A top Internet marketing guru was interviewing me before deciding to hire me. He hit me with a seemingly simple question… that still stopped me in my tracks. It went something like this…

“What’s the most important component of writing copy?”

Woah. I’d honestly never thought about it like that. And I suppose it can be answered several different ways.

Many people pick the headline as the most important. And I definitely understand that, I test different headlines more than anything else.

James Brausch, the analytical programmer/scientist/entrepreneur, gave the should-be-obvious-but-is-not answer: the order button. Can’t get many sales without that!

Researching and understanding your market is another obvious (and truthful) answer.

With this guru sitting in front of me, I didn’t want to give an obvious answer. So I thought about it, probably longer than I wanted to, and said…

Believability.

Sales copy MUST come across as believable to work well.

* If your headline makes a wild claim that’s not believable, you lose them.

* If your copy makes claims that aren’t backed up, you lose them.

* If your offer sounds too good to be true, then you lose them.

If any aspect of your sales copy lacks believability, you’re gonna feel the hurt in your pocketbook.

That’s why I wasn’t surprised when Brausch discovered that testimonials were consistently the most important part of his copy (outside of the order button).

Testimonials help to provide proof, which adds to the believability.

But testimonials are only one form of proof (and I’ll talk more about them in the next entry). And because the entire sales letter needs to be believed, I want as many forms of proof as I can get.

Hence Question #9 in my copywriting questionnaire:

9) What sources of proof can you provide to back up your product’s claims…

When I write copy, I want to back up every claim I make with proof. Both little and small.

If my client is an expert in the field she wrote this ebook for, then I want to know what her credentials are.

Did she have demonstratable success with the topic area? Something I can prove with say… screenshots of proof of income? a photo of her enjoying her new mansion? awards or honors received? a video of success in action?

Does she have relevant credentials? A degree? Is she a published author? Made guest TV appearances on the topic?

I want to know all these things so I can boost the credibility of the seller.

I also want to prove the product works.

Can I have a picture of the finished result? Would a before and after photo set be appropriate?

Can I show a video of the product in action?

Can I construct a solid logical argument backed by facts that the product, does indeed work?

And here’s something that’s a little more creative that can help add proof…

Is there a story or analogy I can use to help the reader believe your product will work…

Success stories can go along way to helping the reader decide, “Yes! This product will work for me.”

The right story can help the reader wrap their head around your product (the solution to their problems) and really start to believe in it. What story do you have for me? What analogy would help the reader make this jump?

Is there a story about the creation of the product that would add believability?

Are there success stories I could use? Maybe an incredible story, like a one-legged golfer who can drive the ball further than most two-legged golfers?

Or maybe an analogy…

I was looking at the Hairmax comb the other day that’s supposed to regrow your hair (fine, I’m losing my hair, if you laugh it’s bad karma!). They compared combing your hair with the laser comb 3 times a week to brushing your teeth, just regular personal maintenance. That’s great!

Dig deep for this as it could play a prominent rule in the copy.

And there are more forms of proof as well. The most obvious one being testimonials as mentioned earlier. But we’ll get to that in the next entry. Until then!

Price points are easy to come up with. The headline takes a lot of work… but that’ll come from my research.

The offer is something you need to team up and strategize with the client on. And one thing they’re not likely to have given a thought to is how they’ll LIMIT the offer.

Because of that, question #8 comes with a link to Michel Fortin’s amazing article on scarcity.

How are you limiting the offer? (See http://www.michelfortin.com/use-scarcity-to-sell-not-scare/)

At this link the client will discover there are three ways to limit the offer. That’s through limiting the time, quantity or offer.

You can limit the time by giving a discounted price until a certain date.

You can limit the quantity by only selling so many of your product… or only letting so many in to your membership site… and so forth.

You can limit the offer by giving out special bonuses… special extras like free coaching or shipping… and so forth.

Michel has said procrastination is the biggest killer of sales. And that’s why having a legitimate REASON WHY the customer must act now to get the best deal is such a powerful tool for the copywriter.

In addition to Michel’s article, I created a product called “Digital Scarcity” that gives ideas for adding legitimate REASONs WHY the client must act now… even if you have an unlimited supply of your product (because it’s digital).

It’s important to brainstorm these “reason’s why.” Both for the initial launch and after that scarcity is over (for example, after the first 100 bonuses are given away).

You simply must limit the time, quantity or the offer to maximize your sales.

Question #7 from my copywriting questionnaire is…

“7) a. Where is your traffic coming from? (Please be very specific)

“b. If you’re targeting specific keywords, what are they?”

How is the client planning on getting visitors to the site. Are they going to rely on methods like Google Adwords? Or are they going to send a mailing to their list?

There’s a big difference between the mindset of these two visitor groups.

When a list owner sends an email out saying, “Come buy my product,” the visitors who click on over are already browsing to buy.

In complete contrast, someone who clicks on a Google Adwords ad may not even be close to looking for something to buy.

You need to approach these two visitors differently.

For the visitor that knows they’re about to see a sales pitch… it’s OK to mention details about the offer (like price discounts and limits on the offer) and display testimonials at the top of the copy. They can be in the headline, deck copy or intro.

But for people who were not expecting a sales pitch. Hold on!

With this group, you shouldn’t mention anything is for sale early on. You shouldn’t mention anything about ordering, price, offer limitations or testimonials. Save that for later.

Instead, just focus on getting their attention and keeping it. Get them interested in the copy and subtly sell them on your product… before they know there is a product.

Then when they’re convinced your offering is the solution, let them know the price, the discounts, the bonuses, the testimonials and so forth.

Part “B” of question 7 asks which keywords are being targeted, if any.

This will further let you know the mindset of the visitor.

If the keyword “easy magic tricks” is targeted and you write copy aimed at professional magicians… you just made a big mistake.

In closing, I hope you realize that understanding the mindset of the visitor before you write the copy is absolutely essential.

Remember when I lost all my blog posts last month? Well I tried to get as many of the valuable posts back as I could from Google’s cache.

One post that I didn’t find the first time around was an awesome interview I did with Ryan Healy.

I was reminded of it when I saw that the interview he gave me was still one of the most popular posts on his blog. Well, I didn’t want to lose this interview. I got Google up and running again and searched for that interview…

…I had to be clever, but I found it. So here it is, once again. The interview!

1. What attracted you to copywriting?

Actually, copywriting found me.

Starting in the 8th grade, I knew I would be a writer. I wrote for the high school paper, poetry journals, and the college paper. I wrote essays, speeches, and fiction — the whole gamut.

At every job I had, people would come to me to edit their writing. At Merrill Lynch, my managers would have me edit and rewrite their most important emails before they sent them out! (I wasn’t hired to do this; it just kind of happened.)

Anyway, I was approached by the owner of Sonlight Curriculum to write copy for him. He wanted to replace himself. He knew I loved to write and had an entrepreneurial bent, so he hired me.

I spent three years writing sales copy for him and his company, and doing all their Internet marketing.

And that is how copywriting found me.

2. When did you first know you had MADE IT, and that a copywriting career would work?

That’s an interesting question.

I guess I first knew I had “made it” when I got three clients in less than two weeks of launching my freelance career. That was one level of “knowing.”

I then knew I had “made it” (again, at a deeper level) a couple years later when I had more work than I could handle and a constant flow of new leads.

3. How would you recommend someone with NO copywriting experience… get some experience?!

First, hand copy some proven ads.

Then see if you can get somebody to mentor you.

John Holzmann was my first true mentor. He really forced me to become a better copywriter.

In fact, he also taught me perseverance — how to accept criticism, get better, and keep pressing forward.

This is one reason for my success. When the going gets tough, I keep going.

4. Where do you think there’s more money to be made, online or offline?

It depends on your definition of “more.”

In my own experience, there are more online copywriting projects than off-line.

So, in one sense, you could say there’s more money online.

On the other hand, one successful off-line project has the potential to generate more profit than multiple online projects.

There are more online projects to be had — but there is more leverage in an off-line project.

5. What’s your #1 productivity tip?

The strategy: Eliminating distractions.

The technique: Using a content filter to block most of the Internet — especially sites that naturally cause distraction.

I personally use Safe Eyes.

6. What keeps you MOTIVATED to keep writing amazing copy?

I’m like a kid with a stick. I like to poke people in the brain and see what happens.

Every sales letter I write is another experiment — and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

(In fact, I sometimes get just as excited to see how people respond to a new blog post as I do watching people respond to sales letters.)

7. What’s your favorite technique for researching/preparing for a project?

I have two favorite techniques:

a. Interviewing the client or the person who created the product.

b. Consuming the product.

These two things alone can provide mountains of information you can use in a sales letter.

8. From Rebecca at MissCopy.com: How do you find sales letters to be in your swipe file? And how do you make sure they should be in a swipe file?

I buy stuff.

Seriously.

If you buy a few products from Nightingale-Conant, you will start getting boatloads of sales letters.

If you subscribe to an Agora service (like The Oxford Club), you will get boatloads of sales letters.

If you subscribe to Bottom Line Personal, you will get boatloads of sales letters.

If you buy a book from Rodale, you will get boatloads of sales letters.

These companies pay a lot for good copy. Watch your mailbox for pieces mailed more than once. Those are the most profitable letters.

Another way to get sales letters: Ask a client to seed your name on his list.

I have a client in the financial industry who did this for me, so I get a ton of financial mail as well.

In the online world, I look for letters I know were written by a great copywriter. Right now, it’s very easy to find John Carlton letters, Clayton Makepeace letters, Michel Fortin letters, etc.

All you have to do is subscribe to their email lists.

9. What’s your #1 tip for instantly boosting conversion rates?

In general, I would say split-test.

Specifically, I would have to see the sales letter. Sometimes I can immediately see “trouble spots” and eliminate them.

Actually, that’s the fastest way to boost conversion rates: Stop doing stuff that kills sales.

Knowing what that “stuff” is, is a different question all together.

10. The headline: do you write it first, last or neither?

I like to write it first. I then like to rewrite it last.

When I worked with Alex Mandossian, he had me write at least 20 headlines for a sales letter. I would then write at least 30.

I’ve heard some people write at least 100.

I don’t know. Every time I’ve done this, I usually go with the headline concept that comes out somewhere in the middle. You might get a breakthrough at headline 100 — or you might just get crap because you ran out of good ideas.

Anyway, I like to write the headline first because it gives me some direction in my letter. But I like to rewrite it later, after I’ve written the letter itself.

Every letter is different though.

If I don’t write the headline first, I write bullets. More than once, one of my bullets became the headline for the letter.

11. If you had no contacts and no one knew your name, how would you get a client quickly?

I’d get on a plane, fly to a couple marketing seminars, and make my name known.

The first marketing seminar I went to, I landed a $1,000 project… in the bar… the night before the seminar started.

I’ve traced more than $60,000 in fees to that one seminar.

Historically, I get at least one new client from every seminar I attend.

The best part about this strategy is you don’t need a web site or a sales letter. All you need is a smile, a firm handshake, and a decent business card.

12. Where can people learn more about you?

You can go to www.RyanHealy.com to read my blog. I write new posts weekly about business growth, copywriting, and advertising.

I’ll be focusing more on direct response advertising & copywriting during the next month or two.

Thanks Ryan!

Sometimes when I call my sister’s cell phone and she answers, I shout, “Lady Ace, Lady Ace, Come in Lady Ace!”

Guess you had to see it…

…in any case. I bring it up because it’s time to spy on your competition.

Now, you may be thinking I’m suggesting to spy on your competition so you can take their best ideas and copy them. And sure, I usually take ideas from competitors’ copy.

But that’s not the biggest reason you should spy on your competition.

The BIGGEST reason to spy on your competition is to see what they’re NOT doing. To find out what claims they’re not making… or what claims they’re not capable of making. To discover how your product kicks the pants off their product and so on.

Armed with that competitive intel, your job will be to craft a unique sales message that is superior to your competitors’.

The last thing you want to do is write sales copy that could apply to any other product in your market. If you did, how would they remember you? Why would they read your copy if they’ve read similar copy in the past? If your product is more of the same, why buy from you instead of just finding the cheapest?

It’s important to make your copy unique by discovering competitive advantages and exploiting them.

In my copywriting questionnaire, I ask the client to help me identify these competitive advantages with three simple questions.

4) Who are your competitors? (URL’s please, if available)

I can do a simple Google search to find out who are the top adwords advertisers for a market. But that doesn’t mean they’re the most popular competitor.

We want to find out out which competitors the reader has likely seen before so we can make sure to be different. Google searches are part of that. Checking out popular forums from the marketplace can be part of that.

But asking the client is the quickest and often the most valuable way. They usually know who is spreading their sales message around the best. And we need to make sure we differentiate ourselves from them.

5) In what quantifiable way do you stand out from the competition?

Now that we’ve identified who the main competitors are, this question is aimed at quickly finding out how you can stand out.

If the client gives a good answer, he/she can save you a lot of time digging up the competitive advantages on your own.

6) If your product is an info product, is their a specific passage/segment I can look to that I won’t find in a competitor’s product?

This question narrows down the competitive advantage even further, saving the copywriter a lot of time. Now we can quickly skip to the pages that detail how your client’s product is unique and superior to your competitor’s product.

After you’ve identified the main competitors and identified the competitive advantages, you’re ready to start brainstorming your angle and logical arguments. But NOT before.

That’s what makes questions #4, #5 and #6 so important.

So instead of asking something silly like, “What’s your product?”, I ask about the major benefit.  And that’s question #2 on my questionnaire:

“2) In one or two sentences only, what major benefit does your product/service uniquely provide?”

There are two key words to pay attention to in that question: “major” and “uniquely.”

A product may have a gazillion benefits.  But the copy is going to focus primarily on the big idea.  The MAJOR benefit of your product. It could be to lose weight, make money, get out of debt etc.  That’s the major benefit.

But that’s not all I want to know.  I also wanna know how your product UNIQUELY delivers that benefit. There are lots of weight loss products out there, how does your product stand out?

If this question is answered correctly, it could be the entire theme of the copy.

Of course, most products have more than one benefit.  Or sub-benefits.  So question #3 is designed to expand on question #2:

3) Please list additional benefits of your product/service.

If your product helps you to lose weight while still eating your favorite foods, that’s a great benefit.

If you’re selling exercise equipment that stores away easily, taking up little space.  That’s a great benefit.

(Note: For great advice on writing benefits, check out Michel Fortin’s article “Forget Benefits, And you Will Sell More.” Make sure to read all the way down to the advantages vs. benefits portion.)

These secondary benefits will help you support the major benefit.  The more you collect, the easier it will be to connect with your reader and write great copy.

Two ways…

If you want to talk to me about a copywriting project, fill out an application at http://www.copyproductions.com. I’ll respond ASAP by email.

Otherwise, just comment on a post here at the blog. That’s the most appropriate way to chit chat with me.

An email will be sent to my inbox with your message. If it’s appropriate I’ll publish the comment and respond back.

Otherwise, I may respond by email.

This method is a lot better for me than handing out my email address. I don’t have to deal with spambots, stalkers or mean people. (OK, maybe still mean people.)

Another way to keep in contact with me is through Twitter. My page is http://www.twitter.com/stephenPdean

Notice the P in the URL above! Stop by, I’d love to have you as a follower.

Michel Fortin was my copywriting coach at the time, he didn’t have anything to add.  It was ready to give to the client.

The client was a big name guru you’ve probably heard of.

And he hated it.  He changed it quite a bit, including the entire angle, before he published it.

What happened?  I didn’t manage my client’s expectations.  Part of that job is to discover what the client is expecting the letter will look like.

And the easiest way to get that answer is to ask…

“1) Are there any competing sales letters you like that I should see?”

Have you ever heard, “The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side.”  If your client likes a competitor’s sales letter, they’re probably looking for something similar.

Of course your sales letter needs to be unique to be successful.  But you can get a good feel of the tempo and energy of the copy.  And that’s likely what your client is looking for.

The lesson: If you want to keep your client happy, find out what they like about their competitor’s sales copy.