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2 © 2010 Harrisonamy Copywriting / Amy Harrison / www.harrisonamy.com
How to Use Your Phrasebook
Hi! It’s Amy from Harrisonamy Copywriting here and you have in your hands (or on your screen)
the Copywriting Phrasebook for Busy Entrepreneurs.
Writing web copy, business articles and blog posts or sales copy should be pretty fun. When
time is short though, and you can’t think of a catchy headline, or a dramatic way to describe
your customer’s problem and the solution you offer, you can feel an urge to bash your head
against the keyboard.
This is perfectly normal. However, on a scale of fun things to do, hitting your head against your
keyboard rates pretty low, somewhere around the fun-level of stubbing your toe on a rock
covered in barnacles.
Fortunately, it often doesn’t take a lot to get you out of that funk. You probably just need the
prompt of a word, phrase, or a headline suggestion to get you back on track.
This copywriting phrase book was designed to reduce head bashing and to save you time
So how does it work?
There are 8 different sections, covering some of the most common areas of copywriting. Each
section has a little introduction and then you’ll have a list of words and phrases that you can
use to liven up your web copy, sales pages and any other marketing materials where you’ve
decided to do the copywriting yourself.
There’s also a page called “My Personality Phrases” where you can log your own little phrases
and sayings that are unique to you (you’d be surprised at just how easily these can disappear
when you’re trying to focus on your copywriting).
Important bit that you need to read (I promise it’s short)
Whilst this phrasebook can save you a lot of time and frustration, it is not a 100% assured magic
combination of copywriting words. They are words and phrases I use and are used by other
copywriters, but to get the best results, you’ll want to pick the ones that fit with your
personality. So, print it off and dip in and out when you need to beat that blank page!
3 © 2010 Harrisonamy Copywriting / Amy Harrison / www.harrisonamy.com
Contents
Your “personality phrases”………………………………………
30 Ways to a killer headline………………………………………
104 Phrases to keep it conversational………………………
57 Ways to cut the fluff……………………………………………
72 Phrases for added POW!
87 Ways to paint your customer’s pain
78 Phrases to show them how they’ll feel
70 Ways to close the deal
4 © 2010 Harrisonamy Copywriting / Amy Harrison / www.harrisonamy.com
Your Personality Phrases
If your sales copy reads like you are talking to your customer over coffee and cake, just the two
of you, it’s going to make a bigger personal connection than if your sales copy reads like the
instruction manual for a flat pack cupboard.
Adding a dash of your personality to your copywriting can make a big difference, but it also
takes a little practice because when you have to slow down to actually type your sales copy,
you don’t always capture the unique phrases you might use if you were chatting freely with a
good friend.
Now, it really doesn’t matter what kind of personality you have. You might be calm and
soothing like a hot milky drink at bed time or you might be the virtual experience of a shot of
espresso to your readers. What’s important is that your personality shines through when your
customer is reading your copy.
In this section you can write down your little “you-isms” and when you’re reviewing your sales
copy, come back to this page and check that you’ve got them in there. You can also record any
words and phrases that you’ve seen or heard that you’d like to use in the future.
Words and phrases I use:
Words and phrases I’ve heard that I like:
5 © 2010 Harrisonamy Copywriting / Amy Harrison / www.harrisonamy.com
30 Ways to a killer headline
As one of the most important copywriting techniques, it’s no surprise that writing headlines can
be incredibly hard and can take up the most time (and I’m pretty sure you don’t usually
complain about having too much time on your hands).
So, on the next page you’ll see 30 headline templates that you can use simply by filing in the
blanks. Record the relevant answers for your business benefits, or your customer’s pain points,
so you have them on hand when creating your own killer headlines. For example:
[Product] Teeth Whitening Marketing Advice Accounting Service
[Pain Point] Stained teeth Marketing confusion Tax-form fear
[Niche] Cosmetic dentistry Work at home
businesses
Small restaurants
[Target market] Girls 16-25 Work at home moms Restaurant owners
[Results] White teeth Increased sales Accounts filed
[Benefit] Improved confidence Less financial worry Peace of mind
[Time] 2 hours 2 months 5 days
My Business Headline Words
[Product]
[Pain Point]
[Niche]
[Target Market]
[Results]
[Benefit]
[Time]
6 © 2010 Harrisonamy Copywriting / Amy Harrison / www.harrisonamy.com
Benefit driven headlines
Why [target market] are choosing [product] to enjoy [benefit]
Finally, you can have [benefit] and banish [pain]
Join the other [target market] who are enjoying [benefit]
Achieve [results / benefit] with this new / secret / exclusive technique
How simple [product] is helping [target market] achieve [benefit / results]
Why some [target market] are seeing [results] in just [time]
How to solve [pain] with this technique
Our [product] means you have less [pain] and more [results / benefit]. Simple.
How you can increase [results / benefit] by X%, Y% or even Z%
Don’t settle for [pain] find out how you can enjoy [results / benefit]
Question headlines
What would your life look like without [pain]?
What if you could [benefit / result] in just [time]?
Would you want to know how to [benefit] by getting rid of [pain]?
Are you missing out on [benefit / result] by not using [product]?
Are you getting the best [product]?
Don’t you deserve a life free from [pain]?
Are you curious to find out how [product] is turning around the [niche] industry?
Do you know the [niche] secret to increased [results / benefit]?
If you could increase [benefit] in just [time], would you want to know how?
Are you a [target market] looking for {product] to get rid of [pain]?
Editorial headlines
What most [target market] don’t know about [pain]
How [product] works to [benefit]
Introducing a [product] that promises to get rid of [pain] for [target market]
Avoid these mistakes most [target market] make when choosing [product]
Why most companies fail to solve their [pain]
The secret to [benefit] other [target market] are keeping close to their chest
Why [target market] are proving they can beat their [pain]
10 things you need to know about [niche]
Discover the link between [product] and [results]
New [product] techniques that [target market] are saying really work
7 © 2010 Harrisonamy Copywriting / Amy Harrison / www.harrisonamy.com
104 phrases to keep it conversational
On this page you’ll find some casual phrases you can sprinkle into your copy to turn it from
“stuffy boardroom” feeling to “friends at the water-cooler” feeling.
A great deal of…
A whole lot of
Ahh
Bear in mind
Buddy
Bust a gut
By the way
C’mon
Cheers
Chill out
Congrats
Cool
Dontcha know?
Easy peasy
Ever notice how
Folks
For sure
Freaking out
Friend
Gee
Get a feel for it
Glitch
Glitz
Gonna
Guy / gal
Ha ha
Hanging out
Heaps
Heck
Helluva
Hey
Hi
Hook up
How ya doing?
How’s it going?
Huh?
I don’t know about you,
but…
I get it
I guess
I hear you
I know that feeling!
I mean,
I quite fancy
I’d love to
I’ve been there
It sucks
It’s a cinch
It’s like
It’s okay
Jeez
Kicking ass
Kinda
Let’s say
Man
Meh
My dear
My lovely
Nail it
No sweat
No way
No worries
Now what?
Oh
OK
Oodles
Pretty… (easy / cool etc)
Really neat
Right?
Shhh
Shall we?
Sigh
So you see
Some people
Spilling the beans
Squished
Sure
Swell
Swish
Ta
Take a peek
That’s how I roll
The only thing is
The thing is
Think about it
To kick things off
Totally
Uh…
Wait for it
What did I tell you?
What gives?
What the heck
Whatever
Who doesn’t?
Whole shebang
Why not?
Worked my butt off
Y’know
Yammering
Yeah
Yep
Yo
You get the idea
You get the picture
You’ll get a kick out of
8 © 2010 Harrisonamy Copywriting / Amy Harrison / www.harrisonamy.com