Speed Writing Secrets of Professional Copywriters

Speed Writing Secrets of

Professional Copywriters

Tools the professionals

use to churn out copy quickly

Tools the professionals

use to churn out copy quickly

Speed Writing

Secrets of


Speed Writing Secrets of


Welcome to the Speed Writing Secrets of Professional

Copywriters.

In this webinar you’ll discover the tools the pros won’t

tell you about to write emails, sales letters and landing

pages fast.

This webinar is split into 3 parts.

First we’ll look at copywriting tips anyone can apply to

write faster. These aren’t your standard “use a

stopwatch” tips but tips to challenge how you think

about & approach writing marketing collateral.

Before we continue, it’s probably a good idea to get a

definition of copywriting.

The simplest definition I’ve read said copywriting is

“salesmanship in print”.

Essentially, if you were going to sit down with a friend

and sell them your ‘thing’ because you knew it was in

their best interest, copywriting is transcribing that

conversation into writing.

Then we’re going to look at 3 tools professional

copywriters to churn out marketing material faster.

Again, these should (hopefully) change how you think

about writing.

And finally, we’ll take a sneak-peak at a writing tool

designed to help you write faster and get better results

(more sales!).

Intr

od

ucti

on

Who (the heck) am I?

Hi, I’m Marcus. As software developer – that’s right a

nerd – I’ve been developing productivity tools for

professionals like you for over 20 years.

So what can a nerd teach you about writing copy

productively?

As it turns out, we have a lot in common.

Like many programmers, I use a variety of tools to write

‘code’ faster. One example is ‘design patterns’.

Design patterns are proven solutions that solve

common programming challenges. Rather than

reinvent the wheel, design patterns let us code faster &

more predictably. Another example is templates.

When I started writing sales copy for my own business,

I couldn’t understand why I found it so difficult. So I

researched the best & most prolific copywriters to

discover ‘how’ they wrote copy. I wanted to know

“What tools and techniques did they use to get the job

done”.

I discovered that productive copywriters use their own

‘design patterns’ as well. Tools and techniques to help

them write copy faster.

I’ve taken what I’ve learned and packaged it up into a

framework – a suite of software tools – that can help

you become a more productive copywriter too.

Let’s go…

© Copyright Copy-Fast 2018 Page 5

Why You (Think You) Can’t Write

There’s many reasons why many people believe they can’t write copy

or can’t write copy faster.

Which ones of these resonates with you?

✓ Don’t where to start

✓ Don’t know what to write

✓ Don’t have time

✓ Can’t afford a (real) copywriter [ka-ching]

✓ Think you need to be ‘creative’

✓ Think you’re not good at English/Writing

✓ What else . . . ?

You Have an Advantage

You already have half of what you need to write compelling,

engaging emails and sales letters to your customers.

Who else knows more about your business, your product or service,

and your market than you?

It’s taken you a lot of time, effort and energy to reach the level of

understanding and insight you now possess about your customers.

Throw on a good dollop of personality and you’re already half-way

to a winning email or sales page to keep your customers engaged

and the sales rolling in.

Now let’s look at those writing tips…


Tip 1: Write Like You Speak

We’ve all been there before. . . you need to write an email, blog post

or sales letter, trying not to sound like a textbook or a used cars

salesman.

But everything you write sounds like it’s been written by your English

Grammar teacher.

The simplest writing tip I can give you is this:

Write like you speak.

That’s it.

Too many people write like they have their primary school English

teacher looking over their shoulder. Or they try to sound formal or

professional, use big words or long sentences. Don’t

Forget everything your English teacher drummed into your head

about good grammar.

Just type like you talk.

But remember, how you speak depends on who you’re talking to.

You speak differently to your kids than you do your doctor.


The Coffee Method

Here’s a simple technique to write like

you speak.

Invite a friend out for coffee (you know

this is going somewhere already).

Sit them down at a café and talk to

them about what you’re writing.

If you’re writing a sales page, try to sell your

product to them over coffee.

Really try to sell it to them.

Give them the whole pitch.

Now . . .

. . . ask them for their feedback.

What did you say that resonated with them?

What put them off?

Write it all down.

Write it immediately, don’t wait until you get home.

You now have fodder for your sales piece.

What they liked are the benefits.

What they didn’t like are objections you need to overcome (or the

opportunity to change your product).


Tip 2: Write Drunk. Edit Sober

This is moustachioed gentleman is Ernest Hemingway.

Renowned for his ‘economical’ writing style,

Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for Literature in

1954 for ‘The Old Man and the Sea’.

When it comes to the quality vs quantity of his

output, Hemingway had this to say:

So Tip 2 (minus Hemingway’s hangovers) comes from the man

himself when he said:

Write Drunk. Edit Sober*

Meanwhile, author Jodi Picoult who has sold 14 million copies of 25

books in 34 languages (so I assume she knows what she’s talking

about) put it this way:

The moral?

To paraphrase Nike, Just Write It.

Get a brain-dump on paper.

You can edit it later in a different frame of mind.

I write one page of masterpiece

to every 99 pages of crap.

- Ernest Hemingway

You can always edit a bad page.

You can't edit a blank page.

- Jodi Picoult

*Apparently Hemingway never actually said this. It’s been misattributed to him.


Attack your writing in two phases:

The brain dump phase and the editing phases.

Here’s how they look:

Write Edit

No editing

Let your thoughts gestate

No grammar/spell checks

Sleep on it

No rules (anything goes)

Use ‘editing’ tools

Brain dump on paper

When you write don’t stop to edit, check the spelling or fix your

grammar.

All these things just slow down your thought process.

If you’ve ever been in a team brainstorming session the golden rule

is “no idea is too stupid”.

Just get it down on paper (or word processor!).

Meanwhile, when it comes to editing, the first rule is: walk away.

You don’t want to edit in the same frame of mind as when you

wrote. You want to come back with a fresh perspective.

If you can, sleep on it and come back to edit tomorrow. This will give

your ideas a chance to gestate.

Finally, professional ‘editing’ tools will make your job a lot easier.

We’ll look at some of these later.


Tip 3: Read it out aloud

So you’ve done it.

You’ve conquered that blank page and you’ve finished your blog

post, email or sales page.

So… how does it read?

Is it clear?

Does it make sense?

Does it flow well?

It’s been said that a sales letter

should read like a ‘greased slide’.

It should take your reader on a

journey.

The destination is the end of your

sales piece which has a call to

action (or with your reader ready

to open their wallet ).

But if there’s any bumps on that slide – hiccups or inconsistencies in

your writing – your reader won’t make it to the end.

Lost reader = lost sale.

So your goal is to ensure there’s nothing in your writing which would

stop your reader reaching the end.

No awkward sentences.

No long or complicated words.


Just a smooth read, from start to finish.

In the words of Joe Sugarman – copywriter extraordinaire – you want

your sales page to be a “greased chute”.

One way to check your writing flows is to ask someone you trust to

proof read it for you.

But often that’s not possible or practical (I actually hate other people

reading my material before I’ve published it).

Here’s the next best thing.

Read it aloud.

Gary Halbert – one of the 20th century’s most

astute marketing minds – lived by this rule.

In the early-to-mid 1970s, Gary’s business was

doing $60,000 per day based on his folksy

copywriting style.

Here’s what Gary had to say about reading your

own writing out aloud:

Don’t make the mistake of thinking you will spot

where the writing doesn’t flow, by simply re-

reading it.

It just isn’t the same as reading aloud.

When we re-read our own words, we skip over

hiccups in the flow and keep on reading.

If you read the same piece of copy aloud, it

becomes impossible not to find the places

where the copy no longer flows well.

- Gary Halbert


If reading it aloud or asking a trusted friend isn’t an option, record it

on your phone and play it back.

Apps like Voice Memos will allow you to quickly record and

playback any message.

This will force you to “hear it” as your reader would “read it” in their

head, allowing you to identify any “flow” issues.

Bonus Tip

If you're not familiar with Halbert's work you really must start

reading his newsletters. Gary wrote the infamous Coat-of-Arms sales

letter. This letter was mailed out over 600 million times, generating

up to $60,000 a day in sales and spawning an entire empire which

was eventually sold to Ancestor.com for $75 million.

Granted, his website doesn’t look like much but the content is pure

gold. Here’s the link:

http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/newsletter-archives.htm

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT206775

http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/newsletter-archives.htm


Tip 4: The fastest way to write headlines and

subject lines

Wanna know the fastest way to write sure fire headlines and email

subject lines?

Take a stroll down you’re your nearest newsstand and check out the

magazines.

That’s right, I want you to:

Swipe Magazine Headlines

Magazine sales live and die by two things: a compelling headline and

a seductive image.

Magazines know they have about two seconds to grab your

attention and seduce you to picking it up and taking it to the

counter.

They spend huge amounts on professional copywriters focused

solely on producing compelling, attention grabbing headlines.

You don’t want all that research to go to waste , do you ?


Regardless of the industry you’re in, chances are there’s magazines

which target your sector.

If you want to be really lazy efficient, you don’t even need to go to

the newsstand.

Just Google them.

So image you’re a business coach. Just Google “business coaching

magazine covers” and switch to images view.

Not sure if there’s a magazine which covers your industry?

Just checkout Newsstand which lists over 4,000 magazine available in

the UK. Here’s there website: https://www.newsstand.co.uk/

https://www.newsstand.co.uk/


Bonus Tip

When you find a great headline, make a formula out of it and add it

to your swipe file so you can use it again (and again and again).

Here’s an example of a headline from Men’s Health:

As a formula this becomes:

10x Your [Result]: Get More [Benefit],

Waste Less [Pain]

You just need to replace [Main Benefit]

with the main benefit of your product or

service and [Number of] with the number

of steps to get there.

You can then use this formula again (and again and again):

✓ 10x Your Training: Get More Muscle, with Less Effort

✓ 10x Your Business: Get More Clients, with Less Selling

✓ 10x Your Car: Get More Mileage, Waste Less Fuel

You’ll also notice that many headlines focus on a benefit or outcome

and a number. The number could be a duration or result but try to

make it specific.


Tip 5: A picture paints a thousand words

Recognize this?

;)

Yep, that’s a winking emoji.

Maybe this one is easier to recognise 😉

Here’s another one shrugging

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This tip is a bit more light-hearted but still relevant:

Emojis are the text version of “a picture paints a thousand words”.

Still sceptical? Consider this:

Use emojis in your emails and ads


As a software developer I’ve worked with remote teams in locations

such as India communicating solely through email and messenger

programs where there’s plenty of opportunity for miscommunication

or misunderstanding.

It’s astounding the number of times a simple emoji has been able to

convey what a paragraph of text couldn’t. Who knew?

So, who uses emojis?

Friends use emojis.

People in relationships use emojis.

Heck, my 84 year old mother uses emojis.

And if you’re trying to nurture a friendly business relationship with

your customers and prospects, perhaps you should too 😊

Bonus Tip

Not everyone reads your emails in HTML.

This means that images like GIFs won't work for people who read

your emails in plain text.

For that reason you may want to stick with text emojis. They're not as

colourful but everyone will be able to see them.


3 tools professional copywriters use to churn out

copy quickly

Before we look at some tools the pros use, let’s first see how

professional copywriters approach writing marketing material

compared to the rest of us mere mortals.

The Lego Analogy

Amateurs might start with some basic building blocks. Maybe you’ve

found an advertisement you like, or you subscribe to a competitor

and you’ve kept some of their emails.

You then try to build (write) your email or sales letter on a clean base

(blank page). That is, you start from scratch.

In reality, we mostly start from a clean base with no building blocks

at all.

And the result is fairly predictable.


Meanwhile, professional copywriters take a different approach.

They don’t want to start from scratch.

They want to base their new email or sales letter or landing page on

what has worked in the past and modify it to suit their current needs.

Not only do they save time, they end up with higher conversions

(sales) starting with something proven to work.

So, they’ll start with a Lego box for a specific model that has all the

parts and components they need for their project.

They’ll then blend this with some instructions which adds a process

or methodology to produce their output.

The result is a lot more predictable and professional:


But don’t take my word for it.

Let’s hear what the professionals have to say.

This guy is Eugene Schwartz.

Eugene is a legendary copywriter. He’s the author

of Breakthrough Advertising, allegedly the book

most stolen from U.S. public libraries.

Eugene sold over a billion dollars’ worth of

products in the 1950s and 60s (when a billion

was still worth something) using direct response

copywriting alone.

‘Direct response’ means either people buy your stuff, or you go

hungry.

Here’s what he had to say about “writing” copy:

Not convinced?

Let’s get one more professional opinion.

This is Dan Kennedy.

Dan’s the creator “Magnetic Marketing”,

He’s written over a dozen books on marketing

and copywriting. He also charges over $18,000

a day for his services.

Copy is never written.

Copy is assembled.

- Eugene Schwartz


Here’s what Dan had to say on writing copy:

In his book, The Ultimate Sales Letter, Dan described writing copy

like this:

With that context in mind, let’s look at 3 tools professional

copywriters use to churn out copy faster so they can save more time

and more predictable results (a.k.a. sell more stuff) . . .

The idea of writing a sales letter is actually

something of a false idea.

It suggests sitting down with a pristine, blank

sheet of paper and conjuring words…

a truer description is assembling a sales letter.

- Dan Kennedy

Writing copy that sells is not a creative act so

much as it is mechanical process, adhering to

formulas, and assembling essential component

parts within a reliable framework.

- Dan Kennedy

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Sales-Letter-Attract-Customers/dp/1440511411/ref=sr_1_1


Templates

If you’ve ever use LeadPages you know they provide a library of

landing page templates. Even better, you can sort the templates by

those which convert better.

So you’re getting the best of both worlds: half the work is done for

you with the template and you know it will convert well, getting you

more conversions (sales) than if you had started from scratch.

Some copywriters call these ‘formulas’ but they’re more than that.

Templates can provide an entire fill-in-the-blanks framework for an

email or sales page.

Absorb what is useful,

discard what is not,

add what is uniquely your own

- Bruce Lee


Starting with a professional template gets you out of the starting

gate fast in several ways:

✓ Never start with a blank page again

✓ Helps you organise your writing

✓ Provide a proven framework to structure your copy

✓ Makes it easy to know what to write next & what goes where.

✓ You’re using a framework which has worked in the past

Using a copywriting template is literally a 2 step process (okay,

maybe 3):

1) Select the appropriate template for your current need

2) Fill in the blanks (update images etc.)

3) Delete what you don’t need


One of the most famous template formulas is AIDA. AIDA stands for

Attention, Interest, Desire and Action – the four major ingredients (or

building blocks) of a typical sales letter.

The basic template has a section for each of these areas for you to

fill in. However, many people still prefer even more structure and fill-

in-the-blank options.

More comprehensive templates provide far more structure such as

Perry Belcher’s ‘21 Step Sales Letter’.

This provides a structured list of 21 components – in the right

sequence* – to construct a sales letter or sales page. If there’s a

component not relevant to your sales message, simply delete it.

*Never underestimate the sequence in which you present your sales

message.

structure is key: if your copy does not

follow the formula for persuasion,

it won’t work … no matter how

creative you get.

- Bob Bly


Swipe Files

This is Gary Bencivenga.

Gary’s considered to be the “copywriter’s

copywriter” - one of the best copywriters of the

20th century.

When he started as a copywriter, his boss and

mentor gave him this advice when it came to

creating a new advertisement (assignment).

He said . . .

So what’s a Swipe File?

A swipe file is a library of advertisements, emails, brochures – any

marketing material relevant to your industry – which you can flick

through to get ideas and inspiration.

You can buy swipe files or you can compile your own but this takes

time and effort.

on each assignment …go to the [swipe] files…to bring

out one handful of ads that have worked like

gangbusters.

…I want you to look at the ones that bombed and

don’t do anything that they’re doing.

I want you to look at the ones that were blockbusters

and try to assimilate much of what they do into your

new piece, and that’s how we’re going to take every

assignment.

- Gary Bencivenga


Swiping is not stealing and it’s not plagiarising.

It’s drawing upon what has worked in the past and

incorporating those aspects into your writing.

For example, you might ‘swipe’ a heading from one

ad and modify for your email subject.

So why use a swipe file?

In the words of Amy Harrison writing for

CopyBlogger, one of the largest content

marketing websites on the Internet

You may start collecting ads you see in magazines related to your

business.

Eventually you’ll want to start collating them into themes making

easier to find what you want when you need it.

If you’re really ambitious you may end up organising your swipe file

collection.

Some of the best copywriters have extensive swipe files.

Used properly, [a swipe file] can get you writing

quickly, provide inspiration, and improve your

copywriting skills.

- Amy Harrison


Dan Kennedy (who we met earlier) is reported to have 3 rooms filled

with filing cabinets full of ads, brochures and advertisements all

categorised by industry.

Meanwhile, the same principal also applies to digital material.

Each time you see a landing page, sales letter, article, Amazon review

or email that resonates; file it away.

Save the document or take a screen shot and save it on your

computer.

The next time you need to write an email or sales letter, you’ll have

some fodder to draw inspiration from.


[Heading] Formulas

This dapper gent is David Ogilvy.

Ogilvy is often referred to as the father of modern

advertising.

The King of Madison Avenue.

A canny Scot who began his career as a door-to-

door Aga (ovens) salesman. He later started what

became one of the largest advertising agencies in the

world which still bears his name.

He was also part of the inspiration behind the “Mad Men” television

series.

When it comes to headlines, he had this to say:

So the heading is important, but it’s often difficult to come up with a

catchy heading or enticing email subject line.

That’s where formulas come in.

Heading formulas take existing heading (or email subject lines) and

‘templatise’ them so they can be used again (and again).

You just have to fill in the blanks for your current situation.

On the average, five times as many people read the

headline as read the body copy.

- David Ogilvy


You don’t have to use formula only for headline and email subject

lines. Any time you’re stuck on a sentence, like a Call to Action, you

can insert a formula, fill-in-the-blanks and tweak to your needs.

We already looked at this technique with magazine headlines tip.

Here’s the formula we came up with:

10x Your [Result]: Get More [Benefit], Waste Less [Pain]

Here’s some more examples:

The dirty little secret that _____ don’t want you to know

The dirty little secret that Marriage Counsellors don’t want you to

know

A tiny _____ that will _____

A tiny phrase that will double your sales.

In less than _____ minutes, you can _____

In less than five minutes, you can write a headline that will double

your response.

Like a swipe file, you can either build a collection over time yourself

or you can buy them.

formula

example


Voila!

There you have it. 5 tips & 3 tools professionals use to write copy

faster whilst getting more predictable results (more sales!).

Here’s why Copy-Fast is the professional tool you need to save time

and make more sales:

Templates

Get off to a flying start with over 160 sales focused

templates for business & marketers

Swipe File

Over 6,000 sales & marketing words & phrases to

engage your customers at your fingertips.

Formulas

Create headlines, email subject lines and sale phrases

effortlessly with fill-in-the-blank formulas.

Brainstorming

Save hours and get 100s of fresh ideas in your

document in seconds. Yes, seconds!

Hemingway

Clear writing = more sales. Check your writing’s clarity

with 6 industry standard readability tests.

Emotional Heatmaps

Connect with your reader and check the emotional

impact you’re making with Heatmaps.

Save Time

Saving precious time to work on the other bazillion

things you have to focus on in your business.

Make More Sales

This is what it’s really all about isn’t it? Making more

sales by benefiting your customers.


But Wait There’s More !

This was just a ‘taster’.

A few techniques to write emails, sales letters and sales pages faster.

Your main aim of course is to save time writing and make more sales.

What if you had a suite of writing productivity tools to write emails,

sales letter, blog posts and landing pages with click-of-the-mouse

ease?

No more struggling to find the right word.

No more wondering what to write next.

Just point-and-click to construct your next email, sales letter, blog

post, Facebook Ad, Twitter Tweet . . .

Click here to learn more.

http://copy-fast.com/copy-fast-for-word/?lm_Expertology

© Copyright Copy-Fast 2018

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Speed Writing Secrets of Professional Copywriters