Or they don’t know what’s working… and then pull ads which are making them a fortune. Or find a winner… and then don’t continue to reinvest in that campaign.

Crazy, isn’t it? Just like with starting a fire, if you persist… it becomes so much easier… almost automatic… and requires much less effort to maintain.

I remember reading a quote from Anthony Robbins about 10 years ago, which has stayed with me. He said something like “When you begin a business, you need to put 10 ounces of effort in to get one ounce of profit back. But once the business is rolling, the tables turn and you only require one ounce of effort in order to get 10 ounces of effort back.

Food for thought, isn’t it?

Gary Halbert, one of the copywriting greats… was famous for saying…

I cannot think of a single problem a good sales letter cannot overcome

And I’m telling you that you are only one ad, sales letter or promotion away from starting your fire… and changing the way your business operates forever.

But how many people will persist to get their business fire burning? How many people will then reinvest by adding additional wood to their fire so it keeps burning and automatically grows bigger?

In my experience, most give up early. So the secret to successfully marketing your business… above any idea, tip or strategy is best summed up by Winston Churchill…

Never Give Up…
Never Give Up…
Never Give Up…