What do Dan Lok, Tim Ferris, Hugh Heffner, Jay Ogilvy and Russell Brunson all have in common? They are all brilliant copywriters.
Copywriting teaches you how to think about marketing, sales and human psychology. Copywriting is a high-income skill that can be leveraged for your own business or other people’s.
So what is copywriting? Copywriting is not about writing. Copywriting is closing in print. Copywriting is closing for introverts too :).
You might think that your English degree means you can write copy. Think again.
Copywriting is not about funny, fluffy, flowery or cool words. Copywriting is an art and a science. It has tested and proven techniques that work over and over again.
Here are the final 5 of my 13 copywriting secrets which if implemented effectively, will supercharge your ability to generate customers on every medium that contains words.
9) The 3 boxes method
If you give people one option then it means they are either going to tell you no or yes.
If you give people two options, they will progress to ‘which one should I buy?’
Here’s the gold…
If you give people three options, the thinking progresses further. Your customer’s thought process will 90% of the time go for the option in the middle (with yes or no far away from their minds).
Let’s look at the movies. You used to buy either the small or the large. Then a famous copywriter came up with the jumbo.
The jumbo size is usually quite ridiculous. You are never going to go for that. It’s too much for the whole family, let alone one person!
The small is not going to be enough. It’s not going to sustain you. You might run out.
These two options flank the logical sensible option. It makes sense for you to go for the one in the middle! The regular!
Have you ever been on a signup page on a website?
There are always 3 options. There is a proven science to this and that is exactly why the 3 options are there.
The ‘bronze’ box
This is a really bare-bones and in some cases, wimpy offer. It is the cheapest (or sometimes free) offer that offers very little. The offer is the one that in some way shames the wily consumer. It says ‘you don’t really want this, you aren’t serious, so why are you even here?’ It’s a fantastic filter for the people who you don’t really want to do business with or who aren’t ready to do business with you just yet. This offer once signed up for, should have a separate communication stream connected to it so that it is continually pointing the customer to the silver offer.
The ‘silver’ box
This is the logical offer. It’s the offer that you should be making look like an absolute no-brainer. It should have the value for money packed into it. It should look like it has much more to offer than the bronze box while not being cost prohibitive for your ideal customer. The customer should view this as ‘just right’ for them. They know it’s not the gold box but the gold box is miles outside of what they need. This box gives the customer the ability to use their own intelligence.
The gold box
The gold box is the ‘pie in the sky offer’. It’s saying, if you are at the top of the pack, know your stuff and have already made it, then you don’t need to worry about price. You just want the cream. You want the ultimate exclusivity. You want the status. You want to show off your success. It is far more expensive than the silver box. It is packed with all sorts of stuff the ideal customer doesn’t need. It creates envy and something to strive towards for the big dogs. But for your ideal customer, it’s just too much. It’s an illogical decision for them because the middle offer provides them with everything they need at a price they know they can afford.
Don’t ever give people too many choices. 3 is the ideal number. Too many options create noise and option anxiety – they worry that they are going to make the wrong decision and regret their purchase.
10) Scarcity and Urgency.
People like to procrastinate. Most won’t act if there is not enough pain. Most don’t act if there is not enough urgency.
So how can you use scarcity and urgency in your copy?
Here are some ideal ways below:
Time as urgency
Add a timer to your webinar signup page. Add a time limit to your emailed offer. Add a time limit on your competition promotion. Give people urgency.
Now, there is a trick to this!
Instead of saying:
Time is running out! After [insert date and time] the price goes back up to [$insert price]…
You should say:
If you act before [insert date and time], you’ll save [$insert amount].
This allows the user to feel like they are the ones taking action and advantage of an opportunity. It’s better than the other option of feeling like you are twisting their arm.
Quantity as urgency
You hate missing out on stuff, don’t you? There is a term for this – FOMO (Fear of missing out).
Well, what if you knew that there were only limited numbers available of what you wanted?
Would you act quickly?
Think about the last time you needed tickets for your favourite artist that finally came to town, or when your favourite sports team finally made it to the grand final.
What were you willing to do to get that ticket? You knew they wouldn’t last long. You probably waited all day on the phone, calling multiple times before getting through.
Or maybe you paid triple the price from a scalper.
Well, it’s the same technique.
Check out this line from Amazon.
Limited quantity – only 2 available
Want it tomorrow? – sign up in the next 9 minutes (time counting down).
See how they use time and quantity urgency at once? Do you want that shiny object? Better act quickly then!
What about those notifications you get on Booking.com? You know, the ones that say ‘x amount of people are looking at this’? Someone is trying to take your family holiday deal away from you!
Exclusivity as scarcity.
Amazon has prime members – you get all sorts of benefits as a prime member with Amazon – but there are limited memberships available.
Now think about this.
Amazon is charging YOU a fee to SHOP MORE!
You pay Amazon $100 and then spend more money – how many of you do this? Be honest now.
Get across as many big brand eCommerce websites as you can. Read catalogues. Read mail order adverts. Copywriters are using these techniques all the time.
11) Give a good guarantee
If you are realtor – you are paid to buy and sell houses. So it’s a tough one eh?
It’s not like you can guarantee if your client doesn’t like the house – You’ll give all the money back!
But what if you said:
‘If you don’t like the place you buy, I guarantee that I will work with you commission free to find your new home. When you do find it, I will give you $500 towards it.
There are many ways to give a good guarantee. So use your imagination.
Have a little fun.
Selling an online coaching course? Here’s a good one:
Don’t like the course – say your dog ate it and you can get your money back.
A guarantee takes away the barrier of a customer worrying they are making a mistake or getting screwed. It helps them feel like they are making a safe, logical decision. They already want the product. They are just deciding whether they want it from you.
Always remember. The more authority you have in the marketplace. The more power you have in the marketplace. The more power you have in the marketplace – The less you need to guarantee to close.
12) Tell people what to do!
Don’t assume people know what to do. Make it easy to buy and take action.
Be literal and say – Click this button. Click this link. Go to www.thiswebsite.com. Call this number now.
Have you ever been at a website and asked – how do I actually buy this thing? Did you put it in the too hard basket and shelf it all together? Or did you look for another site where it was easier?
Don’t make the customer have to work to buy your service! Make it dead simple. Give them clear steps in the process. Prompt them where needed. Guide them to their goal.
13) Talk about the consequences of not buying
Emphasise the pain your customer is going through. Emphasise the consequences of their inaction. Give them examples of happy people who took action to compare with right at the decision point.
What problem do you solve which they are walking away from?
What will it cost in your customer in terms of pain, frustration, headaches, money, stress and more?
Tell them what is going to happen. Tell them what they are walking back into. Show them the dirty cave to which they are returning. They are right there. Make them think, ‘why turn back now?’
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In conclusion. Copywriting is an art and science as mentioned. It’s how you speak. How you comment on posts. How you write status updates. How you write advertisements. How you blog. How you write emails. How you write speeches. How you speak on stage at conferences. How you say your elevator pitch. How you write letters. Any time you communicate – that is copywriting.
Copywriting is everywhere. You are copywriting every day.
You are closing every day.
So practice whenever you can, wherever you are. Learn from the masters. Understand the science. Don’t reinvent the wheel – adapt it to your audience.
And sell more products today.