Month: October 2018

Bullet points are a staple in content creation and marketing.

You’ve seen them everywhere. In blog posts, sales letters, email newsletters, facebook ads, and the good old PowerPoint presentations.

Content marketers use them for a reason. That’s because they grab attention and boost sales.

But only if you write them well.

Bullet points should make your copy lively and interesting, not dull and boring.

So what separates the yawn-inducing bullet points from the fascinating ones?

More on that to follow. First…

Why are bullet points important?

Bullet points:

Bullets are much more than just a list of features and benefits. When done right, they should arouse curiosity and increase the persuasiveness of your copy.

Let’s imagine a speaker selling a course on speaking. Here’s what you might learn in the course:

Boring! These bullet points fall flat. They fail to engage.

If we were to spice them up a bit, here’s how they’d read instead:

Do you see the difference? While the first example of bullet points were plain, the second one excels in piquing some interest.

So how do you make bullet points interesting?

The first thing to keep in mind when writing bullet points is how you’re going to arouse curiosity in your reader. Your bullet points should make them want to learn more about your product.

So list them all down. Then ask yourself, which of these would make my readers curious? Take note of them.

Here’s an example of bullet points from a course that taps into the reader’s curiosity:

The second thing to keep in mind is how you’re going to tease your readers. Your bullet points should give them a little taste of what to expect. This whets their appetite. It makes them excited to keep reading and find out more.

For example, if you’re selling an ebook, you might include some interesting chapters and insights in your bullet points and where to find them. Here’s an example of what I mean:

The basics of writing bullet points

Understanding the needs and desires of your customers is the first step in writing fascinating bullet points. From there, it becomes like walk in the park.

If you would like my help in implementing this and other strategies to sell your high ticket products and services, get in touch with me by clicking the button below to apply for a complimentary consultation.

So your intriguing headline has stopped people in their tracks.

It’s got them interested. They’ve clicked on your ad. Now they want to find out more.

Great!

But, be careful. You could end up losing them all if the body if your copy fails to engage.

The body is the meat of your copy.

Once you’ve grabbed people’s attention with your lead, you need to keep them hooked and engaged with your body copy.

If they get bored along the way or if they find the information too complicated, they’ll click away.

So your goal when writing the body should be to keep it simple and engaging while giving as much necessary information about your product as possible.

Depending on the copy angle you use, the body is where you address the benefits of your products, the features, the solutions, the facts, the claims and anything else that’s crucial for your reader to know.

This is also where you address all the objections your reader might have. Erase any doubts in their minds. That way, it becomes easier for them to say yes to the sale.

5 tips to help you write powerful body copy

1. For any claim you make, support it with data

If you want people to take your copy seriously, back it up with the relevant research, links, and testimonials. This makes people more likely to believe you because it shows that you’re knowledgeable and that your product is legitimate.

2. Use power words

To get your readers to take action, use power words. Power words are persuasive words that trigger an emotional response in people. Using them will make your copy strong, engaging and compelling.

3. Use active verbs, not nouns

The secret to writing effective copy is using words that elicit action.

For example, instead of saying:

“Our specialization is social media advertising and provision of marketing solutions for your needs”  (noun)

You could say:

“We specialize in social media advertising and solving your marketing problems.” (verb)

4. Appeal to people’s emotions

People buy out of an emotional need. Therefore, to make the sale, you have to persuade them emotionally first. So get clear on what emotion you’d like to appeal to.

Fear is a particularly strong emotion. You could appeal to their fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of being left behind or missing out. Speak to these emotions throughout your copy.

It all depends on your customers’ needs.

5. Break up the text

The fastest way to turn off readers is to have them read huge blocks of text. Don't make it hard for your reader to engage with you. Keep paragraphs short and to the point. A maximum of 3 lines is enough.

Would you like my help in implementing these and other strategies to sell your high ticket products and service? Just click the button below to apply for a complimentary consultation.

I’ve been using this framework for years.

Not only do I use it to write my own ads in my business, but I also use it to write my clients’ ads.  

And that is the conversational copy framework.

I call this the conversational copy framework because the more conversational your ads are, the more people will engage with them.

Because if you think about it, people don’t go on social media to be pitched to.

They go on there to engage with others and have fun, basically. So if you want to engage them, you have to approach them in an easy, conversational tone.

What does the conversational copy framework consist of?

The conversational copy framework is made up of 6 parts. They are:

In this blog post, we’re going to focus on the lead.

What is the lead?

The first part of the conversational copy framework is the lead. It’s the opening line. The beginning of your sales message.

This is the most important part of your copy.

When someone is scrolling through Facebook or Instagram, this is the first thing they’ll see. How you phrase your lead is what will pull people in to read your sales message.  So it has to be bold and attention grabbing.

There are 6 ways you can structure your leads depending on how aware your customers are:

1. The offer lead

This is a direct approach where you start you start your sales message with the offer. It works best on the most aware audience.

2. The promise lead

This is where you open your sales message with your product’s biggest benefit. The offer is mentioned a little later in the copy. This lead works best on the product aware

3. The problem-solution lead

This is where your sales message starts with the most pressing problem your reader faces. Then, later on, you offer them a solution, which is the product you’re selling. This works best on both the problem aware and the solution aware.

4. The secret lead

The secret lead delays any mention of your product until after you’ve listed its USP and all its benefits. This builds intrigue and curiosity. This lead works best on the solution aware.

5. The proclamation lead

This is where your sales message starts with a bold statement that’s emotionally compelling. This lead works best on the unaware audiences.

6. The story lead

The story lead opens with an intriguing headline and then the story follows. The story ties into the product on sale. This lead works best on the completely unaware audiences.

Remember, the lead is the most important part of the sales message. There’s so much information on social media these days. You’re competing for people’s attention. You only have a couple of seconds to catch their eye and convince them to read on. So your lead has to be strong and attention-grabbing.

If you would like my help in implementing this and other strategies to sell your high ticket products and services, get in touch with me by clicking the button below to apply for a complimentary consultation.

What is the story lead?

The story lead is the oldest and probably the most powerful lead because if you think about it, all knowledge has been passed down to us from stories.

And that’s because stories are fun, engaging and easy to remember.

They also help to build rapport thereby establishing trust between you and your audience. So this is the best lead to use on the completely unaware customers, those who don’t know that they have a problem or that products like yours even exists. You get your foot in the door with these people by hooking them in with a story.

No one can resist a good story. And even if the reader might realize that he’s reading an ad, if the story is engaging, he’ll forget about that temporarily and become emotionally involved in the story itself.

Example of a story lead

To demonstrate the story lead further, let’s look at this example of a classic ad

The headline states:

They Grinned When The Waiter Spoke To Me In French—But Their Laugher Changed Into Amazement At My Reply

The headline itself tells a powerful story. You can already picture the waiter speaking to this person in French, everyone grinning, and how quickly the grins are wiped off their faces when he replies.

Already, you’re emotionally invested in the story. What did he say to make everyone stop laughing and stare in amazement?

Your headline should arouse those same feelings of curiosity. It should pull your readers in to read the rest of the story.

If you read the whole ad, you’ll find that it’s advertising French classes. But that might not be evident in the beginning. The writer takes his time painting this whole picture in our imagination just to make one point: that he took French classes and they changed his life.

Imagine if the ad read as something like this instead:

Now You Can Learn To Speak French Quickly and Easily.

After years of research, linguists have discovered the world’s most efficient method for teaching French,

Using this unique new program, you can master French in less than a year!

You will amaze your friends and neighbors! Some may even be shocked at how well you can speak French! Plus, you can even earn extra income on the weekends!

See the difference? Both these ads are advertising the same thing. But the second one is boring and lacks emotion. Most people wouldn’t care.

Remember, the story lead is the most effective on the completely unaware customers. A more direct approach, like the second example above, might not interest them. They aren’t interested in learning French so they’ll click away.

But with a captivating headline, they are pulled in to the story. Even if they had never entertained the idea of learning French, maybe their biggest desire might be to gain admiration from friends and family.

And as the ad so clearly demonstrates, the hero from the story awes his friends and family with this new skill. To the reader seeking admiration, this will appeal to him.

It might even convince him that taking French classes is an easy way to get this admiration that he wants. So it becomes more about what he’ll gain as opposed to the product itself.

We talked about core emotions in the problem solution lead. Your story should speak to those emotions. It’s not so much about your product, but about how your customer will feel while using it. And a story is a powerful way to communicate that.

Just remember to keep the story short and tie it to the product that you’re selling.

If you would like my help in applying these and other strategies to sell your high ticket products, let me know. Just click the button below to apply for a complimentary consultation.

What is the proclamation lead?

The proclamation lead begins with an emotionally compelling headline where an implicit bold promise is made. Then the rest of the copy demonstrates the validity of that same promise.

This lead is an indirect one, which means that the reader is distracted from the idea that he’s being sold or that he’s reading sales copy.

Like the secret lead, the product is not revealed until the end after the proclamation is finished.

What makes a great proclamation lead?

1. Make the proclamation bold

In fact, don’t be reasonable at all. Your proclamation should shock your readers cold. It should be big and bold and stir up thoughts and emotions. But make sure you’re able to back up your claim with lots of relevant research in the rest of the copy.

Here’s an example of the headline from a health newsletter:

The headline screams, “Read This Or Die.” That’s startling. As a reader, your curiosity is piqued. What’s this information you’re missing out on that might cause your death? And so you read on to find out.  

2. Make a promise

Either make or imply a promise. It could be right in the headline or buried somewhere in your copy.

In the previous example, the subheading underneath the headline reads:

“Today you have a 95% chance of eventually dying from a disease or condition for which there is already a known cure somewhere on the planet. The editor of Alternatives would like to free you from that destiny.”

The promise here is that there’s a cure inside. The prospect reading this would be like, “If I read this, then I won’t die after all.”

Repeat the promise in different ways throughout your copy. Make it more concrete as you move along. Give the reader a chance to imagine enjoying the benefits of your yet to be revealed product.

3. The subject must be relevant

The proclamation lead has to address something the prospect feels deeply about. And the promise you make in the proclamation has to be something that he desires. Otherwise they won’t be interested in reading your copy.

4. Return to the proclamation at the close

As you’re nearing the end of the copy, emphasize the main theme of your proclamation in any sales premium you offer and also in the guarantee.

For example: “If you don’t get the results mentioned, return the product for a full refund…”

The proclamation lead hinges on the success of your product. Unless you can 100% guarantee results, then this isn’t the best lead type to go with.

So do your research and watch out for interesting facts that pop up in the process. When you find something that you think is brilliant, take note and come back to it when writing your copy. It might just be the fact you need to write an amazing proclamation lead.

If you would like my help in implementing this and other strategies to sell your high ticket products and services, get in touch with me by clicking the button below to apply for a complimentary consultation.

What is the secret lead?

The secret lead is the most universal and powerful lead.

It involves teasing your prospect with a secret, the secret being the product on sale.

You emotionally persuade your prospect that they want your product before they even know what it is. You do this by talking about all the benefits and the USP of your product before revealing what it is.

The longer you can get your prospect intrigued by this secret, the higher your chances of closing the sale.

What makes a good secret lead?

1. The secret has to be both intriguing and beneficial to the reader

This ad is a great example of the secret lead being utilized. The headline says:

“Announcing an Apprenticeship Program for Aspiring Millionaires”

That headline alone is intriguing. It arouses curiosity. What is kind of apprenticeship program is this?

It’s also beneficial to the reader because it will help him achieve the goal of becoming a millionaire.

You need to make sure that whatever the secret is, it has to be connected to a major benefit right away.

2. The secret is introduced in the headline

The secret is presented in the headline and not revealed until much later in the copy.

The impulse to discover secrets is buried deep within the human brain. Therefore, with a secret in the headline, it becomes irresistible. Your reader is immediately intrigued and wants to read on to find out what it is.

3. The secret is NOT introduced in the lead

The most common mistake copywriters make with this lead is introducing the secret too soon. If you satisfy your reader’s curiosity early on in the copy, you risk losing them.

What if, after finding out what the secret is, they decide that it’s boring or not worth their time? They’ll just click away and move on to the next thing.

Remember, the purpose of the lead is to emotionally persuade the reader to buy. So don’t reveal your secret until you’re sure your prospect is emotionally hooked. And this is normally after you’ve revealed all your product’s benefits and USP.

In fact, most secret lead ads don’t even disclose the secret at all. They promise to reveal it in a premium package. If your copy is intriguing enough, the reader won’t deterred by this. They’ll pay whatever it takes to find out what the secret is.

4. As the copy continues, the reader is given more clues pointing towards what the secret is

The key word is “clues”. You’re hinting at what it might be but not saying what it is. So as the prospect is reading the copy, he thinks he’s much closer to figuring out what the secret is.

So he keeps on reading to gather these clues and try to piece them all together. By the time he’s nearing the end of the copy, he’s emotionally hooked. That’s when you reveal the relevant details.

How to write an effective secret lead

First, list all the benefits, characteristics, features and components of the product you want to sell.

Then you can go at it in two different ways:

1. Pick out one characteristic of your product that’s relatively unknown. Whatever it is, it has to be relevant to the prospect and enough to drive the lead.

Once you pick that out, turn it into the secret. Your prospect will be intrigued because they’ve never heard of this. Then write your copy around it

2. Alternatively, if all benefits of your product are common, pick one that’s relevant and reinvent it. Give it a new name. Describe something your prospect knows in a new way and make that the secret.

That concludes the secret lead. It’s very simple but powerful. So try it out and see how it works in your business.

If you’d like my help in applying this and other strategies to sell your high ticket products and services, let me know. Just click the button below to apply for a complimentary consultation.

What is the problem-solution lead?

David Ogilvy once said, “When you advertise with fire extinguishers, open with fire.”

Basically, start with the problem.

The problem-solution lead uses the classic “hot button” approach where any talk about your product is delayed until later.

Instead, you open with your prospect’s biggest, most pressing issue. Then you offer them a solution, which is the product you’re selling.

The best customers to use this lead on are those who are solution aware and problem aware. That’s because compared to the previous leads we talked about, this one takes a more indirect approach.

There’s a gap between what these customers know about themselves and about your product. You need to close this gap first before making a sale. That means you have to spend some time building trust with them before introducing your product. Otherwise, you run the risk of scaring them away.

These customers want to feel understood. They want to know that you get it. To do this, summon your empathetic side. Your copy needs to scream, “Trust me, I feel you. I feel your pain.”

Think about it. In personal conversations, how do we show the other person we’re listening? Simple. By empathizing with their situation.

What you need to write an effective problem-solution lead

First, list down all the worries that keep your prospect up at night.

I’m not talking about the practical, superficial problems most people share. You need to go deeper. Go behind the curtain and shine a light on those deep underlying subconscious feelings that even your prospect finds hard to vocalize.

These are called the “core emotions”.

And the only way to identify these core emotions is by speaking directly to your ideal prospects for whatever it is you’re selling.

Speak directly to them, whether online or in person. Read their emails to customer support. Listen to their calls to customer support. Find them online and read their social media posts and comments on online forums.

People with niggling problems won’t shut up about it. Any chance they get, they’ll complain about it.

So take advantage of this and keep an eye out. Watch out for patterns, especially those things that they don’t realize they keep repeating. Those deeper problems are the ones you set out to solve.

Then when writing your lead, capitalize on those emotions you’ve gathered. Stir them up to prove to your customer that indeed, you do feel their pain.

But don’t linger on the pain too long before showing there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. You must offer hope of a relevant solution at some point in your pitch.

Approaches to the problem-solution lead

The problem-solution lead takes many different approaches that you can use. We’ll look at 5 of those:

1. “If this then that”

This approach follows this template:

If [you have this problem] then [this product will fix it]

An example headline would be:

“If you’re feeling down, then Gatorade will pick you up”

Another variation of this approach could be:

For relief of [problem/worry], try [solution/product]

For example:

“For relief of migraines, try Excedrin”

Obviously, these are just really basic examples to give you an idea of what I’m talking about.

2. Inversions

This is where you flip the problem-solution formula around to become the solution-problem. It promises a solution before highlighting the problem.

For example:

“Get all the benefits of summer sunshine without the blisters or burns”

3. Identification

This approach makes the reader feel identified by their troubles or even directly responsible for them. It targets the person who has a problem and feels really strongly about it

For example:

“For those who want to write but can’t get started.”

4. The question

Many successful problem-solution leads are phrased as challenging questions. This approach is great because it starts a mental conversation between you and the prospect. If they answer yes to the question, it will be tougher for them to quit reading.

Example:

“Are you scared of losing your job?”

5. Instruction

If the problem is a bit more complex to address, invent a name for it that characterizes it quickly. Even though the name is an invention, it instantly makes sense of the negative situation. Like this example from a Geritol ad:

“If you feel run down because of tired blood, take fast acting Geritol.”

The term “tired blood” is made up. But someone with a cold or flu who feels worn down would probably describe it that way.

That’s it for the problem-solution lead. If you would like my help in implementing this and other strategies to sell your high ticket products and services, get in touch with me by clicking the button below to apply for a complimentary consultation.

What is a promise lead?

The promise lead is the most common type of lead. It’s a little less direct than the offer lead, in that, the product/offer is mentioned later on in the copy.

This lead opens with your product’s best and biggest benefit. Whatever this big benefit is, it has to tie in with your prospect’s core desire.

Drayton Bird once said, “Advertising works best if you promise people something they want, not—as many imagine—if you are clever, original or shocking.”

So make a bold promise to your prospect that you’re going to give him what he really desires.

In a classic promise lead, the promise is found in 3 main places: the headline, the first line and often, the last line too.

Here’s an example of an ad that uses the promise lead:

The promise is clear in the headline. The agency guarantees to outpull your best ad.

If you read through the rest of the ad, you’ll see that it’s centered around this promise of guaranteeing results.   

The formula for writing a good promise lead

First, make a list of your product’s best features in order of relevance.

Then, translate those features into benefits. Simply put, what do these features mean for your customer?

And out of all those features, which one is the most original and most unique? Because that’s your Unique Selling Point (USP)

Reeves first wrote about the USP in his book, Reality in Advertising. In it he gives a 3-part formula for writing effective promise leads

1. Introduce the product

2. Explain what the product does. It has to be something original that your competitors’ products can’t do. This is your USP.

3. Finally, your promise to the reader MUST target their core desire. They have to want what you’re promising. You can’t create desire. You only awaken what’s already there.

But what if a promise seems too big that your reader becomes skeptical?

For example, you could promise to grow your audience’s $250 to $3.5 million.

That seems too good to be true. Most people will think you’re a scam.

In such a case, acknowledge their skepticism before they have a chance to. Turn the big claim into a question. Something like this:

Can You Really Grow $250 into $3.5 million?

With that, you reframe your prospects’ thought process. Now you’ve piqued their interest. They want to find out if it really is possible.

When to use the promise lead for best results

Depending on how aware your customer is, this lead would work best on the fence sitters. The ones who are product aware.

They know what they want. They are almost ready to buy. But, they aren’t sure your product is right for them. They just need a nudge in the right direction and they’ll fall into your corner.

This nudge comes in the form of a promise lead that’s original and relevant to them.

They haven’t bought because they keep hearing the same thing everywhere. They’re confused about which to product to go with. The only way you win them over is if your promise stands out from the rest.

So do your research. What has been promised before in the market? Strive to beat that. Learn everything you can about your prospect’s desires and what their expectations are so you can meet or beat them.

Keep in mind that the most effective part of the promise lead is not so much what your product will do for them, but how it will make them feel while using it. Even better, how others will see them while using it.

For example:

“Build Your Memory In 4 Short Weeks—So Powerfully Your Family Won’t Believe It”

In addition to having a powerful memory, this headline is promising admiration and respect from family members for having a new skill.

So dig deeper. How will your product make your prospect feel? Maybe they want to feel confident. Maybe they want to feel secure. Maybe they want to be free from worry. How will others perceive them in this new light?

Whatever it is, make sure you’re making a strong promise that you know you can deliver on.

If you would like my help in applying this and other strategies to sell your high ticket products and services, just click the button below to apply for a complimentary consultation.

The lead is the most important part when it comes to writing ad copy that converts

You can have the most amazing offer or product in the world. But if your lead doesn’t grab your audience by their throats and sucks them in, it won’t matter. You’ll end up losing out on massive potential sales.

Before we dive further into this, let’s define what a lead is.

What is the lead?

The lead is the start of a sales message. It’s how you lead into the sale. It’s your headline, your subheadline, and the first few paragraphs of your copy.

I actually got this idea from a book called Great Leads by Michael Masterson and John Forde. So get this book if you want a more in-depth look at leads.

Now we know what a lead is. Why is it the most important part of your copy?

Why is the lead so important?

The lead and how you start your copy is very important because you only have about 8 seconds to grab your reader’s attention and hook them in. Otherwise, you’ve lost them forever.

When you think about it, that’s a really short amount of time to convince someone to listen to you.

You’re competing for people’s time and attention, which is in limited supply these days. With so much information flooding the interwebs, yours could get buried in all that sea of content.

To get noticed, you must stand out. Your lead has to be strong enough to reel your audience in.

It starts with a bold headline. Then once you’ve got them reading past the headline, you have to keep them hooked. You want to get them to the call to action at the end. If your copy is not engaging enough, they’ll become disinterested and click away, never to look back.

The key to writing strong leads

The sole purpose of your copy is to get people to take some sort of immediate positive action. That could be anything like: sign up, buy now, download here, apply here… etc

Getting people to take that kind of action requires two things.

First, you need to tap into their emotions. Your words need to move them into taking action. Second, you need to persuade them intellectually.

So before you even type the first word of your copy, get clear on what emotions you’d like to appeal to. Is it fear? Is it insecurity? Is it lack? Is it shame?

Look at this ad, for example. The headline states:

“Are Your Children Ashamed That You Never Finished High School?”

That headline plays brilliantly on the emotion of shame, embarrassment and insecurity. As a mother who dropped out of high school, this headline would hit you right where it hurts. And as you continue reading, the ad continues to hone in on the feelings of shame and embarrassment.

So focus on the emotion you’d like to tap into with your lead. People make the decision to buy out of an emotional reaction/need. That’s how our brains are wired. We generate an emotional preference first. Then later, try to rationalize the decision.

If you want to hook people with your copy, win over their hearts. The rest becomes easy.

Types of leads

According to The Great Leads book, there are 6 types of leads.

But before we get into that, here’s an important thing to note. These leads, and how you’ll apply them, directly correlates with the market sophistication level of your audience.

How aware are your customers? How aware are they of the market, the problem they face, the products that exist, and the solutions?

Now, if you want to learn more about market sophistication and awareness, there's a book that was written by Eugene Schwartz called Breakthrough Advertising. In it he categorizes the customer awareness into 5 different levels:

1. Most aware

These are the dream customers. They’re your diehard fans. They are emotionally ready. They know you. They know what you do. They know your product. All you need to do is to offer them something new and they’ll buy. Easy as that.

2. Product aware

These are the customers sitting on the fence. They know you. They know what you sell. They just don’t know if it’s right for them. These customers are easy to win over because they’re already educated about your product. What you need to do then is convince them that you’re right for them. You have to earn their trust.

3. Solution aware

These customers know the results they want, they just don’t know where to look. So you first have to convince them that you understand their predicament. Then you educate them about your product and how it will help them get the results they are looking for.

4. Problem aware

These are the most worrisome of the bunch. They have a problem. They just don’t know that there is a solution for it. The key to selling to them? Show them that you feel their pain. You have to sympathize with them before introducing your product and its benefits.

5. Completely unaware

These are the toughest to win over, but potentially the most rewarding once you do. They know nothing, à la Jon Snow of Game of Thrones. They don’t know who you are, what you sell and that products like yours exist. They don’t even know that they have a problem worth solving!

And because of that, they have no reason to listen to your message, let alone trust you. To make the sale with these people, you need tact. You don’t want to come on too strong with a pitch or you’ll scare them away.

And there are two leads designed specifically for the completely unaware audience. Use them and your prospect will never see it coming. By the time they realize it’s a sales message, you’ve already hooked them in.

We’ll talk about these leads in depth in the coming days. They are:

So stay tuned for that.

Remember to first survey your audience. Where are they on the customer awareness scale? What do they know?

For the most aware customers, you’d use a direct approach to sell to them. Whereas for the unaware, a more indirect approach would suffice.

This information is important because it will help you choose the best lead to use, and eventually, write copy that will convert like crazy.

If you would like my help in using these and other strategies to sell your high ticket products and services, just click the button below to apply for a complimentary consultaion.