It never ceases to amaze me how the most memorable copywriting lessons often eventuate from the most simple activities.

A month ago, my vacuum cleaner died so I went down to my local shopping centre to buy a new one. I walked inside the store wanting to buy a fairly economical $150 vacuum cleaner. While I was waiting in line I overhead a conversation the sales guy was having with a customer. He was talking about vacuum cleaners with “power-heads” and how great they were.

My mind started ticking as I thought of my angelic (but “dirt magnet”) little boys and how much “gunk” was probably hiding at the base of our carpet.

Anyway, soon it was my turn to be served so I asked the salesperson about the power-head vacuums. He asked me questions about my house and my kids. He talked to me about the options. Next, he demonstrated a vacuum cleaner to me using the famous but still very effective, “vacuuming sand off the carpet” demonstration.

Read the rest of this entry »

As some of you may know I’m about to launch a Copywriter Mentoring program. As part of that, I’ve been “head down” putting together training material on the traits of highly successful copywriters. Before long, my thought processes soon turned to the Male vs Female debate. More specifically, I started to ponder the question, “Who’s better?”

Guys overall? Girls overall? Or does it depend on the product they’re writing about?

To start with, from what I’ve seen, there is no connection between gender and copywriting skill.

But what if the product is gender-specific? If selling motor vehicle accessories, is it better to use a male copywriter? If selling female beauty products, is it better to use a female copywriter?

The most obvious way for me to answer would be to say to use females for female-focused products and males for male-focused products, but is that the best solution?

Read the rest of this entry »

Next time you’re writing sales copy, consider this when you’re marketing to women or men, specifically …

As a marketing professional you obviously know your product well, so you’ll know that the needs of your men clients are different to those of your women clients. And salespeople, you’ll know that when you’re selling in a face-to-face situation you’ll highlight certain features to women and other features of the product to men - that goes with the territory.

You’ll probably know too that the same goes when you write sales copy … Read the rest of this entry »

It’s irritating. Ask most people how they feel about being sold to and this is the answer you’ll probably get. Today, more than ever, people don’t like being told what to do. That’s why sales tactics of a decade ago simply aren’t working today. And that’s also why sales people and copywriters today are approaching the sales process in a different way.

When Theodore Roosevelt was New York Governor he achieved what many people believed to be the impossible. He managed to develop a great relationship with political heavyweights, yet at the same time manage to get these same political heavyweights to vote for a number of sweeping reforms that they were often bitterly opposed to.

What was his secret?

Read the rest of this entry »

Sales “scientist”, Elmer Wheeler was an absolute master of understanding how buyers think and understanding how  to really connect with a buyers’ hopes and fears, conversationally.

In the following article, Mr. Wheeler talks about “penetrating the cloud”. In other words, it doesn’t matter whether we are walking down a street or scanning through a newspaper, we are all walking around in a fog. It’s then the job of an advertisement, to penetrate that fog. If it doesn’t, your advertising dollar has been wasted. If it does, you have captured their attention and you’re one step closer to generating a sale.

Here’s an excerpt from our “College of Copywriting” Freelance Copywriting course where Elmer Wheeler talks about this in detail …

Read the rest of this entry »

1. Inject your personality into everything you write including your Yellow Pages ™ ad.

You’ll be amazed at the response. No-one wants to read boring and stuffy legal-ease. It makes them switch off. But - if your copywriting is engaging to read, your reader will read it, even if it is on the wordy side.

2. A friendly copywriting style builds a warm and lasting relationship with your prospect.

People like dealing with people they like and won’t deal with people they don’t like so make them like you.

3. Write as you speak

When writing your Yellow Pages ™copy, tell your reader what’s in it for them. Your readers are selfish. They really don’t care who you are. They just want to know how you will improve their lifestyle. So …

4. Describe the features of what you’re selling as benefits.

Some benefits could be that they’ll save money, they’ll save time, they’ll be envied by their friends… the list goes on.
In your copywriting, paint a picture of how your product or service will transform their lives. Spell it out.

Read the rest of this entry »

Each year businesses spend a small fortune on Yellow Pages advertising. It’s perhaps one of the largest single investments you’ll make in advertising all year so it makes sense to ensure your ad packs the biggest punch — and gives you the very best return on your advertising dollar.

Doing this is simple if you know the right formula. I’ll share this formula with you inside this article.

Unlike with press advertising, people looking in the Yellow Pages are ready to buy right now. While on the surface of things that’s great news, the challenge is that you need to ensure that your prospect sees your ad first and acts upon it … amongst the sea of competitor’s ads.

Read the rest of this entry »

There are so many elements that play a very important part in every ad, sales letter, brochure or any piece of business communication that you write. And one of the most important elements is the headline.

The headline of your piece will either makes your reader so excited they’ll want to read the rest of your ad, letter etc. or it will make them switch off completely.

Here are some tips to help you do that.

Read the rest of this entry »