Can anyone learn the skill of copywriting? Yes, they sure can – but it takes study, practice, testing, and persistence in order to become a good copywriter.

What is copywriting?

Copywriting is the art of using the written word (and images) to promote, market, and sell goods or services.

Effective copywriting is about getting attention and holding it long enough to persuade, influence, and motivate someone to take a specific action – which could be making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter, etc.

It is a valuable skill and one that can pay handsome dividends if mastered to a suitably high level.

Where is sales copy used?

Sales copy is used in adverts, direct-response sales letters, emails, banner ads, and video ads – literally anywhere where products or services are sold. Sales copy, also known as ad copy, is the text that you read whenever you read an advert.

You can think of the copy as the script of the advert. Whenever you read an advert in a newspaper, or read a long-form sales letter promoting a product from a big brand – what you’re reading is sales copy that has been written by a professional copywriter.

If you view ads on TV or online, those video scripts will also have been written by a professional copywriter. Copywriters are the people behind the scenes.

They may not direct the fancy TV adverts or design the fancy logos or billboard ads, but they are the people that come up with the words that get read- and it is these words which ultimately do the selling.

What are the benefits of good copywriting?

A professional copywriter is able to create compelling ad copy that can grab the attention of their prospects and make them stop what they are doing long enough to read their ads.

Everyone has had the experience of leafing through a newspaper or magazine only for the headline of an ad to grab your attention and arouse enough curiosity and intrigue to make you want to read the rest of the advert.

That’s the job of a good copywriter.

They create compelling headlines that can literally stop people in their tracks and make them want to read the rest of the ad. You may have the best product or service in the world, but if no one knows about it you won’t sell any. Ads are only useful if people pay attention to them, and professional copywriters are masters at getting people to pay attention.

That’s the benefit of having good copywriting skills.

When you get good at writing copy, you can create compelling sales copy that uses the power of the written word to influence, persuade and motivate prospects to buy your product or find out more about it.

A good copywriter knows how to get their ads noticed with attention-grabbing headlines. These headlines draw people into reading the first paragraph of their ad, and that paragraph leads them to read the rest of the ad copy.

You can think of sales copy as a “silent” salesperson that does the selling job via words. In fact, I believe it was John E. Kennedy, an advertising exec from the 1900s who said:

“advertising is salesmanship in print”

The sales copy does the job of getting and holding the attention of your prospects, introducing them to your product or service, stating the benefits and advantages of using your product, introducing them to your offer, and leading them to make a purchase.

That’s the benefit of good copywriting. Good copy can lead to you selling thousands of products, and bad copy can lead to you selling nothing.

Copywriting is an invaluable skill that can help you to attract more customers, sell more products, boost your business, and make more money.

Can anyone learn how to write copy?

Yes, anyone can learn copywriting, but to be a good copywriter takes some effort.

Copywriting, when done well, really is an art and science. There is a right way to write sales copy and a wrong way.

Thankfully there are so many copywriting resources around that learning this valuable skill is easier than ever. It’s also more valuable than ever. The internet has created a level playing field for people wanting to start their own businesses, sell products, or even sell other people’s products via affiliate marketing.

Whatever business model you use and whatever advertising channel you use – email, search ads, social media, display ads, video ads – all of them need good sales copy. There has never been a better time to learn the art of copywriting.

There is a growing need for good copywriters, and it is a professional skill that pays very well. Some of the best copywriters can earn thousands of dollars from writing one single sales letter, and many of them earn hefty royalties based on sales performance.

Companies and big brands are always looking for good copywriters that can help them to market and sell their products and services more effectively.

Is copywriting hard to learn?

Copywriting is a skill, and like most other skills it requires practice, dedication, and persistence in order to get good at it.

Thankfully there are a number of resources you can use to learn how to write effective copy. Some of the legendary copywriters like David Ogilvy, Joseph Sugarman, Victor Schwab, and Gary Halbert, to name just a few, have all written excellent books on the principles of effective copywriting.

There are also tons of videos, podcasts, and blogs you can watch, listen to, and read in order to gain valuable insights into the science of copywriting.

Can you learn copywriting from books?

If you want to learn copywriting I would recommend you read as many books on the subject as possible.

There are some great books out there, written by some of the best copywriters to grace the industry. Advertising legends like David Ogilvy, Gary Halbert, and Claude Hopkins have all written remarkable books that have stood the test of time, and whose teachings are still relevant today.

Although many of these legends wrote copy for the mail-order and direct-response marketing industry, the copywriting principles they espouse are still relevant today and work just as well online as they did offline.

In fact, many of the online marketing gurus and experts today still teach and use these exact same principles, they have just adapted them for use in online marketing. You can really learn a lot from these old-school legends, as well as reading books by more modern copywriters.

It’s good to have a balanced view from a variety of different writers, so try and read as many books as you can.

Click here to check out my review of some of my favorite copywriting books.

Are copywriting courses worth it?

If you are serious about learning how to write effective sales copy then doing a copywriting course is definitely a good idea.

Learning from professional copywriters is one of the best things you can do in order to learn tried and tested skills, knowledge, and insights from people who have been there and got the t-shirt.

There are great courses out there, but as you can expect, there are also some pretty bad courses. The best copywriting courses are the ones that have been created by professional copywriters who have a proven body of work that has earned them praise, respect, and recognition from their peers in the industry.

These pros have demonstrated time and time again that they can write effective sales copy that can generate millions of dollars worth of sales. Pro writers can do this in different industries and with different products because once you understand the key principles of copywriting you can apply them to any industry, product, or niche you want.

The best copywriters are those that have been able to consistently get good results with their sales copy, in a variety of different industries. They have performed hundreds of tests to see what works and what doesn’t, and have learned what works best for specific markets and audiences.

These are the copywriters that you should study and learn from.

Recommended copywriting courses

If you want to learn copywriting then you should learn from the best in the industry.

The AWAI (American Writers & Artists Institute) is a professional writers association and membership organisation that has taught some of the best copywriters in the industry. They offer a number of different courses, all at very reasonable prices. Some of the biggest names in copywriting are graduates of AWAI’s programs, so there isn’t really any better endorsement you can give them.

As well as excellent courses, they also offer tremendous support and resources for anyone who wishes to break into the industry and land their first paid professional copywriting job.

They are a big name in the copywriting industry, and one of the most trusted and professional training organisations out there.

For more information on the AWAI and the courses they offer check out my review of their flagship training program here – The Accelerated Program For Six Figure Copywriting.

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This big promise is the key result that your product or service gives your customer. It’s the main thing it does for them. It is the result they are after.

The big promise of your product or service is normally contained in your headline or marketing hook.

If you understand your target audience you will have identified what result they are looking for.

But you have to understand how to structure that into a highly effective sales message which can be summarised in one statement.

This is known as your one big promise – it’s the result you are promising them via the use of your product or service.

This post looks at how to craft your big promise statement in 4 steps.

Let’s dive in.

1. Clarify their desired result

The result is the thing your prospects want.

They may want:

• To get in shape, lose weight, and be a size 10
• Build a business that produces passive income
• Eliminate their debts
• An obedient, well-trained dog

In order to be able to craft your big promise you need to pay attention to the language that your audience uses when they describe the results they want.

“I want to lose weight” vs “I want to get in shape”

“I want to start a business” vs “I want to grow my business”

By paying attention to the language your target audience use you will get a better understanding of exactly what they are looking for, and you can use the same language in your statement to mirror their thought processes.

This will help you to create a big promise that is highly targeted and relevant to them, and will enable you to grab their attention much more easily.

2. Identify the barriers

Your customers want a result – this is normally something they want to gain, do, be, or reduce.

They may want more money, to learn how to play an instrument, to be more healthy, or to reduce their debt. Whatever result they are after there is normally a barrier (or barriers) preventing them from obtaining that result. More often than not, this barrier is some sort of action that needs to be taken in order to get that result.

The actual action is not the barrier. The barrier is knowing how or what action to do. They know what they want, but they normally don’t know what they need to do to get it.

For example: If they want to start an online business they may need to know how to build a website. If they want to be more healthy they normally have to do some exercise or follow a diet plan. If they want to reduce their debts they may need to join a debt repayment program.

There is always some sort of action that needs to be taken in order to get the desired result. This action is preventing them from getting the result they want because they aren’t aware of how to perform that action, or what specific action they need to take.

Examples:

• They aren’t aware of how to start a business or build a website
• They don’t know how to exercise effectively
• They don’t know how to manage debt repayments whilst meeting their daily living costs.

Your big promise is your ability to show them how to get what they want. If you can show them how to get what they want you will grab their attention, and ultimately sell more of your products and services.

To identify what your prospect’s barriers are you should ask yourself:

• What result do they want?
• What actions are preventing my prospects from attaining the results they desire?
• How does my product help them to perform those actions or get them done?
• How does my product reduce the “pain” or effort of performing those actions?

Example: Let us say your prospect has a dog that is misbehaving and they want to turn him into a well-trained dog.

The result they want is a well-trained dog that is well-behaved and house-trained. They want a dog that won’t bite anyone, make a mess of the house, or cause them any embarrassment or frustration.

What’s preventing them from having that result? What is the action that is acting as a barrier to obtaining a well-trained dog? The action is the actual dog training – this is the action that needs to happen in order to obtain the desired result. They know they need to train their dog, but they may not know how to train a dog.

When you include this action in your promise you will be bridging the gap between the required action and desired result.

Example: Learn how to train your dog in one week, spending as little as only 1 hour per day.

3. Timing

We know our customers want a particular result. When you promise them that your product can deliver this result the next logical question they will be thinking is “when will I get this result?”

We all want to know when we will get the things we want. Whenever I order something online I always check the expected delivery date because I want to know when I will get it, and I’m sure you’re the same.

It’s natural for us to want to know when we can expect something. Your customers are no different. When you make your big promise you need to establish a timeframe in which they will be able to get the desired result.

You can do this in two ways:

a. Tell them how long it will take them to get the result if they take action themselves

Examples:

• “Train your dog in less than 25 days”
• “Eliminate your debt in 90 days”
• “Lose 7lbs and feel great in 30 days”

b. Tell them how long it will take you to teach them how to get the result

Examples:

• “Learn how to train you dog in only two 25 min sessions”
• “Learn how to eliminate your debts for good in 2 hours”
• “Improve your confidence with the opposite sex in just 1 day”

4. Eliminate the excuses

The fourth part of crafting an effective big promise to is eliminate the excuses.

Your prospects will have reasons why they haven’t yet attained the result they desire. Perhaps they don’t know what the next steps to take are. Maybe they have experienced some stumbling blocks, obstacles, or failures which they haven’t been able to get over.

Whatever their reason (real or imagined) you have to let them off the hook. You should never blame them for not yet achieving the result they desire, even if it is their fault. Think about it, how much would you like someone telling you it your fault you find yourself in your current situation?

Imagine telling your prospects: “You’re in debt because you’re lousy with money and have poor judgment. You’re fat and overweight because you eat like a pig. Your dog is running wild because you’re not a good owner.”

Whilst it may be true that it is their fault for being in their current predicament, your job as a copywriter is to let them off the hook. If you start to blame them they will get defensive and you will most likely lose the sale. No one wants to buy from someone they don’t like, and they will not like you if you blame them, so let them off the hook!

In order to get the sale you have to remove whatever is holding them back. As we mentioned above in part 2 of the formula the barriers normally revolve around not knowing how to do something, having a lack of knowledge, having no experience, etc.

If you can remove these barriers and excuses you will have a much greater chance of securing the sale. You can do this with two simple phrases: “even if” and “without”

Let’s look at some examples:

• “Learn how to start an online business…even if you have no technical skills and have zero business experience”
• “Learn how to write a book….even if you have zero writing experience and failed English at school”
• “How to lose weight without paying for expensive gym memberships or giving up the foods you love”

With the use of these phrases you are removing whatever difficult actions, pain or effort they think they need to undergo to get the desired result. They will be thinking to themselves: “You mean I can lose weight without joining a gym, giving up pizza, or going on a crash diet? Awesome, where do I sign up?!”

When you remove the barriers, excuses, and reasons that are stopping them from taking action to achieve their desired result, you will be making your offer a no-brainer for them.

Putting it all together

We’ve covered all 4 parts of the formula so let’s look at how you can use them all together to craft your big promise which you can use in your headlines, titles, marketing hooks, etc.

Examples:

Starting a business: “Learn how to start a profitable online business in only 2 days, even if you have zero business experience or suck at using a computer.”

Weight loss: “Get a leaner, trimmer body in less than 4 weeks by following our 3-step exercise plan, without having to give up your favorite foods or kill yourself with hard exercise regimes.”

Dog training: “Learn the 4 most effective dog training methods in 3 hours, even if you are a new dog owner or have failed miserably at dog training in the past”

Summary

Your prospects want a particular result, and when you use all four elements of the formula to craft your promise you will be showing them how to get that result when they can expect the result and are removing their excuses or mental blocks.

The four parts of the formula are:

1. Clarify their desired result
2. Identify the barriers
3. Set a timeframe
4. Eliminate the excuses

Using all four aspects of the formula will enable you to create irresistible offers that will have your prospects eager to buy.

When you craft the big promise in this way you will be hitting your customers’ buying button, establishing expectations, and eliminating their doubts. In one simple statement, you will have guided them through a psychological process that gets them ready and eager to buy from you.

Use this formula when you are crafting your big promise, and use it in your headlines, blog post titles, video titles etc. You can use this formula in long sales copy, short copy, or even on a video sales letter.

Remember to test out different variations and tweak each element to see if you can improve performance. You may want to experiment with different timeframes, or different “even if”/ “without” statements to see how your target market responds to each.

When you craft your promise statement in this way you should start to see better results.

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Your call-to-action is an important part of any sort of copy you have created that induces people to act. An effective CTA tells your audience what to do next and makes it easy to understand what they can expect from performing that action.

Having an effective CTA can make the difference between an ad or sales copy being wildly successful and having a high conversion rate, or it being a complete dud.

Here are 6 tips for writing effective CTA’s.

1. Make it action orientated

Your call to action is exactly that – it’s a call for your audience to take some sort of action.

Some examples of actions include:

• Downloading a checklist or document
• Signing up for an email list
• Making a purchase
• Subscribing to a social media page

Regardless of what the desired action is, your CTA will be more effective when you include action-orientated words or verbs.

This example from Netflix is a great example of an action-orientated call to action.

Instead of the typical “Sign Up Now”, they have made their CTA super relevant and specific to their service. “Watch Free for 30 days” is a much more fun and exciting invitation for users to try their service.

2. Make your CTA’s clear and specific

In order to be effective your call to action must be clear and specific.

You are asking your audience to take some sort of action – so you must be crystal clear about exactly what action you are asking them to perform. This sounds like common sense, but you will be surprised at how many marketers create obscure and unspecific calls to action that leave their audience confused.

When your audience is confused or unsure about what they are being asked to do, you increase the likelihood that they will do nothing – and you will have lost the opportunity to engage further with that person.

This CTA from Uber makes it crystal clear what they are asking people to do.

3.  Make it personal

Make your CTA’s more personal by using pronouns like “Me” and “I”.

Using the first-person perspective will appeal more to your audience as it makes your CTA more personal to them. Writing your call to action from their perspective makes it less of a command or order, and re-frames it as more of an internal thought of their own.

This is so simple to do, yet it is very powerful and effective at changing your audience’s frame of mind or perspective of your offer or CTA.

Check out the example below from CrazyEgg. Using the words “Show me MY heatmap” has the effect of giving the reader ownership of the heatmap already – all they have to do is click to view it.

4. Your CTA should stand out from the surrounding content

In order to draw attention you have to make your CTA stand out from any surrounding content.

The easiest way to do this with CTA buttons is to use colors that make it really stand out. CTA buttons that are bright and bold in color seem to perform better than those that use dark or dull colors. That’s why the majority of CTA buttons are almost always in bright colors like green, red, blue, or yellow. Color psychology is an important part of creating effective ads or CTA’s and you can read more about color psychology here.

As a general rule of thumb, your CTA button should be a color that contrasts well and stands out against the background color. Check out this example from Feedly which uses a bright green CTA button to make it stand out against the white background.

5. Test your CTA’s

ABT – always be testing! When you create a CTA you should always test it against at least one other variation.

There’s no way of knowing what will work best unless you test out different ideas. Take the guesswork out of it, create some split tests, and let the data tell you what works better. When you have a winning CTA then create another test and see if you can improve on the results. Make sure you only test one variable at a time in order for it to be a reliable and accurate test.

You can test and experiment with changing various elements such as:

• Color of your CTA button
• Color of your CTA text
• The words you use in your CTA – verbs, pronouns, etc.
• Fonts
• The placement on your website – top of the page, bottom, middle, etc.
• CTA Button size and shape

Conclusion

Your call-to-action is an important element of any ad, sales page, opt-in form, offer, or landing page.

Having effective CTA’s are essential to getting people to act on your request.

You have to test and experiment with creating different CTA’s that suit the tone, voice, and style of your brand, and which appeal to your target audience. Even if your ad copy stays the same, just by making a few tweaks to your CTA you can significantly increase your conversion rates and improve the overall performance of your ad.

You should always be testing different CTA’s to ensure that you are not missing out on conversions. Even when you have a CTA that is performing well, run a few A:B split tests and see if you can improve upon it. When testing always remember to test one element at a time in order to ensure the validity and accuracy of the test.

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There are 5 fundamental elements that every successful ad must contain. The 5th and final is to ask your reader to take action. In this series of posts we are teaching you how to write adverts that work, and we are talking about the 5 fundamental elements of an ad.

To summarise, the 5 fundamentals of a successful ad are:

1. To get attention
2. To show an advantage that can be obtained through the use of your product or service
3. To prove your claims
4. To persuade people to grasp the advantage
5. To ask people to take action

Asking For Action – The 5th ad fundamental

Your call-to-action is what you have been working towards with your ad copy so far.

You have managed to grab their attention, show an advantage, proven that advantage, and given them the motivation to grasp the advantage – now you need to ask them to take action. Without this call-to-action, your ad loses the ability to drive sales, turn prospects into customers, or create a list of leads that you can nurture.

You would have done all the hard work for nothing if you don’t ask your prospect to take some sort of action at the end of your ad. You can’t assume that your readers or target audience will know what to do once they have read your ad – it’s your responsibility to let them know what to do next. You need to be very clear and specific regarding the action you want them to take.

What sort of action should you ask them to take?

Direct response 

A direct response call-to-action is where you ask your prospect to take some sort of immediate action. This immediate action could be to click a link, make a purchase, download a report, subscribe for more information, etc.

This is the most effective type of action you can ask for because it causes your prospect to follow through on your requested action right there and then, whilst they are still in the interested frame of mind you have created with the rest of your ad copy.

If someone has read your ad or watched your video sales letter till the end it means that there was something about your product or service that interested them enough to read or watch the whole of your ad. Your job is to now capitalise on the interest you have generated by asking them to take some sort of immediate action whilst that interest is still present.

You have no way of knowing if your prospect will still be interested in your product tomorrow or the day after, so it’s important to ask them to commit an action whilst they are in the favourable frame of mind that your ad has created. Even if they aren’t ready to buy now, you can ask them to subscribe to your newsletter, join your FaceBook group, register for a free trial or sample, or signup to receive more information, etc.

Capturing their details and permission to contact them allows you to nurture these leads and convert them to paying customers when they are ready to buy.

Types of action you can ask for

• Ask them to buy
• Join your newsletter or email list
• Sign up for a free trial
• Download a free lead magnet – report, ebook, checklist, etc.
• Register for a webinar
• Follow you on social media
• Inquire for more information by visiting your website
• Take a quiz/survey

How to ensure they take action

Asking your reader to take action doesn’t always guarantee they will! They may be in a state of inertia and not willing to follow through on your call-to-action just yet. Sometimes you need to give them a gentle nudge in order to move them into action.

Here are some things you can include in your ad that will increase the chances of your prospects following through on your call-to-action.

Guarantees

Guarantees such as money-back guarantees help to induce immediate action because they remove all doubt, risk, or buyer’s remorse.

Time limits

If you put time limits on your offer you will create a sense of urgency that will induce your prospect to act now before it’s too late.

Limited supply

If you mention that your product or offer for a free trial is limited in number to the first x amount of people you will be invoking scarcity and the fear of missing out (FOMO), which is a great motivator in getting people to take action now.

Imminent price increase

If you mention that your price is going to increase shortly and that your prospect only has a limited window to get your product at this bargain price they will be more incentivised to act.

No one wants to pay more for something if they can get it for less now.

Bonuses if they act now

Incentivise your reader to take action by offering some sort of bonus if they act now. This bonus should complement your main product and increase the perceived value of your overall offer.

One-time offer

You can include a one-time offer for people that act now, which they will never have access to again.

Again, this uses the principle of scarcity and fear of missing out to inspire them to take action.

Make your call-to-action easy, simple, and specific

Whatever action you ask your prospect to take you should make it:

• Easy to understand
• Simple to perform
• Specific and non-confusing

When you create your call-to-action you should ask yourself two questions:

1. What do I want my readers to do?
2. How, where, and when do I want them to do it?

By being very specific on exactly what you want them to do you make your call-to-action simple for them to follow and easy to do. If your instructions are too complicated then they won’t bother to do anything. If you are not specific in what you want them to do you will end up confusing them.

As a general rule, you should only ask them to take ONE action. Don’t confuse them by giving them multiple options like – “sign up by clicking here or visit my website to buy.”

Giving them options or choices to make will reduce your conversion rates. Keep it simple and your conversion rates will be much higher.

Summary

All effective ads ask their readers to take some sort of action.

You can ask for the sale outright, or you can ask them to take some sort of action that places them at the front-end of your sales funnel and allows you to build a relationship with them before they buy.

Asking them to opt-in for some sort of lead magnet is a great way to get them to take action if they aren’t quite ready to buy now. There is no point in creating an ad that contains all the other 4 fundamentals we have discussed in this series of posts if you don’t include this 5th and final fundamental element.

Your ad copy thus far has been geared to prime and pre-frame your prospect into taking action, but you must ask for it! Don’t assume that they will know what to do, or that they will automatically follow up your ad by conducting their own inquiries or research on your product.

Clarify what you want them to do, and make it clear how, when, and where you want them to do it. Make your call-to-action easy to understand, simple to perform, and specific. 

To read more about the 5 fundamentals of an ad please read the posts below:

1st Ad Fundamental – To get attention

2nd Ad Fundamental – To show people an advantage

3rd Ad Fundamental – To prove it

4th Ad Fundamental – To persuade people to grasp the advantage

5th Ad Fundamental – To ask for action

If you incorporate all the fundamentals in your ad copy you will have much more success at getting people to read your ad copy and turning those eyeballs into leads and sales.

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Every successful ad has 5 fundamental elements which make them effective. The 4th fundamental of an ad is to persuade people to grasp the advantage that your product offers them.

In this series of posts, we are talking about the 5 fundamentals of writing an advert. When you learn how to write ads the right way by incorporating these 5 fundamental elements you will be miles ahead of your competition.

To summarise, the 5 fundamental purposes of a successful ad are:

1. To get attention
2. To show an advantage that can be obtained through the use of your product or service
3. To prove your claims
4. To persuade people to grasp the advantage
5. To ask people to take action

In this post, we will be talking about ad fundamental 4 – persuading people to grasp the advantage or opportunity you are offering in your ad.

Persuade people to grasp the advantage – ad fundamental #4

If you create your ad copy by following the steps we have outlined so far,  your ads should successfully:

1. Grab the attention of those in your target audience
2. Show them an advantage that can be obtained through the use of your product or service
3. Prove that advantage with facts, social proof, testimonials etc.

Now the next step is to persuade them to grasp this advantage. This step is often left out by many copywriters because they confuse it with the 5th fundamental purpose of an ad – which is to ask people to take action on your offer (your call-to-action).

There is however a huge difference between fundamental 4 and 5. In step 5 we are presenting our call-to-action – this could be asking someone to click a button, subscribe, make a purchase, download something etc. It is completely action orientated. In this 4th step we are not asking them to take action yet. We are simply presenting them with powerful reasons why they should purchase your product in order to benefit from the advantage it offers them (which you have outlined in step 2 and proven in step 3).

You can think of step 4 as a sort of summarising section of your ad where you are giving your reader a final nudge in order to push them over the fence. It’s the last bit of actual selling you do before asking for the sale or closing.

Painting a picture

This 4th part of your ad copy is all about painting a picture in your prospect’s mind of what your product will do for them.

You want them to be able to imagine themselves using your product and enjoying the benefits you have already outlined. You are gathering the various threads of your advantage claims and proof (fundamentals 2 and 3) and weaving them together in to a strong close.

You are reminding them and summing up what you have already stated in the earlier parts of your ad copy, and bringing it all together in a powerful way that gives them the additional motivation necessary to stimulate them in to taking action (the last part of your ad).

So, how do you get people to grasp the advantage you are offering them?

Stress the benefits of your product in use

Summarise the benefits that your customer will enjoy from using your product. Use words that describe how they will feel when they are using your product and enjoying the advantages it has given them. Reiterate what they will be able to gain, be, do, or reduce from the use of your product.

Talk about how these advantages will improve other aspects of their lives where relevant. Talk about how will it benefit and impact their business life, social life, health, relationships, status, etc.

Example: Let’s say we are selling an accounting software package that offers the advantages of doing your business accounts much quicker, and makes managing your company finances easier, thus saving you a lot of time.

Our ad copy might go something like this:

“Imagine how much more productive you will be when you implement this software in your business. Think about all the extra hours you will save by using this program.

No more late evenings in the office mulling over paperwork – instead you’ll be able to get home earlier and spend more time with your loved ones.

Imagine what a difference it’ll make to your relationship with your spouse when you are able to get home early every evening and spend quality time with them.

Imagine having the time to sit down for dinner every evening like a family, instead of coming home late to a microwaveable meal that you eat alone in front of the TV.

Imagine how much more time you’ll get to spend with your kids. No more missing out on their recitals, football games, or school plays. You’ll be able to be there for all those precious moments, and they’ll love you more for it!”

In our example you can see how you take the advantage of your product (which in this case is the extra time it gives them) and paint a vivid picture of them enjoying those benefits and relating them to all areas of their life.

When you can relate the benefits of your product to the wider areas of your prospects’ lives you will be tapping in to their emotions, which as we know are the driving force behind purchase decisions.

You are making the benefits real to them and providing them with the extra motivation to persuade them to take action on your offer.

You can also take a negative approach

In the above example we talked about summarising the benefits your prospect will enjoy by using your product or service. We can call this the positive approach where we focus on what they will gain if they buy your product.

The opposite of this is the negative approach – where you summarise what they stand to lose if they don’t buy your product.

Example: Using the same example of accounting software, a negative approach to using our 4th ad fundamental might go like this:

“How many more hours will you have to spend in the office working late and mulling over your accounts if you don’t grasp this opportunity?

How many more evenings will you come home late to find your kids and spouse have already gone to bed, and you’re left to eat your re-heated dinner alone in front of the TV?

How much more strain do you want to put on your marriage because you can’t find the quality time to spend with your partner?

How many more important dates and occasions will you miss in your children’s lives?

Do you want to be the parent that always misses your children’s football games or school plays because you’re always working late?”

You are painting the picture of how their lives will be negatively impacted if they fail to grasp the advantages your product offers them. Talk about what they stand to lose, or how the other aspects of their lives will be negatively affected if they don’t take action. You can use both the positive and negative approaches in your ad copy or can choose to use one or the other.

Some products lend themselves better to the negative approach e.g. if you are selling home insurance you can talk about what would happen if they experienced a disaster like a fire and didn’t have any insurance coverage.

It really depends on the nature of your product and the market you are operating in. A good idea is to create several versions of your ad and test them against each other – one that uses the positive approach, one that uses the negative approach, and one that combines both.

It really comes down to knowing your target audience and doing your market research to really understand what makes them tick.

When you understand the motivations of your target audience you will know which approach to take.

Summary

Learning how to write adverts is an important skill that can make a huge difference to your business.

The 4th fundamental purpose of an ad is to persuade people to grasp your advantage. This is a last push where you paint an image in your prospects’ minds which allows them to see themselves enjoying the benefits your product offers them – what do they stand to gain?

You can also take a negative approach and paint a picture of what would (or wouldn’t) happen if they don’t grasp this advantage – what do they stand to lose?

This part of your ad copy could be as short as a few sentences, or it could be as long as several paragraphs. It’s an important part of your sales message and pre-frames your prospect for taking action, which is the 5th and final fundamental purpose of your ad.

If you haven’t read the previous parts of this 5 part series of posts on the 5 fundamentals of an ad then check them out here:

1st Ad Fundamental – To get attention

2nd Ad Fundamental – To show people an advantage

3rd Ad Fundamental – To prove it

5th Ad Fundamental of an ad – To ask for action

The post How To Write Adverts – Ad Fundamental #4: Persuade People To Grasp The Advantage appeared first on .

In this series of posts, we are talking about the 5 fundamental purposes of an ad.

To summarise, the 5 fundamental purposes of a successful ad are:

1. To get attention
2. To show an advantage that can be obtained through the use of your product or service
3. To prove your claims
4. To persuade people to grasp the advantage
5. To ask people to take action

The 1st fundamental purpose of an ad is to get attention, the 2nd is to show your audience an advantage that can be gained from using your product, and the 3rd is to prove those claims.

In this post, we will be taking a close look at the 3rd fundamental purpose of an ad, which is to prove your claims.

Prove your claims -Ad fundamental #3

When you have shown people an advantage or result that can be obtained from using your product or service your next job is to prove those claims.

You can’t expect people to take your claims at face value. If they have never purchased anything from you or had any sort of experience with you or your brand they will have no reason to trust you yet.

When you make the claim that your product or service can help them to get the result they want you will have to offer some proof of your claims.

You can show proof anywhere in your ad

There’s a very important note to be made here in regard to the sequence of your ad copy.

Even though proving your claims is the 3rd fundamental purpose of an ad, it doesn’t mean that the “proof material” has to be presented in that order when it comes to the actual preparation of your ad copy.

You may find that you can use a proof statement in your headline, as these sorts of headlines are very effective at grabbing attention (the 1st fundamental of an ad), and then start to assert your advantages (the 2nd fundamental of an ad).

Or you may make your proof statements in the first part of the body of your ad copy, and then follow it with your advantage claims. This is known as inductive ad copy – you display your proof material first and then make your assertions of the resultant advantages afterwards.

Deductive ad copy is where you begin with your assertions of advantages and then offer your proof statements. This is the more commonly used approach when it comes to ad copywriting.

In order to prove your claims you will need to make use of facts.

The importance of facts

It is important to have as many facts as possible in your ad copy that back up your claims.

There are two main reasons why facts are so important:

1. They make your claims more credible

People are inundated with ads nowadays. We see them on every YouTube video we watch, on billboards, in newspapers and magazines, on banner ads, on the side of buses etc.

We are living in an age where there is an overload of advertising stimuli coming at us from all angles. Because of these we no longer take the claims made by advertisers very seriously. We need something more concrete than their word in order to convince us about the advantage they are claiming to offer. Facts are vital in lending credibility to your claims.

The more facts you can include in your copy, especially facts from reputable sources or third parties, the more credible your ad and everything in it will be.

2. Facts give us a logical reason to buy

You’ve probably heard the saying “people buy on emotion and justify with logic”. In part 2 of this series of posts, we talked about the 2nd purpose of an advert which is to show people an advantage. You do this by tapping into the psychology of your target market and understanding what they want to gain, be, do and reduce.

When you know their desires you then tie up the advantages of your products to them – this is done on an emotional level. Once you have triggered an emotional desire to buy you need to give your prospects reasons to justify their purchase logically – this is where facts come in. Your prospects want and need facts as reasons (and excuses) to buy your product, so give them what they want!

Once you have sold them on your product emotionally you need to help them justify the purchase logically, and facts serve this purpose well.

Your prospects want to believe your claims

If you have done a good job of selling the advantages of your product on an emotional level, your prospects will want to believe your claims and will be looking for evidence to do so.

They have been waiting for a solution to their problem and you have successfully tapped in to their emotions and convinced them that your product is what they have been waiting for.

They have already accepted your claims emotionally. They can already see themselves enjoying the advantages and results that your product offers them and they don’t want to let this go – they want to reinforce it.

When they are in this frame of mind they will more readily accept the facts you present to them. They will be more predisposed to accepting your proof statements.

The types of facts to use

There are several types of facts you can use to prove your claims.

1. Performance facts and evidence

Product achievements

How does your product perform under certain conditions?

Does it help your prospect to get a certain result within a certain time period?

Does it offer a new, innovative solution?

Performance tests vs competitors

How does your product stack up against the competition?

Include any tests that you have put your product under and share the results. You can do a side by side comparison of your results and illustrate them in a chart or graph.

Before and after

A well-known technique used to demonstrate the before and after effects gained by using your product. Make sure you use good quality images that clearly demonstrate the results.

Popularity metrics

Talk about how many units you have sold, how many customers you have helped, or by how much you have outsold rival products.

If your sales figures for your product are constantly increasing then mention it. Increasing popularity means that your product must be delivering results and living up to its claims.

2. Social proof

User testimonials

Use testimonials from users who have used your product to successfully achieve the advantages you promised. This demonstrates to prospects that people just like them have gained success and convinces them that they can too.

Influencer testimonials

Where possible, try and gather testimonials from people who are experts in the field or market to which your product belongs.

Having a testimonial from someone who has a lot of influence with your target market using your product lends a huge amount of credibility to your claims.

Authority endorsements

Are there any governing or regulatory bodies, organisations, or associations in the industry you are in? Perhaps there are well known authorities or experts in your niche.

If so, having their seal of approval on your product will reap huge rewards and help to establish trust and lend credibility to your claims as well as to your product, brand, and business.

Reviews

Sharing your ratings on services like TrustPilot can add instant credibility to your claims and your facts.

Industry awards or competitions won

If your product or service has won any sort of awards or competitions then make sure to include that in your ad copy. This will validate your claims and show that your product or service is highly regarded in your market or industry.

3. Production and manufacturing facts

Reputation

Does your company have a good longstanding reputation in your market? If so mention it.

People will be reassured when they know they are buying from an established company with a long history and good reputation.

Production quality

Share facts about the long-experienced craftsman, designers, and skill of the people behind your product.

Expertise and experience

What sort of combined experience do you or the people behind your product have?

If you can quantify this in years or achievements you will add instant credibility and trust to your claims.

Example: “Our award winning team have a combined 55 years experience in the health and fitness industry”.

Quality of design or manufacturing

Has your product been designed in any specific way which allows it to deliver the results better, faster, or more efficiently than anything else on the market?

Is there some unique patented design or manufacturing process used that is exclusive to you and which makes your product more desirable and unique?

How to present your facts

Now you know what sort of facts to present there are some things you need to keep in mind in terms of how to present them.

Be specific

When you are making any sort of claim you should always be as specific as possible. Specificity lends credibility and believability to your claims. If you are using numbers to substantiate your claims then use specific numbers rather than rounding up or down.

Example: “Learn how I made an extra $1,357 every month in my spare time using my proven formula for trading the market”

The use of a specific amount like $1,357 seems more believable and real than a more rounded figure like $1,350, therefore making the statement more credible.

Don’t try to be perfect

There’s no such thing as a perfect product or one-size-fits-all solution, so don’t try to present your product or service as such. Be honest and let people know the truth.

If your product has a 94% success rate then state that. Don’t try to make it 100% unless that’s the absolute truth and you can prove it.

Use images to illustrate your point

Use images to illustrate and support your facts where possible. Before and after pics work well (as long as they clearly show the same person in both photos!).

If you have won any awards or done any tests, share images which show the award or test results.

State facts from the customer’s perspective

If you are talking about your product’s specifications try and break down those specs and present them in everyday language that your target market can understand.

Of course, a percentage of your target market will understand the technical terms, but as a general rule of thumb, you should use language that is easy to understand and has a wider appeal.

Summary

Learning how to write adverts is an important skill for any marketer to learn. It is a skill that can reward you handsomely when you learn how to write ads the right way, by incorporating the 5 ad fundamentals.

The 3rd fundamental of an ad is to prove the claims you made when you stated the advantages of your product.

You can do this with inductive ad copy – you display your proof material first and then make your assertions of the resultant advantages afterwards.

Or the most common approach is to use deductive ad copy: you begin with your assertions of advantages and then offer your proof statements. This is the more commonly used approach when it comes to ad copywriting.

People buy on emotion and justify with logic. You need to use facts to logically backup and prove your claims. If you do a good job at using emotions to show your advantage then you are pre-framing your prospects to readily accept your facts.

They will want to accept your facts because they need a logical reason or excuse to buy your product which you have already convinced them about on an emotional level. There are a number of different facts you can present but you should always be specific where possible, avoid trying to be perfect, and use language and terminology that your prospects will understand.

So far we have learnt that an ad has 5 fundamental purposes.

Here is a summary of the 5 ad fundamentals. If you want to read more about each fundamental just click on the link.

1st fundamental – to get attention

2nd fundamental – to show people an advantage

3rd fundamental – to prove it

4th fundamental – to persuade people to grasp the advantage

5th fundamental – to ask for action

The post How To Write Adverts – Ad Fundamental #3: Prove Your Claims appeared first on .

You can create effective adverts by incorporating 5 key fundamental elements in to each ad you write.

The 1st fundamental of an ad is to get attention, the 2nd is to show your target market an advantage that can be obtained by using your product or service.

This is the second post in this series which covers the 5 fundamentals of a successful ad.

Click here to read the first post – “Getting attention! – Ad fundamental #1”

Show them an advantage

When someone reads your ad they will be thinking one thing – “what’s in it for me?” (WIIFM).

Too many copywriters make the mistake in thinking that their prospects will be interested in reading about their product or services, so they fill their ads with endless copy about how great their product is.

The truth is that most people are not concerned with the bells and whistles of your product.

They aren’t interested in knowing all the intricate features of your product UNLESS you can relate those features to benefits to them.

Learn about the differences between features and benefits.

What will your product do for THEM?

When you shift your focus away from your product and on to your customer you will be on the right path.

What do people want?

Before you can start to talk about the advantages that your product or service offers, lets first take a look at what it is that people want.

A good way to do this is to look at 4 categories:

1. Gain – what do people want to gain?

2. Be – what do people want to be/become?

3. Do – what do people want to do?

4. Reduce – what do people want to reduce or eliminate from their lives?

Most people want to gain, be, do, and reduce the following things:

Things people want to gain:

• Time
• Money
• Independence
• Health
• Recognition / Praise from others
• Feelings of accomplishment
• Respect
• Confidence
• Happiness
• Comfort
• Self-esteem
• Prestige

Things people want to be:

• Successful
• Good parents
• Sociable
• Influential
• Creative
• Authorities in their field
• Up-to-date
• Proud of their possessions
• Efficient
• Liked by their peers
• Intelligent / knowledgeable

Things people want to do:

• Express their personalities
• Acquire or collect things
• Travel the world
• Achieve new goals
• Have new experiences
• Satisfy their curiosity
• Win others’ affection
• Help others
• Improve themselves – physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, economically
• Surpass their current limitations
• Contribute to something greater than themselves

Things people want to reduce:

• Worry
• Fear
• Doubt
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Risk
• Disease
• Discomfort
• Embarrassment
• Guilt
• Feelings of inadequacy / low self-esteem
• Uncertainty

These are not exhaustive lists, but they are some of the main things that most people want to gain, be, do, and reduce.

Tie the advantages of your product to their wants

When you have identified the various things that your target audience want to gain, be, do, and reduce – your job is to tie the advantages of your product to these wants.

When you are able to tie up the advantages of your product with what people want you will make them want to buy what you are offering.

Your ad copy will be more persuasive and will be able to influence people to buy because you will be putting the attention on THEM and showing them how their lives can be improved through the use of your product or service.

They will view your product as an aid to benefiting them, and the whole perception of your ad will shift.

They’ll start to feel thankful that they have come across your ad and product, and will have a glimmer of hope that your product is the solution they have been looking for.

This in turn will encourage them to keep reading the rest of your ad, and significantly increases the chances of them becoming a buyer.

Contrast this with ads that focus solely on the products themselves without relating them to any benefits for the consumer. These ads are seen as an annoying inconvenience, and as being intrusive to their personal time and space.

Remember: your customers are thinking “what’s in it for me?” – so when you are able to show them exactly what your product can do for them you are satisfying that need and demonstrating that you care and can add real value to their lives.

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Knowing your target market is key

Think about your target audience and see how many more things you can identify in terms of what they want to gain, be, do, or reduce.

The more you can add the easier it’ll be pinpoint what advantage(s) to write about in your ad copy.

Get in to the mindset of your ideal customer and try to think from their viewpoint when you are writing your ad.

The more you understand your target audience the easier it will be to “enter the conversation that is happening in their head” and establish rapport with them.

You don’t have to create a need for your product, the need already exists!

Your job is to identify their need and relate your product to the fulfillment of that need.

What advantage should I focus on?

Your target audience will have many different wants or needs, so how do you know what advantage to focus on?

You can focus on the one or two most important things that apply to the target market in general, and pick the most relevant advantages that your product offers in relations to these needs.

A good way to do this is to identify the primary or most common things your prospects want in each category (gain, be, do, reduce).

What is the most important thing my customer wants to gain?

What is the main thing my customer want to be or become?

What is the most important thing my customer wants to do?

What is the most essential thing my customer want to reduce?

Once you have identified the most important thing in each category you will know which advantages or benefits of your product to focus your copy on.

Of course there is nothing stopping you from creating multiple ads that demonstrate different advantages to different segments of your target market, as they will likely have different primary needs or wants.

Test out different advantages or appeals and see which ads perform best.

Once you have shown them the advantages of using your product or service, the next step is to prove your claims.

That takes us to ad fundamental #3 – proving it!

For an overview of the 5 purposes of an ad check out our post here – “How to write ads – the 5 things every ad must contain“

If you haven’t read the previous parts of this 5 part series of posts then check them out here:

Ad fundamental 1  – to get attention

Ad fundamental 3 – to prove it

Ad fundamental 4 – to persuade people to grasp the advantage

Ad fundamental 5 – to ask for action

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The post How To Write Adverts – Ad Fundamental #2: Show People An Advantage appeared first on .

An effective advert has 5 key fundamental elements which each serve a specific purpose, and in this series of posts, we will be taking an in-depth look at each ad fundamental.

The first and most important fundamental purpose of your ad is to get the attention of your target audience.

Every ad has several purposes, including showing your prospects an advantage or benefit of your product, and persuading them to buy – but none of that matters if you can’t first grab and hold their attention.

The first fundamental purpose of an ad is to get attention

The first and most important fundamental purpose of any ad is to grab the attention of those individuals in your target audience. You can be the most eloquent writer and create a beautifully laid-out ad but it will all be for nothing if nobody actually reads it.

You might have the best product in the world and think that once people see your ad they will be knocking down your door to buy – but if no one even notices your ad then it won’t have the chance to do its job and will have failed in its purpose.

The battle for attention

There is fierce competition for attention happening at every single moment. As marketers, we are competing with other companies, people, and products for the attention of our prospects. But this battle isn’t just limited to rival companies, products, or services – we are also competing with anything and anyone that takes and holds our target consumers’ attention away from us.

This includes television, apps, smartphones, social media etc. There is no shortage of things that are trying to get and hold the attention of our prospects at any given moment.

Social media apps and platforms like FaceBook and Instagram have been designed to grab and hold the attention of their users for as long as possible. These apps and platforms are literally designed to keep people using them for longer and longer durations of time. Streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Video are also designed in the same way – ever wondered why Netflix autoplays the next episode for you? It’s not just for your convenience, it’s to keep you on there!

In order for your ads to be successful they have to rise above all these attention-grabbing competitors in order to get noticed – and you achieve this with your headline.

Your headline is your first weapon in the battle for attention

You grab the attention of your prospects with your headline. Your headline is normally the first part of your ad that catches the eye of the reader. The headline of an advert has only one purpose – to get the right reader to start reading the main copy of your ad.

Successful headlines achieve this goal by:

(a.) Grabbing the attention of those who are (or can be induced to be) interested in the subject of the ad (your product or service)

(b.) Promise them a “reward for reading” the rest of your advert

Let’s take a look at each in more detail.

(a.) How to grab attention with your headline

There are several tried and tested methods you can use for creating attention-grabbing headlines.

1. Ask a question that elicits a “yes” answer

Questions work well at grabbing attention because when we read them we automatically answer them – either silently to ourselves or even out loud.

When you read a question you can’t help but answer it, even if you do so at an unconscious level.

Asking questions that make people answer “yes” is a powerful way for grabbing their attention and encouraging them to read the rest of your ad copy.

Questions you can ask include:

• How would you like to…………?
• Have you ever wanted to……………?
• Are you fed up of……………?
• Do you want…………?

Fill in the blanks with answers that are related to the benefits of your product or service.

Examples:

“How would you like to lose weight without having to exercise or go on a diet?”

“Do you want to start your own business, but don’t know how?”

“Are you fed up of spending your days working for someone else?”

2. Arouse curiosity

Another effective way to grab attention and make people read the rest of your ad copy is to arouse curiosity with your headlines.

Check out this famous example below which was created in 1962 and whose style of headline is still used frequently today:

If your headline makes someone ask “how do they do that?” or “what is this about?” then you have successfully aroused their curiosity enough to make them want to read the rest of your ad.

Examples:

“The secret to younger looking skin was hidden in my kitchen all these years….”

“You won’t believe what happened next….”

“I went from being broke to wildly successful when I applied this one trick….”

“80 year old war veteran reveals secrets to long life…”

You see these sorts of headlines used a lot nowadays, especially online, and although they can seem like clickbait, they do work.

The key to not being considered clickbait is to actually deliver on your promise so that when someone clicks on your ad they are taken to a page, article etc. which corresponds accurately to the headline and isn’t misleading.

You don’t have to make your headlines so sensational, just use the element of curiosity in a way that will resonate with your target audience.

3. Be specific

Specificity in headlines has been proven to boost readership and attract more attention. When you are specific your claims look more credible and real, rather than fabricated. Using exact numbers, dates, amounts etc. always works better than making non-specified claims.

Be specific in your headline copy by stating how much, what, why, and when.

Examples:

“Learn how to make an extra $1,750 a month in passive income”

“Want to know how I sold $10,897 worth of products on Amazon in 30 days?”

“Safely lose up to 10lbs in less than 28 days with these 3 easy exercises”

Being specific in your headlines also allows you to filter out anyone who isn’t in your target market, thus saving your advertising budget from being wasted on people who are unlikely to buy from you.

(b.) Promise them a reward for reading the rest of your ad

The second element that your headline should contain is a promise of a reward for reading the rest of your ad. There are two main approaches that you can take when it comes to doing this – a negative approach or a positive approach.

Everyone is different, and their motivations and how they are motivated will also be different. Some people are motivated to move towards something (success, goals, happiness etc.), and others are motivated to move away from something (loss, pain, worry etc.).

In NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) these two motivation types are known as the “Away From” and “Towards” meta-programs.

Negative approach (Away From)

The negative approach focuses on how to decrease your prospect’s discomfort, fears, boredom, worries – or anything that lowers their standard of living, social status, health, finances etc.

These headlines outline how they can reduce or avoid (move away from) loss, risk, worry, struggle, mistakes, pain, embarrassment, failure, or any other undesirable condition or circumstance through the use of your service or product.

Positive approach (Towards)

The positive approach offers the promise of being able to increase your prospect’s mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, or social well-being, security, and status.

These headlines offer your reader the promise of being able to increase, gain, save, or accomplish (move towards) something through the use of your product.

There will be some people in your target market who respond more favorably to the positive approach, and some who resonate more with the negative approach, so test both.

Summary

In this post we have outlined the first fundamental of a successful ad – to get attention!

You get attention with your headlines, which have the purpose of grabbing your prospect’s attention and drawing them further in to reading the rest of your ad copy.

You can achieve this by

• using questions that elicit a yes response
• arousing curiosity
• by being specific with your claims

Your headline will inspire people to keep reading the rest of your ad if you can promise them a reward for doing so. This reward will either be something they can move towards (gain, increase, accomplish etc.) or move way from (decrease, mitigate, reduce, avoid etc.)

In part 2 of this series of posts I discuss the second fundamental of an ad – which is to show your prospects an advantage or benefit that can be obtained through the use of your product or service.

For an overview of the 5 purposes of an ad check out our post here – “How to write ads – the 5 things every ad must contain“

To read the other parts of this 5 post series click the links below:

Ad fundamental 2 – Show people an advantage

Ad fundamental 3  – Prove it

Ad fundamental 4 – Persuade people to grasp the advantage

Ad fundamental 5 – Ask for action

The post How To Write Adverts – Ad Fundamental #1: Getting Attention! appeared first on .

First published in 1962, it has stood the test of time and the lessons contained within its pages are still relevant today.

Victor O. Schwab was the copywriter who created the title for the international best-selling book “How To Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie.

With over 44 years of experience in the advertising industry, Schwab certainly knows his stuff, and he shares those nuggets of gold in this book.

Overview

The book explains the core elements of an effective ad.

Victor O. Schwab explains that there are five fundamental elements in the writing of a good advertisement:

1. Get attention

2. Show people an advantage

3. Prove it

4. Persuade people to grasp this advantage

5. Ask for action

With a chapter dedicated to each, he goes through each of these elements in depth and gives plenty of good and bad examples.

In addition to understanding those elements, this book will also teach you how to:

• Get attention
• Build credibility
• Create winning ad layouts
• Choose the best ad size
• Test ad effectiveness
• Convert inquiries to sales
• Make special offers that increase response and sales

There are 14 chapters, and the book is just over 200 pages.

List of chapters

Chapter 1: Get Attention

Chapter 2: Show People an Advantage

Chapter 3: Prove It

Chapter 4: Persuade People to Grasp This Advantage

Chapter 5: Ask for Action

Chapter 6: How Long Should the Copy Be?

Chapter 7: How to Get More Enquiries

Chapter 8: How to Size an Advertisement

Chapter 9: Do Copy Appeals Have a Sex?

Chapter 10: Fact or Fancies – Which Will You Feature?

Chapter 11: Fourteen Interesting and Instructive Split-Run Tests

Chapter 12: “Cumulative Effect” – A Common Alibi for Poor Advertising

Chapter 13: The Hard-Boiled Attitude – and How to Acquire It

Chapter 14: Random Observations

Some key points

There are plenty of great insights in this book. In addition to the five fundamental elements of an effective ad, Schwab shares some real advertising gems that he has gleaned through his almost 50-something years in the business.

You’ll learn about the sole purpose of a headline and the importance of writing good headlines. He talks about the importance of being specific in your headlines, especially in regard to numbers.

He gives 100 examples of real headlines and breaks down why they were effective and profitable. I found this section really insightful and of tremendous value – you’ll see examples of headlines that are still being used in some form today because the fundamental elements and reasons why they work still hold true. Schwab also talks about how long a headline should be, and the differences between taking a positive or negative approach in your copy.

You’ll learn how to lay out your copy and make effective use of imagery in your ads.

Schwab gives an interesting view of the psychology behind human desires. He teaches the reader how to tie these desires to our own products or services, and how to use these appeals in our ad copy to persuade people to take action. This is really powerful stuff and demonstrates Victor Schwab’s excellent understanding of how to use human psychology to produce effective advertising.

In addition to the “how to” content, the book also gives numerous examples to back up Schwab’s points, with both good and bad examples shown which are very helpful for the reader.

He talks about effective split-testing, how to increase/decrease the number of enquires from an ad, using coupons, and lists seven other elements that influence the effectiveness of an advert.

Conclusion

There’s so much valuable information in this one book it really is no surprise that it is still in popular demand over 50 years after it was first published.

The information is still relevant today and can be applied to digital marketing campaigns as well as traditional print advertising. It’s written in an easy-to-read style, with clear fonts and spacing, and is broken down in a logical and easy-to-follow sequence.

The chapter headings and sub-chapters are clear and easy to navigate, making this a book that you can dip in and out of whenever you are looking to refresh your memory on some of the ideas or get some inspiration for a new campaign. There is also a quiz at the end of each chapter so that you can test your understanding of the key principles taught in each.

If you are new to copywriting or are an experienced writer looking to brush up on your skills, I can highly recommend this book.

Click here to get the book from Amazon.

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Well here’s a valuable lesson I learnt from Jim Edwards in his fantastic book “Copywriting Secrets“.

“People don’t buy without a reason why”

If you can understand why people buy you can use those reasons to make your ad copy much more effective. When you can demonstrate a necessity for your product or service and tie it back to one of these reasons why people buy, you will inevitably sell more.

What are the reasons why people buy?

Jim Edwards identifies 10 reasons why people buy:

1. Make money
2. Save money
3. Save time
4. Escape pain – mental or physical
5. Avoid or decrease effort
6. To be more comfortable
7. Attain better health
8. Gain praise
9. Feel more loved
10. Increase their status

If you look at these reasons you will see they correspond very closely to the “Life-Force 8” identified by Drew Eric Whitman in his book Ca$hvertising.

The Life-Force 8 are 8 biologically programmed desires that every human has, which can be attributed to why people buy. You can read more about the Life-Force 8 by checking out my post which goes into more depth on the topic: Marketing and the Life-Force 8

Now you have a good idea of why people buy, you need to tie one, two, or even three of these reasons to your product. The more reasons you can tie to your product the better.

How to tie the reasons to your product or service?

In order to effectively tie these reasons to your product or service you need to determine how your product meets their reasons why by asking questions in relation to each reason.

Questions you need to ask about your product or service

1. What are 5 ways my product helps people make more money?

2. How can my product help people to save more money over the next week, month, or year?

3. How does my product save them time, and what else can they do with that time?

4. In what ways can my product help to reduce their physical or mental pain?

5. What is something they don’t have to do anymore once they have my product, thus reducing their effort?

6. What are 3 ways my product can make them feel more comfortable?

7. How does my product help to improve their health, feel more healthy, and become more active?

8. In what ways does using my product help them to gain more praise from their peers?

9. What are 3 ways my product or service will make them feel more loved by their friends and family?

10. How does buying and using my product increase its popularity and status?

You must know your target audience

In order to honestly answer those questions in relation to your product or service you need to have a good understanding of your target audience. It’s no good answering those questions from your perspective – you need to put yourself in the mind of your ideal customer in order to get answers that will resonate with them.

Think about who your target audience is.

Where are they at in their lives right now, and where do they want to be? What are their pain points? What are their goals or aspirations?

When you have a good understanding of exactly who your target audience is the answers to these questions will come more easily, and more importantly, they will be relevant to them.

Tying the reasons to your product or service – Example

In this example, we will use a business executive coaching program as our service, and tie the reasons why to it.

1. Make more money – The business executive coaching program will help you to perform better in your current role, help you get promoted, and get more job offers from other firms.

2. Save money – Instead of paying expensive consultants to do this sort of work, our coaching program teaches you how to do it yourself.

3. Avoid effort – You don’t need to stress or figure it all out by yourself. All you have to do is follow our proven blueprint and easy instructions.

4. Feel more loved – You’ll become a highly effective and efficient operator, meaning you’ll spend fewer evenings at the office and have more time with your family and kids, which they’ll love and appreciate you for.

5. Increase status – With the improved performance and better results you’ll be delivering for your employers, you’ll gain recognition from your peers and move up the career ladder faster, whilst your reputation as a problem solver and results person will continue to grow.

The more reasons you can tie to your product or service the more persuasive your copy and marketing campaigns will be. Why just give them one reason to buy if there are several they can benefit from?

Use reasons that relate to different areas of your prospect’s life – such as family, personal, career, etc. The more areas of their life you can touch on the more appeal your product or service will have.

Where can you use these reasons “why”?

You can use these reasons just about anywhere in your copy and marketing:

• Your offers
• Your headlines
• Email subject lines
• Calls-to-action
• Hook, story, offer framework
• In your stories
• In your bullet points
• In your content headings

Focusing on the reasons why someone should buy your product makes creating the copy, or coming up with an effective headline a less daunting process as it gives you a basis to center your copy around.

Constantly thinking about the reasons why someone should buy your product helps you to stay focused on your customer, rather than your product.

When your customer is the focus of your copy you will find that they become more receptive to it. After all, your customer is not interested in reading about your product unless they know what it can do for them and how they can benefit from it.

They are constantly thinking “What’s in it for me?” (WIIFM), so having your copy focused on their reasons why will help you to create copy that is more compelling and effective at persuading them to buy or take action.

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