Entries from April 2008 ↓
April 23rd, 2008 — Tactical Copywriting
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Hi,
I know I haven’t posted so much lately. I finally realized I was posting too often. From now on expect 1-2 posts per week. If this doesn’t set right with you, feel free to let me know.
Other changes on the horizon…
I’m dropping the idea of video critiques. The fact is I’m apparently just too brutal. It takes a thick skin to write copy and have it reviewed by someone. I know. I’ve been there. And while I do make every effort to be gentle, I refuse to ignore the concept of “best practices”. What is that?
It’s is what is generally known and proven to work. Does that mean I’ll “attack” anyone or any ideas deviating from “best practices”? Ablsolutely not!
I’ll be the first to suggest testing just about anything. I do draw the line at the “vulgar” and anything that rings of questionable ethics. Other than that, I am all for pushing the envelope. Now for the third and final change…
I’m raising prices substantially for “Sales Page Makeovers” . I just finished a quote for a complete re-write of a sales page. I quoted it both ways - as a straight copy job (something I rarely do these days) and as a makeover. I was stunned at what I’ve been giving away!
No more.
I’ll post more on this next time but the figures justify much higher prices for this service. If no one is willing to pay then I’ll just have to focus on maximizing conversions on my own products.
Until next time…
God bless,
Andy
April 17th, 2008 — Testing
Yesterday someone mentioned to me he made some wholesale changes to his web site and he hasn’t seen a sale since! That happens. I told him to immediately put up his old page back. If he hadn’t saved the old page he could have face disaster. Sure, he may be able to reconstruct it eventually but… Anyhow he did save his old copy and was able to swap back. The “good” page was one he wrote himself after a copywriter dropped a bomb. In a related event…
Another copywriter asked me to review some copy he wrote. He mentioned the old copy was some shoddy page that converted fairly well. What’s going on here?
Stay tuned for not one but two important points here…
First: is it true that “crappy copy” cranked out by a novice can outsell a carefully crafted masterpiece wrought by a journeyman copywriter? You bet! Why?
It could be a number of reasons but high on my list are believablity and credibility. And yes, these are related. In both of these cases the copy was written by someone who knew the product better than anyone. They believed fully in the product and were enthusiastic about what they were selling. You can’t buy that. And it comes through on the sales page loud and clear.
The second point is not so obvious… or maybe it is: don’t just “swap out” sales pages! One copywriter put it this way…
Rather than “replacing” your web page - plant in your mind the concept of testing new ideas. It is so easy to do on the Internet these days. You can use Google Web Site Optimization - something I use and recommend a lot. Or you can choose from a wide variety of split testing scripts. Actually you’ll more likely want a “multivariate” testing script but that’s another post.
Many people see terms like “multivariate” and their eyes glaze over. Don’t let the big bad word scare you… it simply means “many thingys” as in what it tests. With split testing you should test one thing at a time. One headline vs another and so on. Multivariate tests lets you plug in several headlines, and other parts and test different combinations. All you do is tell it what parts to test and it does the rest.
Even if you think you’re “not ready” to test (you can always let someone like us friendly folks at sales page makeovers do it all for you 
you should at the very least make sure you save your old page just in case those spiffy new changes make things worse.
God bless,
Andy
P.S Update on the “Project Management” Software… I thought I had rights to this but I’ll be darned if I can find them. I’ve got a pile of stuff on a hard drive determined to give me a hard time so I have no idea when I can check it. Meanwhile, if you’re chomping at the bit for this leave a comment and I can get you a copy for $10.
April 10th, 2008 — Tactical Copywriting
Just finished a report on the 5 reasons people run from your website screaming in terror. Okay so maybe that’ s a little overboard. However if you look at your stats, you may find a large number leaving before the first 30 seconds.
If you want them to stay longer and maybe buy something then this report is for you. I do have one problem…
I’d like your help with the title. I narrowed it down to the two I like best but I’m open to suggestions. Here’s the two I ended up with:
“5 Reasons Folks Flee from Your Website Like Extras in a Godzilla Movie”
or
“5 Common Reasons Visitors Flee from Your Website and How to Fix It”
Which one to you prefer? Please leave a comment below.
God bless,
Andy
By the way, if you want a copy of my report with my compliments, simply sign up for my blog alerts.
April 7th, 2008 — Tactical Copywriting
Is thers such a thing? Well yes and no…
I’ll be the first to admit there are days when stuff just isn’t flowing the way I want it to. I write something and set it aside and sometimes I never get back to it. Today is such a day for me.
On the other hand I NEVER sit and stare at an empty screen. Okay, almost never. So what do I do?
I write something. Anything. And I keep writing until I either have something of value or it’s time to quit. So what good does that do me?
First of all it keeps me from claiming I’ve got “writer’s block”. I’m writing even if it’s not worth the cyberpaper it’s written on. Plus…
I almost always get something out of my musings - even if it’s just a list of ideas. I often end up with something worth editing. So what can you do? Here’s some 4 ideas you can use if your stuck…
Make lists. List everything about your product you can think of. It doesn’t take any creativity to do it and you need to have a list.
Write a page from your swipe file. Or use my swipe file if you like. You’ll find it at the “Hot Sales Letters” link to your right.
Edit something. Check over your sales page for typos, awkward sentences and such. If you can’t find anything readi it out loud. You’ll be surprised how different you page sounds compared to how it reads.
Re-write something. Pick an element from your sales page and re-write it. Even if you don’t have it in you to re-write the whole thing, look for one or two words you can improve upon.
All this should get your juices flowing or at least stop the flood of excuses. The fact is “writer’s block” is a self-fueling, self-fulfilling (or unfulfilling) concept that just adds fuel to your procrastination fire. Don’t let it.
God bless,
Andy
April 5th, 2008 — Tactical Copywriting
Money magazine’ Dan Ariely just published an article on “tricks” maketers use to get folks to buy.
Here’s a link to the article: Consumer Habits
Is this ethical? Some might say if you have to ask if something is ethical, than it’s not. But I don’t think this is true and I consider myself a very ethical person.
Some of these tricks are well-known - such as offering something for free. Some marketers contend this tactic is losing some of it’s appeal. I think it’s all in the context. We humans are “hard-wired” to grab offers like these. Certainly as everyone offers stuff for free and much of the stuff is worth less than the asking price - you will find more resistance.
On the other hand, consider the “free offer” Ariely himself got caught up in… buy this car and get free oil changes for a year. And this is a guy to studies consumer behavior.
Another way to apply this principle is when building your offer. The next best thing (or maybe even better) is offering so much value for the money one would have to be a fool to pass it up.
The other interesting aspect of this article is his observation of “comparative” pricing. Ariely says for example, if your comparing menu prices at a restaurant, the $45 dish may seem outrageous in one restaurant. But if another dish on the same menu is $60, it may seem comparatively cheap.
Another thing to keep in mind is the consumer’s expectations. You’d scream bloody murder if somone placed that menu in front of you at “Joe’s Diner” but if you were in “Antione’s Bistro” you may not blink an eyelash, even if the food at Joe’s is not all that bad.
Ariely’s article is from his book “Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions.” It may be a good companion to Cialdini’s “Influence: The Psychology of Persuason”. I haven’t read Ariely’s book yet. When I do, I’ll post a review.
God bless,
Andy
P.S. You’ll also find a wealth of sales triggers in “22 Secret Hot Buttons“
April 3rd, 2008 — Tactical Copywriting
Gary Bencivenga has got to be one of the best copywriters ever. He is phenomenal. I’ve been reading his newsletter Bencivenga Bullets for some time now and he always wows me with his knowledge and his abililty to apply that knowledge. And now he’s going to retire.
I’m going to miss him. Don’t know if he’ll continue with his newsletter. I hope he does. As I said Gary’s leaving with a BANG! He’s offering a set of DVD’s “Gary Bencivenga’s Master Secrets of Wealth Creation or Marketers and Copywriters” for a measly $5,000.
It’s a lot, I know. And in a sense it’s a pittence too. 5 grand is nothing compared to what Gary has made with this information. Let’s face it, if he sells all 2,000 (and he will) - Gary will gross a cool $10 Million. I guarantee you he’s already made more than that. So what’s all this mean to you?
Well, if you perchance have an extra $5k - no actually, if your serious about your copywriting - whether it be a career or for your own personal fortune - you should do what you can to get this. I can’t see how you can fail.
Even if you get NOTHING out of the DVD’s they are all signed and numbered so there will be an aftermarket. While it’s hard to say, I wouldn’t be surprised if the set increased in value after they are sold out.
In honor of Gary, I’m going to offer my services to one new client. One sales letter for $5,000 ($5,500 via paypal). Pay in advance and you can opt to have your letter written after I devour Gary’s DVD set. Am I crazy?
Sorry, the above offer is no longer available. If you’re still interested in my services, please visit my Sales Page Makeovers site and fill out the contact form. I won’t promise anything except a consultation (on me) to see if I can help.
You tell me… after taking John Carlton’s course, the first sales letter I wrote generated (by my estimate) $11,792 for my client in his first month. It was a member site so the money kept rolling in month after month. Granted this client knew how to drive massive traffic to his site and the site makes less now because the niche has cooled off but it still turns a decent buck.
If you can’t afford Gary’s DVD’s (or me) the next best thing is to study Gary’s sales letter for his set. It’s a masterpiece. You’ll find the link below…
“Gary Bencivenga’s Master Secrets of Wealth Creation or Marketers and Copywriters”
http://www.bencivengabullets.com/b100dvd.asp
By the way, I don’t think Gary even offers an affiliate program for this so it’s just a straight link
God bless,
Andy
April 2nd, 2008 — Tactical Copywriting
I originally offered the post “Crank Up Your Credibility” to anyone who stopped by. Then I got to thinking…
The information and the report offered in that post is simply too valuable to give away. So if you want it, then please sign up for my blog alerts and I’ll send you the password.
God bless,
Andy
(the sign up form is in the right panel)
April 1st, 2008 — Tactical Copywriting
