Archive | January, 2020

These are without a doubt the biggest mistakes new marketers tend to make when it comes to copywriting…

Lie #1: Good copywriting uses lots of exclamation points and over-the-top jargon a 5 year old wouldn’t believe.
“This Brand New Revolutionary Never Before Seen Blah Blah Will Explode Your (Bank Account! Abs!! Sex Life!!! Etc.)” Seriously, who really wants their abs to explode???
“This Revolutionary Once In A Lifetime Opportunity Is Only Available To You Because You’re So Damn Handsome, But It Will Disappear In 10 Minutes And Then You’ll Be Ugly Forever!!!” Okayyyy…….
“This Incredibly Awesome Majestic Indescribable Super Secret Opportunity That Only The Super Duper Uber Wealthy Rich Know About Can Be Yours Because This One Rich Nerd Guy Decided To Spill The Beans Because He’s Really Angry At All The Other Rich Jerk Guys!!!” Yeah, who doesn’t believe that?
If you think you need exclamation points, it means you really need a thesaurus. Writer Henneke Duistermaat gives some great examples of this. Instead of “It’s big!” Try “It’s enormous.” Instead of writing, “That was brave!” Use, “That was heroic.” Finding the right words instead of lazily using exclamation points makes your writing more persuasive and tantalizing.
And forget wild promises and over the top worn out phrases. Instead, try being honest and genuine, like you’re talking to a friend over tea. Your sales copy will get noticed and read because it sounds like it’s coming from a real person and not the worst possible version of a used car salesman.
Lie #2 – You can simply ‘swipe’ your way to copywriting success.
Just rip off other writers, substitute your product for theirs, change a little bit here and there and call it good, right? Yes, it will save you time and yes, you might make some sales.
But to be truly successful and to BE a success (two different things, btw) you need fresh thinking and honest copy.
Because unless you are selling the exact same product to the exact same customers, ripping off someone else’s copy won’t provide the sensational conversions you’re looking for.
Telling your own story in your own way will.
Think about every blog that you read on a regular basis. Could someone else write those blogs and have them be the same? No. If someone tried to rip them off, would they be as successful as the original authors? No.
Once you master copywriting you’ll have a tremendous amount of power to write your own paychecks because you will be the source of new ideas and perspectives that resonate with your customers and create buying frenzies.
Lie #3 – Copywriting is super simple, once you know the ‘secrets.’
That’s right – just spend $997 for my latest course and in no time at all you’ll know all the secrets of the pros and you’ll be a copywriting savant.
Actually, no. No there are no secrets and you won’t become a copywriting wiz overnight.
The fact is, there are a multitude of books and courses that will teach you about copywriting. But there are no real secrets except this – there is no substitution for practice. And more practice. And more practice after that.
Hopefully this won’t sound too sentimental, but great copywriting is about one thing: Caring.
Caring for your customer, caring that he gets the best possible solution to his problem, caring enough to see to it that you make every effort to get that solution in his hands.
It’s about empathy and stepping into your customers’ shoes. Seeing life from his or her perspective. Living with the problem they have, knowing what it’s like to desperately want the solution.
You can’t outsmart your prospects. What you can do is be one of them so you can talk to them and counsel them as they would want to be talked to and counseled.
When you learn how to do that, you’ll be a great copywriter indeed.

The more you discover about why people buy your products, the easier it is to influence them to buy more – or to persuade prospects to become new customers.

Plus, the more of these reasons you can fulfill with your copy (without going overboard) the better your odds of making the sale.

Here then are a dozen of the most powerful reasons why someone might buy your information product.

To make money. This one is easy; sometimes you’ve got to spend money to make money, like buying a course on how to invest in the stock market, or how to start a business. In fact one of the easiest ways to make a sale is to show that your prospect’s small investment can be turned into a much bigger return.

To save money. Buying a water filtration system can save a person hundreds of dollars over buying bottled water. If your solution saves money, show them how much. If you teach how to make money, show them not only that they can make money with your product – they can also save money by not making stupid mistakes. If you sell dating products, show them how finding the right person quickly will save a fortune in dinners, movies and bad dates.

To save time. Instant coffee, fast food and done for you solutions all fall into this category. So does anything that shortens the learning curve. If you sell courses, this one can be big. Do they want to build a business in six years? Or buy your course and build it in 6 months?

To feel important. No one needs a Rolex or a Ferrari, but they feel better about themselves when they own one. Status is hugely important to some people – why else would they spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on a purse or a pair of shoes when something from the discount store would work just as well?

To make it easier. Let’s say you sell a big course on how to get a certain result through a series of steps. Yes, they could do everything you teach in the course – or you could offer to do the work for them for a price. They won’t have the hassle of doing it themselves, and they can be certain it will be done right.

To feel good. This one is broad and encompasses a lot of things. We feel good when we pamper ourselves. We feel good when we do something for someone else. We feel good when we’re furthering our education or providing for our future. Really, no one buys something to feel bad. The question to ask yourself is how does your product make your customer feel good?

To move us closer to our goals. Whether those goals are basic like food and shelter, or more grand like taking over the world, we will buy almost anything that will help us get whatever it is that we want most.

To move us away from pain. Whatever that pain might be – physical, mental, emotional – people will buy if they think it will help to ease or erase the pain.

To be superior. Granted, few people openly admit they want to feel superior, yet almost everyone does. This is why people buy products they think are ‘cool’ or will make them look good, like tattoos or fast cars. They’ll buy things simply because they’re new or upgraded, or because they’re better versions than what their friends have.

To keep up. People will buy something because everyone else has it and they don’t want to be left behind. Look at smart phones. The more people had smart phones, the more pressure there was on everyone else to get one, too. If your product can reach a tipping point of popularity, people will buy it simply because others have bought it.

To be a good fan. Football fans buy giant foam fingers to show they’re fans. Collectors of Coke products will buy anything that has a Coke name on it. People who love Apple will stand in line to buy the latest gadget. Followers of a particular blogger will buy that blogger’s new book without hesitating. If you can build trust with your community, you can get them to buy products simply because you recommend those products, whether they’re your products or someone else’s.

It’s on sale. Or scarce. Or both. Customers will sometimes buy things simply because they’re a good deal. If you don’t believe it, check out any black Friday sale – people line up to buy stuff they didn’t even know they wanted until they saw it was going to sell at a cheap price. People are also much more likely to buy if they think they’re going to lose the chance to buy because of scarcity, or the chance to buy at this low price because the price is about to go back up.

Bonus Reason: Because you orchestrated a marketing campaign that took away all of the risk and provided so many benefits, they couldn’t help but buy your product. And when they bought it, they did a little jig in front of their computer or holding their phone, because they were so happy they got it!

A product launches and sells hundreds or even thousands of copies. As an affiliate, you can make about 50% commission. But wouldn’t you like to keep ALL of the commission on the sales you make?

There is a way to do it. And while it’s not well known, the fact is it’s done far more often than you would think. Here’s how it works:

Savvy marketers approach product sellers and offer to buy the rights to their product. This might be a product that didn’t sell well through no fault of its own; for example, a great product with poor marketing. Or the product might have been a robust seller, but it’s no longer a hot commodity (which only takes about 3-4 weeks in many markets.)

If a deal is struck, the purchaser of the rights sells the product just as he would if he were an affiliate. However, he’s actually (and secretly) making ALL of the money. The product owner sold the rights and now receives nothing on each sale. That can be a good deal for a product owner, since they get a lump sum up front. But if you’re good at marketing, it can be a bonanza for you. It’s like having your own product, except with a guru’s name attached and ALL of the work done for you.

If the cost is a worry for you, then start small. Choose a product that’s been on the market for a while so you can get it for less money. Don’t purchase exclusive rights, just rights for yourself. Doing this, it’s possible to buy rights for a very reasonable rate.

Don’t add your name to the sales page – keep it just as it was so the product creator appears to be the seller. Simply replace the payment button and support desk link with your own.

If it’s in the budget, hire someone to optimize the site for keywords based on the product creator’s name. This can potentially get you sales when someone searches for the guru or the product.

Use a domain name that sounds a LOT like the original product name. And then get busy marketing, because all of the profit you make is yours.