...so you wanna write your own copy, huh?

with -

* no boring theory
* no jargon
* no tears

Excuse Me Sir - Where Do I Start?

Yes, you too can write your own copy! It's fun and so easy a five year old can do it. Where do you start? It's not essential but you may want to start with a pre-head that targets or pre-qualifies who you're pitching. In this case I've used “...so you wanna write your own copy, huh?”

Your headline is vitally important. Your brilliant copy will sink or swim depending on how well you hook your readers with the headline. You need to grab your readers attention - really grab them - hit their “hot button” and have them reading on. Put it in inverted commas - it improves readability. And if you can stick a benefit in there, even better. Put your reader in the "drivers seat" by using "you" and "yours".

Spellcheck it. Oh yeah...and don't be tempted to write something like "How to Make a Million Dollars Online - Overnight and in Your Jocks!" The punters might click on it but then they're just going to be saying to themselves (rightly so) "This is Total BS". And you've lost them forever. Unless of course you really can prove that you have a system that will do that. Laugh-Out-Friggin' Loud.

You might qualify your head with “the deck” - the few lines of copy that you can run under the headline to further qualify or “hook” your readers. In this case - “no boring theory” etc.

Video Killed What?

Should you use video? Done properly, video can be very powerful. The video I've used here isn't mine - I captured it from a copywriter's site. I can't even remember his name. Sorry about that Chief. Maybe you're reading this and you'll get in touch so I can properly attribute it. But I think it a beauty!

The funny thing about video is not everyone will click on it and watch it. Maybe because they're watching at work. Or they don't have broadband. Or they prefer to read. For instance, after this post being up a day only 20 people out of the 200+ viewers have clicked through to the video.

BTW using a host like Amazon S3 looks much more professional than YouTube.

Just Do It, Dude

There are several ways to start. You could tell a story. Make sure it's entertaining. Or you could just start off by telling us what you have, what it does, why our miserable lives will be so much better if we have one too. Later on you'll tell us the price and where and how we can get it.

Or you could summarise what you're about to offer. In this case it might be something like this - “*By the end of this page you'll have enough info to dash off your own world-beating sales copy – without paying out thousands to a rude, opinionated, egotistical, internet copywriter (what's with those guys?)*”.

Who the Hell is This Guy?

Somewhere near the beginning of the page you might want to put a mugshot and introduce yourself. You're establishing credibility.

"Hi, my name is Jackson Greenlaw. I'm an internet copywriter. That's me above holding the greenbacks. I take a lousy photograph so I didn't want to put you off by showing my face. But it's not what I look like – it's what I can do for you, Dude. Quite simply, I will make you a sh*tload of money with my copy.

Who have I worked for? Some of the biggest names in Internet Marketing – some of the “whales” in this game". Yada yada yada.

Write in Simple Short Sentences That a 5 year old Will Have No Trouble Following and Understanding

Talk one-on-one with your reader as if you were talking to your best friend. Use simple “plain vanilla” words that everyone will understand. Avoid trying to be too “cute” with your words. Just tell us your story. Start off by telling us what you have, what it does, why our miserable lives will be so much better if we have one too, tell us the price, tell us how and where to get it.

Break the Copy Up Into Chunks

We don't read all your words. We scan. We might come back and read all your copy thoroughly but to begin with, we scan. We scroll down, stopping at the “good bits”.

If there is a whole block of copy of long convoluted sentences with big scary words in it, with barely any paragraphs and no bolding or subheads - people are not going to read it. They'll run a mile. So break it up. You're not writing for The New York Times. You're writing for "Joe the Plumber". Make it easy for him. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Make it Easy To Read

Use one idea per paragraph. With subheads. The subheads should be written so that when you scan the page your reader gets the gist of the story - what the page is about - without having to read the body copy in detail. Try and make the subheads a bit cheeky or entertaining.

You can put the subheads in a different font if you like. I often use "American Typewriter". And "Impact" in the headline. Some people swear by Arial, Verdana or Tahoma in the body copy. I think the brilliant Direct Response copywriter, Gary Halbert, was a fan of "Courier New".

Bolding, underlining and highlighting can also make the copy more readable. But don't go crazy with any of them.

Putting important copy in a different font will make it stand out against the rest. Make sure it's an easy-to-read font like this Verdana. Avoid arty fonts. Drop-shadow fonts in headlines seem to be the flavor-of-the-month but they are much harder to read than common or garden variety fonts.

Don't Forget the Captions

Before I forget. Here's a good tip. A powerful tip. Put captions under every photo. People love captions. Every caption will be read. Make the caption part of your pitch as well. Like this -

You want fries with that?

What's In It For Me?

Think in terms of “benefits” rather than features - “_This copy is full of bells and whistles_” is a feature. “_This copy is so full of bells and whistles, you'll be able to save thousands of dollars by writing your own copy - today_” is a benefit. Answer the reader's “_What's in it for me?_”. He could care less about your amazing features. He wants to know how those features will benefit him.

Do I Really Need To Be A “Good Writer”?

Yes and no. Personally I'm pretty keen on correct grammar, syntax and spelling. But I'm not anal about it.

As for style, Gary Halbert used to say -

“ Being on target is much more important than being facile with words”

In other words don't pitch a Knitting Book to a bunch of truckdrivers. Know who you're talking to. Who you are targeting. And talk to them in their language.

Halbert also said -

“People don't have time for your pathetic subtleties”

In other words, don't try and be too clever. And don't use words that most people don't understand. You're not writing The World's Greatest Novel or a piece for The New York Times. Use simple, short, everyday words in short, simple sentences. In words a 5 year old understands. The last thing you want is your reader saying “Wow...this is a beautifully-crafted piece of copy” (unless he's a fellow copywriter).

Famous copywriter John Caples (he of the "They laughed when I sat down at the piano..." print ad.) in 1932 (78 years ago!) put it like this -

Don’t make ads simple because you think people are low in intelligence. Some are smart and some are not smart. The point is that people are thinking about other things when they see your ad. Your ad does not get their full attention or intelligence. Your ad gets only a fraction of their intelligence . . . . People won’t study your ad carefully. They can’t be bothered. And so you have to make your ads simple.

It's Not Rocket Science

Tell me what you have, tell me what it does, tell me why my life will be so much better if I have one too, tell me how much, tell me where to get it. Don't be afraid to repeat the important bits. Or say the same thing again but spin it.

Show Me The Proof

Show me some proof your product does what you say it will do. Real proof - not dodgy screenshots of earnings or useless testimonials from “Jo Blow, Canada”. Video proof can be extremely powerful. Did you see yesterday's launch of "The Magic Bullet System"? Sold out in hours and grossed $1.5M. The video "proof" was killer.

Ask For The Order

Stick several “Buy Buttons” on the page. Don't just rely on your reader scrolling to the very bottom of the page to find a Buy Button. If you've done a good job some of your readers will hit a Buy Button half-way through the copy. Some say “Add To Cart” works better than “Buy Now” or “Order Now”. Check out The Belcher Button - that's the one I use with great success.

Don't Be “Precious” About Your Copy

Testing is the name of the game. Sometimes just adding or deleting a single word will skyrocket conversions. The headline is the most important part of the whole page. You only have a second or two to seduce your readers before they click off. So make sure your headline grabs them by the you-know-whats. Or you're dead in the water.

Don't waffle in your copy. Generally, "less is more".

If the copy isn't converting - kill it and start again.

#1 With a Bullet

Putting important things in bullet form makes them easier to read. Odd numbers of bullets work better. No more than 7 of them. I'm out of time...you know you need to add testimonials, “social proof” , p.s. - all that jive. That stuff is important but its mainly window dressing. What's important is -

* be on target
* use simple, short sentences
* get to the point
* break your copy into chunks so it's easier to read
* don't use dodgy screenshots or fake testimonials
* test and test again
* use bullets

Voila! How to write your own copy in one easy lesson. Now I must get back to the coalface.

Cheers,

Lambe, Paris

p.s. if you want your copy to read like the spoken word, invest in Dragon Naturally Speaking (for PCs) or MacSpeech Dictate (for Macs) and dictate your copy while the program writes it for you. I've even used it to write directly into this forum. They say it's 99% accurate but that's BS. It does make a few mistakes. For instance when I say "Australian" in my Australian accent, it writes it (every time) as "Estonian".

MacSpeech Dictate Version 1.5.5

has only been out a week and I've bought it. the earlier versions of Dictate weren't getting very good reviews. But now they've done a deal with Dragon Naturally Speaking the voice-recognition software that runs on Windows PC and they claim it's a lot better than the old Dictate for the Mac. It's also been updated for use with Mac OSX Snow Leopard - which I also bought at the same time to run on my iMac.

MacSpeech Dictate 1.5.5 adds a contextual menu for the Available Commands window, providing options to Edit, Execute, and Copy Description to Clipboard, and is also a maintenance release that fixes other reported issues.

MacSpeech Dictate requires Intel-based Macintosh hardware and requires Mac OS X 10.5.6 Leopard through Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. You can upgrade version 1.5 for $54.95 or pay for the Full Install at US$199

99% Accuracy?

Macspeech Dictate is claiming a 99% accuracy. I don't believe that for a minute. But we shall see. One of the first things I had to do was to read some text to get Dictate used to my Australian accent - and I ticked that option when I set it up. Not that I have a broad "Crocodile Dundee" Aussie accent - but it's there.

Why have I bought this voice recognition software? Two reasons. Main one is that I developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in my hands and wrists some time back and it's greatly aggravated by repetitive tasks like typing. And I'm a copywriter - sometimes spending 12 hours a day at the keyboard.

Second reason is that in my copywriting I strive to get natural-sounding copy. I want it to read just like I'm talking to you. So I find I can do this rather well by dictating. And I can dictate faster than what I can type (with two fingers).

So let's give this MacSpeech Dictate a whirl. Here we go. I'm going to dictate a few paras of one of my short stories. So here's exactly as Macspeech transcribed it -

Fast words in Fiji.
It all started with an ad I saw in the Sydney morning Herald classifieds one weekend. Travel writers wanted for new Pacific rim magazine. Opportunity for immediate all-expenses-paid assignment.

I didn't know what a pacific rim wants. Thought maybe it was something to do with gay travel. But the all-expenses-paid part rang my bell. But it sounded too good to be true.

I dialed the phone number and had a long conversation with a bloke in Balmain. Called himself Mike Ivey. This has to be a joke I thought. Mike Ozzy -- Mike Cozzi. But no, this bloke said it was no joke. He really was Mike Ozzy. I found that later they had in fact changed his name by deed poll.

Anyway, I was intrigued, so after work one day I went out to this geezer's gas. He lived in a strange looking paid by the harbor. He called it a sustainable tourism lodge. The goal of the backpackers. Several nubile young women and sarongs of making cups of tea and toast in the communal kitchen. My cozy seem to be the head honcho of the big coon or something by the way of flirting with him. I got the impression of some kind of swingers club going down. But whatever regional bells.

We went into his office a spare bedroom and he here bashed me for an hour or so about his project. Most of what he said was gobbledygook but the key words were press card, all expenses paid, free, trip, Fiji. I'll believe it when I said I thought.

Some weeks and Barnett all but forgotten about this bloat any means wanted to come over and help him stuff envelopes RAM. Rambles on about CG looking good needy get these magazines off to the international members of the worldwide world of Wally's waiting on accreditation vanity also a possibility... Kenneth Colón is a good made... feasted on chicken closing date balls moving... Trekkies case of vampire blood... everything is really good... great things are happening... yada yada yada...

Seems like I've yet attended some dodgy tourism conference in the subcontinent had managed to get on the piece for the bunch of Third World representatives all riding the gravy train. Now that know how he managed this. He didn't seem to have any credentials aside from a loudmouth, a big set of Kalyani's and a bad 70s haircut. Perhaps that's all you need these fellow seminarians seem to figure some kind of tourism King and they were falling all over themselves with office. For the Ozzy came home from deepest darkest Africa with a swag of open-ended invitations to go to various tube of countries and advise them on e tourism opportunities. And the first cab off the rank was poor old bloody Fiji -- pre-two days.

Hilarious.

My cozy seem to be the head honcho of the big coon or something by the way of flirting with him. I got the impression of some kind of swingers club going down. But whatever regional bells.

As you'll see when you read the original copy below, there are quite a number of mistakes. And the 99% accuracy claim is bollocks. But it's not bad. Maybe the more I use it the better it will get - as in getting used to my accent.

Here's the original text.

It all started with an ad. I saw in “The Sydney Morning Herald” Classifieds one weekend.

“Travel Writers Wanted for New Pacific Rim Magazine. Opportunity for immediate all-expenses paid assignment” .

I didn’t know what a “Pacific Rim” was. Thought maybe it was something to do with gay travel. But the “all-expenses paid” part rang my bells. It sounded too good to be true.

I dialled the phone number and had a long conversation with a basketweaver in Balmain. Called himself Mike Aussie. This has to be a joke I thought. ”Mike Aussie - My Cossie”. But no, this bloke said it was no joke. He really was Mike Aussie. I found out later that he had in fact changed his name by Deed Poll.

Anyway, I was intrigued, so after work one day I went out to this geezer’s gaff. He lived in a strange-looking pad by the harbour. He called it a “sustainable tourism lodge”. I’d call it a backpackers. Several nubile young women in sarongs were making cups of tea and toast in the communal kitchen. Mike Aussie seemed to be the Head Honcho or the Big Kahuna or something by the way they were flirting with him. I got the impression there was some sort of swingers club going down. But whatever rings your bells.

We went into his “office” (a spare bedroom) and he ear-bashed me for an hour or so about his project. Most of what he said was gobbledegook but the keywords were “Press Card”, “All-Expenses Paid”, “Free”, “ Trip”, “Fiji”. I’ll believe it when I see it, I thought.

Some weeks went by and I’d all but forgotten this bloke. Then he rings. Wants me to come over and help him stuff envelopes. Rambles on about “Fiji looking good...Need to get these magazines off to the international members of the Worldwide World of Wallys...Waiting on accreditation...Zambia also a possibility...Kenneth Kauanda’s a good mate...Feasted on chicken-claws and goats balls with him...Drank his toast with vampire blood...Everything is really good...Great things are happening”...Yada yada yada .......

Seems Mike Aussie had attended some dodgey Tourism conference in the Subcontinent and had managed to get on the piss with a bunch of Third World representatives all riding the gravy-train. Now I don’t know how he managed this. He didn’t seem to have any credentials aside from a loud mouth, a big set of cojones and a bad Seventies haircut. Perhaps that’s all you need. But his fellow seminarians seemed to think he was some kind of “Tourism King” and they were falling all over themselves with offers. So the Aussie came home from Deepest Darkest Africa with a swag of open-ended invitations to go to various two-bob countries and advise them on “Eco-Tourism Opportunities”. The first cab off the rank was poor bloody Fiji – pre Coup days.

Not a bad start. And there were a few things that impressed me. For instance - Dictate managed to put the hyphens in "all-expenses-paid". And it understood and correctly spelled "gobbledygook" and "yada yada yada". But there's still room for improvement with MacSpeech Dictate.

Double or Indented Listing on Google?

is it possible?

Yep. I get them all the time. With the help of my squarespace blog host (what you're looking at now)and a bit of tweaking in the copy. There's one in the pic on the left. Here's how you do it -

How to Get Double Listings in Google

Google usually only lists one of your pages in its top 10 listings (first page) but there's a sneaky way of getting to get a second indented listing.

Indented listings are second listings placed below the first one in indented form. You get a double listing for the same website. And it sticks out like dogballs. Especially if you're "above the fold" - in the first six, say.

Google says -

When Google finds multiple results from the same website, the most relevant result is listed first, with other relevant pages from that site indented below it.

The benefits are pretty obvious -

* You push your competitors' listings down.
* You attract more visitors to your web site.

Here's How to Get a Double Listing for Your Keywords

1. Your webpage must already be on the first page of Google.
2. Now create another webpage with alternative content - on the same website. Then link to the page that has the top 10 listing. Optimize your second page for the same keywords as on your first page – but write different content.
3. Link your second page to the first page. Both pages need to be linked to each other to achieve a double listing.
4. Link your first page to the second page in the anchor text. Use the keyword phrase in your anchor text on the first page to link to the second page. Use anchor text in the content.
5. Get inbound links to the second page. Get links from other sites to point to your second page. If possible use the keyword phrase in the anchor text of these links. This type of link carries more weight than just using a URL.
6. It doesn't hurt to mix up the keywords too - use synonyms of the keyword. Easy way to do this is enter your main keyword in the Google Adwords Keyword Tool with "use synonyms" turned on.

Stompernet also talks about Getting double listings on Google

Scarcity Marketing

My buddy pointed me to a section in Dan Kennedy's book "The Official Get Rich Guide to Information Marketing" and took note of the part where Kennedy talks about how creating a sense of urgency and scarcity in your online sales letter increases conversions substantially.

At a sales presentation Dan introduced a new product, which until that time had very ordinary sales. So Dan Kennedy took the sales page and injected a sense of urgency so powerful, so irresistible that sales quadrupled within minutes. Yes...minutes. Readers starting clicking on the Order Button and the lame-duck product soon turned into a Hot Seller.

What was the sense of urgency that he injected into the product presentation that motivated readers to hit the buy button? Four words is all he said - "One Per Zip Code”.

“One Per Zip Code”. I'm sure you get it. What he did was limit the offer to “only one customer per zip code can get his hands on this”. And sales went ballistic - increased four-fold. Know what that does to your bottom line? Hits it out of the ball-park.

Create a Buying Frenzy with the Push of a Button

So we took that concept of Dan Kennedy's and built a script around it. A script that limits sales to just one per zip code. If you go to One per Zip Code you'll see we are selling the script for $97.

here's what one buyer said about this scarcity tactic in One per Zip Code.

I bought it.

I remember a few years back one of the dating guys cleaned house doing a launch like this. He did some big-price "get laid" package and said that he would only sell one copy per city or something as he didn't want guys crossing up their game.

So it was a massive sellout in like the first 10 minutes or something cause of the true scarcity that it created.

So I was already pre-sold on this zip-code script and knew I wanted this before I even saw it because of the results that I know I can get with it.

So as for the product.... I was actually quite impressed. Honestly I was expecting a dinky little script my guy in Riga could whip up in 30 minutes.
But actually the script has some depth and features and shows via the documentation and interface panel. It is obvious that some care and forethought has been put into the little details. (and these are the details that makes it really useful)

Bottom line is its good stuff...

Greg Jacobs
WP Mage

Sense of Urgency

BTW when we talk about “creating a sense of urgency” we're not talking about the usual B/S tactics. Not phony copy urgencies like ...

"I don't know how much longer I can keep this offer available. I may have to pull this down soon!"
or
"I may have to raise the price soon! I'm crazy to sell it this cheap!"
or ...
"I can only sell it a this price until {insert phony countdown clock}"
Or better yet ...
"Only available While Stocks Last – be quick!”(how do you run out of a digital product?)

This Is About Creating a Real Sense of Urgency

Creating a sense of urgency that is so powerful and riveting, your prospects are forced into making a decision to click your order button NOW...because if they don't buy it ... someone else will...and they'll miss out.

The big boys of I.M. use this technique to bring in boatloads of money. Now you can too!

Hint: it works especially well for High Ticket items.

For the first time this technique is available as a downloadable script that's push-button, automated and ready to go.

It's like a Nitrous Oxide boost for your sales page.

Here's How it Works

Simple. You're going to create a sense of urgency by adding an element to your existing sales page that is going to rock it - like hooking your car's engine up to the laughing gas - the Nitrous Oxide - giving an immediate fourfold boost to horsepower - GRUNT. You're going to motivate your prospect to Hit that Buy Button Now - or miss out.

People hate to miss out! Or at least take the chance that they might miss out if they don't act now. Is that dirty pool? It's a game plan as old as sales itself . You've read tired old lines like this -

"Buy now, because the price will rise!"
"Buy now, because the product will be discontinued!"
"Buy now, because you'll get these additional bonuses worth thousands!"

Sense of urgency. Put a rocket up their ass and they'll Act Now!

You tell your reader that if they don't act now – someone else in their zip code will beat them to it - will get the only offer available to that particular zip code. Yes you're limiting sales to only one person in that Zip Code (or Post Code).

Check it out here at this site.

Click on "add to cart" and you'll see what it does. Enter ZipCode 11747 and you'll see it's taken. Then try your zipcode. The script actually reads your i.p.

Would they be more inclined to buy now?

You better believe it Pilgrim. Millionaire-maker Dan Kennedy says -

“Listen You Idiot - Selling to One Per Zip Code Boosts Sales Outasight!"

(Actually he didn't phrase it exactly like that. But he might have - going by some of the language in his books and seminars.)

So exactly how do you do this? Simple. A simple plan. You buy this script from us and upload it to your page. It's push button. A veritable NOS booster for your sales page.

With millions of zip and postal codes around the world, you will never have a shortage of customers. But the seed will be planted in the back of your customers mind that maybe, just maybe, someone else in their postal code will get your product and they won't.

Finally a way to really achieve scarcity, you could even have a zip code franchise, system...

I say the price should go up, Way up,,, LOL,

You are insane to sell it this cheap, what a concept, holy hamburger batman, I wish I had thought of that.

Tim Franklin

Here's a brief overview of the ZipCodeScript

1. Creates urgency in the customers mind that he will get excluded from the offer.
   Captures prospects name and email address while searching to see if his postal code is available.
   Name and email address is saved on your Aweber autoresponder account.
   Script has an "off" mode so you can operate your web site without the ZipCodeScript running.
   ZipCodeScript can run in a "Sorry, No" mode that informs the buyer that the postal code is in use and that he will be notified when a spot opens up (great for product launches).
   Use in conjunction with Paypal.
   Easy installation.

A fourfold Increase in sales?

That's what Dan Kennedy says. And we tend to agree. We've tested it ourselves and the results have been outstanding.

<h2<What will it do for your Sales?

* gives higher conversions for the products you sell.
* Achieves "fear of loss" results without your being a huckster, trickster, deceiver or plain old bullshit artist.
* Builds a subscriber list and customer base automatically.
* Breathes new life into your products and offers.
* Reduces your advertising costs by increasing conversions.

Did You Know a 1% Conversion Increase Can Fatten Your Wallet By a Whopping 50%?

Consider your current income...let's say it's $5,000 per month based on various sales pages and squeeze pages that you run for your business.
Let's say your sales pages average out to 2% sales conversion and your opt-in pages average out to 20% opt-in.
If you can boost your conversions by just 50% (i.e. take your 2% sales conversion to 3% and take your 20% opt-in conversion to 30%), your income would be an extra $2500 for the month - giving you a theoretical $7500 for the month.
It's the fastest way to boost profits.

What Are The System Requirements?

* Aweber Account - if you don't have one they have a Aweber free trail.
* A PayPal account for handling transactions
* Access to a database
* The OnePerZipCodeScript is set-up to integrate with your Aweber account. After your prospect clicks "Buy Now", he is directed to a page to enter his name, email and zip or postal code. After the prospect clicks "submit" his information is stored in your Aweber database and he is redirected to your PayPal check-out page or his information is stored and is redirected to a "sorry, no" page (this is powerful, because now you can email him later and say that an opening has come-up).

So there it is. Go here to download it. Price includes installation.

This is possibly the best video squeeze page I've ever seen.

Video Squeeze from wallyworld on Vimeo.