“I’m new to copywriting. I’ve seen a lot of people talking about how direct response copywriting was different from every other form of writing.
If you had to make a list of the “fundamentals” of direct response copywriting, what would they be?”
I don’t have a “list” per se… But here’s a couple of random thoughts that could prove invaluable to you as you try and turn words into dollars for yourself and for future clients:
1) People don’t buy things; people buy imagined future experiences of using those things.
2) Attention, Interest, Desire, Action – in that order.
3) Headlines have only ONE purpose, make the reader continue reading.
4) In your calls to action, state SPECIFICALLY what you want people to do and EXACTLY what they can expect when they do as you’ve directed.
5) Always be “one thought ahead” of your reader, then blow their mind by answering their questions right as they form them.
Continuities are the flavor of the month in Internet Marketing circles at the moment.
Consequently, we’ve all seen a wave of emotionally charged discussions about the concept, as if continuities were a new discovery.
Nothing could be further from the truth…
Mostly, the uproar surrounds “hidden” or “forced” continuities – as in “I didn’t know I was going to be charged…” or “The ____ was supposed to be free, but if I have to sign up for $39 a month to get it, then that’s NOT FREE…”.
Affiliates focusing too much on the freebies and marketers under-representing the “catch” seems to be the recurring theme where most of the major griping is concerned.
Fortunately or unfortunately (depending upon which side of the fence you market to) The Great Continuity Debate appears to be largely restricted to “marketers marketing to marketers”.
Whatever your business niche might be, you should not let cynicism or clumsy sales practices discourage you from considering how continuities can exponentially increase your profits.
Read the rest of this entry
This is a quick post about what to do when your customers or prospects blame the current economic downturn for poor sales.
Typically, this comes in the form of an objection to your offer.
What’s a marketer to do in the face of this looming economic uncertainty?
Simple…
Read the rest of this entry