“Give Me 90 Minutes And I’ll Show
You How To Write A Cash Sucking
Sales Letter That’ll Siphon Cash
Out Of Your Customer’s Wallets
Like A Vacuum On Steroids!”
Kevin Hill
What We’re Going To Cover:
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Introduction – What Is Copywriting?
Examining Human Desires
What Makes You Unique?
Critical Research You MUST Perform
The “Secret” Structure of a Sales letter
Injecting Proof and Credibility Into Your Letter
Squeeze Page and Blog Content
What Is Copywriting?
• Has Nothing To Do With Copyright Law
• Copywriting is “Salesmanship in Print”
“The Ability To Channel Human Desire And
Give it A Goal” -- Eugene Schwartz
It’s Like Writing A Letter To
Your Grandmother…
• Writing copy is the most important thing
you’ll learn on this webinar series!
• You can have the perfect product, but if
the words on the page don’t sell the
product, you will lose the sale!
Human Desires
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To lose weight
Prestige
Eliminate Fear
Greed
To show off
Eliminate Pain
Gain Pleasure
Relaxation
To get rich
To gain status
• Good Copywriters Are Students Of Psychology!!
The Desire To Avoid Pain Is
Stronger Than To Gain
Pleasure!
You Cannot Create Desire, You
Can Only Channel It!
• Otherwise, you have to educate your
prospect BEFORE you sell them!
• Most people live boring lives and don’t
have goals or ambitions.
– Your job is to light a fire under their butt by
giving their innate desire a goal!
But…Before You Write A
Single Word.....
Your Prospect’s Day Is Full Of:
• Distractions In Their Lives
• Offline Advertising
• Online Advertising
• NOBODY wants to read your
ad…however…
• It is YOUR duty to get the word out there!
Who Is Your Customer?
• You have to narrowly define your market
• What problems do they have that you’re
trying to solve?
– You are a problem solver!
– You have to step into their shoes and know
their wants and needs
What Is Your S.O.B.?
• S.O.B. = Statement Of Benefit
– Analogous to U.S.P – Unique Sales Proposition
– What makes you product/service unique?
– Examples
• Dominoes Pizza: “Fresh hot pizza right to your door in 30
minutes or it’s free”
• Fedex – “When it absolutely, positively has to get there
overnight”
• John Alanis – “How To Have Women Approach YOU First…No
Matter Your Looks, Age or Income”
So, What’s Your Story?
• People love a good story
• “Rags-to-Riches” stories are the best!
– They agitate the problem and illustrate the
benefits of the solution
– Russell’s story is a great example
– Don’t be afraid to pound your story into your
prospect’s heads!
• Part of the “Attractive Character”
How To Talk In Your Market In
Their Language!
• Know how your market talks!
– Golfers: It’s not a ‘sand trap’, it’s a ‘bunker’!
• Using unfamiliar words gets the reader out
of the “Flow” mode and into the “Figuring
Out” mode…not good!!!
How To Get Someone Who’s
NEVER Heard Of Copywriting
To Write A Profitable Sales
Letter!
• The ability to take a sales letter and “chunk it down” into
12 manageable parts
• How did I do it? TEMPLATES!
– Thanks to David Garfinkel…
• John Carlton’s “One Legged Golfer” ad is a perfect
example!
– Check it out at:
http://www.ohpdirect.com/pro.php?sku=772G
THE WINNING Sales letter
Structure:
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Headline – Grabs attention
Introduction – Maintains attention
Story – Introduces, Agitates, and Presents the BENEFITS
Offer – Introduce how THEY can get the same benefits
Bullets – 8-10 “teasers” that pique curiosity
Value Builder – tell why what they are getting is a bargain
Guarantee – Give them a way to back out
Takeaway – Create urgency
Call To Action – Ask for the sale
P.S. – Reinforce an important part of the sales presentation
Headlines
• It has to pick up the prospect, flip them
over, and shake the money out of their
pockets!
• Remember the state of mind your
prospect is in…
Four Elements of Killer
Headlines
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Specificity
Uniqueness
Urgency
Usefulness
Headlines Cont…
• Make sure you use “trigger words” that call out
to your prospect
• A headline can increase your response by at
least 300%!
• Your headline should stand on its own
– You should be able to stick a 800 number at the
bottom of your headline and use it as a classified ad
How To “Swipe” Headlines
Original headline from www.doubleyourdating.com:
“Swiped” headline from www.promotingtips.com:
PROVEN Headline Templates
• “Who Else Wants ____?”
– Use this when the desire or goal is easily recognized
when named.
– “Who Else Wants To Pay Lower Taxes?”
• “Do You Make These Mistakes In English?”
– Do you make these (insert type of service) mistakes?
– Use this when your service avoids mistakes that
others often make….
MORE Headline Templates!
• The Lazy (name your prospect)’s Way To (goal your prospects
want)
• Give Me (surprisingly short amount of time) And I’ll (give you
awesome results you’ve never expected!)
• Do You Make These (type of service your provide) Mistakes?
• Do You Recognize These 7 Warning Signs Of (insert problem
you solve)?
• The (make a bold claim that you can live up to) or Your Money
Back!
Introductory Sentence
• The “second” most important part of your
copy
• Gets your prospect down the “slippery”
slide a. la. Joe Sugarman
• You are NOT Ernest Hemingway…you
need to get to the point ASAP!
Proven Introductory
Sentences:
• The Gary Halbert “If-Then” Intro:
– “If you want to lose weight and live your life
to the fullest, then this will be the most
important message you’ll ever read.”
• Just State Your Case!!
– “Hi, my name is John Smith and I discovered
a great way you can get Red Sox tickets for
free.”
John Carlton “One Legged
Golfer Introductory Sentence:
If you were a hardcore golfer, wouldn’t this be
somewhat interesting to you?
Introductory Sentence
Templates
• The Gary Halbert “If-Then” Intro:
– “If you want to___________, then this will be
the most important message you’ll ever read.”
• Just State Your Case!!
– “Hi, my name is ___________ and I
discovered a great way you can
___________.
How To Write A Killer Lead:
• Here’s where you introduce The Big Promise
– The big underlying benefit your customer’s going to
get...
• You are not selling the product at this point…you
are selling the BENEFITS!
– Line up all the “features” and extract “benefits” from
each one
– Ask yourself “So What” and “Who Cares?”
People Love Stories!
• The Best ads have a “Hook” or story
behind them
– If you have a good story or “Hook” the ad
literally writes itself!
• “One Legged Golfer”: Great story!
• But, don’t overdo it!
– The ad is about the CUSTOMER, not you!
Story Template
Problem:
(From “One Legged Golfer” Ad)
…Here's what this is all about: My name is Dr. Michael O'Leary, and until
very recently I was your basic "hacker". I had a love/hate relationship with
golf — some days I'd be driving like a pro, maybe even flirting occasionally
with par… while the next afternoon my game would absolutely go all to hell.
I swear I've stood at the edge of the lake, holding my bag overhead, one
emotional hair-trigger away from tossing the whole mess and never
stepping up to another ball the rest of my life….
Solution:
…That's how I ran into Milt Wallace. And my life instantly changed forever.
In a few short weeks after listening to Milt's advice…
I had infused my swing with so much new power that I was consistently
muscling drives 50 yards farther than I ever had before! (And you should
have seen the look on my buddies faces when I started using an 8-iron from
180 yards out, nailing shots they missed with their 5-iron!)…
Transition From Opening
Sentence To Story…
Hi, my name is John Smith and I discovered a great way you can
get your hands on Red Sox tickets for free.
These technique is the ultimate Red Sox fan’s “dirty little secret”
that’s guaranteed to make the ticket vendors furious (and make
you the “King of Beantown” in the eyes of your buddies!)
Before I do that, let me tell you the crazy story of how I
accidentally stumbled across this secret when I was trying to
score tickets for the 2007 World Series…
(…and on to story!!!)
Make Me An Offer I Can’t
Refuse:
• Maximize the Real and Perceived Value of the
product/service
• Give your most emotional rendition of how the
product/service is going to solve their problem
• NOW…you can talk about the features!
– Claude Hopkins and Pre-emptive Advertising
Offer Template
From One Legged Golfer…
…That means, if you're reading this message, the deal is on for right
now! This is an unbelievably exciting package… designed so you
don't risk a dime checking it out in your own home! What you get is
the absolute bottom-line BEST one hour and 42 minutes (1:42) of
Milt's most intense teachings -- shot in San Diego's most heavilybooked film studio and on the links at the most prestigious golf
course south of Pebble Beach! This exciting video was shot with
incredible clarity and precise sound reproduction using the superexpensive Betacam SP format... and transferred to VHS with
"Hollywood quality" non-linear digital editing (on the famous
$100,000 InMix "Video Cube")... using custom-wound Sony
industrial-quality videotape! (You cannot get this type of superior
videotape at any retail store!)
Packed into this amazing 1:42 video is exactly everything you need
to know to master the Triple Coil Swing in the shortest time
possible. Nothing has been left out… you get the same
instructional format that Milt uses for his hyper-expensive personal
lessons… with the added advantage that you have it all on tape, so
you can rewind and go over any part you like until it becomes
second nature…
Bullets That Resonate With
Your Target Market:
• Convert features into benefits
• Blind bullets – pique reader’s curiosity
• Have as many bullets as possible…you never
know which one will ‘tip’ your prospect!
Bullet Templates:
• Number bullets:
– “13 things you should know about _____.
• “Top Secret” bullets:
– A secret method for_____.
• “Huge Benefit IN Less Time” bullet:
– In less than 12 minutes you can_______.
• “How To” bullets:
– A new way to_______.
• “Exclusive” bullets:
– This unique, patented formula _______.
How To Build The Value Of
Your Product/Service:
• Show the prospect what they are paying you is a
bargain
• Compare your product/service with competing
products that provide the same method
– Don’t be afraid to compare apples to oranges
• Add bonuses – sometimes people will buy a
product just for the bonuses!
– Has to be related to your product
Value Builder Template
…This price wouldn't even buy you 15 minutes with Milt at
his regular fees — the thousands of dollars that people
have been giving him for over 10 years for personal
lessons. Yet, for the price of one green fee at a fancy
country club, you can own Milt's swing for yourself… with
this video (plus the manual) that reveal to you everything
you'd learn in private lessons! ….
What’s Your Guarantee??
• Remind your prospect of all the claims you
made and how the product is going to
solve the problem
• Gives them a way to “back out” if they are
not satisfied
• Spell it out!!
Guarantee Template:
…Here's how it works: Order your personal copies of
the video, and use it as if you owned it. If, for any
reason or for no reason at all, you aren't completely
satisfied after 3 entire months (by which time I had
lowered my handicap 11 strokes!) — just send back the
video and the manual, in any condition, and I'll
personally guarantee you get a complete refund of
your purchase price by return mail. No questions asked.
No hassles or forms to fill out. No problems at all…
(from One Legged Golfer…)
Takeaway
• “This is only a test price”
• “There is only a limited quantity”
• “My schedule’s filling up fast, so order today”
• “Our fulfillment company can only handle so
many orders, so we may get backed up”
Takeaway Template
“We’re keeping the Boise Workshop small for good reason—we want
to give everyone the same amount of in-depth personal attention
required to achieve success. This is critical if you want to walk away
from this seminar with ALL the tools you need to succeed…
There are 53 spots available—that’s it. And when they’re gone, they’re
gone. So if you’re drop-dead serious about quitting your 9-5 job,
then sign up now!”
• Do this if you’re limiting quantity!!!
ASKING for the Order!
• “Order Today…right now…while it’s still
hot on your mind…”
• Here’s How To Order…”
• Repeat the benefits of using your product
• Give a clear order link
Call To Action Template
So you have two choices. You can either (describe how
things are in the most painful way possible)
Or you can buy my widget and (describe how life’s going to
be better after alleviating the problem).
Imagine (insert benefits the customer will get after they
use your product).
So order today, right now…while it’s still hot on your mind!”
Then sign your name with www.vletter.com!
P.S.
• You should have at least one
• Recap your offer to catch the “scanners”
• Recap the guarantee
• “Oops, I forgot to mention…”
• “Imagine this…”
– Get them future-tripping on what their life would be
like using your product
A Good P.S. Example:
P.S. Templates
• P.S. If you recognize any of these 9 mistakes you’re making in your
online business, you better get these tools before your money gets
flushed down the toilet!!!(Second headline)
• P.S. Please call right now, while you're still reading. There's no risk,
no reason at all not to try this amazing package for yourself… and
yet this hot deal may never be offered again! So don't let this
chance to change your game forever slip you by! The number of
my office is 1-800-316-5871 (a toll-free call that won't cost you a
cent). Thanks. (Repeat call to action)
• P.S. That’s right, you can try this treadmill for a full year and STILL
take advantage of our 100% money-back guarantee! (Repeat
guarantee)
Subheads
• Mini Headlines that break up the copy
• “Nobody Reads Long Copy Sales Letters!”…at least
initially!
• Your subheads have to catch the attention of “scanners”
• They have to tell the story by themselves
• You can use subheads as “transition points” between the
components of a sales letter….
“One Legged Golfer” Subhead
Example…
Where To Put Your Subheads
(Headline)
(Opening sentence)
(Story)
(story talking about guy that was having trouble playing golf – the
problem…)
My Buddies Laughed At
Me When I Couldn’t Hit Past
The Ladies Tee!
(…story continuing about how you found the solution…)
But It Was A Simple Secret
Stance That Allowed Me To Blast A Drive
With The Blast Of A Howitzer Cannon
(And Cause My Buddies’ Jaw To Drop)!!!
(Offer)
For The First Time EVER, I am
Unveiling The Secret Stance To A Limited
Amount of People!
Where To Put Your Subheads: Part 2…
(Bullets) –
Here Are Just SOME Of The
Driving Tactics You’ll Discover
On This Easy-To-Digest DVD:
(Value Builder) –
So, How Much Are These
Driving Secrets Worth To You?
(Guarantee) –
Best Part? You Can Try This
DVD For FREE If You Choose!
(Takeaway) -But You Better Hurry…We Only
Have 53 Left In Stock!!!
Order Forms
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Reinforces the purchase
Include a check box – involvement device
Restate what the customer is getting
Include 2-3 Benefits
Include a testimonial if possible
• People will READ the order form before the sales
page…that’s why you need a good one!!!
Example of Order Form:
Where’s The Proof?
• Pretend you are a lawyer trying to make a
case before a judge
• Lack of proof is the BIGGEST reason why
sales letters fail!
This is the “Age of Skepticism!”
• If you think people are automatically
going to believe what you say in your
copy, then you’re going to be broke!
How to Bolster Proof
• Testimonials
– http://www.marketingrebel.com/
– Check out ANY infomercial!!!
• Case Studies
• Facts/figures/screenshots
– http://www.bloggingtothebank.com/
– http://www.centerpointe.com/
Testimonials
• Have to be Specific!!!!
On to Squeeze Pages….
What We’re Going To Cover:
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Introduction
Definition of squeeze page
Proven squeeze page outline
Examples of proven squeeze pages
Templates you can use
So, What Is A Squeeze Page?
• Mini-sales letter that collects leads
• The MOST important page you’ll create!
• Other names:
– Opt-in page
– Name-squeeze Page
– Flycatcher page
A Basic Squeeze Page Outline:
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Eye-Grabbing Headline
4-6 Enticing Bullets
Clear Call To Action
Obvious Opt-In Form
Irresistible “Giveaway”
– Make it your BEST stuff!!
Headline
Bullets
Call to Action
Opt-In Form
Squeeze Page Headlines
• Cuts right though all the “junk” going on
through the customer’s life and gets their
attention
– You are a problem solver!
– KNOW your customer’s wants, needs and
desires
• There are NO shortcuts!
Best Squeeze Page Headlines:
• Invoke Curiosity
• Has a “Hook”
– Intriguing story that compels customers to
opt-in
• Contain Closely “Secrets”
People LOVE secrets or “insider” information
nobody else knows about!
Headline That Invokes
Curiosity
www.contextcash.com
Don’t forget to put “quotes” around your headline!
Headline That Has A “Hook”
Russell’s teleseminar for Vince James
Headlines That Tell A “Secret”
www.doubleyourdating.com
How To “Swipe” Headlines
Original headline from www.doubleyourdating.com:
“Swiped” headline from www.promotingtips.com:
Other Critical Elements of
Squeeze Pages:
• Call to Action
– “So enter your name and primary email
address to_____.”
• “We will not rent or sell your email
address”
– Should you or shouldn’t you include this?
So What About Blog Posts?
• Content is KING!!
• Believe it or not, you’re STILL selling!
– You Still need a good headline, story, and call to
action!
• Keep it between 300-500 words…
• Give info away for FREE!
• You’re NOT Ernest Hemingway…
– Get right to the point
– Use short sentences, short paragraphs, and keep it
conversational…
How To Get Good Fast
• Handwrite classic ads
• Write in a conversational language
• Pretend the prospect is sitting in front of
you
– Read your copy out loud…
Recommended Books
• Web Copy That Sells – Maria Veloso
• Scientific Advertising – Claude Hopkins
• Breakthrough Advertising – Gene Schwartz
• Ogilvy on Advertising – David Ogilvy
• Tested Advertising Methods – John Caples
• The Copywriters Handbook – Bob Bly
• Advertising Secret Of the Written Word – Joe Sugarman
In Conclusion…
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Read one good ad a day
Read good copywriting books
Start collecting ads
Start reading the tabloids
Study other PROVEN ads in your market
Think about your S.O.B.
The End…