How to Learn Copywriting

First, let's cover the origin of the word copy.

Copy comes from the Latin word copia, which means plenty.

Okay, so we have the word plenty. We can interpret that several ways:

1. There's plenty of people who can see your sales letter.

2. There's plenty of ways to create your sales letter.

3. There's plenty of words that can go into telling the whole, relevant story.

4. There's plenty of audiences for your product.

5. There's plenty of techniques you can use throughout your copy.

6. There's plenty of money you can make selling your product(s).

7. There's plenty of products you can make and write sales letters for.

8. There's plenty of combinations of the above.

9. There's plenty of ideas that you could come up with that I haven't.

(Incidentally, the word copious, which means plentiful or abundant, is also derived from that word copia.)

But there's nothing above that you can directly use, not yet anyway. Oh, sure, you can get plenty of ideas about things, but nothing directly applicable to your benefit.

Copy has several definitions:

1. a thing made just like another

2. any number of books, letters, magazines, etc. having the same content

3. matter to be set in type

4. the words of an advertisement (or promotion)

However, there's apparently one definition that isn't in my trusty dictionaries. You can call it an offshoot of definition #1 above that I just made up:

5. A similar replica of something else.

That definition is basically the combination of the four preceding definitions:

Of course, you could say "exact replica" in my definition, but exact is not possible. Neither is perfection. Practice makes better and better - not perfect. I don't care what anyone else says about it. Absolutes are not attainable. Exact is an absolute. Perfect is an absolute.

Anyway, so how can we combine the two decent stories about how copy was termed, the definitions (including mine), and the derivation of the word copy?

Hmm... Your product has certain features. The features will benefit your customer in certain ways. (For writing your copy, you turn your features into benefits, and the benefits into powerful word pictures, by the way.)

So let's just take that and form and exercise for you to do...

EXERCISE: List ALL of the features of your product. When you have done that, turn every feature into a benefit for your audience.

(If you've already done that, Great! If not, don't skip this exercise. It's terrific!)

(Make sure that you do that exercise before you continue.)

NOW, let's turn copywriting story #2 (about copying the product in your reader's mind) and combine it with my custom definition...

Your product is physical when printed off. Your product has information. That information can benefit your reader. So, let's "copy" that information into your copy while keeping your reader wanting more...

The idea here is to create a picture of the product, a picture of your reader achieving those benefits, in the mind of your reader.

What you are doing is duplicating your product in the mind of your reader. In your copy, you are creating a similar replica of your product, a similar replica of the results, of the benefits in the mind of your audience.

That similar replica only lacks the actual answers, the actual solutions. It leaves a mystery on those answers and solutions.

It creates the curiosity by leaving out the answers and solutions - and people want to find out.

You're leaving an incomplete cycle in the mind of your readers.

The only way for the reader to complete the cycle is to purchase your product!

Never give away answers or solutions that are in your product in your copy.

You've given them a complete picture of HOW they will have their lives enhanced by your product.

You need to have plenty of benefits turned to word pictures. Plenty of words (enough to tell the whole, relevant story to create a mental picture - no more, no less - in your copy.

(So, do you still think that your sales letter has to be short?)

· Plenty of people reading your copy.
· Plenty of word pictures.
· Plenty of Sub-headlines (section headlines).
· Plenty of curiosity provoking images and statements.
· Plenty of descriptions.

There's an old saying in copywriting: "The more you tell, the more you sell." (But don't bore your readers.)

There are more of those sayings.

"The more word pictures you create, the more sales you originate."

"More curiosity creates sales 'superfluosity.'" (Superfluous means excessive & unneeded)

"The more people who read, the more sales you heed."

"The more audiences you bring, the louder you sing - to the bank!"

Okay, I'm going overboard here%u2026I think you get the idea. Let's do an exercise.

EXERCISE: Duplicate your product in the mind of the reader, minus actual answers, plus word pictures, plus mystery, in your sales letter.

(This almost gives a sort of formula for writing your sales letter.

Effectiveness and, therefore, Sales = How well you duplicate your product in the mind of the reader + Word pictures + Mystery (which invokes curiosity) - Answers.

There's one more aspect, which is that the power and effectiveness will be increased exponentially by YOU. Yep, by putting YOU into your sales letter and your own personal enthusiasm. That formula might look something like:

$ = (Duplication + Pictures + Mystery - Answers)^YOU

Of course, there are other factors, but that is pretty simple, huh?

The info between the separator lines should be read a number of times so you fully absorb what's there. It's extremely powerful once it's honestly understood.

2. Does every headline and sub-headline, bullet and sentence create a mental picture of some product benefit - or serve to help build up your credibility?

EXERCISE: Go through your sales letter and make sure that every sentence, bullet, sub-head and your headline helps to paint a word picture in your reader's mind. If each sentence - each word - doesn't, do the remaining words and sentences help to build credibility OR contribute to the picture? Make sure that each word, sentence, bullet, benefit, sub-head contributes to the message.

(That exercise is mandatory if you really want an awesome, profit-producing sales letter. The best way to do the exercise is to print off a hard copy and use that to edit. Go through every sentence one at a time. The work is really worth it in terms of additional sales you'll make!)

[NOTE: One easy way to create a picture - and the BEST - is to create a comparison using "like" or "as" (simile). Or you can use a metaphor, which is just a fancy word that means you create a comparison without using "like" or "as."

[To further empower your letter, keep the same basic theme of comparisons throughout your letter. For example, if your basic theme is "hunting," then keep all of your comparisons related to hunting. Some folks call that "positioning," and they're right to a point.

[In order for the same theme idea to really be "positioning," your graphics should all be related to "hunting," for example, and many of the words through your copy should be related to "hunting," for example.]

Look, if someone asks you, "What does feel like?" You're not going to answer with all of the specifics about the texture, the fineness of the grains, the softness of the fabric.

If you answer, "It feels like silk." The person who asked you will be happy.

If someone asks you, "How was that movie?" You probably wouldn't answer with all of fine points the director used to create the character, the tone, the plot twists. If you answered with, "It was exciting and scary. Like Stephen King and Robert Heinlein combined." (If the person is familiar with both authors.)

Here's the guideline to follow:

1. Establish a point of agreement. (What does the person already know about?)

2. Compare to that point of agreement. (Compare to what the person is already familiar with.)

"How can you help me?" Can be answered with, "Well, you know how difficult it is to sell anything online, especially when you're just starting out? What I do is take you by the hand and walk you step-by-step, one by one, and make every step as simple as possible while still being complete."

Or, "You know that there are over 2 million new web pages being put up every single day in the US alone. How can you get your audience to your pages? Well, what I do is give you 15 steps to take so you can have more visitors every day than most business pages get in a year."

The funny thing about the above two examples is that they ALSO can help you to create your USP (Unique Selling Proposition in this case, or Ultimate Strategic Position - a Chet Holmes term), which leads us to...

In your sales letter, how do you separate yourself from the pack?

You need a powerful USP. How do you make one?

To start off, you should make at least 40 USPs and pick your favorite, most compelling, most powerful 20. Then survey your friends and family for their favorites from those 20. One will stand out in the survey. Test the top three or four later on...

(Like anyone will EVER make time to THAT today! Oh, you don't suppose that your competition won't either, do you? Might you benefit by doing that?)

Every single USP that you create should be YOU. Because YOU are the most unique and compelling thing about your product.

Your sales letter should ooze in "you-ness." I don't mean that you should talk only of yourself and your accomplishments (which are probably pretty darn good!), but that you should write like you talk.

At first, writing like you talk can be a real bee-itch. Jeez, look at all the "schooling" you've had that taught you "format," "style," "grammar."

(Grammar, by the way, is really just agreed upon guidelines to help you communicate more effectively. This is not saying that you should violate every guideline and spell words wrongly. Spell it all right as deemed right by your audience. Use decent sentence structure that your audience uses. And write like you talk.)

Use an ellipsis - three dots (...) - for a pause. Use ALL CAPITAL LETTERS for some words for emphasis. Italics for a different kind of emphasis - or even hyphens to pause then go into a big point.

Use words that aren't politically correct - IF your audience can handle it.

If there's any "tech-talk" at all in your sales letter, then you need to define those words or concepts.

Each different field has words that are specific to that field. Don't just assume that your reader knows all those field specific words. Sure, your more advanced readers will. But not all of your readers will know the "tech-talk." When you explain or define, the more advanced readers know that you know what you're talking about - and the others will be thankful because you're teaching them something they didn't already know, and they also think you're knowledgeable. (You are, right?)

Write like you talk. When you think you're done with your sales letter, print it off and read it aloud to someone. If any sentence, word or idea doesn't communicate easily, re-write it. If re-writing takes up more space, that's fine. The added length is more than worth risking a confused reader.

Your USP is YOU if you're only you and online. There's something about YOU that is so EXACTLY what many in your audience want that it will rise you mountains over your competition. Your reach into your market will be so far expanded that you will even pull in people who were in someone else's market!

[NOTE: This method of creating a powerful USP is not quite as effective for large corporations because large corporations (over 400 employees) have already developed their own "personality" - or lack of it - in their market.

[BUT there is hope for large corporations. Find or develop - through developing systems - the personality or identity that will set you apart.

[In this age of high-tech, "high-touch" is the biggest separator there is in USPs. High-touch is found in personality. Got it? Customer service is personality. Speed of service is personality. The business itself is or has a personality of its own.

[Spread that personality everywhere. In all of your correspondence, your web site, sales letters, commercials, ads, banners, brochures, info packs, videos, audio tapes...

[Integrate an aspect of that desired personality into every product, every employee, every VP, President, CEO, CFO...Everywhere.

[Don't just tell people about your "new" personality. SHOW THEM in everything you do, say and have. It helps if you also tell them in a consistent message to your same markets.

[Some people term this "personality" concept as your "corporate image" or "identity." They're wrong. It goes far beyond mere "identity." Far beyond "image." If goes right down to the core beingness of your corporation.

(Look, I'm not trying to get existential here. Sartre wasn't exactly a simple thinker. And I'm not trying to get as complex and deep as "Being and Nothingness." Yes, I have a fairly extensive background in philosophy, but even large corporations can change, just like individual people. It takes some work, but it can be done.

***By the way, philosophy comes from the Greek words philos, which means "love of," and sophia, which means "wisdom." So philosophy really means a love of wisdom.***)]

So, to totally enhance or create your USP, assume your natural beingness. BE WHO YOU ARE.

Pretty basic - almost a "duh" - but somehow almost everyone has overlooked this simplicity. Almost everyone tries to be something they're not. Just be yourself in everything you write, say and do...and you will do just fine.

As long as you understand this and apply it, you'll do better.

Your most powerful USP is YOU. There's some aspect of YOU that is the very embodiment of everything great, everything wonderful, everything right that your audience wants in your product. Find it. YOU are your most powerful USP.

Some people teach raw Rosser Reeve, the originator of the USP. Jay Abraham made it famous through his brilliant applications and teachings.

Everyone who teaches or preaches "USP" does so a little bit differently, but the concepts have remained practically the same since the 1950s.

Exclusivity. Quality. Price (Bargain appeal). Service. Education. Experience. Ability. Selection. Or any combination of them.

Here's why YOU are your own Best USP:

You are exclusive. There's only one you. Only you have your particular education and experience.

You are a real bargain. You've paid how much to learn what you know? You've messed up how many times and figured out solutions? You've got how many years of experience? And you're selling all that for the little tiny bit (comparatively)? Hm.

That's a real bargain!

You have a lot of hard-learned ability, experience, education, more than just from a book, too.

You have selected out the best ideas you've had in X years, out of all that experience and education, and put it in one great product.

There's only one YOU. When you put those above ideas in your sales letter and your product, you have a strong potential winner. All you have left to do is set up your system and properly promote the hell out of your product to get your audience to your sales letter.

You can educate people to appreciate what you've done for them, what you will be doing for them, and what you are doing for them. All to their benefit.

And always remember:

YOU are your Most Powerful USP.

EXERCISE: Go through your sales letter and inject YOU into it if it's not already oozing "you-ness."

NOTE: Though you may not be a natural "seller" just follow the other principles and people might think you are. Also, don't violate the other "rules" (LOL, "guidelines" is more appropriate, but people like rules. Why?) on writing your sales letter while injecting you into it. You still have to make every word contribute to the communication, and "communicate to duplicate" your product and the benefits turned to pictures in the mind of your targeted audience. From the headline to sub-head to the opening, through the body and benefits to the guarantee and offer and PS, straight to the order form.

There is more, of course. I'll hopefully get to link to it from here. This page on how to learn copywriting is really long.