At Last The Secret Of A Little Known Technique Proven To Explode Your Sales

I am about to reveal to you a little known but very powerful technique that nobody teaches for writing compelling headlines.
It was originated by the highly acclaimed Ted Nicholas and he calls it finding the Hidden Benefit. He has created some of the most successful headlines in direct marketing history by using this self same method.

For this to be successful you really have to know…not your product but your prospective customer. You have to imagine what the single biggest benefit your prospect could ever dream of obtaining from your product is. What would be their ideal…their utopia? Write it down.

How successful is this technique? Well how about 24.5 million dollars worth! This is one example taken from the great man himself. He had written a book of forms called “The Complete Book of Corporate Forms”. Not the most exciting of products I’m sure you’ll agree. So the task then was how to differentiate his book from the numerous other books of that type available at the time. How could he make such a dull sounding product enticing?

By asking himself that question he quickly realised that entrepreneurs hate forms and paperwork so they need a benefit from using the forms. Everyone hates paying taxes…perhaps entrepreneurs more than most. No one wants to lose any tax shelter they may have. So the following headline came to him by following this thought process.

“What Will You Do When The IRS Suddenly Wipes Out Your Corporation’s Tax Shelter Benefits?” You might have noticed there is no mention of forms in the headline. That’s because it’s a feature…and not a very exciting one at that. The book does contain information about the importance of keeping good records to maintain the corporate protection. There is no mention in the book at all about the IRS (American Inland Revenue) taking away benefits, although that is always a possibility.

Hence the title of Hidden Benefit.

The book sold 350,000 copies from 1979 to 1995 and can still be found selling on Amazon today. That’s 24.5million dollars from a book of very dull and boring forms. A word of warning though, when using this technique makes sure that your product does in fact deliver on the headline’s promise.

When used correctly this technique really can explode your sales!

 

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

Feeding The Mind

People buy because they want something…not because they need it. 
What you have to do as a copywriter is to persuade them that they want what you’re selling so badly that they simply must have it. To do that you have to paint vivid pictures for them so they can actually see and experience it in their minds eye.

The human brain can picture something easily when you have experienced it with your five senses. For example if I say the word “water” you will immediately know what it’s like. You know how it looks, feels, tastes, smells and sounds. Your mind can go further than that. If the words are descriptive enough you can actually live the experience. When you are trying to sell something you have to help your reader to picture the situation.

Setting The Scene.
Imagine this for a moment. You are in a warmly lit room next to an open fire. You are sitting on a big sumptuous chair with your legs curled up underneath you. You know the sort of chair with big soft cushions that you really snuggle into. Outside it is dark and you can hear the rain beating on the windows and the wind blowing wildly through the trees. The curtains are drawn closed to block out the dreariness of the winter evening. You have cupped in your hands a big mug of the most deliciously rich hot chocolate that you are sipping through the creamy top. Every so often you have to lick the white cream from your lips. The log fire is roaring beside you and you can feel the glow of your cheeks as you sink further into your chair.

Not only can you feel the warmth of the fire and cosiness of the room against the wild weather outside. Chances are you can even taste the chocolate!

You have to tell stories and paint pictures for your readers to experience. It has been proven that when a reader has experienced something vividly they get emotionally involved with it. As we know people buy with emotions so this increases sales.

 

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

How to Write Irresistible Copy

How can you make your copywriting so persuasive that your target market simply can’t resist?
Well a lot of this is down to the research you have done first, so how do you do this research? One way is to hang out in the same places as they do, for example there are forums and groups online for just about anything you can think of. Read what they are talking about and just as important how they are saying it. It’s no good using highfalutin language if the people you’re trying to sell to can’t understand it. Use the same language they do. Your copy has to be conversational, imagine you are talking to a close friend.

Tick the right boxes.
You have to know how your reader thinks and how to tick the right boxes to keep him or her reading your copy. Copywriting has to be very self driven, people are only interested in themselves. That might sound a bit controversial but it’s true. You have to be able to appeal to their self interest. All the time they are reading they will be thinking WIIFM (what’s in it for me). Nobody really cares about your problems, dreams or goals. Only their own.

Make them want it.
So how do you appeal to their self interest?
Think what it is they want, not the actual physical object you are selling but what they will get from it. Don’t forget it’s the benefits that sell, not the features. A feature is simply a component of your product or service, a benefit is what the user of your product or service will get from that feature.

Think about the pleasure they will get when they finally have it. Don’t think about selling an object think about selling an image…a dream. Imagine the scene then paint pictures with your words.  People don’t buy something because they need it, they buy it because they want it…must have it. People buy with their emotions. You have to appeal to those emotions whether they are greed, fear, flattery or guilt.

All you have to do is decide which emotion you need to appeal to, for example a weight loss programme aimed at women might be flattery. Because every woman wants to look and feel good. By describing the compliments she will receive on her figure, and helping her to picture how she will look, you can trigger an emotional response for something she will receive rather than something she currently has.

 

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

Where To Start Your Copywriting

How do you start copywriting?
What are the first things you must do…before putting pen to paper?
Have you ever heard people say that you should smile when speaking on the phone, as it comes across to the person at the other end of the call?
Well it’s a similar thing when you write. If you are not in the right frame of mind your reader will pick up on it. It makes sense when you think about it. If you’re feeling down because of a row you’ve just had, or stressed after a difficult day, how can you sit down and be enthusiastic about your subject?

Everyone has their own approach to this. Some people, like the highly acclaimed Ted Nicholas, like to do some light exercise before sitting down to write. I always have to make sure I’ve had a good nights sleep, and I think it’s essential to unplug your phone and make sure you won’t be disturbed.

Homework First.
So there you are, you’re wide awake, you’re in a great mood, your phone is unplugged and you’re raring to go.

So what now? Have you researched your product? Sorry, did I forget to mention that?

Before you even think about sitting down to write you have to research your product. You need to know all the benefits so you can answer all of your readers questions. The main question they will be asking is…

 “What’s in it for me?”

There is no substitute for studying your product…tedious though this may be. Quite often you stumble across the best way to sell it hidden in the benefits. One such instance was when David Ogilvy wrote his most famous advert for Rolls-Royce. He spent three weeks reading about the car when he came across a statement that ‘at sixty miles an hour, the loudest noise comes from the electric clock’. This became the headline followed by 607 words of factual copy.

Talk the Same Language. As well as researching your product you need to know about the competition, what are they doing and what sets your product apart from the rest.

Of course all of the above are useless if you don’t know who will buy your product. You have to know your target market, who are they, how do they think, what sort of language do they use. I don’t mean do they speak English, I mean what sort of words do they use when talking about whatever it is you’re selling. You really need to get inside their head and understand what is important to them and what promise would make them buy your product.

When you have done all of this, and only then, you will almost be ready to start writing.

 

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

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