Some people don’t mind hard-hitting copy, while others prefer newsy copy. Some people prefer long copy to get as much information as possible, others prefer short, brief, to-the-point copy. Some like drama, stories, and testimonials; others data, statistics, and facts. Does it all matter? Absolutely. What makes one style of copy more favorable than another? […]
Tag: copywriting
A few years ago, something happened that provided incontrovertible proof of an infallible rule in copywriting. I knew it all along but never saw it proven to me in such a personal and direct way. The one element that can transform flimsy, “yeah-right” copy into a sales-inducing powerhouse, is proof. Besides poor targeting, lack of […]
If you’ve been a student of marketing for some time, then I’m sure you’ve heard of the saying: “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.” That quote by Theodore Levitt is probably one of the most quoted passages in marketing in trying to explain the difference between features and […]
One of the most popular threads on my now defunct discussion forum for copywriters was one started by my friend Dean Jackson. If you don’t know Dean Jackson, he is a Torontonian, a real estate mogul, an information marketing millionaire (author of many programs, including the highly successful “Stop Your Divorce!”), and a darn-fine copywriter. […]
One of the most venerable and common elements of good salesletters, following the headline, is the postscript or “P.S.” at the end. The end of every great sales letter should be capped with a strong P.S. We are often told that the P.S. is the second most read part of a salesletter, because after reading […]
Are All Business People Dishonest?
Seems I’m ranting a lot these days, and a little more opinionated than the norm. Perhaps it’s my back problem, which is killing me, that’s making me more sensitive or irritable. I don’t know. But something someone recently said in my copywriters forum irritated me. And it’s not what this person said specifically, but the […]
In 2005, I held three rarely given teleseminars: a call with copywriting legends Gary Halbert and John Carlton, and a second follow-up call with Gary Halbert.
Scarcity is an effective tactic often used in copywriting to create a sense of urgency in an effort to convince the undecided reader to make a purchasing decision. After all, people procrastinate, and they do for a variety of reasons. It’s simply human nature. So the goal of applying scarcity is to prevent prospects from […]
The Seven Deadly Sins of Website Copy
Throughout my research, I’m always surprised when I stumble onto websites that are professionally designed and seem to offer great products and services, but lack or fail in certain important elements. Elements that, with just a few short changes, can help multiply the results almost instantaneously. Generally, I have found that there are seven common […]