How To Write Near World Class Copy, Ads, & Sales Pages In 9 Simple Steps…
Bulletproof Do-It-Yourself System
That Works In Any Niche
(Guaranteed, or I’ll work for free)
Discover…
Why 90% of the sales pages out there SUCK! (Hint: they have no system…)
Why the actual writing of your copy is the last thing you should concern yourself with…
How most copywriters shoot themselves in the foot when trying to position their product as “flawless”…
Dear Fellow Marketer,
I’m not even selling anything here…
I’m going to reveal all this to you absolutely 100% free of charge.
However, there is an ulterior motive on my part…
While I know that some people will come here and find just what they needed totally free of charge, I also know that most people are lazy…
In the end many will realize that a guy who has this kind of insight on copywriting is bound to be just the man for their copywriting job.
After all, it’s just that much more convenient to simply lean back and hire an expert instead of doing all the heavy lifting yourself…
Your sales page or ad is perhaps the most important part of your business, and we both know that a few percentage points up or down goes a very long way…
Implement only ONE major piece of the advice you get here and I guarantee overnight increase in conversions.
If not, email me and explain your situation and I’ll work with your sales page free of charge! (No, I’m not kidding!)
What Most Copywriters Don’t Understand…
Most copywriters don’t even have a clear cut understanding what their actual job is…
If you ask them they’ll say something like: “Ehm, to get people to buy the product” (duh!)…
Vague, confused answers equals vague and confused copy… and vague and confused does not sell.
The job of a copywriter is really simple:
Convince the prospect that what they GET has far greater value than what they have to part with (i.e. money).
A winning sales letter or sales page must, as a minimum, contain these 3 core elements:
Irresistible offer (what is most irresistible to the prospect?)
Proof elements (show, don’t tell)
Scarcity (sense of urgency. Must act NOW!)
Ideally: The prospects should feel like they’re taking advantage of YOU when they purchase…
There is no use in writing anything before you have accounted for these 3 basic elements.
That is done through research.
Here’s a quick overview of how to do research for a copywriting job:
1. Research (“Problem→Reaction→Solution”)
Use online niche forums, other sales pages and testimonials, fiverr, google, yahoo answers, ask etc. to identify:
The problem…
(PRO TIP: OpenAI can effectively be used as your personal research assistant (just don’t trust it too blindly)).
The 3+ main fears of the prospect with regard to the main problem they seek a solution to.
Example: If the main problem is “acne”, the 3 biggest fears could be:
- They’ve been scammed before by “miracle cures”…
- They are afraid the cure itself will be too hard to go through with and/or too expensive…
- They are afraid deep down of another disappointment…
ALL the main fears must be addressed head on in a winning sales letter, and a good copywriter will know how to turn these fears into selling points.
The inferior copywriter will always try to avoid “sore points”, and cover this up with empty hype.
Further, you should also identify 3 things that make them angry (if possible a “common enemy”), and the 3 top sources of frustration.
The solution…
Next, you identify the ideal solution they picture in their mind.
What do they desperately want and long for? (people buy solutions, NOT “products”).
Also identify the 3 main benefits that’s part and parcel of this ideal solution.
Back to our acne example above:
Their ideal solution would be: An acne cure that actually works.
Benefits:
- Not another 3-day miracle scam (takes a little longer).
- Will require some effort/money, but not more than anyone can manage/afford.
- They will not be disappointed since they’ve not been promised “a miracle”, but rather a sound and realistic regimen that has helped a lot of people.
Conclusion
The general idea here is to get under the skin of the prospect and find out what makes him/her tick.
You use “the problem” to lock onto the wavelength of your prospect and make him/her feel like you “understand them”.
Their “reaction” to the problem comes naturally as you elaborate and remind them of it.
You want them to say: “I understand what you mean completely, but what can I do about it?”
You then navigate them towards the ideal solution they picture in their mind which just happens to be your irresistible offer…
2. The Offer (Insider Secret Revealed)
I’ll let you in on a little copywriting secret…
Writing skills is only the “icing on the cake”.
You can be close to illiterate and still present an offer that will make a killing.
Really! How?
Let’s say you just bought a brand new Mercedes Benz that you’ve only driven once.
You’re a picky guy and something with the interior started to feel a bit off.
So, you decide to sell it, and you put an ad in the paper.
Even if your ad is boring as f**k and full of spelling errors, people would still rush to buy your car because they can smell a good offer/deal here (i.e. a practically brand new quality car to reduced price).
That’s a pretty irresistible offer to those in the market for a quality car, wouldn’t you say?
The moral of the story is simple:
It’s all in the offer baby! It’s all about how the prospect PERCEIVES your offer…
That’s why it’s the job of a copywriter to:
a) Package the offer to maximize perceived value:
The copywriter can only do so much here. It’s also up to the person behind the offer what he/she wants to do with this.
If you sell ebooks it might be a good idea to offer a podcast or audio (or even video) version together with your book.
At the very least consider making an “expert interview” (audio or video) to offer as a bonus.
Video and audio has a much higher perceived value than a simple ebook.
If you’re too lazy and insist on selling your product “as is” that’s totally OK.
The copywriters job is either way to present the offer in such a way that it maximizes perceived value in the eyes of the prospect.
b) Justify price (the value they get is much higher than the money they spend):
The copywriter must absolutely position the price so it’s perceived as a no-brainer BARGAIN.
Ideally the prospects should feel that they get something for less than “they know they should”…
However, this must be done without making the offer look “cheap”(because cheap implies lesser quality).
Here are some ways I use to justify price:
- Position as “investment”… (they will get far more back later than what they invest now…)
- “If you did it on your own…” (6-12 months of blood, sweat and tears etc. *The product* would save you a lot of time, money, and/or frustration…)
- Reduce the expense… (yes, this is a 29 dollar investment, but if it takes a month to implement it’s less than a dollar a day…)
- Compare apples to oranges… (“instead of paying for an expensive weekend seminar you just need to get this book or video to *big benefit*…”).
- Position as “high-ticket”… (high price = high quality. Low price = inferior quality…)
- Sell the bulk… (well if I sold this on its own it would be *high price*, repeat x times, but today I’ll sell it ALL together for just *perceived bargain price* as bulk…)
- Price vs. cost… (show how investment reduce overall cost with one-time payment of price…)
- Jedi Mind Trick To Justify Price + Risk Reversal: “But really… The price doesn’t matter cause you have my 100% money back guarantee…”
You should also demonstrate how alternatives are “just a waste of time” (i.e. it’s THIS offer or nothing).
Close on the “intangibles” (i.e. how much is *BIG BENEFIT(s)* worth to you? = *Priceless!*).
Example: Weight loss niche
How much is (slim body = more sexy/attractive =) a huge boost in self-confidence and sexual attractiveness with opposite sex worth to you? = Priceless!
c) Minimize risk (The Guarantee)
A good copywriter will turn every aspect of the sales copy into a selling point.
First of all it’s a good idea to present the guarantee right after you’ve disclosed and justified the price.
Give them a sigh of relief.
Second, the guarantee should not be a boring standard “iron clad” guarantee that you see all over the internet.
You should include several “calls to action” in your guarantee.
Example of how to close a guarantee:
So, to sum up this amazing deal:
“You can get 100% of your money back anytime by sending me a brief email, and DOUBLE your money back if the *product* does not work as promised…
Again you can see how you only stand to gain by acting on this immediately… So go ahead and order it right now!”
You should also use this opportunity to “challenge” your prospect a little bit.
This makes your sales message more dynamic and shows them you’re definitely not “begging for the sale”.
Here’s an example that works well:
“Okay, so let’s talk about risk here for a minute…
I’ve clearly demonstrated that you only risk wasting 10 minutes of your life with my personal money-back guarantee above. Now…
Lets talk about…
“5 Things You Risk If you DON’T Take Advantage Of This Offer Today”
Then you simply list up five things the prospect risks by not taking action right now…
These are really powerful tools that most copywriters don’t even know about.
d) Sweeten the deal (introduce bonuses to make the offer a “no-brainer”)
Most people throw in some useless PLR bonuses that nobody really cares about.
This can actually hurt the perceived value of your offer, and make it look “pieced together” and cheap.
If you’re going to have bonuses you better make them “real” and relevant to the core offer.
3 bonuses seems to work OK in most cases. Here are some general guidelines:
- A bonus they really want, but would not pay for… (example: “extra material” expert interview)
- A time-limited bonus that is scarce by nature… (example: email support limited to first *number* customers)
- A “sexy” bonus they get excited about and would buy the whole thing to get… (example: something relevant and fancy/cool you demonstrate on the sales page or something “behind the scenes insiders” stuff)
The bonuses are there to tip the scale in your favor when the prospect is “on the fence”…
Therefore bonuses must ADD perceived value to your core offer, and not the other way around…
You’re better of with no bonuses than bonuses that look “cheap”, “random”, and “arbitrary”.
3. Proof Elements
Without any elements of proof to back up your claims, your ad is basically just hype…
The proof elements are there to comfort the prospect and narrow the gap that still exist in his/her mind about your offer.
Below is a list of common used proof elements:
- Testimonials… (make them skimmer friendly and outline key phrases and words…)
- Facts and statistics… (from science, polls, comparisons, etc. must be trustworthy sources…)
- Quotes from authority figures… (preferably in the relevant niche, but also in general if applicable. Source: public available interviews or similar…)
- Good information… (making your prospect go WOW! is the best proof element there is…)
- Visual proof… (the old cliché that a picture says more than a thousand words is still true, and even more so for video…)
- Damaging admissions… (my personal favorite… get real with them and turn product limitations into a selling point…)
Nothing beats a piece of info that makes your prospect go “WOW! If this is available for free I really wonder what this guy charges for!”.
You can actually give away your best “piece of meat” in the sales copy if you make it “useful, but incomplete” (i.e. a “trailer”).
This way the prospect gets a very real sample of what it would be like to be your customer, and desire starts to build in him/her…
Damaging Admissions
This point deserves special attention because so many copywriters go wrong here.
The tendency is to want to position the *product* as “perfect”.
However, this is a huge mistake because the prospect will always be looking for “the flaws”.
You don’t want to come off as “too good to be true” because this turns people off big time (even if it were true it would turn people off).
When you admit to one or more “flaws” you’re leveling with the prospect and his/her shoulders (defenses) will come down a little as he/she can sense that you’re being honest with them.
Which brings us to the next point.
You must be honest in your admission, and you should also use this opportunity to again challenge the prospect a little…
Example: “If you’re looking for a 3-day miracle cure, this offer is not really for you. However, if you’re willing to commit to a 14-day regimen that may be a bumpy ride, well, then we can talk…”
With the tool of “damaging admissions”, and a little bit of creativity, you can turn the biggest “flaw” into the biggest selling point with just a few sentences…
Pretty amazing, don’t you think?
4. Benefits And Bullet Points
Benefits are the ammunition of the copywriter…
Inferior copywriters focus on the features of the product instead of how it will benefit the prospect.
Medium to good copywriters understand how to focus on benefits, and knows how to write “benefit laced” copy.
Superior copywriters tend to take it a step further. They will operate with different levels of benefits…
I usually stick with 4 levels of benefits in my sales copy.
Here’s how to come up with “4-level benefits”:
- Level 1) List everything the product IS = features and DOES = benefits… (Fat loss product X will make you slim and sexy…)
- Level 2) Explain how these things will transform their lives… (Being slim and sexy will give a major boost to your overall confidence…)
- Level 3) And what will happen to them once their life is transformed… (With confidence you will finally be able to date/meet the man/woman of your dreams!)
- Level 4) And what will happen next… (you will feel much more fulfilled and whole as a human being…)
Now you simply compile everything into a priority list of benefits at all the different levels… (BIG benefits and smaller benefits), and that’s your ammunition!
Next you use this list to create…
Bullet points:
Bullet points is the best way to communicate value/benefits at a glance and describe your offer quickly.
There are basically 3 variations of bullet points to be aware of.
Of course, any given bullet point might use elements from more than one of these variations:
- VERY specific bullet points (the more specific the more believable…)
- Contradictive bullet points (Designed to stop people in their tracks. Go against conventional wisdom. Bombastic and provocative!)
- Curiosity bullet points (drive them nuts with wanting to know…)
If you scroll all the way back up to the top, you’ll see that I have 3 bullet points there that are good examples of these 3 variations in practice…
(does it work? Well, you’re still reading aren’t you?)
Of course, you should always use benefit laced copy throughout the sales letter/page, and not just for bullet points…
5. Scarcity (Trigger immediate action!)
Scarcity is an absolute necessity of any winning sales letter.
Why?
Because people tend to postpone things and are hesitant and procrastinate by nature…
The idea is to nudge people out of their comfort zone, and create a sense of urgency.
There should always be some kind of “pain” in place unless they act right NOW! (people are motivated more by avoiding pain than seeking pleasure).
There are many ways to introduce this in your copy, but the most important thing is to make it as believable as possible.
The two most common ways to introduce scarcity is:
- Time-based scarcity (prices will rise in the future…)
- Quantity-based scarcity (bonuses will disappear soon…)
Remember, you must use creativity to tailor-suit it as much as possible in each individual case to make it as believable as possible…
Here is a short list of good ways to introduce scarcity in your copy:
- Testing demand… (market test with limited amount of sales before offer is removed to see if “it actually works”)
- Generating feedback/testimonials… (You get limited time discount because I need feedback. But we only need a handful, and then price go up)
- Only so many were made… (made so many for test run)
- Special occasion… (just got married etc so happy good mood…only available until I get back from honeymoon… anniversary etc)
- Damaged goods… (it’s damaged therefore discount but only so many left)
- Limited resources/time to devote… (email support etc. only for so many people because of limited resources)
- I got a good deal, so you get a good deal… (passed on down but for limited number of people)
- Reward early action… (I like people to take action early)
Scarcity that looks fake and artificial will turn many prospects off, so you better be creative with this.
A copywriting system can only take you so far…
The more creative, skilled, and experienced you are the better you will be at making scarcity believable in each specific case.
6. Headline (Hook)
Many copywriting “gurus” will tell you that the headline is the most important part of your sales copy…
The reason they say this is because of the fact that most people coming to your sales page will at least bother to read the headline.
The split second decision to “stay or leave” will, to a certain extent, be based on their first impression which is the headline.
However, a great headline does not help much if the rest of your copy and offer sucks…
Writing the headline is usually the last thing I do.
Why?
Because if you start out with the headline you’ll end up spending way too much time on it and never get around to the most important part (i.e. the rest of your copy!)…
Another good reason to write the headline last is that you can now read through the rest of your copy and find interesting things that sort of “stick out” to use in your headline.
There are many good examples out there of headlines that seem to work OK.
However, it’s always good to try to be as fresh and new as possible and add your own little spin on it.
Obviously it’s the job of the headline to grab attention, stop people in their tracks, generate curiosity about offer, and communicate a big benefit/value to the prospect.
I find that variations of this simple formula will work in many cases:
- How to do [very specific solution] in [shorter than “expected” time frame]
- How to do [very specific solution] without [common pains associated with solution] in [shorter than “expected” time frame]
Another formula that works well is:
- If you can do [something seemingly unrelated and very simple anyone can do], then you can do [the ultimate solution the prospect have in mind] (with or without specific time frame)
Example: “If you can follow 10 simple steps, then you can become a near world class copywriter almost overnight…”
A few other tools you can use is:
- Incongruent juxtaposition (put 2 things together that don’t normally belong together (“Hog farmer made $353,434 online in just 10 days…”)
- Instant Gratification (give me 5 minutes… in just 7 minutes etc.)
- Unusual “meaningless” words (UGH! Zoopf! and similar words usually grab peoples attention)
7. Opening Paragraph
What’s missed by many copywriters is that the opening paragraph is at least as important as the headline.
The common mistake is to grab the prospects attention with a good headline, and then the opening paragraph kills it by not following up and expanding on the headline.
People want INSTANT gratification.
If the headline made them curious enough to read further, you better be ready to expend on that to make them even more curious…
You should throw in some good benefits in the opening paragraph just to make them wanna read more.
Sometimes it can also be a good idea to mention the guarantee right from the start (sub-headline) to make people realize you will be selling them something.
A “double your money back” guarantee is a very good selling point and should probably always be mentioned as a sub-header (such a guarantee is rare (which is good) and also not so scary once you realize that if you put a little condition on it you will get close to zero claims on it).
After the opening paragraph you can delve right into your “story”, or start to introduce the offer…
8. Assemble The Rest Of The Ad (sales page)
- Start with the headline… (which you wrote last)
- Expand on the headline with opening paragraph as discussed above…
- Assemble the “puzzle pieces” in the order you think will maximize impact:
- Introduce offer…
- Explain “core offer” with bullet points…
- Reveal proof elements…
- Justify price and explain why it’s such a good deal…
- Add in bonuses with scarcity…
- Explain guarantee
- Ask for order… (Call to action)
9. Re-read And Double-Check
- Explain the reason why for anything “unusual” so nothing is unclear…
- Eliminate unnecessary words and sentences…
- The “So-what-test”… Make sure the prospect cannot go “so what” to anything you’ve said…
- Double check “bucket brigade” (sell them to read next paragraph and next and so on…)
- Add in action verbs and freshen up language… (run down street or zoom/shot/zipped down street, feeling good or juiced with positive energy – add punch to boring verbs…)
- Alright! That is pretty much all it takes to write a killer ad in just 9 simple steps…
So, What Will It Be?
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