Write to Ignite - Master the Art of Sales Copy & Copywriting

Customer research can be slow and boring if you don't know how to do it. Let's look at how to get to know your customer in a fast, fun way.

In this lecture you'll learn 3 rapid research strategies for getting to know your customer. 

The 3 strategies are: 

1. Forums
2. Asking your customer directly
3. Reading Amazon reviews. 

I'll show you how to use each of these strategies to improve your copywriting skills quickly and easily.

As the saying goes, "If you write for everyone, you write for no one." This lecture will show you how to identify the specific people who NEED your product and write for them since they are the most likely to buy.

A common mistake is trying to sell people what YOU want to sell them. That doesn't work. You have to sell them what THEY want. A big part of doing that is learning exactly what they want and speaking to that desire.

It may seem obvious that you have to represent your product accurately in your sales copy, but it's harder to do than it sounds. Many people over-sell or under-sell their product because they don't understand the product or the customer intimately enough. Here's how to get it just right.

It's time to grab that piece of sales copy that you need to write and do this activity. Go to Amazon and look at reviews about the product (or a similar product or book related to your product). Look for things that people love and hated about the product. Look for their frustrations. Look for the things they praise about the product. When you're done, you'll know your customer a lot better than you did when you started.

How well you know your product can make or break you when it comes to writing sales copy. No marketing plan succeeds without intimate knowledge of the product being sold.

If you have prior knowledge of your product, writing effective sales copy will be a lot easier. This is why, as a copywriter, it's important to always be learning, so you have a wider range of knowledge and experiences to draw from in your sales writing.

What do you do if you have to prior knowledge or experience with your product? 

This video tells the story of how I took a subject that I previously struggled with, Excel, and turned it into a hugely successful e-course, using my original struggle as a selling point.

Here's an action step so you can start putting what you've learned about copywriting into practice right away.  Grab the copy that you're working on and get curious about your product. Explore it more deeply and you'll find new and better things to write about it.

The goal when writing any sales copy is to get your reader to buy your product. 

Your title or headline is the most important part of your sales copy. If the headline isn't good, no one will get past it to your sales copy.

The body copy is where all of your actual writing lives. Body copy includes your initial connection with your reader, benefits of your product, your offer, social proof, and your guarantee.

Your offer is where you tell the reader what they're getting and what they have to give in return.

We are social creatures. We like to take behavior cues from people around us. Social proof helps to break down a reader's resistance to purchasing your product. It shows them that other people use and like your product.

Your guarantee tells your reader that you believe in your product and that you'll stand behind it. It's as important as social proof for breaking down the reader's resistance to purchasing. Use a strong guarantee in your sales copy and see your conversions improve.

After your headline, your call to action is the second most important part of your sales copy. This is where you tell your reader what you want them to do. This is where you get them to click, subscribe or buy. This is where you see the results of all of your copywriting efforts.

It's time to put what you're learning into action. Do a Google search for your favorite hobby and analyze it based on the 3 main parts of the Sales Copy Formula. Look for a good headline, solid body copy with a transition, benefits, an offer, social proof, and a guarantee, and finally, an effective call to action.

Learn these five ways to set your writing on fire.

1. Use verbs to create action in your writing.
2. Put the punchline first to engage your reader early.
3. Speak human by using simple language that readers will understand.
4. Paint a picture with your words to captivate your reader's attention.
5. Tell a story in your sales copy to connect with your reader on an emotional level.

Verbs create action. Use them well in your writing and you can light a fire under your reader. Use them poorly in your writing and you'll lull your reader to sleep.

This is a fun technique for getting a reader's attention fast. By putting the punchline of a story at the beginning of the sales copy, or even in the headline, you ignite the reader's curiosity and draw them into your sales copy.

Speaking human just means using clear, concise language. It means favoring smaller words and shorter sentences. It means not adding extra fluff or words to your sales copy. Speaking human is a great way to built trust and to keep your reader engaged.

The saying goes that a picture is worth a thousand words. But if you know how to use your words well, you can create a powerful mental image with less than 20 words. This is an essential copywriting skill that will continue to improve your sales copy the more to practice it.

The ability to tell a story effectively is one of a copywriter's greatest skills. Practice this until you can weave a compelling story into your copy seamlessly.

Action Steps. 

1. Find something that you've written in the passive voice and re-write it in the ACTIVE voice, like I demonstrate in the Use Verbs lecture.
2. In 20 words or less, paint a mental picture that would make someone want to buy the model of cell phone that you use, like I demonstrated in the Paint a Mental Picture lecture.

Share your results in the course questions.

Formatting is crucial for easy readability. Follow these simple formatting strategies to make your writing look great on the page.

Often LESS is more. Less clutter, fewer images, and shorter words and sentences can amount to better sales copy. In these areas, use less to get more out of your copywriting.

On occasion MORE is more. This is true when it comes to white space on the page, bigger font size for easier readability, and, in some cases, longer copy.

How to use headings and subheadings in your copywriting to improve readability and SEO.

Bulleted lists help to break up your page, draw the reader's eye into the text, and make it much easier to read your sales copy. A general rule is to use a maximum of one list for short copy and a maximum of two lists for longer copy.

Bold and block quotes are two more ways to improve the readability of your copy. These formatting options allow you to draw the reader's eye to important parts of your copy and make it easier and more enjoyable for them to read.

Thank you and congratulations on completing the Write to Ignite course! 

In this course, you've learned:

• How to know your reader and your product
• The simple 3-Part Sales Copy Formula
• How to set your writing on fire
• How to format so it's easy to read

Now it's time to take your own copy ideas and start to apply the strategies that you've learned to that copy. Go back through the actions steps at the end of the sections for quick practice. Then, put all of the strategies to work in each piece of copy that you write.