I always loved playing with magnets as a kid.
Positive, negative… repel, attract… it’s a magical thing to a six-year-old.
Then I got older and I learned about electromagnets.
I learned that the average electromagnet can pick up roughly 10 times its own weight when it’s energized.
That’s right… 10 times its own weight.
Yet, when it’s not energized… it doesn’t have the power to lift a feather.
Well, electromagnets give us a wonderful metaphor for writing world-class sales copy.
If your copy doesn’t carry emotional energy, it’s just lifeless words on a page – with zero power to move people to act.
But energize it and your words will roar to life… and with the right words, you’ll quickly find you can move mountains!
Can writing effective copy be as easy as “flipping a switch”?
Sorry, it’s not quite that easy. You do have to know your product or service, and you do have to put in a little elbow grease first.
However, once you finish reading this 2-part series:
You will have in your hands a super-simple, 5-step process to brainstorm, organize and write highly effective copy that you can use to sell yourself, your products, and your services…
So you can energize YOUR sales copy — just like “flipping the switch” on a powerful electromagnet — and magnetize your ideal clients and customers to you….
And hopefully, with more ease and confidence than ever before!
Now one caveat before we dive in…
This is my writing process. Daniel has his own writing process, as does every other working copywriter on the planet. Or any kind of writer, for that matter.
My process may or may not work for you.
But if you’ll invest just a few minutes of your time here — while suspending your disbelief just a little bit — I promise you, you’ll pick up at least a trick or two to help you seize more profits from your business.
First, you should know …
Writing Great Sales Copy Is Part Art, Part Science
Art in that there is a natural flow and rhythm to great sales copy.
Science in that there are specific, proven and time-tested principles, techniques and strategies for writing great copy.
Fortunately, the fundamentals never go out of style.
Human nature is unchanging, and so are the basic tenets of copywriting.
There’s just one small problem…
The average successful copywriter has spent thousands — if not tens of thousands — of hours studying these fundamental principles and techniques, and practicing the craft, to learn how to write effective copy.
Copy that seizes your attention, sucks you in like a 10-ton magnet, and practically forces you to reach into your wallet and pull out your credit card.
So how do you — as a subject matter expert or online business owner — learn just enough about the craft of writing copy to successfully sell your products and services, while “keeping your day job”?
That is to say… without dedicating your life to mastering it, so you can continue to focus on what you do best?
Well, that is much easier said than done.
As I write this, I’m peering out over my desk at a bookshelf stuffed to the gills with copywriting books and courses that I’ve collected, and invested in, over the years. The hard drive on my Mac is packed full of hundreds more guides, reports, and checklists.
All approach the topic of writing copy from vastly different angles, share markedly different examples, and arrive at uniquely different conclusions.
The fact is, you could spend years consuming them all.
But let’s face it, writing copy is just a sliver of your overall business. While it’s clearly important, you don’t have hundreds of hours to invest in learning the craft.
You need a direct, bare-bones, down-and-dirty way to do it quickly.
How to Write All the Sales Letters, Emails and Ads You Will Ever Need to Power Your Success …
I know how important your time is, and how little you have of it.
So I thought long and hard about how to give you the greatest ROI on your time invested here, so you can walk away with the most immediately useful information in the shortest amount of time.
That’s why, rather than fill your mind with the usual cadre of copywriting theories and principles, I’m going to give you a comprehensive tool that you can put to work in your business right now… TODAY… just as soon as you finish reading this.
A tool that will help to guide you in getting breakthrough results.
So along with what you’re reading right now, go download my Ultimate Copy Blueprint companion Excel file. It’s the same Excel worksheet I use to brainstorm, organize and write all of my copy.
Throughout the rest of this 2-part series I’m going to walk you through how it works, and how to use it to get the amazing results you need and deserve in your business.
No matter what product or service you are selling (or what medium you are selling it through) the fundamentals are always the same. This worksheet is designed to guide you through addressing those fundamentals in the fastest way.
Ok, so you’ve downloaded the Excel file, right? Let’s get started…
Step #1: Brainstorm and Create Your Offer
If you open up the Ultimate Copy Blueprint and look across the bottom, you’ll see a set of tabs. These tabs represent the individual areas I’ll be walking you through.
Today you’re getting tab one. In part two, you’ll get all five tabs.
The whole purpose of this tool is to help you research your product and market — and properly organize your thoughts — before you sit down to write a sales letter, email, ad or any other advertisement.
So you’ll be prepared to write powerfully and effectively each and every time.
For this section, I’ll be referring to the “OFFER” tab.
The first thing you need to realize is that your real product is your offer.
Ultimately, that’s what your sales copy is selling — and it includes your main product… your bonuses or free gifts… pricing… format… and delivery details.
In other words, it’s everything they get and how they get it.
You always want to be crystal clear on your offer – with a full, detailed breakdown of each of the elements included – before you start to write the copy.
Here’s an example of a complete offer for a fictitious product…
Product/ Service:
The Experts Guide to Launching An Online Business
Main Components:
18 hours of video training (a combination of “whiteboard” and “screen capture”).
6 modules; comprised of 22 sessions in all.
“Action Steps” worksheets for each module/ session.
“Course Guide” providing new students with an overview/ road map of the complete program and the best way to proceed.
The most complete, most instructional online business glossary available.
Premiums/ Bonuses:
“Zero to Sales In 30 Days or Less!”: 4 power-packed video training lessons, where you get to watch-over-my-shoulder as I build a complete website from scratch, ready to accept sales, in two hours or less — a $397 value, FREE!
“How They Did It!”: 2 deep-dive case studies revealing how two vastly different, yet highly successful business owners, launched their online businesses and how they did it step-by-step — a $197 value, FREE!
A sneak peak inside my personal Rolodex: A complete list of the software, systems and tools I use in my own business every single day — a $99 value, FREE!
Pricing / Guarantee:
Regularly $297 – just $197 during this special introductory Charter Offer. You save $100 or 33%! Plus, bonus package worth $693 — a total value of $990 for just $197!
Full 30-day, money-back guarantee.
Order / Delivery:
Online order form; plus toll-free 800-555-1212, or int’l 888-555-1212. Delivery online via private WordPress member area.
Your offer is one of the most critical factors for success.
A great offer can do exceptionally well even with below-average copy. If you have a poor offer, the best copy in the world won’t be able to save you!
That’s why it will pay you HUGE dividends to do your homework here.
You’ll find some additional questions on the Ultimate Copy Blueprint worksheet to help you brainstorm and create a powerful offer that your prospect can’t refuse.
So go through that now and create your offer for your product or service.
Your offer is so critically important that I’m going to leave it here for part one to give you some time to peruse your new friend (the Excel file) and think through the creation of an amazing offer.
In part two, we’ll tackle steps #2 through #5 — where we’ll take a look at researching your competition, creating an emotional inventory, brainstorming features and benefits, and finding killer proof elements.
For now, I’ll leave you with this parting thought…
Great Sales Copy Is 80% Research and 20% Writing
When it comes to writing copy that gets serious results (as in $$$ in the bank), the best ideas generally win. The best ideas come from research.
You know what else comes from research?
The best headlines…
The best leads…
The best (and richest) benefits…
The best proof elements…
The best emotional appeals…
The best offers…
The best [insert any element here]…
All of it comes from deep, thorough research of your product and market.
In the end, many of the best copywriters in the world are those who invest the time and effort required to start out a project with superior ideas and information!
So… we want to hear from YOU now …
Do you write your own sales copy or do you pay someone to write it for you?
What tools do you use now to organize your thoughts and write your sales copy?
Do you think a tool like this Excel worksheet could help you write better sales copy?
Please comment below and let us know…
Happy selling!
Paul
It’s a fantastic. Arrival. I’ve come away with a hole new way of thinking about the craft. I do want to learn more . thanks!…
Daniel,
You are among the ELITE of internet marketers when it comes to the way you take care of your prospects and clients.
I’m amazed at how you provide marketers with an unending stream of FREE information that continuously hones and sharpens our skills.
Additionally, you have training membership sites where you drill down DEEP, and over-deliver on your promise to help marketers take their niche by storm.
So glad I found you (thank you Mike Filsame, and Andy Jenkins)!
Hey Joe, great to hear from you and thanks for your compliment. The credit goes to Paul and the rest of the EMAIL ALCHEMIST team. We love to help.
thanks daniel ill let drayton know of your great work steve
had a quick question if we got 7 leavals of offerings should we go with all or just one at a time confused
One thing at a time is usually best.
This is pure Gold,Dan.Thanks a great deal.When do we get part 2?