The Copywriter's Handbook

by Robert W. Bly • Read on May 19, 2020

Text in black are quotes; text in green are my notes. I sometimes write in Spanish.

Possibly the most stupid thing advertisers do is allow their agency to have background music, usually loud, rock-type music, played while the person is trying to explain the features of the product. #
Humorous ads are troubling because you have to create a link to the product and its benefit. Often, people remember a funny ad but they don’t remember the product. —Richard Kirshenbaum, Co-Chairman, Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners #
This is the copywriter’s task: not to create this mass desire—but to channel and direct it. —Eugene Schwartz, Breakthrough Advertising (Boardroom, 2004) #
For copy to convince the consumer to buy the product, it must do four things: Get attention. Communicate. Persuade. Ask for a response. #
observed: “Fundamentals never change but current variations of how to best use those fundamentals are something you must always stay on top of.” #
Copywriting is based on three factors: human emotion, data, and compliance. #
“There’s never been any marketing of any type that is not enhanced by emotion and sincerity.” #
for each 10 percent closer you get to perfect compliance, your response rates drop by 10 percent. The plain and simple truth is that overly zealous compliance in many cases results in weaker copy. #
and the total amount of knowledge in the world doubles every twelve days,3 #
No matter how persuasive your body copy or how great your product, your ad cannot sell if it does not attract your customer’s attention. #
When readers browse ad headlines, they want to know: “What’s in it for me?” #
“The best headlines appeal to people’s self-interest, or give news.” #
Your headline can perform four different tasks: Get attention. Select the audience. Deliver a complete message. Draw the reader into the body copy. #
If you can legitimately use the word free in your headline, do so. #
Other powerful attention-getting words include how to, why, you, sale, quick, easy, bargain, last chance, guarantee, results, proven, and save. #
Avoid headlines and concepts that are cute, clever, and titillating but irrelevant. They may generate some hoopla, but they do not sell. #
The headline can select the right audience for your ad and screen out those readers who are not potential customers. #
To draw the reader into the body copy, you must arouse his or her curiosity. You can do this with news, or intrigue, or mystery. #
Remember, as a copywriter, you are not a creative artist; you are a salesperson. #
As the late John Francis Tighe, a top direct-mail copywriter, pointed out, “We are not in the business of being original. We are in the business of reusing things that work.” #
1. Direct Headlines Direct headlines state the selling proposition directly, with no wordplay, hidden meanings, or puns. #
2. Indirect Headlines The indirect headline makes its point in a roundabout way. It arouses curiosity, and the questions it raises are answered in the body copy. #
3. News Headlines If you have news about your product, announce it in the headline. This news can be the introduction of a new product, an improvement of an existing product (“new, improved Bounty”), or a new application for an old product. #
4. How-to Headlines The words how to can be pure magic in advertising headlines, magazine articles, and book titles. There are more than seven thousand books in print with how to in their titles. Many advertising writers claim if you begin with how to, you can’t write a bad headline. They may be right. #
5. Question Headlines To be effective, the question headline must ask a question that the reader can empathize with or would like to see answered. #
Question headlines should always focus on the reader’s self-interest, curiosity, and needs, and not on the advertiser’s. #
6. Command Headlines Command headlines generate sales by telling your prospects what to do. #
7. Reason-Why Headlines One easy and effective way of writing body copy is to list the sales features of your product in simple 1-2-3 fashion. If you write your ad this way, you can use a reason-why headline to introduce the list. #
8. Testimonial Headlines In a testimonial advertisement, your customers do your selling for you. #
The “4 U’s” copywriting formula—which stands for urgent, unique, ultra-specific, and useful—can help. #
When you have written your headline, ask yourself how strong it is in each of the 4 U’s. Use a scale of 1 to 4 (1 = weak, 4 = strong) to rank it in each category. Rarely will a headline rate a 3 or 4 on all four U’s. But if your headline doesn’t rate a 3 or 4 on at least three of the U’s, it’s probably not as strong as it could be—and can benefit from some rewriting. #
Let me tell you how I go about writing a headline. You may find these techniques useful in your own work. First, I ask four questions: 1. Who is my customer? 2. What are the important features of the product? 3. Which of these features do competing products lack? 4. Why will the customer want to buy the product? (What product feature delivers the benefit most important to him?) #
If you have to choose between being clever and obscure or simple and straightforward, I advise you to be simple and straightforward. #
In other words, you sell more merchandise when you write clear copy. #
Rudolf Flesch, best known for his classic books Why Johnny Can’t Read and The Art of Plain Talk, said the best average sentence length for business writing is 14 to 16 words. Twenty to 25 words is passable, he added, but above 40 words, the writing becomes unreadable. #
Cecil Hoge, the mail-order expert, says the words in your copy should be “like the windows in a storefront. The reader should be able to see right through them and see the product.” #
Advertising persuades us by giving specific information about the product being advertised. The more facts you include in your copy, the better. #
Many novice copywriters fall into this trap. They spend the first few paragraphs “warming up” before they get to the sales pitch. By the time they do start talking about the product, most readers have fled. #
End with a Preposition Ending a sentence with a preposition adds to the conversational tone of the copy. #
Use Sentence Fragments Sentence fragments help keep your average sentence length to a respectable number of words. And sentence fragments can add drama and rhythm to your copy. #
Begin Sentences with Conjunctions Beginning a sentence with and, or, but, or for makes for a smooth, easy transition between thoughts. #
His rule of thumb for writing strong bullets: Be specific about the problem; be vague and mysterious about the solution. Plus, do it with a twist, hook, or unusual angle. #
“One of the rules of good copy is: Don’t talk about yourself. Don’t tell the reader what you did, what you achieved, what you like or don’t like. That’s not important to him. What’s important to him is what he likes, what he needs, what he wants.” #
The first step in writing copy that sells is to write about benefits and not about features. #
AIDA, which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. According to AIDA, the copy must first get the reader’s attention, then create an interest in the product, then turn that interest into a strong desire to own the product, and finally ask the reader to buy the product or take some other action that will eventually lead to a sale. #
A second well-known formula is ACCA: Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction, Action. In ACCA, consumers are first made aware that the product exists. Then they must comprehend what the product is and what it will do for them. After comprehension, the readers must be convinced to buy the product. And finally, they must take action and actually make the purchase. #
A third famous formula is the 4 P’s: Picture, Promise, Prove, Push. The copywriter creates a picture of what the product can do for the reader, promises the picture will come true if the reader buys the product, proves what the product has done for others, and pushes for immediate action. #
Here, then, are twenty-two reasons why people might buy your product. Don’t just read the list; think about each of the reasons and how it might apply to the products you handle. To be liked To be appreciated To be right To feel important To make money To save money To save time To make work easier To be secure To be attractive To be sexy To be comfortable To be distinctive To be happy To have fun To gain knowledge To be healthy To gratify curiosity For convenience Out of fear Out of greed Out of guilt #
(Business-to-business copywriter Steve Slaunwhite notes: “The B2B writing style tends to be clear, fact-based, conversational, and focused on down-to-earth performance expectations rather than overblown promises.” #
Clever advertising can convince people to try a bad product once. But it can’t convince them to buy a product they’ve already tried and didn’t like. #
The average speaker speaks at a rate of 120 words a minute. It follows that a twenty-minute speech should be 2,400 words long. #
the steps in the Motivating Sequence are (a) get attention, (b) state the problem, concern, or need the potential customer for your product has, (c) show him that your product is the solution to his problem or need, (d) prove that your product is superior to other products addressing the same needs and problems your does, and (e) ask for the order with your call to action. #
I often use a format where the first part of the bullet is the feature, and after a dash comes the benefit (e.g., ““Quick-release adhesive system—your vehicle graphics stay clean and don’t stick together”). #
- Los features y beneficios no están peleados. Es mala idea solo mostrar los features porque el cliente no se identifica. Es mejor poner lo beneficios porque son más tangibles para el usuario, pero separar el feature y el beneficio con un guión largo en una misma oración cumple los dos propósitos.
In your landing page headline, engage the target prospect by promising a big and compelling benefit. #
To recruit affiliates or make money being an affiliate for other marketers, visit www.affiliatesdirectory.com. #
There’s plenty of copywriting research that all points to one conclusion: headlines that start with numbers are often winners. #
3—Taking the easy way out. There are four levels of content, which from lowest to highest are why, what, how, and done for you. #
I am reminded of a quotation from Rutherford Rogers: “We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge.” #
This is the copywriter’s task: not to create this mass desire—but to channel and direct it.” #
If you have an exceptionally strong free content offer, LEAD WITH THE OFFER in your copy. On the other hand, if the offer is not strong, lead with the prospect’s problems and then offer the product as the solution. #
One veteran copywriter says: “On the first draft, the client gets what he needs. On the second draft, the client gets what he wants. On the third draft, the client gets what he deserves.” #
About 25 percent of the changes made by the client improve the copy. Around 25 percent make the copy weaker. The other 50 percent make no difference either way. #
One experienced direct marketer told me his compliance rule: “For each 10 percent your copy gets closer to strict 100 percent compliance, your response rate drops about 10 percent.” #
I have found that the quality of marketing copy is inversely proportional to the number of people who review it. #
Copy is KING. ALWAYS. PERIOD. #
Words, not pictures, are the most important way of communicating great ideas. The Bible contains many thousands of words and not a single picture. #
Copywriting Genius: The Master Collection www.monthlycopywritinggenius.com Regular reviews of winning promotions and interviews with the copywriters who wrote them. #