Preamble: I wrote this article back in 2003 and I rewrote it in early 2005. Back then, it was meant primarily for a copywriting audience. Now that I specialize in SEO, and seeing how the concept of “funnels” is gaining popularity, I took the liberty to slightly update it. One problem in SEO, copywriting, content, […]
Tag: selling
How to Target Your Perfect Customer
The most important part of your copy is not your headline, not your offer, and certainly not your benefits. The most important part is your customer. Sounds obvious, right? But I’ve critiqued some pretty good copy. Very well-written and compelling, too. But if the conversion rate is low (hence, the reason why I was hired […]
How I Write Copy in Seven Steps
A lot of people ask me how I write copy. I don’t mean the actual writing process (such as how I come up with headlines, bullets, offers, etc), but how I tackle the actual task of composing a new sales piece from scratch. Everyone is different. My writing process is one developed over many years, […]
Copywriting is often labelled as “wordsmithing.” A wordsmith is someone who uses words to sell a product, a service, or an idea. But, is copy only about words? Copywriting comes down to two fundamental tasks: knowing what to say and then how to say it. The first part is the most crucial. After all, the […]
The other day, an aspiring copywriter asked me a question that I hear all too often: “How do I distinguish myself from other copywriters?” The answer is not an easy one. It takes some thought, some time, and perhaps some inspiration. But time after time, I have found that most people tend to overlook one […]
Risk-Reversal’s Role Reversal
The greater portion of my career has been in copywriting, selling, and direct marketing. And one of the common denominators I’ve found in any successful piece of sales copy is the power of risk reversal. That is, taking a larger risk from the sale than the purchaser of your product. Risk reversal is a powerful […]
A member of my coaching program asked a question about the legality of using a pseudonym or alias when writing marketing communications. In other words, can he use a pen name? Stated differently, is it legal to write the copy in the voice of a fictitious character? Or telling the story of, say, a fictitious […]
What’s the single, most important element in copywriting? Let me say it another way. You’ve done your research. You found a starving market. Your product fills a need. And your sales copy shines with benefits. If everything is so perfect, then why is your product still not selling? Is it the price? The offer? The […]
I covered headlines many times already. You can find posts about headlines here. But here are some additional tips. There are two huge mistakes people make when they write headlines. Either they are too bland and don’t say enough (such as when they attempt to simply summarize), or they say too much to cover all […]