One great thing about copywriting is it's a never-ending discovery. There's literally no end to your copywriting education. That sentiment has been echoed by all the great copywriters through the years. And quite often an experienced writer will re-discover things learned before.
Exposure, practicing, writing and learning are the only ways you'll make the science of copywriting second nature.
And when that happens...it becomes distilled within your personality and writing style to be expressed as copywriting art. For copywriting truly is a science and an art form.
Today you're getting 5 must-do tips that'll help transform your copy into power copy. Absorb them and use them. They work!
If you do your own web copy, then go back and check it against what you're about to learn. If you've been writing for a while, a refresher never hurt anyone. And maybe you'll think of something new about your self and your writing.
Power Tip #1: There are a number of valuable tests to do on your own copy during the review and edit process. Here's just one...as you read your copy ask your self, "So what?"
Have you ever read a sales letter, email, or any written advertising and thought those two words about what you read? I'm betting you have.
Well, guess what, so does everyone else. That's why it's so important to do this. If you cannot give a compelling and great answer to that question about your copy, then you know what to do. Edit it, revise it, or get rid of it.
Doing that one exercise for your entire piece will only make it stronger, more compelling, and more persuasive.
Power Tip #2: Maybe you don't know that all buying decisions are based on one or more emotions at the "root" level. It's true. Everyone ultimately buys for emotional reasons and then makes every attempt to justify it with logic. It's simple...
Everyone wants to be right. No one likes being wrong, or being perceived as being wrong.
If you want to accomplish this feat you must appeal to emotions. Fear, greed, anger, flattery, exclusiveness, salvation, lust, desire for love. Skillfully touching one or more of those emotions will make your copy compelling and persuasive.
But how do you know which one is best to use? The answer lies in your product and market. We'll get to how and why your market is so critical in a few minutes.
Power Tip #3: I've seen some disagreement with this next point. But I'll tell you why I feel leading with your strongest point is the way to go.
The most immediate obstacle to getting your copy read is to seize and capture the reader's attention. And then keep it. Leading with your strongest point gives you a better chance of grabbing your reader and holding on.
You hit 'em over the proverbial head. Make them sit-up and take notice. Then you use your copywriting skill to build on that. Establish momentum and keep it going. Then...?
Move into your second strongest point. Make it compelling and gently pull your reader along. Don't try to force it because force builds resistance. That's not what you want.
Power Tip #4: Knowing your audience...your target market...means understanding as much about them as humanly possible. You need to know them because you need to know what motivates them to "want" to buy. If you don't know what motivates them, how can you effectively talk to them? More importantly...
How can you get inside their head and 'carry the conversation'?
Because the most powerful copy effortlessly makes the reader feel the words being read are "their own." And when you do this in combination with Tip 2, then your copy takes on a life of its own.
Power Tip #5: How do you talk everyday? How do most people talk everyday? That's exactly how you want to write your copy...in normal, conversational, every day words. Of course there are exceptions and that boils down to your product and target market. Some markets are a bit more sophisticated and you need to adjust your copy. But for the most part...just talk regular.
This goes hand-in-hand with knowing your target market and carrying the conversation in your reader's head. This is so vitally important but I still see countless websites that violate this very basic copy rule. But now you know.
Copyright: Copyright c 2007-2008 Dan Lok
About the Author:| A former college dropout, Dan "The Man" Lok transformed himself from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to an internet multi-millionaire. Discover how you can maximize your website profits in minimum time. For a limited time, you can test- drive Dan's Insiders Club for 30-days Risk-Free and get $1,165 dollars worth of bonus gifts. Rush cover to: http://www.websiteconversionexpert.com/testdrive.html
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