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Bill Harris
Director of Centerpointe Research InstituteCreator of Holosync® Audio Technology
www.centerpointe.com
How to Write Copy That Sells!
Basic premises…
Tell the truth. Be on their side. Create a relationship.
What is your purpose? Sell the action, not the end result.
Attention—Interest—Conviction—Desire—Close
Take all the selling out of selling…
Get people saying three things about you: 1. He (or she) is an expert2. I like him. I trust him. He’s on my side.3. I think he can help me.
The truth…
No one wants to read your message.
WII FM
Step into their skeptical shoes.
Why would readers bail on you?…
You didn’t get or keep their attention or interest…
Your email, ad, webpage looks like too much work…
You’re not telling them why your product is for them…
They learned the cost before they learned the benefits…
Why would someone bail on you?…
You’re obviously selling something…
You didn’t address their skepticism…
Seems risky…
Step 1: Create a list of features and the benefits of each of those features…
Create a list of features/facts—good and bad.
List benefits for each feature.
Pare down to the most important.
Step 2: Create the offer
“You give me $ and I’ll give you X.”
Sweeten it—free trial, discount, bonuses, payments
Guarantee
Step 2: Create the offer
Sweetening example: Give me $65,000 and I’ll give you my 2010 Mercedes 550.
I’ll sell you my Mercedes for $65K and you can drive it for a week before you decide whether or not to buy it…plus, I’ll pay for your gas for the first 6 months…plus, you can pay me over two years.
Step 2: Create the offer
More sweetening: Think what YOU would like if you were buying it: Free trial? Big (legit) discount? Easy payments? Guarantee? Extra free gift? A date with Scarlett Johansson?
A good offer might overcome bad marketing, but not much of anything can overcome a bad offer.
Step 3: Open your swipe file
Robert Collier Letter Book, anything by John Caples or Claude Hopkins
Anything by Joe Sugarman or Ted Nicholas
Ogilvy on Advertising
http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/newsletter-archives.htm
Stuff I’m going to give you: headlines, subject lines, emails, web pages, sales letters
Step 4: Create a subject line/headline (“This is for you”)…
WII FM
Specific benefit or solution
Valuable news
Urgency
Curiosity
Targeted to reader
Top benefits: Love, money
Step 4: Subject lines…
"Bio-Hacking"? I just learned what it is . . .
An interesting question about your brain . . .
I hate to exercise . . .
Hey--you know you should do this . . .
Step 4: More subject lines…
I LOVE difficulties . . .
Possibly THE best thing you can do for your health . . .
I'm refusing to be old (or fat) . . .
Step 4: More subject lines…
You probably think this is true . . .
Very interesting: Who daydreams?
Step 4: Headlines…
“How to write an ad so powerful it will force people to stand in line and beg you to take their money . . .
“How to lose 30 pounds of ugly fatquickly, without dieting…
Step 4: More headlines…
“They laughed when I sat down at the piano,but when I started to play…
“The secret of a movie star figure…
Step 4: More headlines…
“Which of these free gifts would you like?
“You’ve just found the most powerful self improvement, brain entrainment & stress-relief tool in the world…
Step 5: Create the message…
Good first sentence (“If you’d like to grow your business by up to 250% this year—and by a similar amount the year after, this may be the most important letter you’ve ever read.”)
What’s in it for them in first sentence
Step 5: Create the message…
Elaborate on the first sentence with specifics
Tell the top facts and benefits
Tell them why you’re offering such a good deal
Make sure you’re selling the specific action you want them to take (click, opt-in, buy, etc.)
Step 5: Create the message…
Ask them to take action and urge them to hurry
Salutation
PS that elaborates on why they should act now or reiterates offer or gives main benefit
Keep them reading to the end…
Sort sentences and paragraphs (bite sized pieces)
Tell a story
Transitions and stopping points
Ask questions (and answer them)
Keep them reading to the end…
Head off objections
Credentialize what you say
Tease them
Keep them reading to the end…
Use linking words (So, And, Next, Anyway, etc)
Use … Break things up with indented headlines/subheads
Keep them reading to the end…
Bullet-points instead of lists
Judicious bolding—highlight key parts (skimmers)
“You probably think this is true…
Benefits…
Become an expert at describing the benefits
What about your product do they want?
Features vs benefits
Always reiterate the benefit after describing the cost(s)
Benefits…
Cost could be money, time, hassles, lost opportunity etc.
Always assume skepticism
Offer proof
19 ways to be credible…
Tell the truth/be sincere
Be vulnerable
Quote specific facts
Use exact numbers—27.3% not 27%; 2,197 not “more than 2,000”
19 ways to be credible…
Tell all the details, educate them
Always tell them why
Tell stories (you’re just like them)
Use the word “because”
19 ways to be credible…
Use quotation marks in your headlines
Include pictures (or videos)
Sign your name at the end
Risk reversal
19 ways to be credible…
Get someone else to say it (JV partner, magazine, blog, expert, customer, etc)
Media stories about benefits of your product or similar products
Cite experts, research, science, statistics, proof
19 ways to be credible…Give the problem a name—Halitosis, Big Mac Attack, Living on Autopilot
Give your solution or process a name
The Holosync Solution
The Divorce Mediation Process
The Sales and Profits Maximizer
The Life Purpose Discovery Process
19 ways to be credible…
Share non-fatal flaws
Become an authority
Degrees and certifications
Write a book, articles, blog, speak, Special Reports
19 ways to be credible…
Use social proof.
Use the contrast principle.
Use scarcity.
Get them to make a minor commitment.
Powerful words…
You...Your…New…Now…Who…How…Money…Why…Want…Incredible…Amazing… Announcing…Finally…Proven…Tested…Approved…Unique…Magical…One of a kind…Genuine…Priceless…Rare…Luxury…Classic…Useful…Free…Bargain…Less than others have paid…Quick…Easy…Fast
Other tips…
Learn to write good English sentences.
Learn to cut out unnecessary words.
Write like you speak.
Use clichés, similes, analogies, metaphors.
Advanced stuff…
You determine the reader’s internal representations.
Make them picture themselves benefiting.
www.centerpointe.com/v2/products/lpip/preview
Passion…
Be passionate.
Passion sells more than facts and logic.
Passion adds credibility.
Example
Who Daydreams?
Examples
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Get this presentation plus other copywriting resources at: www.centerpointe.com/t/accelerate
!
1) Holosync (Awakening Prologue) Sales Letter (This legendary sales letter has created $150,000,000 in sales!)
2) Life Principles Integration Process Online Course Sales Letter (This letter created $400,000 in sales in 3 days when first launched in 2003—and millions more since then!)
3) Secrets to Success and Making Money Online Course Sales Letter (Another money-making sales letter to learn from!)
4) “You probably think this is true…” $3.43 EPC Email Swipe PDF
5) “Who daydreams?” Email Swipe PDF
6) “The 100 Greatest Headlines Ever Written” PDF
7) “Top 14 Ways to Get People to Open Your Emails” PDF
8) “Emails that Made Money” $3.28 EPC Email Swipe PDF
9) The Art of Copywriting Slideshow
