Copywriting Tips – It’s All In The Presentation

Copywriting is an art. Yes, it can be learned, but it is still an art. And a lot of that art is in how it’s presented. Many times a sales letter will come off as forced or just plain awful because of the presentation and not so much because of the content itself, which if you broke it down, was saying the same thing…just not as well. If you’re having trouble wrapping your head around what I’m trying to get across here, keep reading. I’ll try to make it as clear as I can.
A lot of sales copy comes down to what I call tact. It’s kind of like going up to your best friend who is in need of a good swift kick in the pants and saying, “You’re an idiot if you don’t do this” or saying to him, “I really think this is going to help you a lot. I use it and it’s great.” Writing a sales letter is no different. Essentially, what you want to tell the prospect is that if they don’t get this product, they’re making a big mistake, but you don’t want to call them an idiot in the process.
So what are the alternatives to calling somebody an idiot? Well, there are actually quite a few. You could say something like, “You’re really going to miss out if you don’t get this product. It has been helping people all over the world for over 10 years now.” That’s a very subtle way of calling the person an idiot or at the very least, making him aware of the fact that he is making a foolish choice by passing up your offer.
Tact is something that they don’t really teach you in copywriting, at least not directly. Instead, it’s done through other means that say the same thing. We are taught to use testimonials to show the real value of the product. This is where other people say, “Hey, this thing is great.” In a very subtle way, this is telling the prospect, “Hey, all these other people bought this thing so what’s YOUR problem? What’s keeping YOU from making the purchase?” Some copywriters, unfortunately, are not so subtle. I’ve read some letters, such as the Rich Jerk’s, that are just flat out rude. For some people, it works. But you have to know your target market first.
Presentation if everything…right down to the final PS where you subtly remind the prospect that he only has so much time to take advantage of your offer or he’s going to lose out.
Subtle as a hand grenade in a fox hole.
To YOUR Success,