Month: May 2016

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures (Copywriting Tip #3)

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copywriting tips

Quick Copywriting Tip #3: Force your reader to “pick a side.” Don’t allow him to sit comfortably on the fence.

They say “desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“They” are wrong. Desperate measures are always called for. More accurately, they’re almost always necessary.

Why? Because most of your should-be customers, the ones who desperately need your product or service, are sitting on the fence. I guarantee it.

A small percentage of prospects will buy with minimal effort on your part. Most of them take more work. It’s your job to lead them into making the smartest decision.

You can’t lead them anywhere while they’re sitting up there, can you? You’re going to have to push/pull them down.

Here’s an example you’re probably familiar with: Proactiv Solution. If you’ve seen the TV commercials, magazine inserts, online banner ads and who knows what else, you know they use every tool in the shed to make you choose:

  • up-close before and after photos that remind you of the pain you feel and offer relief
  • celebrity spokespeople to grab your attention and win your trust
  • clinical research for credibility
  • showing up in your face every day, in as many places as possible
  • storytelling which push emotional hot buttons like embarrassment, guilt, and even the shakiness of your romantic life (see below)

Proactiv emotional copywriting tip

Your message should repeatedly attempt to force your audience to pick a side.

“Struggle with the problem, or choose the solution.”


Does Proactiv play dirty? Maybe. But they believe their cause is a righteous one. They believe they’re improving people’s lives — and providing jobs in the process.

The cost is too high to be soft-spoken.

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Check out all 13 Quick Copywriting Tips

Bumper Sticker Revelations (Copywriting Tip #2)

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Quick Copywriting Tip #2: Speak to just one person. Copy should be a one-on-one conversation.

Bumper stickers aren’t just clever jokes designed to entertain or infuriate other drivers. They are tiny (and sometimes not so tiny) glimpses into the car owner’s inner world.

A few square inches can reveal profound insights into who that person thinks about himself and his place in the world. You can learn something about the priorities, values and worldview of the person who stuck the sticker.

Here’s a fun, mind-expanding exercise you should try: pay attention to the bumper stickers you see. Try to deduce what the messages tell you about the drivers.

A simple example that comes immediately to mind is the “26.2” sticker.

26.2 Bumper Sticker copywriting

In four characters (the coded language of an insider), that person identifies himself as a proud marathoner.

Now, here’s a clever spin-off on that theme: the “0.0” sticker. Makes me laugh every time.

bumper sticker marketing

These two parties see themselves differently and move through the world differently – in at least a couple areas. They probably respond differently to messages about exercise, diet, etc.

As a marketer, you have to figure out which bumper sticker your ideal customer has on his car.

There’s a big difference between distance runners and couch potatoes. Decide which one you’re going to serve and speak to him…in his language.

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Check out all 13 Quick Copywriting Tips.

Focus on One Thing (Copywriting Tip #1)

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copywriting tip 1 thing

Quick Copywriting Tip #1: Talk about one thing. The tighter the focus, the better.

It’s almost never a good idea for your website, email or sales page to look like a Kmart newspaper insert. Even if you sell 20 different items, studies have shown that a sales brochure showcasing a retailer’s single most popular item can outproduce a catalog containing everything the retailer sells.

As you may know, I write almost exclusively for the financial sector these days. Time after time, split-run test I’ve worked on show that highlighting one stock, event or investing idea converts better than anything else we’re doing.

This truth translates to every industry I can think of.

Online, you have the ability to create an endless number of pages. You can send as many emails as you want over time. Don’t give in to the feeling you need to cram everything you could possibly say into a single message.

It’s much simpler for a reader/viewer to understand and remember one thing.

It’s much easier for you to create deep emotion and engrossing vision around one thing.

You can drill deeper, uncover more juicy details and valuable benefits if you concentrate on one thing.

Don’t waste that opportunity by flitting superficially from topic to topic.

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Check out all 13 Quick Copywriting Tips.