Eugene Schwartz Outstanding Copywriting Advice

Gene Schwartz was a master when it came to copywriting and advertising. The Guy really knew his stuff. Here are just a few quotes from him that are worth remembering when approaching copywriting. When you’re working, you’re not creating.   Copy is not written, copy is assembled.   I am not interested in what other people think is in the book [or product], I am only interested in what is in the book itself.   Words in advertising are like the windows in a store… you must be able to look right through them and see the product.   Copy should never call attention to itself.   The headline has only one purpose. To get you to read the next line. The sub-headline has only one purpose. To get you to read the next line. All it needs to do is get you to read the next line.   The person who is the best prepared and the most knowledgeable makes the most money.  It’s SO SIMPLE.   I work three hours a day, five days a week.  That’s all I work.  After three hours, I get very tired… and I go work someplace else.  But it’s enough that I can do this because I am better prepared than anyone else.   You’ve also got to remember that you’re never selling anything.  Never, ever, ever, ever, sell anything.  In mail order you ask a person to try something.   You’re writing to an individual, single person always, who shares a problem or a desire with a huge mass of other people.   The greatest asset after hard work is the ability to listen.  You have to listen to several different layers out there in order to be successful.  You have to listen, first of all, to the person who has the problem you are going to try and solve.  You have to know that person so well that you can sound like him and he will mistake you for his mirror image.  You have to know the kind of society he comes from, the layer of society he comes from.  And finally, you have to know the society.   When you go to a party, when you get in a taxi cab, when you’re with somebody on a bus or a subway, your job is to ask questions, show appreciation, and...

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The Art of Writing Copy That Sells

Let me preface this by saying that there really is a SKILL to writing copy that sells. You might be able to write, but that doesn’t mean you can write copy that sells products and services. There are a lot of people online TOUTING themselves as copywriters for hire and yet they are doing nothing more than writing what YOU ( the client) not the ( customer ) wants. Of course, you’re over the moon for about a day and then after you upload the copy and start your marketing campaign, you suddenly realize your copy sucks! Why is your copy not selling? Because it was written by someone that either: A. Isn’t a copywriter, but fancies themselves as one B. Followed the clients advice about what THEY wanted vs what will really move the customer to action C. The clients marketing sucked ( I will save that discussion for another post as I’m sure that truth will piss off a fair amount of people ) I can’t begin to count the number of times I have rewritten other copywriters work. Work that initially the client loved until they used it. Listen, don’t get me wrong here… everyone who wants to get into copywriting has to start somewhere. They will no doubt write their fair share of crap that doesn’t sell before they start churning out red hot copy. AND… there will be the odd time where a piece may not convert as well. Let’s face it, even the greatest bands, directors and artists in the world have albums or songs that aren’t a success. Call it unlucky, call it fate, call it a bad mix… whatever it is. SHIT happens But it’s less likely to happen with someone that is willing to challenge the clients initial ideas. You see, here’s the thing… A COMMON PROBLEM, A PRETTY SIMPLE SOLUTION! As I write in every market you can imagine ( fitness, natural health, internet marketing, automotive, insurance etc etc ) it’s very common to have clients ask for sales letters, emails and direct mail that is NOT HYPEY 9 times out of 10 the reason they don’t want copy that is hyped is because THEY themselves don’t like it. It could convert like hot cakes, triple conversion and send in a flurry of sales overnight but if the client doesn’t like it. It’s not going to happen. Also please understand… What is HYPE to one client may be normal to another, so it must be clarified what THAT PERSON means by HYPE. Also contrary to what people may say, HYPE is not bad IF it sells! The key issue is not whether or not words are considered HYPE as I have made it clear above that what is hype to one person is not to another. The key issue is, what does it take to SELL? And how flexible are you in testing out new forms of copy? Listen, I will be first in line to say I don’t like hype, but there is a huge difference between writing copy that is HYPE and doesn’t convert and copy that is HYPE and converts. Ultimately the GOAL of writing copy that sells is 1. To determine what your target market wants and has already bought many times over 2. Write with their needs and selfish desires in mind, not what YOU want or what YOU think is cool, interesting, less hype and bound to sell because YOU like it. 3. TEST ( 1 piece of copy that sells doesn’t mean you have hit the jackpot. You could double or triple...

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Benefits, Benefits, Benefits

I come across this a lot with clients. They have a product or service and when you ask them to share the benefits, they give you a long list of features. For instance a common one you will find with clients who are opening an online community is they will give you features like this: Online community where people in X, Y, and Z meet and get free networking tools A marketplace Appointment booking tools A job board Fun contests Discounts Insurance offerings Consumers are provided direct access to professionals, discounts, and promotions. But here’s the thing… Those are ALL FEATURES. Go to any city in the world and you will see shop windows lined with the terms ‘DISCOUNTS’, ‘SALES’, ‘BARGAINS’. etc etc,, But unless people know what those discounts, sales and bargains are. They cannot determine if it’s a benefit to them. It becomes nothing more than a WEAK MARKETING PLOY and it rarely converts The same applies to the above. Telling people it has this gadget, this widget, this color, this such and such… means nothing unless you can relate it back to how it SOLVES their problem and FEEDS their desires BENEFITS, BENEFITS, BENEFITS Always be thinking about how is your product or service going to HELP them… and please, please don’t say “Because ours is better, cheaper, higher quality” If I asked your competitors they would likely say the same thing. If you say it is XYZ you had better have proof! The art to selling more, is to speak in...

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5 Keys To Emails That Convert

99% of people miss the boat when it comes to writing emails that convert. Having written emails for clients in pretty much every market has given me a broad overview and insight into how people are approaching email marketing campaigns and also what works and what doesn’t. Here are 5 areas you should look at when setting out to write emails, if you are going to do it yourself. 1. Subject lines – should invoke curiosity, be clear and deliver a benefit. If your emails are even getting delivered, as many ISP’S are blacklisting ips and deciding for you whether you should get them or not. But if your emails are getting delivered, the next hurdle you face is getting them seen and opened. Subject lines are critical! They are in email what headlines are in newspapers, magazines, sales pages, direct mail etc. Now having rewritten thousands for clients, I have seen my fair share of ineffective subject lines. Your task is to get them to open it when your email is sitting next to a pile of spam and a pile of email from their friends and family. I cannot stress enough how important it is to create curiosity but at the same time be clear with a strong benefit that is targeted at them. The benefit is what is does for them, not what it does for you or even what the product or service feature is. It’s how it will solve their pain and problem 2.  Write a winning opening line – In many email programs the very first line is shown in the preview window. This means you need to pick your words carefully. That line might be the difference between them opening or moving on. Think about this as your sub-headline or line that conveys the problem and the solution. Keep it short. 3. Keep it short and sweet – I don’t know how many times I have had to share this point with clients who want to send out some lengthy 700 word email. PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO READ IT! Trust me on this one. People are inundated with emails all day long, and even though your message may save their life it really doesn’t mean jack to them! It’s no different than asking them to stop what they are doing and do 10 jumping jacks. You better have a good reason for why you are mailing. If you MUST send out 700 words or some long ass article. Post it on your website and use the email to tease them over to the main content. Don’t shoot them an email and expect them to sit there and read it. Keep your emails to around 350 words and no more than 450. We live in a mobile world and people just don’t have the time. 4. Get to the point –  Stick to the simple format of what is going through your readers mind. ( What is it about, How will i benefit? and What do you want me to do? )  Honestly no one cares about your bio, or your companies great collection of accolades, unless it’s benefiting them. All they want to know is why are you infringing on my time and how can I get back to what I was doing. So you need to get to the point FAST! Have a good reason for mailing or don’t mail at all. There have been times I have told clients, that I won’t take on their email campaign job simply because they didn’t have a strong enough reason for mailing....

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What is Copywriting?

It might sound like a strange question. Yet when you tell people that you’re  a copywriter you either get a glazed look in their eyes as if they have no clue but don’t want to admit it or you get people who think you doing something related to protecting peoples products and services from being stolen. But listen.. It raises a good question. As I often talk to people who think that copywriters are just people who write. WRONG! Anyone can write, but that doesn’t make them a copywriter You can write content for websites but that doesn’t make you a copywriter You can write emails for business but that doesn’t make you one Heck you can even write sales letters, but that doesn’t make you a copywriter I’m Serious! First, let’s see what the almighty wiki has to say, as we all know that most folk get their facts from that 😉 Copywriting is the act of writing copy (text) for the purpose of advertising or marketing a product, business, person, opinion or idea. The addressee (reader, listener, etc.) of the copy is meant to be persuaded to buy the product advertised for, or subscribe to the viewpoint the text shares. Copywriters are used to help create direct mail pieces, taglines, jingle lyrics, web page content (although if the purpose is not ultimately promotional, its author might prefer to be called a content writer), online ads, e-mail and other Internet content, television or radio commercial scripts, press releases, white papers, catalogs, billboards, brochures, postcards, sales letters, and other marketing communications media. Copy can also appear in social media content including blog posts, tweets, and social-networking site posts. A copywriter is someone who can entice people towards an action through the written word. ( even if that written word is verbally spoken via radio, TV, videos or phone ) That might be, reading further down a page, reply back to an email, clicking an order link, making a phone call or saying yes I want to buy on the phone. As a famous author once said. Anyone can write. But not everyone can write well That is what divides those who are copywriters and those who are not. You either can get people to take action ( as listed above ) or you can’t …and if you can’t, you had better get someone who can otherwise your wasting your hard earned money and time!...

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