Copywriting: Copywriters listen--Here's the classic client to copywriter lie

"Come down on price on this one and there'll be more work to come.

"This come-on is a favorite of potential new clients who either have no money, or are justifiably trying to keep costs down.Either way it doesn't matter to the copywriter because both circumstances ask the copywriter to sacrifice his or her income on the promise of more work.

Unfortunately, "more work" rarely materializes. In my opinion, most of these people don't lie with malice, they simply lack the funds to pay a reasonable rate for copywriting.

One thing is clear: they do value copywriting and understand its power to add to THEIR bottom line.Why is this situation such a dilemma for the freelance copywriter?

I think it's safe to say that every copywriter has experienced tight finances. And for this reason alone it's tempting to talk yourself into saying "yes" to a bad proposition.

In addition, the copywriter might see value in adding the proposed project to his portfolio...and if it gets a great response, add a powerful case study too.Plus, the most trusting among us will believe there is more work to come, and will be anxious to land the job and develop a new copywriter/client relationship.

These and other realities of the copywriting life help us talk ourselves into a situation we'll regret...a pattern of accepting low pay from clients we don't want in the first place.How to say "yes" the PROFITABLE way...The good news is, you can say "yes" to new clients who promise more work IF you protect yourself.

A couple of years ago a European software company came to me with the intent of breaking into the U.S. market.Phil, the CEO of this mid-size company, was a tough negotiator. He wanted a ten percent price break for work he said would come to me over the course of that year. When I priced the work, the total came to about $12,000.

Obviously, this was a client I wanted to say "yes" to, but knowing the "big lie," I also realized I would be on the line for lost income if he didn't provide me with the promised work.My solution was to work it into my Fee Agreement, which all clients must sign, date, and fax back to me before work can commence.

I stipulated a ten percent price break ($1,200) on the $12,000 job, listed all work to be performed and its respective dollar value, and then added copy to this effect:"In exchange for a ten percent discount of $1,200, all of the above work must be assigned by December 31, 2006; if all of the above work is not assigned by December 31, 2006, then the ten percent discount becomes null and void and an invoice will be submitted for immediate payment of $1,200."

The strategy worked like a charm. In fact, in mid-2004 work slowed from this client, but toward the end of 2004 there was a flurry to complete his obligation for the amount of work contracted for.

WITHOUT the Fee Agreement stipulation, it appears I would have "bought into the lie," cut my pricing by ten percent for the work that I did do, and suffer the "lost income" of expected work that never came.

WITH the Fee Agreement stipulation, I felt good about the ten percent discount because it was a fair negotiation in which both parties fulfilled their obligations. And it brought me a lot of work toward the end of 2006 that may have come to me sometime in 2007...or quite possibly never.

copywriting: Why Long copy Works

You've probably seen those one page sales letters. Pages that go on seemingly forever and usually are there for the sole purpose of selling a product or getting an email sign-up. Do they work? There's a reason this style is used by so many internet marketers and that's because they do work. While the sales copy is usually very long, there is an opportunity to showcase the product and employ a variety of techniques to gain the visitor's interest.

Traditional multi-page websites with lots of sub-pages and links provide lots of opportunities for the site visitor to get lost and perhaps go away. However with the one page sales letter, there are a limited number of options for the visitor. Often it's a choice of 3 things: Buy the product, Sign up for the email list, or leave. So while the long sales letter looks complicated, it really keeps things simple for the site visitor.

Consider the 30 minute infomercial on TV. It's well known that these do a far better job of selling than a 60 second advertising spot can do. It's the same idea with a one page sales letter.

Of course there are exceptions, but in general single page sales letters do work if written properly. Of course not every site can make use of them, but if you have a single product or service to sell and are perhaps considering another style, remember that those 'ugly' one page sales letters are a proven model.

Copywriting: The importance of split-testing your copy

Copywriting for better sales: How do you know which words are the right words to use to convert your customers and increase their lifetime value? Through testing!


You test your headlines, your subheads, your body copy, your guarantees, your offers, your prices, your order forms, your background color, your font style and every other element that contributes to the entire online selling process.


Writing one sales letter and running with it-even if you think it is the most brilliant sales letter in the world-is unwise. Because that leaves you with no way of knowing what might convert better. The only way to know that what you are doing is working is to test, test, test.


You find out by trying different options and tracking what gets the best response. And here's the thing: testing is simple. Most people are just too lazy to do it! The most simple type of test to conduct is an A/B split test where only one element is tested at a time, like price.


For example, let's say you are currently selling a product for $39. And you want to know how raising your price would affect your conversion rates. So you run an A/B test. You keep your control page active at yourwebpage.com then set up a new url, perhaps something like yourwebpage.com/test. On this new page, you duplicate everything on your control page and change only one thing: the price. Instead of $39, you charge $49. Now you set up your traffic generation sources to direct half your traffic to your control page and half your traffic to the test page for a period of two weeks.


At the end of the two weeks, you compare the results: your control had a 1% conversion rate, but your test page had a 1.5% conversion rate. That's a 50% improvement! Your customers are actually willing to spend more money on your product than you thought. But you would have missed out on all that money if you had never conducted the test.


Now you know, though, so your $49 price point becomes your control, and you test again. This time you change the headline to see which one is more effective. And you keep testing different elements to figure out how to optimize your sales page. Or your squeeze page. You can test different headlines and "bribes" to determine which brings in the highest number of subscribers.


Running a sequential test is also an option. With a sequential test, you keep the same url and track the results for a certain time period. Then you change the element, like the price, and track the results for the same length of time. The results of a sequential test may not be as accurate, especially if a holiday or other special event occurred during either test period, but a sequential test is certainly better than not testing at all.

SEO Copywriting: How to overcome its challenges

SEO, Web and Conversion copywriting is quite a challenging task.

The main goal of SEO copywriting is to provide structured content-rich writing that both visitors and search engines can easily find on the web.

Not only do you have to write extremely compelling and informative content that makes visitors want to read every word and ultimately buy a service or product (which is hard enough alone), but you have to structure your writing in such a way that top search engines such as Google and Yahoo can determine that your writing is genuine and optimized for targeted specific search items.

SEO experts know exactly what search engines are looking for to bump your site up higher within the hundreds of thousands or even millions of other sites just like yours.

How SEO Copywriting Works

Search engines have sophisticated algorithms that determine how well your site will rank. You could have the most compelling and well-written text in the world, but if a search engine cannot find major contributing factors in its algorithm, then your site will not rank high.

Examples of these contributing factors include: relevant text, strategically placed related keywords throughout the body of text, keyword density, keywords in the title tag and description tag, headers, bulleted lists, the number of links on your page, the number and quality of web pages out on the web that are linking to your site, and clean code.

If a search engine cannot find these contributing factors, then it will rank your site lower in search engine result pages. Consider that if visitors cannot find your website on the first page of search results, maybe second if you’re lucky, then it’s as if your site doesn’t exist at all.

Most people are too busy to search through pages and pages of search results to find your site.

7 Copywriting tips for headline success

In copywriting, there are two huge mistakes people make when they write headlines. Either they are too bland and don't say enough (such as when they attempt to simply summarize), or they say too much to cover all the bases.In both cases, you will lose readers.1. The True Purpose of The HeadlineThe headline is more than a mere summary of the sales copy. Unlike the title of a book, for instance, it's not meant to introduce the story. It's meant to generate readership in the first place.It's the first thing that people see. Just like front-page headlines of a newspaper are meant to sell the paper, the copy's headline is meant to sell people on the copy.If a headline does not instantly give an indication of not only what the page is all about but also the reasons why people should read further the moment they read it, it will actually deter prospects.In fact, headlines that do not communicate any benefit in reading the next paragraph or navigating the site will dissuade readers from going deeper, which is where sales are made.So the true purpose of a headline is not to summarize or advertise the website, the salesletter, or the business behind it. It's simply to get people to read further. That's it.In advertising parlance, a headline is the "ad for the ad." For instance, a resume is not meant to land a job but to land an interview. A headline is, in the same way, meant to land the reader's attention and arouse their curiosity — not the sale.If a headline does not achieve this quickly, efficiently and effectively, people will simply click away, throw away the salesletter, or skim over it without giving it much thought.You may have heard of the famous "AIDA Formula," which stands for, in order: Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. Ads must follow this formula in order to be successful.They must capture the reader's attention, arouse their interest, increase their desire and lead them to take some kind of action.Other than "grabbers" like graphics, pop-ups, liftnotes, multimedia, or "lumpy mail" (in direct mail marketing, it's where trinkets are added to grab people's attention), the first part of the formula often refers to the headline.If the headline does not command enough attention (or does not command it effectively and, above all, rapidly), then the rest of the formula will fail — no matter how great your copy is.Ultimately, the headline is not meant to do anything other than to create readership. To "grab people by the eyeballs" and pull them into the copy.Period.2. The GapperUsually, there is a gap between the prospect's problem and its solution (or a gap between where a person happens to be at the moment and the future enjoyment of a product's benefits).In sales, they call this "gap analysis." It works because many prospects either do not know there is in fact a gap or, because it is one, try to ignore it as a result. Therefore, a headline that either communicates the presence of such a gap or implies it can cause people to want to close the gap.And the obvious way to do this is to read further.Using a headline that immediately conveys either a problem or a potential benefit not only makes the reader aware that there is a gap but also reinforces it in the mind. (And this doesn't mean writing all the benefits in the headline to cover all the bases, as in the case of long, wordy headlines.)Some headlines are newsy, others are sensational. Some make claims, others make statements. Some arouse curiosity, others provoke controversy. Some are intriguing, others are inspiring.Either way, it doesn't matter.All that matters is that the headline gets the reader to start reading. And if you created, communicated, or, better yet, widened the gap mentioned earlier, then after reading the headline readers will want to know, by browsing further, how they can close that gap.Widening the gap will not only appeal to those who can immediately relate to it but also cause those people to want to close the gap even more.Famous sales trainer Zig Ziglar said that people buy on emotional logic. In other words, they buy on emotion first but justify their decision with logic. Therefore, emotionally-charged headlines also help to widen those gaps. The wider the gap is, the greater the desire to close it will be.For instance, rather than saying "Lose 40 Pounds In Just 6 Weeks," you can say, "Lose 40 Pounds Of Ugly Fat In Just 6 Weeks."3. The Pain-Pleasure PrincipleWhile your copy should focus on the solution rather than the problem, adding a negative (or a potentially negative) situation to the headline is often more effective because it appeals to stronger emotions and motives.Granted, this might seem somewhat unusual or contrary to what you have learned in the past. So in order to understand this, let's take a look at how human needs and emotions work.In the late 1960s, psychologist Abraham Maslow developed the hierarchical theory of human needs. In essence, Maslow stated that the foundation of all human needs is our need to survive.The next one in that hierarchy is our need for safety and security.After that, it's social needs (e.g., the need for affection, to be loved, to feel a sense of belonging). The need for attention, to feel valuable or respected are esteem needs. And finally, at the top, is our need for self-actualization (i.e., to outdo ourselves, to get to the next level, to be all that we can be, etc).A similar principle is called the "pain-pleasure principle." In essence, it states that people want to either avoid pain or gain pleasure. In anything we do, we want to either move away from pain (i.e., solve a problem) or strive towards pleasure (i.e., gain an advantage).But when given the choice between the two, the avoidance of pain is the stronger motive, because our need to survive and be safe takes over. The emotions attached to pain are far superior than those attached to pleasure.So a headline that communicates a problem (i.e., a painful situation they feel right now, or a potentially painful one that could arise without the benefits of one's offering or without at least reading the copy) will have more emotional impact than a pleasurable one.It also instantly communicates to those who associate to its message and thus isolates the serious prospect from the curious visitor.For example, when I work with plastic surgeons I tell them to use as a headline, "Suffering from wrinkles?" Prospective patients who can instantly relate to the headline will more than likely read the ad further.They do so for two reasons.First, the headline appeals to those who have wrinkles. But not all people who have wrinkles are bothered by them. That's why the headline also appeals to those suffering from wrinkles (i.e., people who also want to do something about them).Therefore, think of a negative situation that is now present, or one that will occur without your product or service.Now, sometimes this pain can be implied. And the implication can often be a lot stronger than the one specified. (As a mentor once told me, "Implication is more powerful than specification.")For example, in a recent headline split-test for a salesletter I wrote that promoted a marriage counselling information product, the headline "Save My Marriage!" won over "Stop My Divorce!" by a huge margin.The conclusion?My guess is, "Stop My Divorce" is a negative. But it's specific. (And the implication is that the product may only stop the divorce but may not necessarily get the relationship back on track and stop the marriage from disintegrating — which is the true problem.)"Save My Marriage!" implies so many things. And the positive benefit is also implied — the marriage (i.e., the love, the passion, the relationship, the happiness, etc) can also be saved. Because not saving those, too, can be labor-intense, painful, and too difficult to bear.(Another reason may be that in "Stop My Divorce!" the divorce is imminent. If this was the case, people would probably be more interested in how to win in a divorce rather than stopping it. But I digress.)4. The DirectorIncidentally, the last headline uses another readership-enhancing technique: It begins with a verb. In other words, it directs visitors and takes them by the hand. Other examples include headlines that begin with the words "claim," "discover," "find," "get," "read," "see," "earn," "visit," "surf," "join," "sign up," etc.But go a step beyond that. Don't stick with mere verbs. Use action words that help paint vivid pictures in the mind. The more vivid the picture is, the more compelling the headline will be.(For example, a headline like "zoom past the confusion" will be better than "discover how to do it right.")Ultimately, don't let visitors guess what they must do or what they will get from reading further. You can also tell them in the headline. Also, you don't need to be direct. You can, in this case as well, imply what they must do.For example, if you're selling an accounting software, rather than saying "Poor fiscal management leads to financial woes," you can use "Don't let poor fiscal management suck money right from your bottom-line." People can picture the action of "sucking" more than they do "leading."Headlines that communicate something worth reading will cause people to surf deeper into your site (or read further into the letter). But the important thing to remember is, you only have a few seconds — if not a fraction of a second — to connect with you reader. That's why being pithy is vitally important.Think of an "elevator speech."Like with a person you've just met in an elevator, such as a potential client, you only have a few short seconds to make an impact until you or the other person finally leaves the elevator.The important thing to note is that your elevator speech must be good enough and concise enough to capture, in just a few short moments, the attention of the person to whom you're introducing.Sometimes, headlines need a little push. Just making a bland statement is not going to get you anywhere. You need to compel your readers. You need to not only capture their attention but also keep it. You may even need to shock, be intriguing, pique their curiosity, even be sensational, and not just inform.For example, think of the types of headlines you see in tabloid-style newspapers or grocery-line magazines, like National Enquirer, The Globe, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, Men's Health, and more.Some of the highest paid copyeditors are often those working on the front-page headlines for these types of publications. If your paper had a story on Britney Spears' latest divorce setllement, what headline would sell more:"Inside Britney Spears' Divorce Settlement With Kevin Federline"? Or, "Uncover The Shocking Reason Behind Britney Spears' Divorce!"How about this one: "Mediterranean Diet Boosts Metabolism"? Or, riding on the buzz created by the recent movie "300," "Ancient Weightloss Diet Used By Greek Warriors Discovered!"5. The Ziegarnik EffectIn 1927, Bluma Zeigarnik, a Russian psychologist's assistant and one of the early contributors to Gestalt Psychology, found that people remember unfinished tasks better than they do finished ones.She noticed something peculiar after observing waiters who seemed to remember orders and forget them once the food was served. In other words, the incomplete task created a certain tension, discomfort, or uneasiness that caused the brain to “hook” onto the unfinished task until it was done.You see, we have an intrinsic need for closure.We get a certain feeling of disconcertedness when something is left unfinished. Often called the "Zeigarnik Effect," we not only remember interrupted tasks best but also the tension tends to create curiosity to an almost excruciating level.Achieving closure is part relief, part release. Until then, we either passionately attempt to complete something that's incomplete, or feel a certain discomfort until it is and often go to great lengths to get it done.In copywriting particularly, this tension can be created in a headline.For example, to the headline "How to lose 30 pounds in 6 weeks," you add "with these 7 tips," it will push people to read further to find out what the heck those "7 tips" are. (That's why the headline, "Do You Makes These Mistakes In English?" worked so well. People wanted to know, "What mistakes?")Let's take a look at a headline I used earlier. With "Inside Britney Spears' Divorce Settlement With Kevin Federline," it doesn't really open up anything. But, with "Uncover The Shocking Reason Behind Britney Spears' Divorce," people want to know, "what is that secret" or "what's so shocking about it?"In fact, making some kind of sensational, controversial, or intriguing statement, even though it doesn't open anything up in a direct sense, creates tension because people want to know what it is.(The "gap," in this case, is implied.)Take, for instance, "Lies, Lies, Lies." "The Ugly Truth About Low-Carb Dieting." Or, "What Doctors Don't Want You To Know."(Here's a little test: take a look at these 100 of the most successful headlines, and see how many use the Zeigarnik effect. You'll be pleasantly surprised.)6. The Window ShopperErroneously, many people often look at their prospects reading their salesletters for the first time as qualified patrons. And they tend to do so by considering their visitors as being "physically" inside the store once they read the front page — with headlines that begin with those hackneyed words "welcome to."(While they may or may not be targeted, they're still not qualified. They may be pre-qualified if they're targeted. But they're only window shoppers at this point.)Have you ever walked by a retail store whose sign in the main window said "welcome to [store name]"? Not likely. But you've probably seen such a sign upon entering a store.And there's the problem: In both cases, you had to walk inside the store first before you were welcomed and asked to browse further or if you needed any help.When people read your headline, they're not "inside the store," yet. They're still outside, thinking about whether to go in or not.So there must be something that gets them interested in walking into the store to browse or inquire further.It could be a variety of things. For example, it could be the showcase display in the window, possibly an outdoor sign touting some special, a banner announcing a special event, a sales flyer received in the mail, or a friend heralding the benefits from a product she bought at — or some special deal she received from — the store.Salesletters are no different. A headline is like the store's front window or entrance — people are not inside yet. And this is especially true in the case of online salesletters.Look at the web as one, colossal shopping mall. When people surf the web, they're browsing the mall. When they hit your site's front page, they are only seeing the "outside" of your store.Think of the people reading your headline as merely "window shopping." So your headline must be effective and efficient enough to instantly capture their attention, and compel them to enter your store and browse further.Understandably, a salesperson's ability to instantly capture the attention of her busy and incredibly preoccupied prospect is easier in the physical realm.Most of all, her enthusiasm for, and belief in, her product are easy to convey in person. Her ability to instill confidence and create trust, as well as her unique set of sales and people skills, product knowledge, personality and expertise, are equally advantageous.A salesletter is your salesperson in print.And like a salesperson, a headline must qualify the reader, and it must do so by communicating those ideas (e.g., credibility, intrigue, proof, etc) and emotions that empower people to at least enter the store.The responsibility therefore rests almost entirely on the words one chooses. Those words can make all the difference. And words should appeal to specific motives — whether directly or indirectly.7. The SpecificOne last tip.Vagueness, unless it is intended to create curiosity and readership by pulling people into the copy, will only confuse people.So try to be as specific as possible. Use very specific, quantifiable descriptions. For instance, use odd, non-rounded numbers instead of generalizations. Odd, non-rounded numbers are more credible and have pulled more than even or rounded numbers.That's why, for example, Ivory soap was marketed as being 99 and 44/100% pure. If Ivory said 100%, it would not have been as believable. "Amazing new system helped me earn $3,956.75 in 29 days!" is much more credible than "$4,000 in 1 month!"This tip may sound simple, but it is indeed very powerful. In fact, I have found that the best claims, benefits, or even headlines, are those that have any one of three components:They are quantifiableThey are measurableThey are time-boundAny one of the three is better than none. But if you can have two or even all three components, the stronger and more credible the impact will be.I've covered "quantifiable." But being measurable means to add a baseline against which the quantity can be compared or contrasted. And being time-bound means there is a specific timeframe the quantity (or benefit, problem, or idea) was achieved.For instance, if I can show you how to make "$784.22," it may mean nothing. But if I tell you, "How I generated $784.22 in just 5 minutes," that would be a lot more interesting.In conclusion, ask yourself: "Does the opening statement beg for attention? Does it arouse enough curiosity? And does it genuinely reflect and cater to the needs, motives and emotions of my target market?" Most importantly, "Is the language easy to understand, especially by that market?"