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How to Write Killer Copy that Sells - Part 1
by Andre Bell
Published on this site: April 29th, 2006 - See
more articles from this month
The number of books and ebooks written that promise to make
your sales soar number into the thousands.
Do you really need to lock yourself in a room and do nothing
but read for the next 20 years to produce good copy?
No.
But you must identify the five most critical copywriting elements
and know how to use them as a foundation for writing good
copy.
That is the beginning to writing copy that sells.
In this first articles we will speak about just one of those
elements: your unique "hook".
No I don't mean Captain Hook or a hook you hang your bike
on in your garage or a hook you use to catch fish.
I'm talking about a hook that grabs people's attention and
make them curious, angry, afraid, or greedy so they keep reading
your copy.
Here's one example:
"Help! Due to trusting the wrong people I now owe
the IRS big money. Instead of giving all my money to the IRS
I'd rather you benefit from my errors. Here's what I have
in mind..."
Let me ask you something, would you read the very next sentence
after that? Most likely yes. And the funny thing is, you don't
even know what the product or service is that's being mentioned.
The reason you're sucked into this hook is because it leaves
you wondering first of all what problem did this fool get
himself into that the IRS is after him and second, how can
you walk away like a bandit at this fool's expense.
Curiosity is a powerful hook.
Here's another:
"For men who want the energy to be a super man in
bed (and their lovers who long for the `man of steel')..."
That's a hook I wrote for a health product for men.
Tasteless? Maybe a little.
Effective? Definitely.
If you're a guy not already using a erectile dysfunction product
(or a woman who wished her man was) I'm certain you're at
least curious about that product.
Why?
Because this hook plays against a man's fears that his lover
may secretly be thinking he's not good enough in the sack.
Here's a longer hook I wrote:
"Any monkey ad writer right out of high school can
be taught how to format a sales letter template in Microsoft
Word. But only you know what really keeps your prospects up
at night - whether you realize it or not.
Here's how to use your unique knowledge and experience to
create sales copy that leaves your competitors dangling from
trees."
How is this a hook?
You can use a hook as a theme to your message.
That 'monkey' hook is used throughout my copywriting sales
page.
To make it work I speak of monkey and things associated with
monkeys throughout that page.
I even refer to a certain group of people as monkeys :-)
Why? Because those people are not trained to write good copy.
They are only trained in two things.
- Closing techniques so they can shake money out of you
- How to use Quark Express to edit pre-designed generic
templates, so they can claim they 'wrote an ad for you'
and then keep your money.
I've interviewed many ad agents and the results are the same.
They do know how to create 'pretty' ads using Quark. But they
do not know how to write copy that sells. And they do not
know how to write hooks.
Of course there may be exceptions to this rule. I haven't
found one though.
When you use a hook be very careful. Your reader can have
one of two reactions.
One reaction is cynicism.
The reader sees through your hook and says to themselves,
'this bloke is just trying to sell me something.' And then
they stop reading your message.
If you're not carefully in how you use your hook, savvy readers
will recognize the hook for what is it and instantly turn
off to you
Instead of drawing closer to you, they pull away.
Once that happens it will be difficult if not impossible to
win their attention again.
How do you prevent that from happening?
You must be real.
-Authentic.
-Honest.
-Sincere.
If you are not honest in your message most people can detect
that. Even if they can't quite put their finger on it they
will distrust you and not buy.
Here's the second response that can occur. They say to themselves,
'wow, how can I get one of these new fangled doohickeys?'
That is the response you definitely do want!
The only way to get that response is to make sure you are
congruent throughout your message and that you are being authentic
in your communications.
For example, don't start off with an IRS hook and then never
again mention your tax problems or the IRS.
Sprinkle your sales message with references to your hook and
things related to the hook so people get the idea the topic
runs throughout your message.
This prevents cynicism.
That's exactly what I did with my 'monkey' hook.
You should do the same.
By using a hook with skill you'll gain a huge advantage over
your competitors who don't know how to create congruent sales
messages. You will also Boost Your Sales Conversions and Make
Your Sales Letters and web copy More Profitable.
This ends Part 1 of How to Write Killer Copy. Watch for additional
articles from this same source
The remaining articles explain how to write killer copy that
sells using a formula I refer to as "B.I.C.T." and
explains how to create irresistible offers. Creating irresistible
and using my formula makes up the complete foundation for
good copy.
Andre Bell is an author, copywriter, and marketing advisor.
This copywriting article is an excerpt from Andre's free online
marketing course, 101 Marketing Secrets Revealed. The course
is available through his site at http://www.AndreBell.com
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