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How to Write Copy That Get's Results
Copyright © Charlie Page
The goal today is simple. That goal is to pull back the curtain and
show you how a professional copywriter creates the copy that causes
people to reach for their wallet or purse. Copy you would normally have
to pay for, only now you can do it yourself.
Let me begin by saying how very much I hate hype. Hate it. Loathe it.
Don't want to read it and will not write it. The pure fact of the
matter is that it does not take hype to sell products. It does take
capturing a person's attention, then their imagination, long enough to
help them see the desire they have for your product.
Here's the first foundational truth about copywriting. The people who
visit your site WANT to buy what you sell. They have the desire now, or
they wouldn't go to your site. They didn't just wander by. They chose
your site because something interested them.
Your job now is to enhance that sense of DESIRE and persuade them to
take action now. Enhancing their desire to benefit from what you offer.
That's the name of the game. Don't confuse desire with being convinced.
Desire creates sales, being convinced doesn't. I'm convinced the Golden
Gate Bridge is a fine bridge, but I don't want to own it.
On the other hand, there's this very cool laptop I want so bad I can
taste it. I need a laptop like a hole in the head, but I want it. You
see, a person doesn't have to need your product to buy it. They just
have to want it. Very few people really need a Palm Pilot, or a laptop,
or heated leather seats or an expensive ink pen when the one the dry
cleaner gives away still writes, but they buy these things (and more)
every day.
Why shouldn't they buy them from you?
With that in mind, consider the following five key points to writing
copy that gets results ... no matter what product, service or
opportunity you offer.
The five points are:
1. Sell with emotion, support with logic.
2. Be honest.
3. Be brief, but not too brief.
4. Ask for the order early ... and often.
5. Emulate, don't imitate.
The first point is so important, so foundational, that I'm devoting
this entire article to understanding how this will work in your real
world. If you get this first step right you will see results even if
you bobble the other four. Without this one, the other four will have
to work overtime to get people to reach for the Visa.
Pay careful attention because this is where 99% of ineffective copy
fails to do it's job.
1. Left Brain -- Right Brain
People generally buy things in a very predictable way. They make a
decision to buy based on emotion and defend or justify that decision
with logic. Rarely do people (even engineers!) buy in the reverse
order. Memorize this: People buy based on emotion, and defend or
justify that purchase with logic. That idea is the reason that people
buy. Period.
Let's take a closer look. Here is a quick example from what is perhaps
the best example of buying on emotion and defending it with logic known
to mankind ... the world of new car sales.
Example #1
You go to the dealership one fine weekend just to 'see what your
trade-in is worth'. These sharks are not going to sell you anything.
You are there for facts, just the facts. Not even shopping. Just
getting information. You were in the neighborhood anyway.
Then it happens. The smell of a new interior. The purr of the engine.
(You didn't really realize how loud your old car is inside.) Then
there's the shine of the new paint job. Red. You always wanted red. You
deserve red. You want red! You can almost feel the pride swell inside
you as you imagine driving down your street for the first time, your
neighbors drooling with envy. 'Bonnie must be doing well.' they say.
'She's always seemed smart.' You can see the look on your friends faces
as you drive home for Christmas in your new RED car.
By golly, you ARE going to have red. You wanted red in high school and
got the old family junker. Remember the embarrassment? You wanted red
in college but your idiot boyfriend talked you into black. Black! After
you dumped him you couldn't stand to even drive the thing. It's red you
want. It's red you've always wanted. And you've waited long enough.
You drive home in your new red car. It smells good. It sounds good. It
looks good. You feel great! When tightwad Fred asks how much you paid,
you tell him that the old junker you traded in needed an engine
overhaul and it just wasn't a good investment to repair the poor thing.
You were smart to buy now. In fact, you got the much better end of the
deal.
My friend, you just bought on emotion and defended the purchase with
logic.
What else does this happen with? As you read this list, ask yourself
how many times you've bought more than you needed in one of these areas
just because it 'felt right'.
- Suits
- Dresses
- Homes
- Jewelry
- Stereo Equipment
- Computers
- Software ;)
Let's face it, we are a community of people who love to compare. We
compare how fast our cars go from zero to sixty, how big the diamond is
we gave our girl (or she gave us!) how many square feet we have (never
mind there are two empty bedrooms). The list goes on and on.
Advertisers know this about us. When you are the advertiser, you must
know it too.
How can you apply this to your real world? Three simple steps.
Step 1 - Get a legal pad now and write down the five
top things that make people want your product. Focus on how they will
feel, how others will perceive them, how they will feel about
themselves. Remember, a feature is what something does. A benefit is
what it does for me. People want benefits. People buy benefits. People
will interrupt what they are doing now to buy benefits.
Step 2 - Look at your selling copy now, whether it's
a web page, autoresponders, radio ad copy, classifieds ... doesn't
matter. Look at that copy and see if the five emotional pressure points
you wrote down are in that copy. Does the copy move you? Does it compel
you to action? Does it tell you, in very clear terms, what's in it for
you? If you can't be objective, solicit a friend to take a look.
Step 3 - Change portions of your copy to add some
punch. I'm not talking about a major rewrite, just change some key
areas to appeal to a person's emotions. Help them imagine life with
your product. The time they will save. The money they will save. How
good they will look to
their peers. How great it will feel to finally (insert benefit here).
Better yet, give them hints about what they can do with that time and
money. Here's a very short sample.
---------Begin sample------------
Our clients often save over $100 a month when they switch to our
widget. Imagine how good it will feel when YOU begin to save $100 or
more a month, just by choosing our super-widget! That's over $1200 a
year! What will you do with your $1200?
- Pay off bills?
- Take a vacation?
- Pay for your child's college tuition?
- Finally have some 'mad' money just for you?
The choice is yours. Do what thousands of others have done. Click here
now to start saving today.
--------End sample----------------
Notice in the example above how the 'need to' and 'want to' motivations
alternate? We 'should' pay off bills and pay for college. We 'want' to
take a vacation and spend money like a madman on a weekend pass just
because it feels so very good. By including both 'want to' and 'need
to', this copy appeals to the broadest possible audience. No matter
what else your copy does, make sure it appeals to a person's emotions.
Remember, people do what they want to do, not what they have to do.
If you have a hard time finding the emotional points of your product,
service or opportunity, remember that people are moved by the promise
of gain or the fear of loss. Using those two super-motivators, it won't
be long before your copy will be charged with the emotional electricity
that creates orders and causes people to take action now.
Charlie Page is the owner of the Directory of Ezines, the first and
most comprehensive list of quality ezines that accept advertising
available on the Internet. Charlie can show you how to sell more
products and earn more affiliate commissions using the Internet's #1
marketing method ... ezine marketing!
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Directory
of Ezines
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The first and most
comprehensive list of quality ezines that accept advertising
available on the Internet.
Learn how to sell more products and earn more affiliate
commissions using the Internet's #1 marketing method ... ezine
marketing!
Click here to
learn more ...
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