I’m a huge fan of the Glove and Boots blog. “Mario and Fafa: unlikely internet marketing experts.” There are very few sites on the web that I actively visit to check for updates, but Glove and Boots is one of them. If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll remember I first featured them in my 15 other things to […]
One of my mentors, the American entrepreneur and writer Mark Ford, once taught me a simple way to improve problematic headlines using ‘the Four Us’. I’ve written about the idea many times before, but today I thought I’d put it to the test LIVE. Or rather, as I write this article. Why not, eh? Indeed, I’m […]
There’s a small, six-letter word that’s used far too much in copywriting… And I don’t like it. Do I hate it? Possibly. To me, it’s a sign that – as a copywriter – you’re being lazy, that you’ve run out of steam and can’t be bothered to think properly about what you’re writing. Actually, to […]
Take a look at this copywriting infographic… Of course, there are many weird and wonderful ways to structure a direct-response sales letter. As with most things in copywriting, there are no hard and fast rules. But… There is one particular structure that I return to time and time again and it always produces good results. […]
I think it was Kurt Vonnegut who said it… “If you can’t explain your story to a fourteen-year-old in one sentence then you’ve got a problem with your story.” Something like that. Possibly. And hell, if he didn’t say it, he should have. It sounds like something he’d say. Anyway, the point is, it’s a […]
Questions in copy can be so dangerous… Do you agree? No. And there you go, my question is answered. Just like that, it’s all over. Sorry to waste your time. I’ll speak to you another day. OK. OK. What happened there? Well, I asked a question… You had an answer, and hell… I wouldn’t blame you […]
One of the most fundamental things you can do in a headline is to make a promise to the reader. In fact, it’s probably one of the most often used techniques when it comes to writing headlines for direct response copy. With financial copy I’m sure you’ve come across many headlines promising that if you […]
Coming up with a headline that will grab your reader’s attention is hard. You might spend weeks writing and testing different ideas for nothing. Even if the product or service you’re selling is amazing, it doesn’t necessarily make writing a captivating headline any easier… But there is an exercise you can do that will help […]
Copywriters aren’t often too kind to subheads… In fact, most of the time subheads are treated as nothing more than punctuation. Indeed, one of the uses of subheads in long copy sales promotions is to punctuate copy… but it is just ONE use. There are many more. The fact is, having strong subheads throughout your promotion […]
As a copywriter, you’ve got one major problem that no one really talks about: no one wants to buy anything. That would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that, as a copywriter, it’s your job to encourage people to buy things. Actually, I’m being dramatic. There’s hope… there’s something you can do to fix it… […]