Copywriting Tips for Beginners

Advertising is really salesmanship multiplied.

Simply put, copywriting is nothing more than salesmanship in print.

Quoted from advertising genius, Claude Hopkins in his timeless classic, "Scientific Advertising" :

"To properly understand advertising or to learn even its rudiments one must start with the right conception. Advertising is salesmanship. Its principles are the principles of salesmanship. Successes and failures in both lines are due to like causes. Thus every advertising question should be answered by the salesman's standards."

The only purpose of a copywriter's job is to sell. Period.

How?

By using the copywriter's most powerful tool - words! The selling is accomplished by persuasion with the written word, much like a television commercial sells (if done properly) by persuading with visuals and audio.

Quoting from the great master again :

"Let us emphasize that point. The only purpose of advertising is to make sales. It is profitable or unprofitable according to its actual sales."

Download this simple step by step guide to creating a powerful ad that literally compels people to hand over their money...

This is the most common rookie mistake that beginners make when they write their first copy. It isn't surprising to see a lot of advertisers make this same mistake too!

Many advertisers focus on writing about themselves, as a company. They write about how long they have been around, who's who are their customers, how much they have spent on research for their products... ya da ya da...

YAWN....

Who bloody cares?

When a prospect reads your ad, salesletter, brochure, there is only one thing that goes through their mind right from the start :

"What's in it for me?"

So, very simply if your copy doesn't tell him, it'll land in the trash faster than he can read the headline. Remember, once he's thrown it in the garbage, the sale, *gasp* is lost!

First, let us define what are features.

They are descriptions of what qualities a product possesses. Like the unique color that no other brands of eye shadow carry, the super strong alloy that the ladder is made of, special paint used for the car etc

Then, what about benefits?

For example, you write to tell your prospect about saving money on gas as well as cutting down on environmental pollutants when he use the energy saving high-performance hybrid car. Now the benefit to the prospect is that he is savin money when he uses this car.

So, the idea is to address and highlight the benefits of the product, and not just its features.

You have to turn your focus on your reader and his interests and his desires. The smart copywriters know that the trick is to highlight those specific benefits (and word them correctly) that push your reader's emotional hot buttons.

In simple terms, benefits are what those features mean to your prospects.

Become the master of words by discovering the real secrets to writing powerful ads...

So how do you push those buttons?

That's where your research comes in. You must first know what these emotional buttons are. The best way to start is to ask questions.

However, when you're writing, you don't have that luxury to be able to ask your prospect. Thus, it is of utmost importance to know the wants, needs, and desires of your prospects by doing research.

So if you haven't done your homework, your prospect may very well decide that he'd rather keep his money than buy your product.

It's been said many times: People don't like to be sold. But they do like to buy.

And they buy based on emotion first and foremost. Then they justify their decision with logic, even after they are already sold emotionaly. So be sure to back up your emotional pitch with logic to nurture that justification at the end.

When people reads your ad, you definitely want to make sure that he or she believes all the claims that you made in the ad about your product or service. This is very important. Once there is any doubt in his mind, he won't bite no matter how great a deal he is getting.

This nagging doubt will eventually translate to the prospect's the "too good to be true" mentality. And this, regardless of whatever facts you have presented, will virtually guarantee a lost sale.

So how do you increase the perception of believability?

Although it's the perception you need to improve upon, you also must make sure your copy is accurate and truthful. One of the best ways is to present testimonials of satisfied customers ( with names and locations whenever possible ).

Discover other techniques to help you build even more trust and credibility in your salescopy now by clicking here...

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