Home Kitchen Cooks and Stay at Home Moms know how to read and write. That's why copywriting is so attractive to those who want to stuff more dollars and cents into the family cookie jar. Here are a few writing tips good to know.
Naturally not all messages are the same, but basic formats are. For
example, sales letters have one or more pages. Email messages are brief.
Web pages focus on content above the fold.
Every sales message must be highly organized in order to lead the reader
from initial attention to action. That’s why sales writers use a list
of parts as a guide. The purpose of having parts of a message is to:
1. Break up the message into bite-size pieces that make it easier for the reader to digest.
2. Highlight points in subtle ways to disguise your sales motive
3. Draw the reader in to hold interest and demonstrate value
Here are the basic parts of a sales message. You use some or all these parts depending on the format.
== Headline, Subject, First Sentence, Body, Subhead, Crosshead, Floating, Boxed, Proof, Call To Action, Closing, Signature, Post Script ==
Headline. Your hook that draws the reader to want to know more.
Subject. Used in email and is same as headline.
Subhead. Smaller headline over paragraph.
Crosshead. Bolded text on same line as sentence that follows.
Floating. Text that is not part of body and has no particular position.
Boxed. Text with a framed box positioned with body.
Body. Main text of message.
Proof. Main text of message that proves promise. Not generally a “part” but identified in listing to demonstrate importance in sales copywriting.
Closing. Final lines in body. Sometimes contained in separate paragraph.
Signature. Identification of message author with contact information.
Post Script. Reminder after signature. Contains brief summary or key sales point.
There is a creative challenge to writing sales copy. I don’t mean the kind of creativity that graphic designers have or painters or sculptors. Your creative challenge is to find the reasons why people want the products, services, information (PSI) you sell.
Research the features and benefits until you find what captures people. Years ago, when I was working at the ad agency, my boss talked about the Rolls-Royce ad. He was a great admirer of David Ogilvy. Ogilvy spent three weeks reading about the car and came across a statement about the clock that turned into one of the most famous headlines of all time for automobile ads.
The point of this story is to do your homework. Don’t just start writing with no research. Write sales points on paper so your brain can see them. Sleep on it. Read about your competitors. Know what they are doing. How they are phrasing their ads, brochures and web page text.
All this time and effort is tedious, but it pays big when you sit down to write your sales messages. Now that you have done your research, it’s time to think about exactly what it is you’re going to sell. What I mean by this is that like the ‘quiet clock’ you want to find your best selling point –
1. Don’t sell the car. Sell the quiet.
2. Don’t sell the steak. Sell the smell on the grill. The taste.
3. Don’t sell the tire. Sell safety.
Come up with your big idea, test it and if it returns a high response -- use it as the theme throughout the year in all your sales messages. Being self employed means you have control over your copy messages and your success.