|
|
| Home xml feed submit articles sitemap privacy links contact us |
 |
|
Welcome To Article Net Directory! Publishers & Authors Visit Our: ArticlesNetwork.com too! |
|
|
|
Watch for our ezine SOON! (Anybody selling Time-To-Do-Stuff? :-)
|
Copyright 2006 Joseph Farinaccio The following information represents what you might call a “real life copywriting course for non-writers.” If you’re not someone who loves to write, it’s a good way to create effective sales copy. Before starting though, you must know: A) Copywriting is nothing more (or less) than salesmanship in print. It’s about selling, not being fancy or creative. B) If you can’t sell something in person, you can’t sell it in print. This can be taken 2 ways. First, if you’re not selling something anyone would ever buy from a live salesperson then you’ll never sell it in print. And secondly, if you don’t know enough about a product or service to tell someone about it in person then you’ll never be able to create sales copy for it either. Okay ... ready? Let's begin. Picture a friend of yours coming into your living room one day. You’re sitting on the couch looking at TV, and this friend sits down next to you. He grabs the remote. Shuts off the TV. Tugs at your shirt. And makes you look at him. Then he says, “I have a problem.” And he begins telling you about this problem. As you’re listening, you realize you’ve got a perfect solution for this problem. So when he’s finished, you begin telling him about your remedy. You tell him its name. What it is. Why it will do exactly what he wants … etc. Can you imagine this? Sure you can. Now ... audio record yourself ... giving this exact pitch to this imaginary person. (Maybe even have someone role-play as a friend with the problem). Forget about the fact you're being audio recorded. Concentrate on what you're saying to the person you’re trying to help. Give all the important details about your solution. Tell them all the wonderful things it will do for them (the benefits). Tell them how their life will be better, or easier, or more fulfilled because of it. Don't say any more than you have to ... or any less than you need to. When you’re finished, have this recording transcribed. Have it typed and printed out. This is the raw material for your sales copy. It will probably be 8-12 pages in length … or more. Don’t worry about how long it is. Now … cut it up into sections. Every individual thought. Every individual benefit. Every little short story. Every example you used. Take a pair of scissors and cut. You’ll have a lot of pieces. But keep moving. Keep pushing forward. Now set aside every scrap you consider “extremely important.” Like the biggest benefits. The most interesting and fascinating facts. Etc. Any lesser details or non-important facts, or plain ole' fluff … push to the other side. Done? Alright … take all the pieces you’ve deemed very important, and organize them into piles of the following: 1) FEATURES (product details). 2) BENEFITS (every wonderful thing your product or service does to solve a problem, or help, or make life better for your friend). 3) PROOFS (all the things you said explaining why this product is truly the answer to his problem ... i.e., stories, documented facts, case studies, testimonials, etc.). The next step is ranking and sorting every scrap within each pile by order of importance. The most important scrap of info at the top … the next most important … and so on. You’re now ready to arrange things according to a time-tested copywriting formula called A-I-D-A ... which stands for ... Get ATTENTION, Stir INTEREST, Create DESIRE, and Call for ACTION. AIDA has been used millions and millions of times to sell trillions and trillions of dollars in products and services. Don’t worry ... you can (and will) tweak your final version. But you’re about to begin writing your first draft. And you have virtually EVERYTHING you need right in front of you. You don’t have to be creative. You’re not writing a novel. Go back to that problem your friend came to you with. What was that problem? Let’s pretend you own a company that sells industrial lifting equipment, and your friend said, “I really need to buy a new fork truck for my business, and I need to find a reliable one. Problem is, they all cost an arm and a leg. And I’m really short on extra cash right now. How can I ever get a reliable one at an affordable price?” You are now going to write something that will get this person's attention. Something called a headline. So you're going to write down, “How to …” followed with a re-wording of the problem your friend has. For example: “How to Get a Reliable Fork Truck for your Business ... Affordably” Don’t exactly love this one 100%? Relax. Revise it later if you want. But, believe it or not … it’s not half bad for someone who’s not a copywriter (like yourself). Is it? And this headline will immediately grab the attention of someone in the market for a fork truck (which is what your headline is supposed to do). Next, give your friend a good reason to keep on reading. Re-state their problem, and tell them you have an answer for it. “If you’re in need of a new fork truck that won’t break your budget then I can help. My name is __, and I’m the owner of Anderson Business Equipment. At Anderson, we've helped business owners like yourself find custom-sized forks trucks at affordable prices for over 30 years now.” Done? Good. Now take everything from your FEATURES, BENEFITS, and PROOFS piles and write them down in the following sequence. - Tell your reader “why” they should believe what you’re saying is true. - “Prove” to your reader why what you’re telling them is true. - List and describe all the “benefits” to your product. State a feature, and follow it up with corresponding benefits in order of importance. Keep basically the same phrases you used when you spoke out loud and had your sales pitch recorded. Keep the conversational tone in everything you’re writing down. - Now tell the person you’re talking (er … writing) to “how to order” this product (or service). Tell them simply. Directly. Politely. - Finally, tell them they should “order now,” and give them a really good and truthful reason why they should do it now and not later. All finished? Your first draft is now done. Set it aside. Go do something else for a day or two. Then come back and pick it up. Read it over. Cross out all unnecessary words. Get rid of any big words you may have used and replace them with simpler ones. Fill in any necessary details if something needs clarification. After doing this, you're now ready to read your copy out loud. (Don’t skip this ... it’s important!) Your copy must read like a smooth, warm personal conversation. With you talking to your reader. Change or alter any words that “hang,” or disturb the smooth flow of this conversation. The very last step is the easiest. Have someone else read your copy out loud (preferably someone from your target audience). Listen for any words they trip over. When they’re finished, ask them if they understand everything. Ask them if any questions came into their mind as they read - - questions you didn't answer. If so, then write the answer down, and respond to their question at the right point in your copy. Print and revise each draft after making any changes and go over the copy again and again. How many drafts will be necessary? As many as it takes. Maybe 7. Maybe 10. Maybe 30. Revise until no more changes are needed. Now you must test your sales copy. The best way to cheaply do this is by sending out a mailing to 100 or so ideal prospects. Measure your response rate. If you get a response rate that “cost-effectively” motivates your prospect into taking the next step in the buying process then it shows you’ve got an understanding of what it takes to write effective sales copy. A skill worth its weight in gold. View all Joseph Farinaccio's articles About the Author: |
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Real-Life Copywriting Course for Non-Writers
|