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Check in on Week Five Portfolio Activity

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Check in on Week Five Portfolio Activity

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For your business, this will be part of your Assessment Three.

1.Create an e-newsletter/EDM

mailchimp.com, constantcontact.com, campaignmonitor.com

2.Create an infographic

piktochart.com, infogram.com, canva.com

Make sure you include references if you use any statistics.

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Writing copy that engages your target audience - " Sell the sizzle, not the steak".

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Writing copy that engages your target audience - " Sell the sizzle, not the steak".

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Reminder - this is due at the end of next week - December 12

Case Study report, which is worth 30% of your overall grade for this unit.

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Using Perry Belcher’s 21 steps to copywriting or similar models (AIDA) introduced in class, work on developing “new news” content for your business website.    400-500 words

Capture customer attention with headlines, sub-headings, of problem/solution.

Number your steps in your post on your digital portfolio

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5 min read

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I first met Perry Belcher, the Copy King, at a Morton's steakhouse in Bethesda, Maryland, just past the town of Chevy Chase (seriously, it exists!).

He and I were staying at the Hyatt Regency for a Yanik Silver Mastermind back in 2007.

It was there that I first noticed the common traits that almost all great copywriters/salesmen shared (like Joel Marion, this guy, Porter Stansberry, Bedros Keuilian *read his Secret $4,000 Emails System here, & my real-life salesman buddy, Tommy).

These gifts come naturally to great copywriters...

1. They like to eat & drink

2. They like to laugh & have a great time

3. They are loyal friends

4. They are extremely generous

5. They LOVE to tell stories... and they are great at telling them.

These all come to them naturally.

Unfortunately, I'm not a natural in all of those...(just a, part of b, and c). I have to work quite hard at the rest.

Fortunately, the Belcher gave us the FORMULA we need (to print out) to become amazing salesmen and women. It's below.

Print these out and review them every time you try to sell something.

Belcher first came up with this list after stumbling across David Frey's 12-step foolproof sales letter formula. Perry claims this formula has made him many millions of dollars over the years, but he still was able to add a few upgrades.
Here are Perry's 21 copy secrets and 8 questions for you...

1. Call out to your audience... Be specific! It seems unnecessary to put "Attention: _(insert your audience here)_" at the top of a sales letter, but you see it - and even hear it on the radio - all the time...particularly from top direct marketers

2. Grab their attention with your Big Promise Headline telling them, specifically, what you are going to teach them

3. Backup the big promise with a quick explanation (sub-headline)

4. Identify the problem by telling a story (see my final thoughts about Perry below) and make sure they know that it is NOT their fault that they struggle right now

5. Provide your solution - and prove it is the best option

6. Show pain (with empathy & affinity)

7. Show speed of results

8. Future cast - Explain to them how their life will be better because of your solution

9. Prove that you are the expert (credibility)

10. Detail the benefits in bullet points - And here's an additional bonus tip from Bedros to make this better...
..."Whenever you are creating bullet points, use the phrase "so that" to make the bullet even better."
For example: The simple benefit "You'll lose fat with this workout" can be improved by turning it to, "You'll lose fat with this workout so that you turn heads at the beach & get all the attention you want from the opposite sex".
(That's not a great bullet, by the way, but it's just a sample of how to use that formula to improve your bullet copy.)

11. Show proof/testimonials ... you can also use an outside authority...such as statistics from research, or quoting an authority (i.e. "According to the Wall Street Journal")

12. Make your offer in detail

13. Build up your value - Fragment your offer and then add it all up to increase value

14. Add bonuses - increase the value even more

15. Reveal your price (this is where the pop up buy button shows up in a VSL) ...NOTE: If you are going to split test, start with Price, then test headline, and then test your offer

16. Inject scarcity - Find a way to deliver this...via increased price, limited time, etc.

17. Give guarantee to remove/reverse all risk

18. Call to action - Be specific and tell them what to do to take action now

19. Give warning that if they don't buy, here's what will happen (i.e. will remain in pain)

20. Close with a reminder - a PS recap of everything ... Perry said one of his best PS's went like this:
"PS - As my grandmother said, 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again when it doesn't work. So if you keep doing what you're doing now, you'll be in the same place next year." And then it went into a summary of the problem, his solution, the offer, and his guarantee.

Listen, this is nothing groundbreaking. And it's no replacement for a big idea/hook, but it's a great formula to help you get started. Heck, it will save you a ton of time as you write future sales letters.

Get good at sales copy and you will be King of Your World.

Take this push toward a bigger, better, and wealthier business and multiply it by reading The Perfect Day Formula. Here's a free copy just for getting started!

If you want to double your income, work less, and become the ambitious millionaire you've always wanted to be... Craig Ballantyne is the coach who will help you do it. With more than 20-years of experience as an entrepreneur and five 7-figure businesses under his belt, he specializes in helping "struckling" entrepreneurs get out of the mud and build the business of their dreams. To see if you qualify for Craig's "Millionaire Coaching Program" send an email to support@earlytorise.com with the subject line "Millionaire".

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21 Sales Copy Secrets from Perry Belcher, Co-Founder of Digital Marketer

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I first met Perry Belcher, the Copy King, at a Morton's steakhouse in Bethesda, Maryland, just past the town of Chevy Chase (seriously, it exists!). He and I were staying at the Hyatt Regency for a Yanik Silver Mastermind back in 2007.

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10 min read incl video

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fans everywhere remember the pivotal first scene where we learn just how talented Don Draper is at his job.

Faced with an almost-impossible copywriting task, he rose to the occasion to solve a huge problem for his client, Lucky Strike. In spite of research warning customers of the dangers of cigarettes, Draper delivered the iconic slogan -- "It's toasted" -- to differentiate the brand from its competitors.

Now, we definitely aren't advocating for smoking cigarettes (or many of Draper's health choices). But fictional or not, you can't deny the memorability and catchiness of that tagline.

It's easy to recognize good copywriting when you see it, but there are actually several characteristics that really separate outstanding writing from the rest of the pack. Want to know them? Read on below to find out.

What is copywriting?

Copywriting is one of the most critical elements of any and all forms of marketing and advertising. Copywriting consists of the words, either written or spoken, marketers use to try to get people to take an action after reading or hearing them.

Copywriting is like a call-to-action, but on a bigger scale: Copywriters are trying to get people to feel, think, or respond -- or, ideally, to Google the slogan or brand to learn more about the campaign. And where a blog post like this one has the luxury of hundreds of words with which to make a case, copywriters only have a few words to make their case.

But short and sweet isn't the only characteristic of good copywriting. Keep reading to learn more characteristics of truly memorable copy.

6 Traits of Good Copywriting

1) It tilts your perspective.

Sometimes, all a message needs to break through is a slight shift in angle. We've grown so accustomed to blocking out marketing messages, we don't even see them anymore. One of the most powerful things a copywriter can do is break down a reader's guard with an unexpected approach. Every story has a myriad of angles -- your job as a copywriter is to find the one that resonates.

This ad from Sage Therapeutics pressing the importance of talking about postpartum depression works because instead of asking readers to care about something they don't know, it puts them in the position of experiencing the struggle that mothers suffering do. Did they miss some readers who quickly passed by the ad thinking it was for adult pacifiers? Most definitely. But the ad resonated that much more thoroughly with those who read it.

The next time you sit down to write, try out this approach. Don't take the topic head on. Instead, ask yourself why it matters. Each time you write down an answer, challenge yourself to push it further. Find the larger story happening behind your message.

2) It finds connections.

In 1996, Steve Jobs let the cat out of the bag. He was speaking with a journalist from Wired on the topic of creativity and explained:

"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after awhile."

Let's say you have to write an ad for a new pair of sneakers. You could take the assignment head on. You could write about the elasticity of the shoe's sole or the lightweight design. Indeed, many have. Or you could put all of that aside and instead draw the connection between the product and the experience it evokes.

Two things are happening in this ad. First, the copy recognizes that for many, running isn't about running at all -- it's about solitude, peace, and restoring sanity to an otherwise hectic life. Second, not only does Nike connect the ad to the experience of running, it actually connects to the sound that those shoes make as they hit the pavement.

This ad is about the complexity of one's life fading away and being replaced by simplicity and clarity. As the copy progresses, the sentences simplify and the copy's complexity is slowly replaced by the simple and rhythmic pounding of words: run, run, run, run. The same rhythm one hears when all but their footsteps have faded away. That's connection.

3) It has a stunning lead.

The following are all headlines or leading sentences from Urban Daddy, an email-based magazine drawing attention to new products, experiences, and eateries.

"Six days. That's how long you have until 65% of your body is turkey."

"There are 8,760 hours in a year. And just one hour in which a stand will be dispensing gratis latkes with homemade applesauce and sour cream in Harvard Square. Yeah, it's not fair. But 60 minutes is 60 minutes."

"Ewoks. Talk about living."

What's common among each of these leads? They make us want to read the next line. I mean, seriously, how much do you want to know where that Ewok thing is headed?

There's an adage in copywriting that's loosely credited to copywriter and business owner Joe Sugarman, which roughly states that the purpose of the headline is to get you to read the first line. The purpose of the first line is to get you to read the second line, and so on. In short, if your first line doesn't enthrall your readers, all is lost.

4) It is born out of listening.

Seeing its plans to launch yet another gym in the greater Boston region, an outsider might have called the Harrington family a wee bit crazy. The market was already flush with gyms, including a new breed of luxury ones that seemed to be in an arms war for the flashiest perks. Gyms across the region were offering massage services, smoothie bars, and fleets of personal trainers. And GymIt wouldn't have any of that.

What did GymIt have? An understanding of its core audience. Before launching its new gym, the brand did a ton of listening to its primary market of gym-goers. For many in GymIt's target market, the added benefits associated with luxury gyms were nice to have, but came with a lot of baggage -- namely expensive rates and overly complex contracts.

GymIt decided to simplify the gym-going experience for people who predominately cared about getting in and working out. The copy in its launch campaign and across its marketing materials reflects that understanding.

In an older blog post, Copyblogger's Robert Bruce put this nicely. "Humble yourself and truly serve your audience, listen to their needs and desires, listen to the language they use," he said. "If you listen carefully, your audience can eventually give you everything you need, including much of your copy. Get out of their way."

5) It avoids jargon and hyperbole.

Groundbreaking. Revolutionary. Business Solutions. Targetable Scale. Ideation. Evidence-based approaches. Industry-wide best practices.

Have I lost you yet?

When writers struggle to convey what is truly special about their company, product, or service, they sometimes fall back on jargon or hyperbole to underscore their point. The truth is, good copywriting doesn't need dressing up. Good copywriting should speak to the reader in human terms.

This isn't to say you should never celebrate awards or achievements. Just be direct in the way you explain that achievement. This homepage from Basecamp does a nice job of highlighting its popularity in concrete terms.

6) It cuts out excess.

Good writing gets to the point -- and that means cutting out excessive phrases, and rewording your sentences to be more direct. In an ad celebrating its "academic" readership, The Economist playfully demonstrates this below.

How do you rid excess words from your writing? It's half practice, half knowing where to cut. This article from Daily Writing Tips is one of the most effective summaries I've found on precise writing. Included in its tips:

Reduce verb phrases: For instance, turn "The results are suggestive of the fact that" to "The results suggest."

Reduce wordy phrases to single words: You can change "in order to" into "to." Another example: Turn "Due to the fact that" into "because."

Avoid vague nouns: Phrases formed around general nouns like "in the area of" or "on the topic of" clutter sentences.

Read the full list of brevity tips here.

In general, if you can afford to cut without losing the meaning of a sentence, do so. Push yourself to strip down your word count. Turn 50-word homepage copy into 25, then push yourself again to make that 25-word sentence into 15 words. It's not about brevity so much as it is about making sure every word counts in your writing.

Since my last point was about getting to the point, I'll keep this brief: Words matter. Every time you sit down to write an ad, web page, video script, or other content for your company, you have the opportunity to break through to people. Find those opportunities in your marketing and make sure that you've made the most of them.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in November 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Copywriting 101: 6 Traits of Excellent Copy Readers Will Remember

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fans everywhere remember the pivotal first scene where we learn just how talented Don Draper is at his job. Faced with an almost-impossible copywriting task, he rose to the occasion to solve a huge problem for his client, Lucky Strike.

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What did you learn today?
Add in comments below.

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Same every week