Copywriting Crash Course

May 1, 2013 10:16

Everything you need to know about basic copywriting is in these pages.

Use them well, use them often.

What is Copywriting?
"Copywriting is a mental process, the successful execution of which reflects the sum total of all
your experiences, your specifc knowledge, & your ability to mentally process that information
and transfer it onto a sheet of paper for the purpose of selling a prodcut or service." - Joe
Sugarman

Copywriting is the ability to sell with the written word.

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Table Of Contents
May 1, 2013 13:36

Table Of Contents:
1) AIDA
2) The Copywriting Process
3) The Copywriting Skeleton Template
4) The Swipe File
5) The Copywriting Checklist
6) How To Learn Copywriting

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AIDA
May 1, 2013 10:20

If you remember nothing else, remember AIDA. Write it down. Make it your computers wallpaper.
Use it as a name for your first born child. DO NOT FORGET AIDA.

Lets look deeper at what these words actually mean for you.

Attention
Step one is to capture your readers attention. Immediately separate your writing from the crowd
with an attention grabbing headline and a few sentences that make them NEED to continue reading.

When trying to think of a good headline, remember that it's only purpose is to get the reader to read
the first line. These may give you some ideas.

A great example of a good headline is The Four Hour Work Week....Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere,
and Join the New Rich. The 9-5er cannot help but pick that book up. How is it possible to only work
four hours a week and still live anywhere? Who are the New
Rich and how do I become one? Is this a scam or a life changing read? I NEED TO KNOW!

Interest
Step two is to get them interested. This is usually done with interesting facts or a story.

Here is where you hint at what you can give them, relate to their fears and desires, and make them
NEED know more.

The main goal here is to make them want to read the whole thing.

Desire
Step three is to ignite their desire. Here is where you tell them EXACTLY what your offering them and
how that will improve their life.

Give them some usable information and explain exactly how they can use it. Explain the benefits of
each feature.

It has this feature. That gives you this benefit. Here's proof.

Make them say I want have that result.

Action
Step four is to make them take an action. If youve done A I D well, this is the easiest part of all. Just
tell them, step by step, what you want them to do.

This can be as simple as a big red CLICK HERE button. Or it can tell them sign up for your email
newsletter or give you money.

And you almost always wanna include a guarantee here.

Ensure that this step as easy as possible to take.

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----
Example
Lets run through a life-like scenario to solidify AIDA in your mind:

You're a rock guitarist. You see a sign downtown that says Every world famous lead guitarist in the
last 40 years has used these strings.

That gets your attention, so you walk into the store.

At the display, you read that the strings were developed by working with KISS, AC/DC, the Rolling
Stones, and the bat that Ozzy Ozborn bit in half. They are made of a special metal alloy to produce a
unique sound. Now your interested.

You then learn that bands who use these strings are 28% more likely to get signed by big record
companies. Their songs stay on the charts for 16% longer. The unique alloy lets them withstand the
harshest abuse without snapping, so you can rock out live without breaking a string. Here's a quote
from Slash about how they help him rock out.

These are things that you want. You now desire the product.

Finally, the ad says that each set costs $35 and is backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. It tells
you to grab a box, pay the clerk, and do some serious rocking. It tells you to take action and, because
the ad caught your attention, interested you, and lit you with burning desire, you do.

You have just experienced AIDA.

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The Copywriting Process
May 1, 2013 10:34

Step 1: Gather all your information

1) Set up & fill out your partner profile. This is the place where you keep all the information
about the person & company your working with. You must know what their final goal is in
working with you, how they want their copy to be written, and a bunch of other things that
will be covered in a separate section.
2) Create your ideal customer profile. Know everything you can possibly know about them. Know
them as well as you know yourself. Identify your ideal customer, your "Waldo", and write to
them specifically.

Know these facts about your customer

- Are they male or female?
- How old are they?
- How do they make money?
- Who are their heroes?
- What are their greatest pain points?
- What brings them the most excitement/pleasure?
- What problem of theirs do you solve?
- All other possibly related things.

Make a list of your prospects' biggest fears, frustrations, desires, dreams, and nightmares
around the issue your product helps them with. List 25 answers for each of these categories.

Fears Frustrations Desires Dreams Nightmares

1. 1. 1. 1. 1.
3) Gather up everything you can on your product and your market. Before you start writing
anything, you want to become an expert on both.
- Customer profiles of all the types of customers you're talking to.
- Contact info so you can talk to people who have used your product.
- All the info you can possibly find on what you're selling. (The product, reviews, website,
etc.)
- The sales pages, ads, techniques, etc. that others have used to sell stuff related to what
you're selling.
- Other products similar to yours. The products themselves, their websites, etc.
- Your swipe file.
- Anything else that might be an "idea generator"
- All the questions you asked your partner/employer

Step 2: Prepping your creativity

1) Get the juices flowing
Start reading all the stuff you put together above, and taking notes. Just write down
whatever comes to your mind, no need for order or sense.

Pay attention to the features & benefits, anything that seems interesting, any stories,
technical info, good photos, questions & fears people will have, etc.

2) Now re-read your notes & jot down some ideas.

Star (*) the really good stuff. Double star (**) the great stuff, triple star (***) the
amazing stuff, and so on.
Read them all over, and jot down some ideas and maybe even some skeleton notes for
how you want your writing to look.

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 3) Incubation period
Once you've gotten the specific knowledge and are an expert on your product, its time
to stop working, go have fun, and let it all incubate in your mind. This is VERY important,
and it's part of your work (even though I doesn't feel like it).

So how do you do this?

i. You can go over everything you've learned and your swipe file and do a ton of
thinking about what you want to write. Jot down some headlines and copy ideas,
list the biggest features and benefits. Or don't write thing and simply think. Just
get those ideas running.
ii. Perhaps visualize the end result of your work: A huge influx of orders, great
feedback on your product, and a trip to Bali to celebrate.
iii. Now stop. That's right, stop. Go do something else. Take a walk, hang with friends,
read some cool blogs. If you're crunched for time, go work on another project.
Completely divert yourself from your copy. Your big idea is being made in your
subconscious. Wait for it
iv. BOOM. While you're off having drinks or taking a shower or making love, that big
idea will suddenly flash across your mind. Stop whatever you're doing (no matter
how awkward stopping mid-moan to write on your laptop might be), and get that
big idea onto paper. Expect to get carried away in a great writing flow. Don't edit
much, just write.

The incubation process works best when you're under pressure. An impending due date,
a healthy ego around great writing.

Note from Eddy: I was completely sceptical about this step, and avoided it for ages.
Then, when I was freaking out for a whole day trying to write just one good sentence for
a product, I finally decided to rage quit and go out with friends. At 3am the next
morning, in a bumpy taxi speeding down the Bali backroads, the whole first half of it hit
me like a brick and I had to borrow the drivers pen and scrawl it on some scrap paper

Step 3: Skeleton
1) Create a skeleton of how you want your sales page to look. The final result may be drastically
different from this skeleton, that's okay.
Note: you can do the skeleton before or after incubation. See what works for you.

Use the template in the next chapter.

What is the ultimate purpose of your writing? Who are you writing to? What will the first few
paragraphs do to the reader? What is the emotional appeal? What questions will go through
the readers mind & do you answer them right after they come up? Follow AIDA.

Step 4: Draft 1
Now just write. It doesn't matter if your first draft is rocks or sucksthe whole point here is to
get everything possible out of your head and onto the page. It's an emotional outpouring. Just
write and write and write until the job is done, your exausted, and you can't think of anything
else to put on the page. Don't edit this much, don't worry about how good it is. Just get it out.

"It makes absolutely no difference what your first draft looks like. If you can get all your
feelings & emotions about the subject out on paper and work from there, you will have
mastered a very important technique." - Joe Sugarman

Step 5: Editing
"It is what I do afer that first drat that makes the difference. It's the difference between just

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 "It is what I do afer that first drat that makes the difference. It's the difference between just
plain copy and a polished advertising message - from copy that doesn't move the prospects to
one that moves prospects so strongly that they reach int their collective pockets and exchange
their hard earned money for your product or service. It's the difference between earning a
salary as a copywriter and earnin millions of dollars as an effective
copywriter/entrepreneur." - Joe Sugarman

This is one of the most important parts of the copywriting process. Where you turn something
good (or shitty) into something amazing.

The whole purpose is to get your message across and get the reader to take an action in as few
words as possible.

Re-write sentences to make them more effective and direct. Delete all the stuff that doesnt
help you get your message across. Add in new parts that will improve the message.

Principles of editing
1) Look for any 'that' words - the words leading up to and including 'that' can often be
eliminated. "And, if you've tried it, you know that" could all be cut out.
2) Edit for rhythm - Vary the length of your sentences. This helps it flow better when you
read it.
3) Consider combining sentences - you can often cut down on words by turning multiple
sentences into one.
4) Eliminate unnecessary words - "and seeing the positive results" -> "and seeing positive
results"
5) Rearrange thoughts so they flow better - Which though should come first? Which
second? Which order feels most natural?
6) Run your copy through the Copywriting Checklist - This will stress test it for all the most
important (and some of the less important) aspects of great copy.

Take as long as you need to edit. You could be 10 drafts in before it starts to look good. Or it
could just take a few tweeks to reach the final product.

And, if you've got time, take time between edits. Come back in an hour or a couple days, and
you'll see tons of stuff you didn't notice before.

Get someone to read your copy, and watch them. Where do they stumble on wording? Do
they ask questions? Are they excited, or bored?

The more you write, the less you'll have to edit. Usually. Yet even the best copywriters have
times when they go through edit after edit after edit.

Step 6: Test
Now put your copy out in the real world and see how it performs.

Ensure that you track it's results in as many ways as possible.

Test changing little parts of it, addiing things, color schemes, locations. Test EVERYTHING.

There have been cases where just changing a word like 'fly' to 'soar' has resulted in millions of
dollars worth in sales.

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The Copywriting Skeleton Template
May 1, 2013 10:42

Pre writing:

Who are you writing to?

What is the purpose of your writing? (everything you write must help you achieve this goal)

Writing

Header 1:
Header 2:
Header 3:
Header 4:

Attention
-

Interest
-

Desire
-

Action
-

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The Swipe File
May 1, 2013 10:56

What's a swipe file?

A swipe file is simply your collection of successful advertising stuff. It is something you should be
constantly adding to whenever you see something new that is worthy of it.

You can use it to study successful copywriting and to generate great ideas when you're writing your
own stuff. It's HUGELY useful.

I suggest using Evernote (and it's smartphone photo & webclipper capabilities) to collect any
awesome ads you see in the world.

The Awesomeest Swipe File Ever

It's right here: http://db.tt/HeaXYVQq

But dont let that stop you from compiling your own. Learning to recognise and take note of great
ads is part of the learning process.

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The Copywriting Checklist
May 1, 2013 11:19

Important
- Does your copy follow AIDA?
A
Does the headline, subheadline, headers, and pictures get your reader to read the
first sentence?
Does your first sentence get them to read the second sentence? Is it short &
compelling?
Does your second sentence get them to invariably read the third sentence?
I
Have you interested your reader with a great story or some useful & interesting
knowledge?
Are they enjoying reading your writing so much that they do not pay attention to
length or other things and just read it because it's a great read?
D
Are you linking every feature to it's benefit? Is the benefit 100% clear and very
compelling?
Are you selling the sizzle, not the steak? The result, not the product?
A
Did you summarize the offer, with it's main benefits?
Did you tell them EXACTLY how to take action, step by step?
Are there as few choices and steps as possible?
Is the action item a BIG FUCKING BUTTON? It should be completely obvious what
the reader is supposed to click within 5 seconds of seeing your copy.
- Does every part of the copy tie back to how it effect the reader? It must be all about them,
everything you say must matter to them for one reason or another. You can talk about you,
but only if it benefits them.
- Have you eliminated all the useless words? The 'that' words and fluff.
- Does your copy flow without any boring, confusing, or slow parts at all?
Read your copy out loud. If you stumble anywhere or find your mind wandering, you've
found a problem.
- Is your copy free of anything that feels cliched or salesy?
- Does your copy feel like a 1 on 1 conversation?
- Do you talk to your target reader, using their power words, desires, and lifestyle?
- Do you use many emotionally packed words?
- Do you get the reader to nod their heads and say 'yes' (using great points & rhetorical
questions)? Preferably within the first few lines.
- Are you being 100% honest?
- Do you make use of solid stastics instead of vague claims?
- Do you sell based on emotion and justify with logic?
- Do you address and resolve all fears, questions, and objections?
- Is your typeface easy to read? Serif in print, Sans-serif on screens, and always black on white.
- Do you have a powerful satisfaction conviction? The kind that will make readers say "they're
gonna get ripped off doing this!". Like a more-than-100% guarantee.
- Are you using testamonials?
- Have you made the reader see themselves using your product? Describing how they would use
it, what they would do, the result. Painting a picture of them and your product in their minds.
- Have you created a sense of urgency? A limit on time or products, a price raise for every sale,
that makes them want to buy asap or risk missing out.
- Have you done something to make your reader curious about your product? They want to see
how it works for themselves, want to get in on these insider & valubale classes, want to know
what that beautiful girl's perfume smells like.
- Are you selling a cure, not a prevention? An ounce of cure sells better than a pound of

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 - Are you selling a cure, not a prevention? An ounce of cure sells better than a pound of
preventon.
- Do you have a P.S. that goes through IDA?
Refer to something intriguing back in your copy.
Ping the main benefit again.
Ask for an action.

Useful
- Can any parts of your copy be made into an easy-to-consume bullet list?
- Are you making your reader think while reading your copy?
- Are you talking in terms of positives? Never saying a negative, but instead saying a 'not-
positive'
- If it's a simple product, make it complex. If it's a complex product, make it simple.
- Are you coming off as the expert in your field? Using technical explanations that the customer
may not understand (but that the pros will), to show that you know what you're talking about.
Come from a trusted source (business, certification, ad space, etc.). Have a great slogan (eg.
JS&A - Americas largest single source of space-age products).
- Do you compare your price to the value of your products benefits? Do you compare it to your
competitions' pricing?
- Have you tied in your ad with any current fad or trend going around? Avoid fads that are
already in full swing or declining, but jump on any that are just building up.
- Do you tap into the human desire to belong to a group? (Mercedes = upper class / 4HWW =
New Rich / Malboro = Rugged American Cowboys / Virgin = young & hip)
- Have you tapped into the human desire to collect? (Apple does this with people who wanna
own all Apple products / Coca-cola with their memorabilia / Mints with collectable coins).
- Is your reader familiar with you? A familiar logo, ad format, name, etc. (ex. Four Hour ____)
- Are you tapping into familiar mindset stuff. Aka, the number 7 is the most familiar and liked
number, red is the most familiar color. (the best way to find these for your market is to talk to
them and to test variations).

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How To Learn Copywriting
May 1, 2013 11:17

Verbatim
Do handwritten copies of top performing copy. Do this for at least an hour a day, every day.
Dont stop.

At the end of your hour, spend a half hour analyzing the copy. See if you can understand the
thought behind it. Then write down the top 2-3 lessons you learned from that copy.

A great course that holds you accountable, finds the best sales letters for you to copy, and
teams you up with other verbatim copy learners is CopyHour. Great for getting into the
verbatim habit.

Reading
Read the top copywriting books & courses
My recommendation (in order):
The Gary Halbert Boron Letters
Advertising Secrets of the Written Word by Joe Sugarman
Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
Anything by David Ogilvy, Joe Sugarman, Gary Halbert, Dan Kennedy, or Claude
Hopkins

Note: you can find my notes on some of these (and more stuff) here:
http://eddyazar.com/book-skill-notes/
Writing
Do your own copywriting. Be prolific, test in the real world as much as possible.

Swipe File
Create a swipe file. Whenever you see any copy that is performing well, or interests you, or
gets you to take an action, file it. Use it to do your Verbatim, and to get ideas when your doing
your own writing.

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Now Go Write Something Awesome
Tuesday, September 04, 2012 1:39 PM

If you got some serious value from this sum up, go grab yourself a pen and paper and start doing
Verbatim. And grab some of those books from the learning section.

The 80/10 lesson of copywriting:

Always follow AIDA.

This crash course is free to distribute and share with whomever you think would get value from it.
Spread the knowledge to those who use it, inspire those who create things, enjoy this life.

If you want to share your thoughts, get more notes on other amazing books and useful skills, or just
make friends with a like minded pursuer of those things worth pursuing, say hey to
me@eddyazar.com.

Cheers,
- Eddy

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