This is a course that Stephanie took at the end of 2021.

COPYWRITING: process of using words to make thing sell better

• readers want your copy to meet a need or solve a problem

• good copyright should fix whatever headache your reader is having - like an Advil

3 AMAZING TOOLS TO MAKE YOU A BETTER COPYWRITER

1. https://www.onelook.com/thesaurus - great online thesaurus (added as a Google integration)

2.  https://hemingwayapp.com/ - personal editor, measures stats like how many words, reading time, and reading level

3. https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer - fun tool to score your headline, subheading, subject line

• when writing copy, imagine you are writing for school children. This will make your writing crisper, simpler, and easier to understand

• one word can make a massive difference in the outcome

POWER WORDS: trigger an emotional response in the reader (ex: secret, discover, free)

• ”because” is a highly persuasive power word that encourages people to comply with you, even if there is no logical reason to

3 Amazing Tools To Make You A Better Copywriter PDF

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? (WIIFM)

• “People aren’t interested in you. They’re interested in themselves.” - Dale Carnegie

• Try to avoid using “we” and shift focus away from company to customer

  • WE centered - “Avocado Fitness is the UK’s leading gym with a wide range of fitness classes. We are proud of our instructors and unrivalled expertise. We are passionate about our revolutionary approach, and we take great pride in out state-of-the-art facilities.”

  • CUSTOMER centered - “When you join Avocado Fitness, you’ll find only the most cutting-edge classes. The instructors you’ll meet know exercise inside out. So set your goals as high as you like. And when you join our gym, you’ll find everything is fresh out of the lab, so you can refresh your workout as often as you like.”

• Puts you directly into customer shoes, so easier to write for their needs, wants and challenges

• Ask yourself “So what?” when reading to see if answering a customer question

What’s In It Form Me? (WIIFM) PDF

FEATURES TO BENEFITS

• Do people want the special mattress, or a good nights sleep?

• People don't care about products, services, or features, they only care about what it can do for them and the results they will get from using it

• Ex: blue tires are feature of a bike, not the benefit of it

• Use “so what?” test

  • Feature - “This car has ABS Anti-lock breaks

  • Benefit - “You’ll have more control of your car, helping to prevent accidents”

• Try to include both for more compelling copy (“Round brush head for a superior clean”)

• Continue asking “So What?” to find emotional & deeper benefits

• Use a grid like this to write your copy

• Write a list of your features

• Apply “So What?” test to translate them into benefits

• Keep asking “So What?” to uncover the deeper benefits

• Use this grid when you are ready to write

• Always start copy with deeper benefits, as they hook people from the get go

• Features tell, benefits sells

• How can I help my reader solve a problem?

• What emotions do I want the reader to experience?

Guide To Features and Benefits PDF

How To Turn Your Features and Benefits Into A “So What?” Grid TEMPLATE PDF

YOUR PERSONA GRID

• Figure out who your client is by creating a persona grid

  • Who are they?

  • What do they do?

  • What are their goals?

  • What are their values?

  • What are their interests?

  • What are their challenges?

• What language do they use?

• What is their challenge in your industry?

How To Create a Customer Persona Grid PDF

Customer Persona Grid PDF

HOW TO WRITE CONVERSATIONAL COPY

• Most copy is too formal

• Keep it casual like you are chatting to a friend in a coffee shop

• Conversational copy boost conversions

• Always write for one person (make them feel like you are writing just for them not a crowd)

• Use simple language (if they have to decode, they are not learning. Keep it simple and short - like talking to kids)

• Ask questions 

  • INSTEAD OF “You are invited to the launch of Tom’s Burger Hut on Saturday”

  • TRY: “Free on Saturday? Love burgers? Join us at the launch of Tom’s Burger Hut!”

• Use short sentences and paragraphs (no more than 13 words MAX per sentence)

• Remove sentence bloaters like really, very, almost, probably…etc

• You can start a sentence with “And” and “Because”

• Use contractions to make copy sound more human (We are > We’re)

• TIP: Record yourself talking and write down EXACTLY what you said

• Read copy aloud once you are done and re write until it reads easily - “If it sounds like writing, re-write it

317 Power Words To Crank Up Your Copy PDF

CREATING A WINNING PLAN

• Set your goal before you begin

• Before you write anything ask yourself

  • What do you want the reader to KNOW after they have finished reading the copy?

  • What do you want the reader to FEEL after they have finished reading the copy?

  • What do you want the reader to DO after they have finished reading the copy?

Guide To Creating A Winning Plan PDF

HOW TO WRITE A CALL TO ACTION

• Need to tell your reader exactly what you want them to do

• Be direct and use active language

  • Short, simple, strong

  • “Click Here” “Download Now”

• Be interesting

  • Want to grab people's interest

  • Something that solves problem

• Use power words

  • New

  • Discover

  • Act Now

  • Free

• Hint at urgency

  • Make people feel like  they can miss an opportunity 

  • “Don’t miss out”

  • “Sign up before midnight”

• Remove risk

  • “Register now, no credit card needed”

  • “Cancel now”

PAS and AIDA - YOUR NEW BEST FRIENDS

PAS

• Problem - what problem does your customer have?

• Agitate - tap into something customer is angry or resentful about 

• Solution - how does your product/service solve it?

AIDA

• Attention - open with a bang - bold statement, fact or question

• Interest - use features and benefits to hook interest

• Desire - make them feel desire by showing them their life with your solution - paint a picture of success - use social proof

• Action - spur readers to action and tell them what to do next

The 4 U’s - Headlines

Has to “tick” one of the following categories:

• Urgent

  • Will want to click and open right away

  • EX: “The Perfect Way To Grow Your Instagram Today!” 

  • “Now”, “Today”, “Quick”, “ASAP”

• Unique

  • Our brains love something unique

  • Write something that grabs attention, try to paint a picture or suprise

• Ultra-specific

  • People love to know what they will get out of reading something

  • Be as specific as you can and show the end goal if possible

  • Don’t be afraid to add data - people like specifics

• Useful

  • If in doubt, be helpful, it is a guarantee to get your reader’s attention

  • Try to offer a benefit in headline

  • Solve a problem

Quick-fire Headline Tips

1. Ask questions - “Are Your Too Clever For Success?”

2. Include numbers - “9 Productivity Tips For Ridiculously Busy People”

3. Keep it simple and direct - “How To Cook Bacon in The Oven”

4. Make a bold claim - “Become A Millionaire By Age 25”

5. Buy don’t use clickbait - “Supermodels do this to look amazing. Click to know what they are.”

*Brain dump at least 20 title options. Even get friends or team members to vote or give edits.

Guide To Headlines PDF

Pocket Guide - Press Releases

• Goal is to get publicity for yours or your clients business and sometimes a bit of improved SEO

• Can be competing with potentially 100’s of releases, so has to grab attention

• To see if your story is newsworthy ask yourself these 3 questions:

1. Is the story new?

2. Is there anything remarkable, weird, or dynamic about it?

3. Can you imagine your customer talking about it in the pub?

The 5 W’s

• Opening line needs to summarize entire story in 20 words or less

• Who, what, when, why, where?

• Try to include all 5 in the first sentence

• Keep your press release concise

• Keep it to 300-400 words and no more than 4 paragraphs

• Don’t write a 30 sentence when a 10 word sentence will work

• Avoid buzzwords, acronyms & jargon

• Use bullet points and numbers 

  • Bullet points add visual interest

  • Numbers add credibility

• A classic press release template is:

Release Date - left of page

Headline (One sentence) - centered in page

Subheading - centered in page

Opening paragraph

Body Paragraphs (no more than 3)

End notation (-ends-) - centered in page

Contact details - left of page

Boilerplate - left of page

• Typically most to least important information 

• When adding in a quote:

  • Quotes should add insight and opinion

  • Don't include facts and figures (that is the job of the body paragraphs)

  • Keep it conversational and natural

• Try to include a quote from the most senior person available

Press Release Template PDF

Case Studies

• A CASE STUDY describes how a company solves a challenge with a product or service - and what the results of that looked like

• Basically a customer success story

• Case study is a sales tool for a business

Name the customer

• No more than 50 words 

• Can swipe from company’s linkedin intro or from website

1. CHALLENGE

   • What keeps the customer up at night?

   • What problems were the customer facing before the product?

2. SOLUTION

   • Showcase the winning strategy

   • Toot your own horn

   • Keep it short - 2 to 3 paragraphs

3. RESULTS

   • Show the results

   • Back up with as much data as possible

   • Keep tp 2-3 paragraphs or bullet point list

• Include a testimonial and picture if possible

• Aim for 500-800 words

• Make it easy to read and avoid huge chunks of text

• Add interest with bullet and numbered lists, bolded test, boxes, and headlines

• Use images (preferably not stock photos, try to use photos of your actual product and real people)

• Spend time on a really good headline

• ALWAYS end your case study with a call to action

How To Interview For A Case Study

• Always ask open ended questions to avoid one word answers

• Try to use the exact words and statements of your interviewee for added case study credibility

• Try to probe for specifics using phrases such as:

  • Tell me more about that

  • Why was that surprising?

  • Who benefits the most from this?

Case Study Interview Questions PDF

Case Study Example - Skylark Pianos PDF

How to Write Emails

1. Get personal

   • How do you stand out in an inbox?

   • Always address the reader by name

   • Show common ground if possible (How was your vacation? Baby?)

   • Write for one person even if you are writing for many (instead of “you all” change to “all”)

   • Use conversational tone

   • Be direct, use the word YOU

2. Spend time writing a REALLY good subject line

   • Use simple language

   • Keep it short and descriptive

   • Avoid spamming words like SALE, HELP, PERCENT

   • Don’t use cheesy lures and clickbait

3. Formulas

   • Use a formula instead of a template as it is more elastic and can be adjusted to your specific clientele

4. Keep it concise

   • No one likes long emails

5. Be useful

   • More likely to flag down attention if offering something useful

• Add your call to action at least twice and make it clear

  • Clickable link, reply to the email, download the report

• Use the P.S. to either repeat your call to action or add urgency

  • P.S. You've only got 24 hours to grab this deal - don't miss out!

• Better to be sent from a real person as opposed to a company

How To Write Web Copy

• It is essential that people understand exactly what you are trying to communicate

• Write for your reader first and the search engine second

1. Always write for your target customer

   • Helps you shape your copy to their exact needs

   • Will make it more absorbing to your reader

2. Be a problem solver

   • Once you know your customer and the questions they are likely to ask, present in your copy as a problem and solution

   • Posing questions in copy forces people to answer them in their heads

3. Get to the point

   • You have about 3 seconds to grab someone's attention when they land on your website so put the most important information right at the top of the copy

4. Don’t be vague

   • Try to avoid generalities and broad statements

   • Want to paint a specific picture

5. Focus on features and benefits

   • List all the features of your product and then list benefits of each

   • Keep asking “So what?” to dig deeper

6. Use the right language

   • Imagine you are writing for school children

   • Short and simple beats clever and creative

   • Keep it conversational

   • Don't be afraid to show some personality

   • Remove jargon and buzzwords

   • Use the word “you” a lot

   • Imagine you are talking to this friend in the coffee shop

7. Make your copy audience-friendly

   • Top load with the most important info first

   • Write for skimmers with plenty of headings and subheadings

   • Keep paragraphs to 4 sentences or less

   • Keep sentences to around 12 words or less

   • Include links to other pages and resources 

8. Check for typos and errors

   • Makes your business look messy

   • Have someone read over or take a little break before correcting

Favourite Resources - A Guide PDF