Have you ever sat down to write, then just stared at your computer screen struggling to type the first word? Or have you ever begun to write, then been sidetracked by a thousand distractions?
It’s happened to me.
It’s amazing, when you think about it. Here we are in the 21st Century with the most powerful, compact computers ever conceived of. Not only that, we’re connected to the largest database of information ever compiled in all of history!
And yet, for all this “pomp and circumstance” — you know… snazzy computers and wifi connections galore — we still have trouble writing.
Fortunately, I come bearing good news.
You see, I’ve discovered an ancient technology that can literally shatter writer’s block. This technology will almost instantly overcome your inertia and put you on the fast track to finishing any ad or sales letter faster than you would have imagined.
What is it? Quite simply…
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Good sales copy is a well-manicured lawn.
There are probably dozens of metaphors that I could have used to describe good sales copy, but this is the one that’s stuck with me.
While it may seem like a strange metaphor, it will make perfect sense in just a few minutes. And it will help you write better copy, too.
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Ever wondered exactly how to swipe a sales letter? If so, you’ll want to pay close attention. Because in just a moment I’m going to demonstrate HOW to swipe a sales letter.
But first, you should know: While I don’t generally swipe whole ads, you can actually write fairly strong copy by swiping.
When I say swiping, I don’t mean plagiarizing. Plagiarizing is stealing copy word-for-word; swiping is taking similar ideas, concepts, or copy structure from one ad and using them in another.
Some people take the idea of swiping too far. For instance, you would never want to take somebody’s copy and then just replace a few words here and there. This is basically plagiarizing.
Of course, it’s easy to create a list of “dos” and “don’ts” without ever fully communicating the right way to swipe a sales letter. With that in mind, I figured I’d actually show you three sales letters for three different products.
- The first one is the famous Wall Street Journal letter.
- The second one is a swipe of the Wall Street Journal letter.
- And the third one is my swipe of the Wall Street Journal letter.
Each of these letters uses the same structure and some of the same selling arguments to make their case. Take a look…
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Learning how to write bullets may be one of the most important copywriting skills you ever learn. This is because bullets often do all the “heavy lifting” in a sales letter. They’re the words that penetrate your buyer’s natural buying defenses. They’re the words that sell.
I’ve heard many direct marketing experts explain the importance of bullets this way: “You want to write as many hard-hitting bullets as you can because sometimes just one bullet will persuade somebody to buy.”
I know this is true… because I’ve experienced it myself. I remember reading a sales letter for a Nightingale-Conant product. The letter was probably 80% bullets. As I read through those bullets, one or two of them really hit me. The bullets addressed something I really wanted to learn.
Then, as I kept reading, I began to think, “How could I not buy this product??” This is the best possible response you could ever hope for: When your prospect can’t imagine life without your product. He has to have it.
With that in mind, here are my methods for bullet writing. What I share here is not necessarily “the right way.” It’s one way. It’s the way I do it. So here it goes…
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Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins is one of my favorite copywriting books of all time. I’ve read it straight through three times, and I’ve quoted it many times besides.
I’m not sure what it is about the book that appeals to me so much. Maybe it’s the simplicity of the lessons. Or maybe it’s the slightly old-fashioned language. Or maybe it’s just the timelessness of the principles Hopkins outlines. Whatever it is, I love this book!
Here’s what I did: I actually recorded the entire book, chapter by chapter, using the mic that plugs into my computer. I then uploaded each chapter to Audio Acrobat. You can download all 21 MP3 files… or you can stream them over your computer.
Since each of the 21 chapters is 10 minutes or less, you can literally listen to the whole book in 21 days by listening for less than 10 minutes a day. Enjoy!
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