For Awesome Results In Your Life, Biz, And Basically Everything You Desire With Some Good ‘Ol Copy…
Yo mistah friend, how you doin’?
I decided to make a pretty chunky guide on the do’s and don’ts when you are writing copy (and how to help you put more cash in your pockets…)
Yeah… be careful going through this hefty big mama because taking all of this in is probably going to fry your brains out…
…So don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Alright… let’s get onboard and start reading this bad boy below…
Copywriting Do’s
This is the stuff that you want to actually want to consider when you are writing your copy below. I decided to separate it into…
- Writing
- Psychology
- The market
- The mindset (yes… having the right mindset when writing copy can do you wonders…)
- And “other” below.
Let’s get started!
Specific Writing Tips To Improve Your Copywriting
1. Do spend most of your time writing headlines.
Our attention spans suck nowadays… It really does since the average attention span is around 8.25 seconds (which is smaller than a goldfish by the way.)
Because with thousands of cat videos, dog videos, product videos and article videos from Google’s billion search results…
…AND… with so many memes and distractions nowadays it’s pretty damn hard to stay focus.
So your only shot at grabbing that person’s attention is to…
Write a headline that cuts through the noise and wakes up the customer.
You want to write a headline that stops your reader for a second… pulls them from their zombie-like daily trance and make them actually read the headline.
And to write amazing headlines… well… you gotta put in a lot of time making tons of headlines!
Yeah, yeah… it’s pretty time-consuming. The pros create 50 – 100 headlines before they start testing them.
Even just creating 10 variations will juggle your big ‘ol noggin into making something that works.
So spend most of your time writing headlines… cause your articles don’t mean jack unless they stop to read it.
Like, look at Meera Kothand’s headline below…
Using power words like “sabotage” to paint a picture of mistakes you can be doing in your email list.
2. Do use specific facts and claims when writing copy.
Specific fact in an advertisement, means you are either telling the truth or a lie. And people really don’t expect advertisers to lie with good reason… The FTC has hawk-like eyes murking in the shadows to make sure you don’t make-up stuff in your ads…
Having specific numbers adds weight to your claims.
For example…
- “2,159 people ordered from us” seems a lot more powerful than “Over 3,000 people ordered from us” because it feels more trustworthy.
- Or even “87% of people surveyed said they think Anthony is wildly handsome” vs “Some people said Anthony is wildly handsome.” (Woops, a little bit of narcissism is leaking out…)
It just gives it more oomph. That feeling that tons of research were made for it to have such a specific number (and you will start seeing it everywhere just because of how powerful it is…)
So start adding specific facts to your copy. It helps you a lot.
3. Do consider the medium of where you write your copy
Everyone has different expectations depending on where you place your advertisement.
For example…
- On Facebook, you have to somehow figure out how to beat funny cat memes…
- On Google, you have to somehow show that your headline solves their solution better…
- On Email, people don’t really expect a 5,000-word article since people usually check when they have some spare time…
And then there is also the physical limitations like a certain amount of characters in your subject line or Google Ads headline (which is currently 3 headlines of 30 characters each)
Look at what a typical Facebook ad would look like from my FB page…
With only video and only text, this ad has somehow gotta beat pet memes to get noticed…
Understanding the specific platform you are placing your ads gives you a better chance of getting noticed.
4. Do write like you are talking to a 6th grader
Did you know that the average reading ability throughout the United States is around the 8th grade level?
Yep… so all that English writing you did in class where you had to use words like “esoteric” or “gregarious” actually hurt you instead.
The main reason is that you want people to be in a flow state when they read your copy. Just like riding down a slippery slide all the way to the very end…
And when someone encounters a word they don’t know… Poof! It snaps them out of their flow state and starts thinking about the word instead of your product.
Talking to a 6th grader means you don’t use any complicated fancy words and unnecessary fluff.
Nope. You go right for the zinger because you know they won’t understand it.
So be clear and straight to the point. Remember, it’s better to be clear than to sound smart.
5. Do sell the sizzle, not the steak
Mmmmmm… that delicious burger with it’s juicy, tender mouth-watering beef that melts in your mouth… coating your tastebuds with a delicious thin-coating of fat that makes your saliva glands go wild. Each carefully crafted burger is also topped with 100% fresh, crisp lettuce and tomatoes handpicked from the finest farms… finished with a warm, crispy, hand-made artisan buns exclusively made in our store…
OR… “I have a tasty burger. Buy it now!”
Now hopefully I wrote it so you can tell which one is better… (Otherwise, I have failed in my duty in teaching you…)
You want to engage the imagination of your audience. Give them a taste with your flowery language. You can even check out my guide here of 1,039+ power words to get your juices flowing.
That’s why you see those amazing food pictures of fast-food restaurants because they are showing you how amazing it is in your mind!
Heck, Tasty understands how powerful this is when they received over 1.7 billion views in 2016…
Look at a recipe I found on their site below…
Doesn’t that just look delicious? You want to describe it in such a way that it sounds as delicious as seeing the tasty food!
It doesn’t have to be just food products either. SHOW whatever product it is in your reader’s mind.
6. Do have a Clear Call to Action
The goal of writing copy is to persuade someone to do something.
So you have this amazing article and then at the end it just… ends. No sharing, no comments, no nothing.
And you know that something is wrong… because you want your goddamn amazing article to be read by more people!
And thus, a call to action is needed.
You see, a large percentage of people who read an ad won’t remember the ad at all!
And to make matters worse, people who decide to act will probably forget in like 5 minutes. And then they put it off till later until… They don’t buy your product!
And that’s why you need a powerful call to action for your product.
Whether it is to…
- Sign up for a free booklet
- Buy your product
- Tell them to do the macarena…
Whatever it is… you need a clear call to action for your product.
Like an email I got from Roger Love on how to improve your singing below…
Add them. You need to finish your pitch somehow.
7. Do Have A Copywriting Tool Kit
Now I’m not talking about a literal toolkit (unless you want to stuff some pens, paper, and your computer there.)
What I mean is I want you to start collecting headlines, bullets, good ads, good offers, TV commercials, and anything else that you think would be good to add to your collection… Also known as a “swipe file” in the copywriting community. (There’s even a Wikipedia article on it here!)
Now the reason why a swipe file is critical to any person writing copy is…
We sometimes need the inspiration to write copy and what better way to write amazing copy than to look at previous copy that earned millions of sales!
Now if you don’t know who to start adding your swipe file collection I recommend looking at ads created by…
- Gary Halbert
- John Carlton
- Gary Bencivenga
And you will have an arsenal of copy that has been proven to work. If you don’t have one then just start collecting them at swiped.co (that’s where I started anyways…)
8. Do use stories in your advertisement
Everyone loves good stories. Think about that time when you can instantly recall your favorite book or movie (and you can probably remember the storyline pretty damn well.)
Or that time when you can remember that story from your friend that you couldn’t stop cracking up…
Good storytelling will draw your audience in and make them want to continue reading.
It’s been said that good stories will make it 22x more likely for you to remember.
When you write stories in your advertisements you want to make sure that your story is reasonably complete.
Even better is to tell a story from the customer’s personal lives with YOUR product as the solution. Trust me. Try adding that to your copy and watch your results fly through the roof!
Gee… why am I so nice giving you some amazing info here for free…
9. Do make your copy easy to read and skim
In our current generation… we are overwhelmed by boatloads of information.
As of October 28, 2019, when I googled “boatloads” 1,100,000 results came up on Google.
Well… I don’t even know why you would need over a million results to know about a random word…
BUT… we have the information in case you are curious.
Now, what does this massive hunk of a pile actually mean for writing copy?
It means that people have a habit of skimming articles quickly to determine if it’s worth reading!
Skipping around ¾ of reading material to see the important points means people are DEFINITELY not going to read your sales pitch unless you make it worthwhile to them.
And the way to do that is to add your most amazing points in your sub-headlines.
If they read your headline, your first paragraph and your sub-headlines chances are they are interested in what you have to offer.
So start making your copy easy to read.
10. Do pay attention to every single word in your ads
Back in the 1900s people had to pay attention to every single word in their advertisements.
Why?
Well, young chap… because they literally had to pay for every single word.
Look at the classic headline below by Eugene Schwartz…
He had to pay for that headline to take up that much real estate in the newspaper.
This forced people to be concise with their words.
Nowadays…
We can write a bunch of baloney for 300 pages and have to pay roughly the same for 1 page of a legit sales page.
You want every single word to have a purpose. If it’s not clear then delete that goop.
The more attention you put on your words, the better the results of your copy will be.
11. Do write a quick rough draft of your sales page in one go.
When you have finished researching everything you need to know about your copy (and you will know it…) then I want you to just explode everything onto the paper.
Just pure stream of consciousness with your pen and paper.
The sentences don’t have to make sense yet. Just keep writing and writing and writing… until you have everything you need on your paper.
You see, all the tweaking and making copy better with editing comes after you write everything down.
Of course, it works differently for everyone but the minute that you don’t finish everything in one go, you don’t have that excitement. That jazz. That emotional kick in the gut that compels readers to buy whatever it is your selling.
Try it out next time. You may see better results.
12. Do have a big idea in your copywriting headline
Every great advertisement has had one BIG idea.
For example, the Rolls-Royce ad by Ogilvy’s main idea was how quiet it was.
Or the big idea in Gary Halbert’s Coat of Arms was a revolutionary idea of sending it as a letter.
Now it may take weeks, and even months of research to find that one big idea that will help you unlock never-ending cash flow from the bank.
But always think…
- “What’s the BIG idea here?”
- “If I were a prospect, what benefit would I want most?”
- “What’s exciting about this product?”
Keep asking yourself these questions and eventually, it will finally hit you.
13. Do write around the same time every day.
We are creatures of habit. There’s just no arguing about that.
Derek Ralston decided to write 50 words a day just to build a writing habit.
I’m taking this one step further and I want you to write every day at the same time!
Why?
Well… because when we set up our habit to write at the same time every day then your body is going to prep itself to write.
You know that feeling that right before you step into the hot shower… your body just knows that it’s going to feel amazing. With signals like the steam coming out, the water gushing out of the faucet, and your past experiences all shape this up for your body to prepare itself for another relaxing hot shower!
It’s the same thing. We want to set up our signals of writing every day to get the best focus and let our body prepare itself to get more bang out of your writing.
Decide on your writing time whether you like doing it in the morning. Afternoon. In the evening…
And just do it.
Pro Tip: You should also put some type of music that you like in the background to help add more cues for writing. I personally just type in “chill instrumental” on Youtube every day and just pick the one I like.
14. Do write your copy like a successful salesman.
Writing copy to sell something and a door to door salesman are not that different.
But we all know that selling something to someone is incredibly hard with only about 2% of sales happening when two people meet for the first time.
You see, successful salesman are plain and simple men who know their customers and know exactly what to say to sell them something.
Really, the only three main differences I could think of are…
- You can’t judge what a person’s thinking while they are reading your copy
- You can reach millions of more people with copy but only so many as a salesman.
- One is paper and the other is a person…
15. Do make your first sentence really good… Tell your reader what’s in it for him if he takes the time to read your ad.
After the almighty headline, you want your first sentence to continue the slippery slide. Just like Joe Sugarman said you want them to slide down that greasy, slide until they go all the way to the very end.
Your first sentence should usually connect to your headline before it goes into the subheadline.
There are many many ways to write the first sentence.
As I found on Convince&Convert there are…
- The storyteller’s opening…
- The pitch-style opening…
- The compelling question opening…
- …And a ton more!
In other words… just makes sure your first sentence continues to grab the reader and make him want to read more. The end.
16. Do use pictures of the product
Now, this isn’t helping with your writing per se…
…BUT…
Having a picture really does compliment your copy really well.
You see, people follow visuals 323% better than written instructions (no one likes plowing through that hefty, jargon-heavy instructions textbook…)
You see, I could just write this giant blob of ink OR…
I can put a handsome picture of myself below and break up the text just like this…
Where my “product” is my service of writing emails…
You want them to actually see the product as well as let them read about how amazing it is.
Now if you take a picture of your product you either want it to have a picture…
- Of the product
- In use
- Rewards of using the product
- Pictures of attainment after using the product (like after using Claritin I am living allergy free-life…)
- An enlarged detail
- Dramatic pictures (To grab their attention)
If your not sure what to do then just browse through any online store how they take their pictures (Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, etc…) and just copy them. They DO have professionals who do it for a living…
17. Do use Power Words
You want to jolt your readers out of their seats with mind-numbingly fantastic copy…
…Whoops, might’ve used too much power words there…
…Anyways…
You want to use power words to not only grab the reader’s attention but also to paint an emotional picture in their mind.
According to the NIH, language does play a role in emotion *gasp*
Well, it’s not that shocking but… think about words like “humiliation” and “disgusting” and “pissed off…”
Those words pack quite a punch, don’t they?
You want to use power words because power words create emotion… and emotion is what drives people to buy!
I have created a +1,039 power words sheet here if you want to start spicing up your language.
Here are also some common selling power words below..
- Announcing
- New
- Now
- Free
- Yours
- Quick
- Easy
- Bargain
- Last Chance
According to this MRI study, even words like “Instantly” signal instant gratification and even lights up neurons in your brains…
18. Do include testimonials
Everyone knows that testimonials can help your purchase.
Look, customers spend 31% more from businesses with good client testimonials.
Now how do you make the very best testimonials?
Well…
- They have to be believable
- They have to solve the customer’s biggest pain point.
And that’s assuming your product does an amazing job.
So here’s how you get an over the bonkers testimonial…
A really really good way to do this is to have a customer write you a testimonial of what their life was before, during, and after using your product in a video.
And then under that video you write a brief one sentence of the most important sentence they said that solves future customer’s pain points.
Follow this advice and your testimonials won’t look fake with a picture of someone’s face you don’t know and a quote you aren’t sure they said… (Of course, businesses don’t tend to lie about their testimonials for good reasons but… there are shady businesses who do fake testimonials…)
19. Do include captions under illustrations
I have to credit David Ogilvy for this one. Gary Vaynerchuk also uses this damn strategy quite a lot too like in his article below…
What happens is that our eyes are drawn to the picture first before we look at the text.
And headlines under images also get 10% more readership.
So… if your format was the typical “Headline, picture below, and text below…”
Your eyes will look at the picture first before your headline.
So if we tend to look at the picture first… then adding a caption gives you another chance to write a sentence that grabs your attention reader…
Hmm… I might just be getting somewhere here but I’m not exactly sure…
20. Do use present tense and talk in second person
When you are writing your advertisements you want to talk to the customer. Then means a lot of “you” and “I” words. Kind of like how I am writing (except less cheesy…)
Writing in a conversational tone makes the reader get into the product more because… it feels like your talking only to him!
Now in English class we were always told to avoid writing in second person but…
This isn’t English class. This is about making writing copy to make money!
So if you want your writing to be waaay more persuasive start talking about the customer in a way that uses words like “you,” “your,” and “our.”
21. Do write more copy than is necessary to fill the space
After you finish writing your first draft in one go you want to write more copy than is necessary to sell your product.
The reason why is because…
You want to trim and cut and edit your unpolished diamond into copy that is clear.
You can always have the time to edit later. But it’s really hard to continue to write more copy with that same enthusiasm if you just cut it off short.
22. Do put enthusiasm in your copy
The very best salesman do really well because they truly believe in their product. When they know the ins and outs of the product and knows from firsthand experience that it can change their lives and help solve the customer’s point… then they will naturally start talking about it with enthusiasm.
People can sense that enthusiasm and authenticity and because of all his energy, people are more likely to buy from you.
I want you to do the same exact thing writing copy.
I want you to write copy like you are writing to your best friend while you are currently excited. That energy will imprint itself into your writing and your readers will feel that.
23. Do use Short paragraphs. Short sentences. Short words.
Short. Quick. Snappy.
We all rather read this line right here compared to…
“The minute that I start talking in an endless loop with no end in sight for my sentence then you don’t really give a chance for the readers to take a breath and before long you will lose them with this run-on sentence…”
We like to read quick, clear sentences straight to the point with simple language. No fluff. No extra pizazz to showcase your college-worthy grammar.
Nope. Just make it straight to the point and the readers will be happy.
24. Do use transition words
Transition words just makes it sooo much easier to write sentences that your readers follow.
Well… in most cases (did you see what I did there?)
Now, naturally, it’s good to use it sparingly but the reason why we use transition words is because we want to maintain that conversational flow.
And in our conversations, we talk beginning with transition words even if it’s not grammatically correct.
So start using transition words like…
- But
- Of course
- As a matter of fact
- And
- …and anything you would say in real life.
Trust me. This will improve your writing by leaps and bounds!
25. Do have a complete description of your product
You want to make it easier on yourself when you are trying to sell your product.
So for example if you are trying to sell an eBook you would want to know…
- How many pages there are
- How many words there are
- What type of photos it has
- Who wrote it
- Facts about the author
- What the book will do for you
- …and so on.
The more information you can gather about your product, the easier it will be to sell.
26. Do make it more personalized
Everyone likes things that are personalized to them. It makes them feel more “special” and that you actually took the time to care about them.
Look at Gary Vaynerchuk and Neil Patel below as they try to answer every comment on their videos despite having millions of people watch them.
Here’s Neil Patel answering someone’s comment below from a video I found…
Or Gary Vaynerchuk below…
When you make it more personalized, you make it more likely to keep your customers engaged and thus become more loyal to you.
Is it a lot more work? Yep.
But the rewards are also amazing for the people who do so. When you write copy you want to write copy where you are engaging with them like you are only talking to them.
The more custom-tailored the more successful your campaign will be.
27. Do re-read everything you wrote and ask so what in every sentence
You want to consider the impact of each and every sentence that you write. For each and every sentence I want you to do a “So What?” test.
You want to make sure that every sentence in there has a purpose. If you can’t answer it… then change it up or take it out. You don’t want fluff.
You want to think from the customer’s perspective about what they care.
For example, if my hook was a story about dog food and it went something like this…
“Hey friend, if you are worried about your dog then this will be the most important message you ever read. Your dog food may actually be harmful to your dog. You see, I’m Dr. Anthony and I have been studying various dog foods for 10 years…
One day I was walking my dog along the beach. I was having this wonderful Pina Colada in my drink. My dog was enjoying himself playing in the water. He also brought me a live fish from the water! Then we went to the bar and yadayadayada…”
In the above example, it’s important to build the story BUT at one point (the underlined portion) I just keep droning on and on and on without getting to the point.
So for every sentence you write you want to have a “So what?” test.
28. Do use familiar facts in your writing
This one is a little tricky since you really have to think in your customer’s shoes. When you create facts, you want to use facts that are familiar to the reader.
What do I mean? Well… take for instance back when Television was completely brand new and the majority of people thought it was very difficult to repair their TV.
So even if you found a way for any ‘ol person to easily repair their TV… they would not believe it.
So Eugene Schwartz decided to agree that repairing TV was difficult in his ad and slowly introduce to them that it wasn’t as difficult where anyone can do it.
If he went straight to the pitch and started yammering it’s super easy… no one would believe it.
And if no one believes what you are saying then they won’t buy the product.
Other ways to use familiar facts is to have
- Details on how your product is made
- Testimonies from other people
- A case study
- And even the performance of the product…
When you start creating familiar facts that readers can nod and agree to… then this will slowly start to create belief in that product.
And when they can trust you…well…it makes your job of selling a whole lot easier.
29. Do add minor faults to your product writing
Every product is not perfect. There’s always some sort of catch for choosing your product than your competitors.
And the solution is to be honest and tell your customers about the minor faults in your product. When you suck it up and tell them that your product isn’t perfect and maybe your ice cream maker can’t hold 50 gallons but it can make you the coldest ice cream on a summer’s day… (did you see what I did there?)
Then customers are more likely to trust you.
Now, if you start saying that your ice cream maker doesn’t even work, then that’s a whole ‘nother issue there.
30. Do plan your advertisement for the hardest sells
Unlike a salesman, you have no control over what happens when they read your sales letter.
Maybe some people read your headline and first paragraph and BOOM! They are sold *cha-ching*
In most cases, people are pretty skeptical and may need some more information before they invest in your product.
Look at this ad below…
And that’s only half the ad! And people actually read the whole thing and bought from it since this ad was super successful!
So what you want to do in your writing is go through every single objection they might have. Every product feature they would want. And write it all down.
Planning for the hardest sells allows you to capture more people meaning more cash for your pockets!.
31. Do use strong emotional copy
Another reason why you want to use strong emotional copy is because for some odd reason people will more willingly accept it as proof material.
If I told you a story about my high school life and I told you all the lows, the highs, the excitement, the nostalgia… making you get teary-eyed when I failed a test, getting you a little excited when I explained how I won a silver medal in my Tennis tourney, and happy for me when I graduated…
People are more likely going to believe that I didn’t make that all up. Because a story with so much details that it can move you is a lot more convincing than if I told you “I graduated high school.”
They both are factual, but one moves you and therefore makes you want to believe it’s true.
32. Do have closing copy more staccato and shorter
Have you ever noticed that for people selling on television that at the very end they start talking faster and their sentences are waaay shorter and more staccato-like…
- “Order Now!”
- “Call 888-888-8888!”
- “Buy 2 Get 1 Free!”
When they go from longer sentences explaining something to talking in short burst… it feels more urgent because…
It’s the rhythm of the language that makes it sound urgent.
When your copy becomes shorter in the end, the language is also emphasizing that it is truly urgent.
Mainly cause you just read it faster in your head!
So make your ending sentences shorter to create that urgency effect.
33. Do read your copy aloud
Just trust me on this. If you want to pick up any errors in your writing just read it out loud (Even if it takes forever like this goddamn blog post…) You will notice mistakes a lot better than just reading it from your head.
Pro tip: What’s even better is to have a friend read it out loud to you.
34. Do use curiosity in your sales
Who isn’t a little curious about something intriguing. The very best use both curiosity AND a benefit to the reader.
Maybe something like…
“How Learning How My Big Cat Lost 20 Lbs. Made Me Lose 10 Lbs.”
Or maybe something like…
“How This Lonely Dolphin Changed My Understanding of Radar Technology…”
Or like this article below…
Using words like belief-shaking remarks…
Make them curious about the story and you will naturally draw readers in.
35. Do layer the benefits of your product
Everyone likes having benefits. Here’s a list of what you can put…
- Interesting anecdotes
- Quotes from a book or the news
- Famous people
- Side benefits
- Geographical tie-ins
- Proof of your existence
- Order information
- Sweepstakes
So start adding some of them to your copy right now!
36. Do use a famous person (if possible)
Celebrity endorsements are powerful.
There’s a reason why every major company shells out cash like Lebron James and Taylor Swift is because people know them.
And because when people know them, people think that they are going to a little more similar to them by using that product.
Or… it’s trustworthy because even a celebrity uses it.
And if you are trying to sell a book, even a foreword by a famous person for a book can skyrocket your results.
37. Do write every ad like a love letter – Joe Karbo
This is a great reminder of how to write an advertisement if you are just completely stumped.
When you write a love letter there are some parts like being…
- Personalized
- knowing exactly what it’s about
- Having emotion in it (hopefully…)
- And straight to the point where you confess all your love…
Nowadays, we don’t even think about writing a love letter (thanks to technology) BUT… the way you frame an advertisement is similar to a love letter.
I guess nowadays instead of a love letter I guess the closest thing we have nowadays is probably a handwritten thank you card from Wal-Greens? Hmm… I’m not too sure…
38. Do write (go to page 7) or (go over) when writing multiple pages
This tip only applies if you have multiple pages of an advertisement. You can disregard this advice if you are writing a sales page with a web page or email.
BUT… if you are doing direct mail you want a (go to next page) in the bottom corner or (flip this over) so you can direct readers without them having to think.
39. Do make your writing invisible
It’s ironic that copywriting is actually the most demanding type of writing BUT… its final goal is to not get noticed!
You don’t want readers paying attention to every nook and cranny of your sentence structure and grammar.
You want it to be invisible. Making them only think about the product and not your writing. The minute you take them out of your trance to say “You have wonderful prose…” is probably a dead-tale sign that you lost the sale.
Make your words seem natural and your customers won’t even notice your amazing writing.
40. Do show him how you can test the claims
Ooof. This one is also very important if you can pull it off with your product.
You want them to order your product and “challenge” them to test the unbelievable claim you are making.
And then show that claim in action.
Just like Shamwow below…
He’s testing all of us that we are going to say “WOW” every time because it holds “10x its weight in liquid.”
By the way, my cousin actually bought the Shamwow before and if you are curious about the results when we tested it then let me know in the comments below…
41. Do showcase your best product
When you have multiple products you are trying to sell you want to put your best foot forward.
That’s why when you see people offer 3 types of packages they always put “popular” or “best seller” on either the middle or the most expensive package that they want people to subscribe to!
42. Do use the ellipsis in your writing…
Heck… if you’ve been reading this article you can tell I do this a lot.
It flows a lot smoother than a period. And it feels better than when you stop with a semicolon;
It may be grammatically incorrect but I don’t give two cahoots whether it’s wrong or right. I only care if it’s easier to read.
43. Do repeat your most important messages
When you are writing copy you want to write the most important stuff several times to reinforce that message to your customer.
People usually forget stuff very fast when they are skimming (if you don’t believe me then how much stuff do you remember skimming that last article you just read?)
So put your most important stuff at the very least a couple of times.
44. Do put the most important stuff above the fold.
When people click on your site you have to assume they won’t scroll down so you gotta grab their attention with your most important message.
Just like with Snuggie did here…
It’s a picture, what it is and a clear CTA.
And then… if you are interested, you can scroll down to see what else they offer.
Clear, simple, and easy on the eyes. I’d say this is a pretty decent design for selling their products.
45. Do use your customers’ words in your writing
Pilfer! Steal! Arrrgh… Raid the customer’s language and you will go very far in life!
It’s easy. All you have to do is just talk with your customers *gasp*
I know, I know… aren’t we are all very busy?
A quicker way is just to give you some feedback from a survey and offer some sort of giveaway.
Or go on Amazon and search up reviews of similar products that you are selling and then just use the same exact words they are saying when they are talking about the product.
46. Do let your happiest customers help you sell your product
It just makes sense to put your raving customers on the top of the list so they can persuade other interested customers to do the selling for you. Right?
Right.
Psychology
47. Do change your price level based on how “sold” your customers are
I want you to consider how “sold” your customers are.
For example, if I was selling you a regular HDMI cord and there’s nothing special about it you can probably sell it for $7.
BUT… if I was going to tell it to a tech enthusiast who wants to have the BEST connection for his TV.
And you go on to explain…
- It has a lifetime guarantee
- There will never be any lag between your devices
- It’s made of the finest material so you can take it with you into the shower and it will still work…
THEN he is probably going to be “more sold” on your product… meaning… you would be able to charge a higher price for that item!
48. Do remember people search for a justification to the decision already made
We are emotional creatures at nature’s finest. No matter how “logical” we get there will always be an underlying emotion why we bought that item.
For example, people don’t buy a BMW car because of it’s amazing safety features, the seat warmers, and how much gas it can save…
Nope. Nada.
People buy because of the image of having the BMW. When you have a BMW car people see you as someone who is in the middle-upper class with a respected job and someone successful in society. And that emotion, that feeling of having that makes you want to buy a BMW.
RackRoomShoes also gives you an excuse to buy you a second pair of shoes below…
Cause you will save some moolah if you buy a second one for half off.
49. Do tell him what he will lose if he delays
This is the typical “urgency” deals where people say…
- “Come get it fast before it is too late…”
- “This sale last for only one week…”
- “I don’t know how many copies I have left but it’s running out fast…”
Urgency does work but it’s been used so many times that crappy urgency tactics are easily seen through by customers.
Urgency will always work. If it’s something that they want and there’s a chance they won’t be able to get it then they are going to get it (mainly cause we have loss aversion…)
But having something urgent which is believable will work like magic.
For example, in my case, as I am freelancing as a copywriter I would write something like “This is a first-come-first-serve basis. I only have so many slots available today so make sure you book now to reserve your spot…”
That’s something that is believable. You only have so much time in your day and people know that they can’t work for 24 hours.
BUT… if I had something gimmicky like this sale ends in 24 hours with a big countdown timer but if you refresh the page the timer is still there… well… you just look plain silly.
So make sure you create REAL urgency.
50. Do lead him by the hand and tell him what to do
You want to assume that whatever you say your prospect that he will actually do in your copy.
People really don’t like dealing with the unknown and if you can’t paint a picture of exactly everything that they need to do like…
- Their exact information
- What to expect on checkout
- How to order right now…
Then when the people who do decide to take the plunge will feel more at ease with someone leading them by the hand.
51. Do make ordering even easier
Look at Amazon. It’s literally one click and you get free SAME-DAY delivery…sometimes…but isn’t that amazing!
Now, not everyone has the powerhouse and storage across the United States like Amazon but you can follow some of the things they do to make it easier to order like adding only the necessary information, having tracking, where it currently is, etc.
52. Do remember that you are the “uninvited guest”
People sometimes forget about this when they are creating ads. They think that just because they are paying for the ads and it’s going to be seen that customers will buy their product.
This is especially true in social media marketing where you are interrupting their precious cat meme time by trying to sell your product.
Customers understand that ads are necessary to run the platform BUT… no one wants to see your ads.
Like… think about how annoying Youtube ads can get after a while…
That’s why it’s DOUBLY important to grab their attention in the first 5 seconds. You can even make it seem like it’s not an ad at first (which is what a lot of marketers are doing now…)
53. Do think about selling from your customers’ eyeballs
Look, if you are going to sell something to someone… you are going to have to understand what they are thinking.
If you want to sell what Johnny buys…. You MUST see what Johnny sees through Johnny’s eyes.
You want to show people that you understand their feelings, thoughts, desires, and emotions.
54. Do write your advertisement as though the advertiser genuinely wants to help you
Another way to frame writing your copy is to think of your customers ask seeking for more information about your product.
You want to show that you want to genuinely help them. And when you write with that type of mindset, it really will be picked up by the readers.
55. Do be in total control of your sales copy
When you write your sales copy you want to be in maximum control from start to finish.
This means allll the way from the headline to ordering your product.
This also includes…
- Any objections they might face
- The emotions from your stories
- What they would do after ordering your product
Now you can’t control everything the customer does but you can control what you write.
So frame your copy in a way where you can reliably create the emotions you want.
56. Do have an appeal so strong a man will be willing to talk 10 miles through a blizzard to mail his order for your product
If you want sales and money in your pockets then you are going to need to hit that nagging pain point and really WHACK IT so hard that he needs to fix it right now.
Meaning you just really understand your customer so well that you know exactly what he is going through and what exactly he wants to fix it.
57. Do consider Evergreen Niches when trying to sell a product
What I mean by evergreen niches is stuff that will never disappear in the far future. Things that humans will always enjoy such as…
- Health
- Wealth
- Popularity
- Comfort
- Enjoyment
- Security
Knowing about these basic desires can help you improve your copy if you can understand these basic desires that every human has and inject it into your copy.
58. Do study Competitors like a hawk looking for its next prey
Be vicious…Rawr!You want to monitor what your competitors are doing. Their landing pages, how they deal with their customers, exactly what type of copy they use, and you will know if it’s working if you see it’s been up for a while.
There’s a ton of spying software like WhatRunsWhere (never tried it but heard good things about it…)
Or manually go through your competitors and see what the experience is like. Even buy the product and see what it’s like for their customers.
Use it for inspiration, and then make it even better. You have to know what your competitors are doing if you want to be a player in the game.
59. Do observe what people actually buy instead of what they say
The funny thing is that people will say they do one thing and then they do something completely different. (aren’t we funny creatures…)
But what people buy and say what they will buy are two completely different things.
For example…
- I’m going to buy a gym membership and start working out 5 times a week…
- I’m going to work 40 hours on my business every week…
- I’m going to quit anime and do something productive…
And sometimes it works. Usually it doesn’t work out that well (look at all the New Year’s resolution people make…)
It’s the same for buying. What people say they will buy and what people actually buy are two different things.
If you were to tell someone if they would read a book or the National Enquirer, of course, they would say they read the book.
BUT… the fact that the national enquirer is still alive in grocery stands PLUS our curiosity for celebrity gossip may be one potential reason why it’s still alive today…
So pay attention to what people buy instead of what they say they are going to buy.
60. Do have upsells for your existing product
Upsells are where the real money is at. You see, you did all the hard work of convincing your customers to trust you and buy a product from you. You took away almost all the resistance. You got them interested and are willing to take the plunge.
Then all you have to say afterward is “Would you like XYZ with that?”
By the way, that’s how fast foods make a ton of money with upsells by just adding one line… “Would you like fries with that?”
61. Do have a logical reason why your price is so low
You want to have a logical reason why your price is so low.
People looove bargains but hate cheap things.
Cheap things have the image of breaking easily, not work after a while, and also bad customer support.
You have to make a legitimate excuse that the customers will believe why your price is so low.
For example…
- You ordered too many and it’s going to the warehouse…
- The farmers made too much corn and that means there’s too much supply so there is a BOGO sale going on…
- I’ve worked with both high paying and low paying customers and because of my mentor who took me in, I’m willing to drop my price because of XYZ…
Make it believable.
62. Do remember every man is constantly holding a mental conversation with himself
This one isn’t commonly thought of when writing copy.
And you know it’s true because you probably have one every day! Things to worry about how the day will be, your job, your business, your interest, your loved ones, your promotion, and anything your loveable heart desires.
With so many things on his mind, you can see why we like to call ourselves “busy.” And when we are busy with ourselves it’s harder to grab our attention.
Just something to consider when writing your copy.
63. Do remember people are selfish.
People are selfish creatures. They care nothing about your business profits or interest.
Nope. They just care about one thing…
“What’s in it for me?”
64. Do find “Players with money”
When you are finding customers you want to find players with money (PWM). This means they…
- Understand time is the most valuable currency
- They are able to make a decision
- They like to educate themselves on things that will help them in life
Finding this targeted market will give you a chance to showcase your products and charge for a higher price.
65. Do understand that women get lost in the benefits and can also multi-task feelings with ease
As guys, we will probably never understand this. Women are able to multitask feelings easily which guys don’t even do (and I can’t even imagine it) but that’s what I have heard.
So if you are writing copy and you are a guy, you may want to have a female friend look over your copy to see what type of emotions they elicit.
You can also tell that based on magazines like Cosmopolitan and Vogue that the copy for women is drastically different than for guys.
Just like this headline from Cosmo below…
66. Do use recommendations from a friend
Referrals from a trusted friend will do you wonders. ‘Nuff said.
67. Do take care of your customers
You want to take care of your customers properly. When you show them that you care about them then that means
68. Do remember that when people buy things or hire people they are after results
The number one thing people want in business is results. That’s why they get the latest technology, the best people, the best equipment because they believe they will get better results for their business (which… is not always the case…)
When you are describing your product you want to make sure you show them the results they can achieve.
Market
69. Do become intimately involved with your market
Whatever product you are trying to sell you are going to have to know your market like the back of your hand (that’s if you want to sell really well…)
I want you to get into the nitty-gritty of your ideal customer.
What hobbies does he have, what dreams and aspirations do they want, what keeps them up at night…
Look, if you want to sell Tommy with something he buys… Then you are going to have to look through Tommy’s eyes.
Vogue really understands their market pretty well by knowing exactly what women want to read…
It’s really weird at first (it’s the pinnacle of human understanding if you can understand another human completely) but do this and mountains of cash will rise up from the ground and into your bank account.
What? You say you don’t know what they are like?
Well, gee silly… just hop onto a phone or skype call and just ask your customers. Or ask them to do a survey for you and see what they have to say!
70. Do Test Campaigns
This is the crux of direct-response copywriting (fancy words to say for just tracking your results).
You always want to be tweaking and optimizing your copy for the best results.
Sure I can write a headline for women buying sunglasses like “Sunglasses 20% Off. Get Ready For Beach Season!” and probably get people to open some emails. Or maybe something weird like “Get groovy with these eye-catching diamond sunglasses” cause maybe they like attention. Who knows? That’s why you gotta test. The important things to test are the:
- Headline
- Opening
- Body Copy
- Offer
Everything else just tickles conversion like button colors and landing page design.
71. Do consider new customers in every ad.
Let’s face it… unless you are weird like me who enjoys re-watching ads (especially those infomercials with Billy Mays and the Shamwow dude) people aren’t going to willingly look at your ad again.
Your ad is going to pop up somewhere like on their Facebook Feed and if you don’t grab their attention instantly… they are going to keep scrolling down.
They aren’t going back up to see your awesome ad… they didn’t even want to see your ad… and if you don’t capture them that time just assume that they are lost forever.
Now it might work to build your “brand name” and come back to your product if we’re able to create an emotional dent in their noggins but…
We are in the business to make money with direct-response. Not playing around with “building” brand names.
So just assume that every customer that sees your ad is a new pair of fresh eyes and we are doing aight…
72. Do consider the atmosphere you place around the product.
Brands like Gucci, Tory Burch, and Michael Kors are able to charge premium brands because they consider the mental impression of the product.
They take care of their customers, they make customers feel rich with their salesman looking like butlers, and they display their product in a meaningful way.
They make them feel rich and that their product is amazing.
Apple also did an amazing job with their presentation of the apple products. You can tell because they put a lot of attention into their packaging where it doesn’t feel like cheap cardboard.
Think about Amazon products. When you receive two of the same exact products but one comes with a pristine looking white box, with a custom cardboard layout inside and a simple easy to use instruction sheet versus someone who just wrapped it up in bubble plastic, stuffed it down in an envelope and sent it with bulk-class shipping (not even paying for first-class…)
You’re going to think the nicer packaging costs more!
73. Do become immersed in what’s working now.
Desires never change. But variations do.
If you look at some of the health ads from the 1960s you might let out a giggle.
Mainly because… they had wildly different information on health and didn’t have the internet.
For example, for the past thousands upon thousands of years, people have been wanting to look good.
- During the prehistoric times, you could probably sell a finely made hand-crafted animal skin crotch-covering clothing, give a wink indicating he’s going to get some loving snu-snu from his wife and be happy.
- During the 1900s you can sell super weight loss pills that magically activate your metabolism to go into overdriiiiive and lose 20 pounds in under 48 hours… and people would be sold.
- But if you try to sell that in 2019, you are going to be hit with a lot more skepticism and those unbelievable claim will probably be shut down since people are more informed that diet and exercise is the safer alternative.
Nowadays with health, the trend is going more towards an active lifestyle with different variations of eating healthy (keto, paleo, vegetarian, carnivore, etc.).
What I am trying to get at is something that may be working last year may not work this year and you will always have to try and find a new angle.
74. Do give samples to interested people.
You want to offer samples to people who are interested in your product. It does you no good to offer free stuff to people who don’t care one ounce about your product.
Even better… is to give it to people who exhibit that interest through effort. That means they have to jump through hoops and loops just to get the free sample (which means they are highly qualified leads.)
Another thing you can do (which was wildly successful in door-to-door selling) was to give them the product and allow them to use it for a week. Then tell them that you are going to pick it up one week later.
And if they were happy with the product… well they would be much more likely not to give it up because it feels like it is theirs now.
75. Do sell quality products to customers
I want you to sell quality products to your customers… because when you are selling products that actually solve their solution that’s when you can unlock the potential for great copywriting.
If you try to sell a crappy product with all these unbelievable claims and it doesn’t work…
Well…
- If you are caught by the FTC you are going to get into a lot of trouble
- Your refund rates are going to skyrocket
There’s no point in having great copywriting to sell something since we are in the business to make money. Right?
Anyways… the product itself should be its best salesman.
76. Do focus on a particular niche of customers
Your glossy lipstick is probably not going to sell well for male children whereas women in general would be willing to take a look at it just like Sephora’s brand focuses on…
It’s better to focus on a select few customers who are truly interested in your product rather than trying to generalize for everything.
77. Do sell people solutions to their problems
What you are really trying to do when you sell your product is a solution to their problem.
It’s even better when it’s a solution to a problem they have got to solve.
For example, the person who typed in “skin infection” wants to know how to stop the damn skin infection!
And you better be sure that if you are selling a solution to a skin infection that it truly does work to them.
78. Do realize there is price resistance at different levels
There is price resistance for every single item.
People have all sorts of expectations of what a certain price entails. The larger the price the more valuable it is perceived.
For example, an eBook worth $10 is going to seem a lot more valuable than an eBook for free. But when that eBook becomes $50… then that eBook better be worth $50.
It’s hard to test certain price resistance without data but you can get away with selling eBooks for 10-30$ before people start to encounter price resistance.
And of course, different types of products (like technology) will have drastically different price resistances.
79. Do use a template for copywriting
Having a template for copywriting will help speed up the process.
Now to create A+ copywriting you can’t just copy other copy. BUT… you can help frame it with certain things that work.
For example, AIDA is very commonly used which stands for…
- Attention
- Interest
- Desire
- Action
And it works. There’s also tons of other millions of other formulas.
Another one I like to use is…
- Headline
- Opening
- Why the offer is a good deal
- Offer
- P.S.
Templates are made to create fundamentals into something that you can just quickly use to create great copy. It may not be the most awesomest awesome copy BUT it will get you results if done right.
80. Do understand the triangle of marketing
You want to understand when you are writing copy there are three components…
- Audience
- Message
- Copy
Or as Ben Suarez says…
- Market
- Media
- Message
Basically, without any one of these, you won’t get any results.
You have to make sure that you have a market for your product. You have to write copy for that market. And then you have to somehow show that copy to your market.
Simple!
81. Do use asymmetry designs in your copywriting.
Although this is mainly copy, using asymmetry designs would greatly help your copy.
When you use these designs you notice it because it’s irregular and there’s a sort of dis-harmony to it.
But if you use symmetry you feel at peace and then just skip it.
Making it irregular means that we pay more attention to it which means giving more attention to the copy.
82. Do know there are 3 reasons why they don’t want what your selling
There are only three reasons why they don’t want what you are selling. It is they…
- don’t want your product
- can’t afford your product
- Or they don’t believe you
And you can’t fix the first two but you can fix the last one.
So work on improving your believability.
83. Do research…
Being a great copywriter means to fully understand the market.
What you do is you take that big honking pile of data and you squeeze it dry. And you want to piece it together after digesting it and turning it into plain ‘ol English that everyone can understand.
Other
84. Do read good fiction books
I recommend the Travis Mcgee series (with the Wiki link here) or the Fight Club book.
Just by reading and enjoying their well-written stories will make you a better storyteller.
85. Read salesmanship books.
Writing copy is all about selling your customer. You will probably learn a lot more reading and doing salesmanship than just studying copywriting. Think about it. It’s another perspective that can level up your copy game.
86. Do be in the spam box of primary email address than the primary box of a spam email address
I got this advice from Bond Halbert. It’s a lot better to be in the spam box of the primary email address because people like to check one more time before they delete it all. Whereas people will never check their spam email address.
Of course, it’s better if you aren’t in spam in the first place!
87. Do finish up with spell check
Having just one typo can make your writing look unprofessional and messy (like if I did something like *thsi*…)
There are tons of spell checkers out there but the one I personally use is Grammarly.
88. Do increase font size and darken the type color
The reason why we see black characters on white paper is that it is easier on the eyes. When we aren’t straining as much on the computer we can focus more on reading the actual message instead of trying to focus on the writing.
89. Do optimize your headlines for SEO after writing your copy
This is mainly for articles but it never hurts to add some SEO juice for other people to read your fantastically amazing article.
90. Do write descriptive alt text
This is the stuff that is really boring but if you are going to involve yourself in some SEO copywriting you want to take the time to rename all the images and add alt text to each word.
91. Do put some sort of face on your company.
You want people to feel like it is not just an unknown business entity but something that is human. I recommend you put your face as the owner but having pictures of employees working and customers smiling always works wonders for businesses.
Like another handsome face of me below…
Aren’t I such a cool cutie-pants?
The Don’ts Of Copywriting
92. Don’t delay the sale.
Quite a number of people who read an ad and decide to act will forget in about 5 minutes.
I’m pretty sure it happened to you (it happens to all of us) where something is grabs our attention and we put it off till later… until…
We don’t buy the product!
When we are emotionally juiced-up to buy a product and wait… all that emotions that were built up start to slowly drain. And what may be exciting now just doesn’t have that sparkle anymore.
That’s why you want to stir up their greedy hearts and give them a one-two KO punch by asking for the sale.
Just assume that if you don’t ask to buy they won’t buy from you.
Simple as that.
93. Don’t worry about writing too much copy
People think that you can write too much copy. You can never write too much copy… but you can write too much boring copy.
There are only two reasons why you should worry about the length of your copy:
- A physical limitation (like on FB ads or Google Ads)
- It doesn’t add to your selling.
If Johnny wants to make an investment in buying his own car, Johnny would be willing to google everything there is about that specific car.
How much horsepower it has, the main competitors, the unique selling point, the way the leather is crafted, and all the information that Johnny wants until he is satisfied.
If you do it right, then people who only read the first paragraph who want to buy will skip to the bottom to buy while those who are harder to sell might read more of your copy before trying it out.
Don’t worry about too much copy and worry about it if increases the selling power of your product.
94. Don’t change your tone midway
Great advertisers put in great pains not to change their tone midway.
For example, if you are writing your advertisement that is trying to mimic a press release report then you want to make sure you stay in third person and “sound” like a press report.
Or… if your advertisement is wanting to sound like you are caring for that person then you want to ”sound” like that person is reading a letter from their friend.
If your “tone” switches from sounding like writing a friend… back to a newspaper… and back to writing for a friend… then it’s going to sound very weird.
So be careful you don’t switch your tone.
95. Don’t be afraid of competition
In fact, you should look at competition as a good thing because…
It shows that there’s a market for that particular product!
Look, think about it this way. If you create enough value for your customers, then there will be competition.
Look at Amazon with its 2 days and 1-day free shipping. People love that and Amazon provides so much value to them that they are now currently worth billions.
So find your unique selling point and just hammer that into your customers.
96. Don’t worry about having a longer refund
Did you know that the longer the time the customer has to request a refund the less likely he is going to do so?
It makes sense when you think about it.
You see, when you have a 30-day money-back guarantee then they will constantly be thinking about it.
But… if you make it 6 months then they can put it on the back-burner of their mind and just use the product.
PLUS… it shows you have so much confidence in your product that they won’t consider refunding.
PLUS… if they are satisfied using your product for 3 months then they are probably going to forget about the refund because they don’t want to give it up!
So don’t worry about making a longer refund. It will help you in the long run.
Just like what John Carlton did with his Simple Freelancing Course below…
97. Don’t limit yourself to one medium
There’s an old saying where people say “don’t put all your eggs in one basket…”(yes it’s cheesy but it’s true)
For example, if you go all-in with Facebook advertisements then you can probably make a good chunk of money but… the minute your ad account is banned its game over.
Or… if you go all-in for Youtube Ads but you get the ban hammer because of one copyright infringement you did unknowingly… well bye-bye, business.
Instead, it’s better to supplement with google ads, emails, FB ads, direct mail, and all sorts of stuff so just in case something goes wrong your business doesn’t go underwater.
98. Don’t be bedazzled by the latest copywriting technique
You always want to make sure that you are reminded of the “core fundamentals” then to be bedazzled by the latest copywriting hack you can use.
Fundamentals never change. That’s why they are called fundamentals.
Now… it’s okay to test a current variation with the “copywriting hack” but don’t rely on it.
But always look back to see true copywriting because it never dies off.
Actually, most of these tips I learned and used from old-school copywriting books like…
- Confessions Of An Advertising Man by David Ogilvy
- The Boron Letters by Gary Halbert
- Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples
I even made a post here about what books I recommend you to read if you want to know more about copywriting.
99.Don’t do guesswork.
When you are launching and writing your copy for your product you DO NOT… I repeat… DO NOT… do guesswork cause… it’s very expensive.
When you make a product FIRST and then try to sell it then you are making a big mistake. It’s a mistake because you don’t know if there is a market for that product!
You want to make sure that whatever product you have is something that you can sell to them that the market actually wants.
100. Don’t sell people what they do not want.
You can’t force people to buy your product if they just do not want it. No matter how badly you want to sell it, it’s only going to backfire on you and their customer experience.
101. Do not say salesman will call
Just don’t. No one likes talking to a salesman that is trying to sell them something even if it might help them.
102. Don’t clutter up with contractions.
It’s okay to use them once in a while. But the problem is when you start doing something like…
- There’s
- Would’ve
Sometimes it might cause confusion when reading like “theres” vs “there is.”
And it sounds cleaner when its “would have” instead of “would’ve.”
103. Don’t use too many exclamations!!!
It just makes you look silly. Or they won’t even take you seriously.
104. Don’t use low-quality product and packaging
We aren’t dropshipping from China, are we? You want to make your package presentable with copy that makes them excited to open it up.
Look at what Apple used below…
It gives it a surreal sensory experience, doesn’t it? It makes it feel like this is holding something incredibly valuable.
105. Don’t “show the wrinkles it will remove but the face as it will appear”
Don’t paint the negative picture of when you are trying to write an advertisement.
It works sometimes… but it’s better to let the fantasy of the mind think about fixing those damn wrinkles. You want people to feel like your products will solve their wrinkly problems.
106. Don’t let others know you are selling your pitch until you are well into your pitch
The best salesman don’t even let you know that you are selling a product until you are well into their pitch.
This is what a lot of online webinars do where they give you tons of free information but… they leave you hanging to pitch their product.
And it works because you already invested your time for their stuff and if what they are saying is truly valuable then their paid product just might be better…
107. Don’t just depend on having some good testimonials and logos to sell your product
They help… a lot… but it isn’t your selling point.
They just add a lot of proof but you also need something to prove… right?
108. Don’t put your best content in just a video
It’s good that you have a video BUT… not everyone watches video and vice versa with text. A video is good only if it amplifies the selling ability and makes them want to buy more.
And we all know that video sells since just adding the word “video” to your email subject line can boost open rates by 19%!
You want to add both text and video to your landing page just like Outbrain below…
109. Don’t assume your visitors are just like you
We each have our own separate personalities. While you may like chocolate cake they might like vanilla cake. You can’t assume anything about your visitors and can only judge them by the data or what they actually do.
110. Don’t try to sell everything all at one time
This is different from upselling.
What I mean by this is if you have a towel, a cooking pot, and a skin guard rash you have to choose one to sell to.
111. Don’t be a grammar nazi.
Bad grammar is okay as long as it’s clear to the reader what you mean.
112. Don’t trick your customers
Lying to your customers will lead you to getting refunded PLUS it could get you reported to the FTC for false advertising which is a big no-no.
Don’t do it.
113. Don’t give up on your copywriting journey
It’s going to be hard. You are going to feel like quitting. Whether you are writing copy for your business or trying to make it out as a copywriting freelancer there is always that gap. That scary-dark abyss every single successful copywriter had to go through.
So if you are truly serious about making it in this career then just keep pushing through!
Conclusion
I hope your brain isn’t fried after reading all of my mumbo jumbo about what you should and shouldn’t do when writing copy.
We went through specific writing techniques to help your writing seem a lot more casual and clear.
We go through the psychological ins and outs of what to pay attention to your customer’s mind when writing your copy.
Heck, I even talk about the market and what you should do to get the most bang for your buck to make customers salivating at just the thought of your product.
And of course, I end it with going through what you shouldn’t do (although it’s not as big as what you should do)
Thanks for reading my guide and let me know in the comments below which tip actually helped you.
Which tip was the most mind-blowing for you?