7 Steps to Creating Exceptional Content

Is Content Marketing a Waste of Time?

Marketers are producing more content than ever before. But too often, what’s created is dull, unfocused and fails to get much interest from buyers:

– 30 companies scored just 12.8 out of 30 for the engagement value of their content – Forrester Research
– More than 60% of B2B content ends up in ‘content wasteland’
– SiriusDecisions
– Only 34% of tech marketers believe their efforts are effective – Content Marketing Institute

The gap between the elite marketers getting it right and those struggling is widening. Unless you want to keep wasting time and money on content that ends up in ‘content wasteland’ and never gets read, you need a strategy for creating content that’s exceptional.

Everything you produce must be interesting to read, actionable and so valuable that people feel compelled to read every word and then share it afterwards. This is the challenge every marketer now faces:

– 87% of marketers say “producing content that engages buyers to be a major challenge” – Forrester Research

This report outline a 7 step strategy for being among the elite 34% of marketers getting ‘effective’ results from their content marketing efforts. It also provides the basis for a long-term inbound strategy for turning your website into a hub of information that attracts more visitors and generates more leads as a result.

1. Get to Know Your Reader

How well do you know your readers? It’s easy to assume you know what their daily problems are and want they want to know more about. But unless you ask, how do you really know?

Creating a semi-fictional impression of your reader (mine’s called Frank) is a great first step in identifying who you’re writing to and why. Also known as a ‘buyer persona’’, creating an impression of your reader will help you to keep your content focused as you’ll be able to imagine them sat across the table from you when you’re writing. This helps stay you on topic and only writing about topics that match their interests.

“The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife. You insult her intelligence if you assume a mere slogan and a few vapid adjectives will persuade her to buy anything.” – David Ogilvy

To create your buyer persona, list details such as their job title, how many people they manage, what frustrates them, what they hope for and even lifestyle details, like their hobbies and interests outside of work.

Creating a buyer persona will require some detective work. You need to do some digging to reveal what motivates or frustrates them. The answers might surprise you. Try conducting some email surveys, run polls on LinkedIn and see what people are talking about in forums. Picking up the phone and speaking to customers directly will also give you a clearer idea of who you’re writing to and why.

Tools

SurveyMonkey if you don’t already have a contacts a list
4Q for surveying visitors to your website.

2. Find a Hot Topic

Step one should have given you some ideas on what to write about. Finding out what are the most read, shared and linked to articles in your industry will also help to add some hot topics to the list.

These tools will help you discover the most popular articles in your niche:

Buzzsumo – Find out what content performs best for keywords or your competitors
Topsy – Allows you to find out which industry relevant articles get the most Tweets
Content Strategy Helper – This may look like a spreadsheet, but it’s actually a powerful blog topic creation machine powered by data from Google, Reddit, YouTube and other sources to find trending topics
Moz – Use to Iidentify the most popular articles on your competitors’ sites
SEM Rush – If you’re feeling devious, you can use this to spy on what content and keywords your competitors are targeting to get some pointers for your own.

“Stop Writing about Everything. So many brands create content and try to cover everything, instead of focusing on the core niche that they can position themselves as an expert around. No one cares about your special recipe… Find your niche, and then go even more niche.” – Joe Pulizzi

3. Take a Stand

Staying on the fence is boring. People want to read strong opinions, fresh perspectives and challenges to the status quo.

So dont just add your voice to the echo chamber. Take a stand. Rattle some cages. At the minimum, aim to go further in how you tackle a topic than anyone has gone before.

You want to ‘rip, pivot and jam’. In other words, cover all the normal bases on a hot topic then find a way to tweak it to add some spice and your own unique twist.

Find additional research, or conduct your own. Get some quotes from thought leaders and find other ways to create the definitive piece of content on a topic. This will give it the best chance of becoming a ‘go to’ resource and earning lots of juicy social shares, links and traffic to your website

This tactic is also known as the ‘skyscraper technique’, devised by SEO trailblazer Brian Dean at Backlinko. What works in SEO works in content marketing too, because they’re no longer separate disciplines now that it’s quality, not quantity, that earns higher rankings.

4. Say it Well

The business world is plagued with bad writing. Too often it’s infested with bland marketing cliches, confusing jargon and enthusiastic use of a thesaurus.

Rather than trying to sound clever, your aim should be to communicate clearly and concisely, Let’s face facts: you’re not trying to win a creative writing prize. Reading can also be hard work. So you want your writing to be easy to understand and make sense on the first read through. If you’ve done enough research to support your points, it’s your core argument that will keep readers engaged. Leave the flowery language to the novelists.

One trick is to simply write the way you speak. This will make your content sound more human and less like, well, marketing. You could try using speech recognition software., or record yourself talking about a topic and have it transcribed. You may be surprised how many highly paid copywriters use this technique.

“The first draft of anything is shit” – Ernest Hemingway

The advantage of keeping your writing simple is that it means you don’t have to worry about being a literary genius to create great content. You just need to know how to stay focused on the reader and to write clearly and with brevity.

Clear writing tips:

– Replace long words with shorter versions
– Vary your sentence lengths
– Aim for an average of 15 words per sentence
– Keep one thought or idea to each paragraph
– Break up your paragraphs with subheads
– Limit paragraphs to three or four sentences
– Read it out loud to hear how it sounds
– Review with fresh eyes
– Only hit publish after reviewing three times
– Use bullet point lists and subheads

Find out more – 15 punchy copywriting tips

Tools

Hemingway – Highlights weak passive sentences, gives you a readability score and tips on how to make your writing easier to read.
Grammarly – Alternative to Hemingway focused more on grammar.
Dragon – Voice recognition software.
Rev – Upload your audio file to get it transcribed for just $1/minute.

5. Make it Actionable

Reading your content shouldn’t be just a passive experience. You want readers to benefit from your advice. This in turn will enhance their impression of your brand, increasing the likelihood of them becoming a customer further down the road.

Create an actionable summary telling readers exactly what to do to benefit from your advice. You could also include a subtle soft sell by suggesting they get in touch if they need further help implementing what you’ve suggested.

“You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar

6. Promote It

One of the key differences between the winners and losers in content marketing is whether you ‘post and hope’ or ‘post and promote’. After all, you don’t want your content to rot in ‘content wasteland’ when you’ve invested so much effort creating a definitive, status quo smashing piece of thought leadership.

Ideally, promotion should begin during the research stage. You want to first identify then connect with thought leaders in your industry with a large following. Start reading their blogs, commenting and sharing their content. You want to get on their radar as a reputable contributor worthy of their attention with advice worth sharing.

The primary reason that content goes unused is that the topic is not relevant to the buyer (29 percent). Second us that the target doesn’t even know that the content exists (25 percent) – Sirius Decisions

Once you’ve earned some respect among thoughts leaders and in online communities, when you start a discussion with a link to your article you won’t get chased out with pitchforks. If anything, people will be happy to share your content if it contains valuable advice. Getting your content shared is a gateway into other people’s networks so you can grow your exposure, following and  traffic with every piece of content you release.

Tools

Buzzstream – Use to identify people to connect with to grow your network and exposure.
SocialBro – Guides you step by step on how to grow your following and influence on Twitter.
Tweetdeck – Keep track of all your social media channels in one place.

7. Track, Tweak, Repeat

Content marketing is a marathon. Not a sprint. Hubspot estimates it takes at least six months to get results. So after your content has been released, dig into the data to track your success. Check what feedback you’ve had, both internally and online, then use it to shape the next piece of content on your list.

It’s sensible to note down key metrics before you start. This includes the size of your social media following, the number of links to your website, daily traffic and other KPIs. You can then use this as a starting point for tracking your future progress in generating more traffic, leads and sales with the power of informative, problem solving content.

Conclusion

Marketers are creating more content than ever before. It’s getting tougher all the time to get attention with so many articles, reports and white papers all fighting for eyeballs. The good news is that most B2B content continues to be dull and uninspiring. Use this to your advantage by taking a strategic approach to creating exceptional content that helps your customers solve problems and differentiates your brand as being helpful and in touch with what matters to its customers.

Due to the resources online, it’s estimated that two thirds of the buyer’s journey is over before they contact you. Having a content strategy in place can also enable you to engage with people during the research stage and give you the edge when they’re ready to select a vendor.

So use this seven step strategy to turn your website into a hub of information that draws prospects in and then converts them with informative content. You can then take your place among the elite 34% of marketers getting effective results from their content marketing strategy.

Download this article in eBook format

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Is Content Marketing a Waste of Time?

Content marketing. The campaign that never ends.

Never have marketers pumped out so many blogs, Slideshares, YouTube videos and reports to feed the unfulfilled appetite of buyers.

Or so we’re told.

The stats may suggest otherwise.

According to SiriusDecisions – ‘More than 60% of B2B content ends up in ‘content wasteland‘. 

In other words, it’s never read.

This is partly because buyers have too much to read already. But also because most of it is plain dull.

A Forrester Research study of 30 companies found that their content deserved a pitiful 12.8 out of 30 for engagement (that must have made some marketers cry).

It appears this measly score is no exception based on the numbers struggling to get results.

According to the Content Marketing Institute:

• Only 34% of tech marketers believe their efforts are effective
• 63% say their biggest challenge is creating content that’s engaging

So if nobody is reading it and creating engaging stuff is so challenging, is content marketing a waste of time?

Maybe you’d be better off spending money on Facebook ads?

Thankfully, there’s no need to throw away money so frivolously.

It is possible to consistently create content your customers will read and respond to. Content that positions you as the ‘go to’ resource on hot topics. Better yet, content that gets buyers enthused about owning your product.

As luck would have it, I’ve created a seven step strategy that explains exactly how to it. This brief report, which you can finish in a coffee break, includes advice on finding hot topics, how to stand out in your industry and how to get people reading it. Better yet, I’ve listed tools you can use to do the ‘heavy lifting’ we’re told to dread.

I’ll publish the whole seven step strategy on this blog next week. But if you can’t wait, you can download it right now in elegantly designed eBook form.

If you find it useful, I hope you’ll consider sharing it with others. After all, nobody wants to see their work unloved and left to rust in ‘content wasteland’.

Download Now

 

 

 

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This Week Only – FREE John Carlton Mini Copywriting Course

Last week I told you about the Copyhour copywriting course I’ve been studying. Writing out classic sales letters, emails and direct response ads is a proven technique for evolving your copywriting brain. It puts you inside the minds of greats, like Joe Karbo, Gary Bencivenga and Joseph Sugarman, and to get a feeling and a heightened awareness for the thought process that structured their writing.

As you tell, I think Copyhour is great. But it’s not for everyone. The only guidance you get is through the daily emails introducing each assignment. Sometimes you need direct feedback from an expert to really raise your game.

The Simple Writing System is one of the most highly respected copywriting courses on the interwebs for those who want to learn directly from the best in the business.

Why? I’ll give you three quick reasons:

1) It’s produced by John Carlton – One time partner in crime to copy legend Gary Halbert, Carlton is a 30 year veteran and one of the most sought after direct response copywriters on the planet. He’s generated millions of dollars for the entrepreneurs, internet marketers and traditional business owners who recognise the link between quality copy and an elegant upward curve in their profit line.

2) You get direct feedback from Carlton and his stable of conversion tested copy dogs – Want a copywriter of the caliber of David Deutsch (the genius behind many controls for Boardroom and Phillips Publishing) critiquing your copy? Then this is the course for you. You’d have to pay a minimum of $500 to get one of these folks to review your copy if contacted privately. You can get it without paying a dime more when you signup for the course.

3) The testimonials are a roll call of six figure marketers – Rich Schefren, Tom Venuto and Peter Marshall are just three high profile endorsements for the course. In fact, they directly attribute part of their success in growing six figure businesses thanks to the sales psychology and copywriting skills they developed through the Simple Writing System.

Sounds too good to be true, right?

Well, maybe it is.

Why the Simple Writing System Isn’t for You

If you’re serious about taking your copywriting skills to the next level, the Simple Writing System is indeed a staircase that can get you there. But be warned, as with Copyhour, it’s not for everyone.

If any of these sound familiar you might want to give it a miss:

1) Money is an issue – The Simple Writing System isn’t cheap. If you don’t have the budget to spend on training of this level, there’s no shortage of quality copywriting books on Amazon to keep you busy. Just remember that you wont get any feedback on your work or be able to tell future clients that you studied the art of copywriting under John Carlton.

2) You’ve an eggshell ego – If you’ve watched any of Carlton’s presentation on writing copy or listened to his podcast, you’ll know that Carlton pulls no punches. If you’re copy is limp, dull and best suited for curing insomnia, Carlton will tell you so. You can expect the same ‘no nonsense’ advice from the rest of his team, who all experienced the benefit of tough love in their early careers.

3) You’re happy with your current income – If you’ve already achieved the six figure with the simple act of applying fingers to keyboard, studying the Simple Writing System might not be necessary. It’s likely you’ve already devised a system for creating winning video scripts, sales letters and lead generating emails that smash every split test they enter. Congratulations! Maybe you should give Carlton a call to offer your services as a tutor for next year’s course?

As you can see, the Simple Writing System is a serious investment, in both money and effort. The good news is that for this week only Carlton is offering a FREE introductory mini course. It’s like an appetizer if you’re not ready to devour the whole thing.

In this mini-course you’ll discover a delicacy of Carlton’s copywriting secrets, tactics and techniques honed over three decades of generating millions of dollars for clients. What’s more, you’ll get a video of his now infamous presentation at Frank Kern’s Mass Control Summit and, best of all, you’ll get the same feedback from Carlton and his team as though you’d slapped down the normal entrance fee, paid in full.

Remember, Carlton’s FREE mini-course and introduction to his Simple Writing System is only available this week only. Then you’ll have to pay the full price to get direct access to Carlton and his team of expert copywriting tutors.

So stop reading this right now! Head on over and sign up now before Carlton’s closes the doors for another year:

Get John Carlton’s FREE mini-course

Disclaimer

Yes, you guessed it, being the smart Copywriter’s Crucible reader that you are, I’m an affiliate for the Simple Writing System. Should you signup for the whole course and prefer I don’t get any commission click on this link instead.

This Week Only – FREE John Carlton Mini Copywriting Course is a post from: The Copywriter's Crucible - A Melting Pot of Punchy, Persuasive Copywriting by Freelance Copywriter Matt Ambrose Join the Inbound Marketing revolution and start generating MORE leads for 61% LESS than other methods. Get your FREE 14 Step-by-step guide now:

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Frank Kern will kill me if he finds out I’ve told you this

B2B marketers can learn a lot from Frank Kern.

The thing is, most marketers in the corporate world have never heard of him. Funny when you consider that the world’s ‘highest paid direct response info marketing copywriter’ has made over $47 million for himself and his clients.

What’s more impressive is that no development labs, factories or TV slots were needed to make all this dough. Just words and smart marketing.

If you wanted to ask Kern how he does it, you’d have to hand over thousands of dollars just for an hour of his time. You see, Kern’s protective of his knowledge. So, I’d appreciate it if we keep what I’m about to reveal between us.

The secret to Kern’s success, and many of the fat digital cats plundering Paypal accounts, is having a sales funnel that’s been polished, waxed and lubricated to perfection, down which prospects slide waving their credit cards and whooping for joy at the promise of salvation that awaits them.

Before his lawyers get this post shut down, I’d like to reveal what Kern’s sales funnel for his consultancy services looks like:

1. Paid advertising that’s highly targeted and adorned with Frank Kern’s instantly recognisable ‘just left the beach’ visage, and not a conversion sapping stock image.
2. Sign up form (a.k.a squeeze page) with a remarkable offer. In this case, a free consultation or $1,400 of his money if you think it’s been a waste of time.
3. Follow up confirmation emails loaded with personality that build anticipation in the offer – help is on the way!
4. A sales letter that pre-qualifies whether you’re a good prospect for his services by explaining all the hoops you have to jump through to get the free consultation. This includes a $700 “real person deposit”. Putting barriers in the way ensures Kern only deals with business owners able to meet his fees, What’s more, creating obstacles just makes ambitious types even more determined to get what you’re dangling.

Kern’s sales funnel for his consulting services generates an ROI many times over what he fritters away on Facebook ads. This is largely due to the fact that he needs only one or two conversions to be profitable.

Tweaking Kern’s funnel for the B2B world

B2B marketers might want to give Kern’s conversational, apostrophe packed and, dare I say it, hypey tone a pass (sorry, Frank). But the strategy is sound.

The key is offering a quick win that gets people subscribed to your content. Instead of a free consultation, you could offer a webinar (a red hot lead generation tactic right now), free high quality report, buyer guide or trial offer.

Then. after getting them signed up with this ‘easy win’, you followup with a sales letter or email series to promote the ‘back end’ or additional services, upgrades and other benefits of getting the full package.

Creating sales funnels with lead magnets and email marketing is a proven tactic. It works. Its success lies in following the cardinal rule of making multiple contacts to grease the wheels and remove friction before making an offer. This is why creating a sales funnel is critical in the B2B marketing world. It keeps prospects chugging along those notoriously slow (six months, if you’re lucky) buyer cycles towards making a purchase.

So whether you’re in e-commerce, manufacturing or finance, creating a slick sales funnel like Kern’s can set you on the path to ‘internet guru’ like profits. And all with the power of smart sales strategy and compelling copy.

Disclaimer

This post was inspired by my recent assignments for Copyhour.

Copyhour is a copywriting course that emails you daily swipes of some of the most successful, high converting direct response copywriting ads of all time. What’s more, you get an explanation on why it was successful, with your assignment to copy it out by hand and then discuss it with the group.

Trust me, once you’ve digested all the theory, copying successful ads by hand is the best way to advance your skills and knowledge. It enables you to get inside the head of the top copy dogs and to understand what their thought process was in releasing people’s wants and wallets.

Why not join me for the ride? Find out more about Copyhour (or via this non affiliated link, if you’re the cynical type:).

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4 Step Lead Generation Strategy

When I submit proposals to clients I like to provide them with strategic advice, and not just how many keystrokes they’re getting for their money. Recently a client asked me to recommend a lead generation strategy. I was happy to comply.

This strategy can be used by freelancers, consultants and any business where you need to educate prospects on the value of your product or service, and not just sell based on price alone.

1) Create some valuable content to act as a lead magnet

Asking people ‘buy my stuff’ or ‘hire me’ isn’t going to earn you much attention, or respect. Making an upfront offer is a common mistake, and why most businesses struggle with lead generation. Marketing managers and business owners don’t have time, or the inclination, to listen to pitches, unless you’re really lucky and they happen to be looking for your service at that precise moment.

What your prospects want is solutions to problems. So to get people’s attention, a smart approach is to create a valuable piece of content that addresses a key industry challenge. This could be in the form of a white paper, buyers’ guide or set of helpful downloadable tools. Webinars are red hot right now as a way of reeling leads into the funnel.

2) Create a list

If you don’t already have a list, you can buy one from a respectable broker. Just make sure you do some background checks and ask to see a sample first. A decent list broker should be able to provide you with a quality up to date list for even the smallest of niches.

Depending on how many people you want to target and how niche focused you want to go, it might be more effective to build your own. You could draw up of companies to target using a business directory and then hire a virtual assistant to track down email addresses and key contacts on LinkedIn. The higher the quality of your list, the higher the response and the ROI will be.

3) Distribute your report

The temptation can be to simply email your report to your entire list. While email is cheap, quick and easy, you can only expect 20-30% of email recipients to even open your message, and that’s being generous. You’re also looking at a mere 5% clickthroughs and maybe 1% taking action on your website.

While email still has an ROI that makes ‘social media marketing’ an oxymoron, if you want to target a relatively small list of high value prospects sending a physical letter in the post is the way to go. Sending letters may be expensive but it’s a great first step in a lead generation strategy. The physicality of a sales letter makes it harder to ignore than emails which face a daunting number of barriers before they’re read. With less businesses sending mail these days, it will also have more impact.

You could send the actual report, but this will increase your printing fees and you wont be able to track responses on your website. Upgrade options include sending a physical item in your mailing (a ‘lumpy mailer’) and using personalised URLs to track every response individually.

You should also promote the content in the digital realm, with a popup on your website, advertising and starting discussions in relevant LinkedIn groups and forums.

4) Follow Up

An oft quoted (yet invented) stat in direct marketing is that most sales come after the fourth contact, but most sales people give up after the first one or two.The same rule should be applied to your lead generation strategy. Persistence pays, and you should set a timetable for contacting prospects at least four times over 30 days.

Calling anyone who responded to your letter will allow you to give a human voice to your campaign and allow you to ask plenty of questions before framing your offer, which is what smart selling is all about. You can also follow up with another few emails to expand on the information in your report and to present your product as the solution.

Make sure you track all the leads and key metrics, and use this as feedback to help drive up responses even higher in your next campaign.

This four step strategy is based on Inbound Marketing best practices and is that I’ve read about in multiple courses and books on lead generation. With a few tweaks, any business should be able to successfully generate leads and sales using it. If you try it, let me know how you get on.

 

4 Step Lead Generation Strategy is a post from: The Copywriter's Crucible - A Melting Pot of Punchy, Persuasive Copywriting by Freelance Copywriter Matt Ambrose Join the Inbound Marketing revolution and start generating MORE leads for 61% LESS than other methods. Get your FREE 14 Step-by-step guide now:

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I goofed. Here’s that Inbound Marketing eBook again

Hands up, I goofed.

Two weeks ago I posted about my new Inbound Marketing eBook only to discover the email subscribe button didn’t work. Cue double face palm.

It’s working now, but to avoid a repeat disaster I’m going to just hand it over without having to register.

This does mean you’ll miss out on the followup emails with additional advice, so if you need any help getting your inbound marketing strategy rolling, feel free to email me.

Download Inbound Marketing in Two Weeks

I goofed. Here’s that Inbound Marketing eBook again is a post from: The Copywriter's Crucible - A Melting Pot of Punchy, Persuasive Copywriting by Freelance Copywriter Matt Ambrose

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How to Find SEO Copywriting Topics that Delights Readers and Search Engine Spiders Alike

It’s not just about keywords anymore. Smart marketers and SEO copywriters have known for some time that focusing on keywords alone is a fool’s errand. There’s just as much, if not more, traffic to be gained from social media if you create content around hot topics and key customer problems.

But how can you identify popular topics that are going to get shared, as well as feed the search engine spiders? All it requires is going through a few extra steps than keyword research alone.

How to find popular topics in your niche

Keyword suggestion tools are great for identifying which specific words to mention. But if you want to know what’s going to be popular with living, breathing people, you need to find out which articles have been shared the most or attracted the most links in the past.

There are a few tools you can use:

Topsy.com – Allows you to search for the most Tweeted articles of all time in your niche.

Moz Opensite Explorer – Pop in a popular website in your industry then click on ‘Top Pages’ to find articles which attracted the most links.

Google – Find the most popular articles in Google’s search results and then use your backlink checking tool of choice to find out how many links these articles got and where from.

Once you’ve identified some red hot topics in your niche the next stage is to not merely replicate them but to go one step beyond. This is a strategy popularised by Brian Dean at Backlinko, which he calls ‘The Skyscraper Technique’ and increased his own traffic 110% in just 14 days.

If you want to standout in your industry, there’s no point creating content, or a skyscraper, that’s offering the same level of information as what’s already out there. You have to add another few floors on top, and improve on it, if you want your content to be worthy of people’s links, shares and traffic.

How can I add extra floors to my SEO content?

There are a few ways of improving on the popular content that’s already out there:

Go into more detail – If a popular post shares 10 ways to beat procrastination, yours needs to offer 20 ways.

Better design - A few custom designed vector graphics and diagrams can go a long way to making posts look more interesting, easier to consume and of higher value.

Bring it up to date – If the original post is a few months or years old, consider what’s happened in your industry that can make the topic more up to date and relevant to today’s reader.

Combining all three of these tactics is a surefire way of hitting a home run with your SEO skyscraper content and creating something remarkable that’s going to get some traction for your website in even the most competitive niches. An extra step you can take is to contact website owners and people in social media who shared popular posts previously, and suggest they take a look at yours.

So take your seo copywriting strategy beyond chasing keywords. Start building content skyscrapers on hot topics that are already proven to be popular and watch your search engine ranking and website traffic rise.

P.S. I’ve linked to it already, but you really should check out Brian’s post for a more thorough explanation of this strategy.

How to Find SEO Copywriting Topics that Delights Readers and Search Engine Spiders Alike is a post from: The Copywriter's Crucible - A Melting Pot of Punchy, Persuasive Copywriting by Freelance Copywriter Matt Ambrose

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What Direct Response Copywriters Know Other Copywriters Don’t

If you would like to make a good income as a self-employed copywriter then it's a good idea to enhance your direct response copywriting knowledge. This is because direct response copywriters get the most rewarding projects, both in pay and the end result. The success of their copywriting is measured exactly, unlike when writing a website, press release or brochure. Through tracking how many leads a direct response copywriting message generates, businesses can assess why direct response copywriters deserve to be paid more money.

So how can you learn how to become a direct response copywriter? There are a few ways of brushing up your copywriting ability to the level that direct response copywriting requires.

To begin with, read all the books by the world's most famous copywriters. This includes books by David Ogilvy, Joe Sugarman, Eugene Schwartz and John Caples. The lessons they teach are as valid as they were decades or even a hundred years ago.

The second thing is to start a collection of copies of successful direct response sales copy. Finding examples of great direct response copywriting can be done by searching in Yahoo or Google. Google images, in particular, offers a quick, easy way of finding successful direct response sales letters and adverts. Then study every advert or sales letter to understand what copywriting tactics are being implemented and why the sales letter or advert was profitable.

Last of all, as always, practice makes perfect. Get some paper and write out the examples in your swipe file word for word. This helps you to recognize the thought process when the copywriter wrote them. Next try writing your own sales letters and adverts using everything you've come to understand from the last two steps.

Direct response copywriting types

There are quite a few types of direct response copywriting. Although the format and delivery mechanism might vary, they all have the focused goal of making cash.

Email copywriting - When done poorly, email is no better than junk mail. But email marketing can be an effective way of creating leads if you make a persuasive offer. When people respond it means you have gained their interest. Achieving this requires a lot of direct response copywriting skill, making it a nicely paid copywriting task.

Direct mail - These are the letters and post cards you get in the post to promote time shares, magazine subscriptions and other deals you didnt ask for. In each case, their purpose is to persuade you to react and confirm your interest in the offer, whether done by phone, email or posting a reply card. While the writing used in direct mail might seem simple, every word and sentence is carefully selected to get attention and build interest. You are competing with lots of other offers in the post for attention. Just getting people to read the first line of your message can be challenging. It is for this reason that direct response copywriters are the highest paid.

Sales letter writing - Direct response copywriters are hired to write the very long web pages used to advertise training courses, eBooks and other online products as well as for traditional sales letters. Offline sales letters are often shipped with brochures as an introduction and to develop curiosity in the product. Direct response letters can be just a single page or ten or more for a high value product. Writing sales letters of this length that are interesting to read and successful at getting readers to respond and buy the product demands a level of ability every copywriter aims to achieve.

Advertorial writing - These kinds of sales copywriting are created to look like normal articles in magazines and newspapers. They frequently have headlines announcing a miracle breakthrough or startling fact, much like the other articles in the magazine or newspaper. The big distinction is that after speaking about the subject discussed in the headline they rapidly transition to a sales pitch, presenting a solution to the problem mentioned previously. A response form or telephone number is another obvious sign that it is direct response copywriting.

Hopefully you now recognise how becoming a direct response copywriter calls for a lot of experience, practice and skill. It is also a very rewarding skill to build up, both as a result of the sense of achievement from creating income for clients and the boost in paycheck. So if attaining the status of a direct response sales writer is something you aim for, start studying all the books by the most highly respected copywriters and developing your sales writing skills.

Copywriting is Easy

I’m about to share some information that could destroy my business. What I’m about to tell you could cause sales of my new eBook to plummet, shakes of the head from peers and derision throughout the industry. I could even be banned from future conferences and subjected to a writ forbidding me from speaking of copywriting ever again.

I’m so nervous about what I’m about to say that I even phoned my indemnity insurers to check if I’m covered. They say I am…but I’m also nuts.

But it’s something I feel people have to know. They’ve been fooled by this myth we’ve created in the copywriting world for too long. The sales patter has to end and reality be allowed to breathe.

What is this sparkling powder keg of an admission?

What is this incendiary admission that will send shockwaves to knock down the hallowed pillars of copywriting, while my clients rush to block my commission cheques?

My admission is this – copywriting is easy.

There. It’s done.

The bottle is uncorked and the genie of truth freed to spread chaos and enlightenment as it deems fit.

For too long we’ve cultivated this image of the reverently wise copywriter – a uniquely talented being able to glimpse through a caffeine/alcohol/nicotine fueled haze to grasp words only a select few can see, words that penetrate the very soul of humankind.

For too long we’ve been told that copywriters are special people. Gifted individuals who, once handed a brief, will disappear into mahogany encased studies to be surrounded by leather bound tomes, piles of dog-eared moleskin notepads and framed quill pens of past scribes. There they will sit in solemn silence awaiting inspiration’s arrival.

Days, if not weeks, will pass. But eventually they’ll emerge on deadline day, emotionally drained and mentally stretched to their limits, but with the glint of victory in their eyes.

They’ll then hand over a document of such finely sculpted perfection that heaven help those who dare to change the merest subhead or comma.

But I’m afraid, dear reader, this is all a ruse.

It’s a carefully manufactured image to beguile unsuspecting business owners to stump up the trade’s eye watering fees.

The fact is that copywriting, and getting people to buy stuff, is easy.

Allow me to explain how you can sell more of anything without clever wordplay, magical mind tricks or any creativity at all…

How to Sell More of Anything

1. Discover your customer’s motivation – Telling your customer why they should buy your product is the wrong way round. You first need to know what it is they need solved. Listen to them and ask how you can help.

2. Don’t create the motivation for them – You can’t trick, force or beguile a customer into thinking they have a motivation that doesn’t exist. They may feign interest or admit what you’re saying to them about wanting more money and time is true. But if they don’t truly believe it in their gut, they aren’t going to buy. The motivation to buy is only something they can tell you.

3. Tell them the truth – Some say you have to put ethics on the backseat if you want to power towards success, to be willing to paint over the cracks and belittle the competition to get the sale. But with the access to information customers have these days, glossing over the truth or remolding it entirely is only going to make them lose trust in you. Lie to them once and you can forget about further business down the road.

4. Answer their questions – Copywritingshouldn’t be a magical dark art. You’re not trying to bully or fool people to do anything they don’t want to do. Instead you need to discover the concerns or doubts holding them back. You then nod your head and provide them with the answers that address their objections and remove the barriers blocking a sale. Answering questions enables you to replace bland statements dressed as facts with reasons why they should buy.

5. Give them what they want – When you know their motivation and have answered their objections truthfully, selling is easy. It doesn’t require you to outsmart them, exaggerate or overpowering them with the sheer force of your words. You simply state how your product fulfills their deeply felt motivation and why buying it is a beneficial exchange. Money is purely a means for customers to get the things they want. All you’re doing is encouraging them to get what they want in a way that switches the sense of loss from spending money to that of a sense of gain.

Ensure your website, brochure or sales letter does these five things and you can sell more of your products. You can also save the hundreds or thousands you’d spend on some wizened copywriter to do the exact same thing.

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This post was inspired by The Secret of Selling Anything by Harry Browne – vital reading for every salesman, whether you do it face to face or in print.

Copywriting is Easy is a post from: The Copywriter's Crucible - A Melting Pot of Punchy, Persuasive Copywriting by Freelance Copywriter Matt Ambrose and his Team

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Small Hinges Swing Big Doors – 10 Small Actions for Big Improvements to Conversions

When a campaign withers, plummets and bombs, the temptation can be to write it off as a dud. But sometimes it’s worth sifting through the debris. Sometimes all that’s needed is minor tinkering to turn a spluttering campaign into a rocketship. A phrase in direct marketing is ‘tiny hinges swing big doors’. Putting the metaphors aside, what this means is that small tweaks can create big improvements in response rates and sales.

Renowned copywriter Ray Edwards recently shared five small hinges on his podcast. I’ve ‘curated’ a few of his and added some of my own to create ten ways you can dramatically increase response to your existing campaigns:

1. Headlines – The single most powerful way of improving response is to change the headline. As David Ogilvy taught us, on average 80% of people will read the headline but only 20% will continue to the body copy. It follows that you can dramatically increase readership and response with a more targeted and interesting headline. Time and again, it’s been proven that headlines which offer benefits, build intrigue and tell the reader what they will gain if they read further are the most effective. Trying to be cute or clever will only turn off readers who don’t get the joke or see any point of reading further.

2. Short First Line – This is a tricked I picked up from copywriting genius Joe Sugarman. He describes sales letters as ‘slippery slopes’ in which they are structured to simply keep people reading. After the headline has caught their attention, the first line’s only aim is to get them to read the next line, and so on. A short first line minimises the friction. It helps to build velocity you can build on with short paragraphs, bullets and enticing subheads to keep readers sliding through your copy until they are ready to leap and take action at the end.

3. Go Old School. Send a Letter – Email’s low cost and measurability make it a true workhorse. It also has an ROI that puts social media to shame. But while readership of is on the rise (with two thirds now reading emails on a mobile device) you still have to battle for attention within a flood of marketing emails. So why not compete in a mail box with less competition? Nobody sends letters anymore, in this digital age. Use this to your advantage by sending a sales letter with a physicality that’s hard to ignore.

4. Preframe Your Offer – Preselling is a popular tactic in the affiliate marketing world. By writing reviews of other people’s products they give them the reassuring glow of third party endorsement. Any business can use this tactic. Consider review copies of your product to journalists and bloggers with Klout to presell it to their readers and followers.

5. Change the Format – Many people like to read. Others like to watch video and some even prefer listening to product information at the gym or on the commute. If a written sales letter isn’t doing the trick, consider creating a sales letter video with a downloadable audio version. That way you can max consumption of your message and expand its reach onto YouTube, Vimeo and more.

6. Images of Real People – People like looking at images of other people. Better yet, they like looking at photos of real people, rather than the beaming caricatures that populate the realm of stock photography. The best option is to use photos of people working within the company, or you can try sites like Flickr, Wikimedia and Openphoto for creative commons licensed images. Images of real people makes a message appear more authentic and trustworthy, driving up response as a result.

7. Change Your Offer – Your product might be a masterpiece of German engineering, Italian design and British luxury branding. But if you’re not pitching it the right way nobody will care. If your campaign is falling flat, find out why. Interview your customers. Do some market research with Survey Monkey. Look at what your competitors are doing. Find out what the hot buttons are and get prodding.

8. Post and Promote – Many campaigns fail because the client simply hits publish and hopes for the best. Rather than post and hope, the mindset should be post and promote. Use social media monitoring tools, like Hootsuite and Buzzbundle, to find bloggers and Tweeters with large followings and then reach out to them. Viral marketing might be a game of chance, but it doesn’t hurt to give it a little nudge in your favour.

9. Check Your Mobile – The rise of mobile has hit the restaurant industry like a hurricane. Those that have adapted are able to prosper from people looking for restaurants while on the go. Those still dragging their feet are left to count the tumbleweed blowing past empty tables. As mentioned, two thirds of emails are now read on a mobile device. If people aren’t responding to your messages, it might be worth pulling out your mobile to see what reading experience you’re giving them.

10. Get Retargeting – SEO is expensive, unpredictable and takes a lot of time and effort before you can expect to see results. Digital advertising has evolved to beome quite the reverse. With retargeting tools, you can display your ads to people who’ve already expressed an interest in your in your market or product. You can them lure them to your website without the king’s ransom of yesteryear. If you’re not yet retargeting, head over to Adroll or Perfect Audience to get your tracking code installed tout suite.

So there you go. Ten small hinges that can open big doors. Deploying a few of these will reinforce your ‘added value’ copywriter credentials and help to send campaigns soaring instead of bouncing along and flat lining after a few days. Any small hinges you’d care to add?

Small Hinges Swing Big Doors – 10 Small Actions for Big Improvements to Conversions is a post from: The Copywriter's Crucible - A Melting Pot of Punchy, Persuasive Copywriting by Freelance Copywriter Matt Ambrose and his Team

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