Category Archives: Copywriting for Small Business Owners

As a small business owner, writing is not necessarily your first (or your best) skill. Reading these posts on copywriting for small business owners can help. One of the most important lessons is the best ways to spark your readers’ interest. You’ll find out how to write great headlines, and why actual writing isn’t always necessary. Since the headline is the first thing people notice, it’s important to use one that’s compelling.

You’ll also discover whether it’s better to sell using emotions or logic. In addition, these posts will teach you how to use emotional triggers and fascinations to write more persuasive copy.

Plus, you’ll learn techniques for structuring your sales letter or landing page to make sure you get attention, grow desire, and ask for the sale.

And, you’ll find out the deadly copywriting mistakes that are nearly guaranteed to make you lose a sale. Don’t make them!

The Real Reasons Why People Buy

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

Image via Wikipedia

What are the reasons why people buy from you? Or anyone else? Is it because you’re better? Faster? Cheaper?

Not really. Yes, those are perfectly logical reasons. But people generally don’t make decisions logically.

We like to think our reasoning is logical, dispassionate, and completely unemotional. Cool and rational, just like Mr. Spock.

We’re wrong.

The real decision-making process when we buy something is a bit different.

We decide based on emotional factors, not logical ones. We then use those emotions to justify our decisions, and tell ourselves we’re being completely rational.

The real reasons why people buy:

1) To make money

More money means we can buy more, take better or more frequent vacations, or buy some gadget we’ve always wanted. It means, we think, less stress in our lives, and less worrying about our futures. So, something that promises to give us those results (not really the money, but what it represents), is highly appealing.

2) To save time

More time means we can spend more time with our families, take longer vacations, learn a new skill, or spend more time on a favorite hobby.

Promises of greater productivity appeal because we want to get more done, without spending as much time doing it.

3) Be popular/cool

Another emotional factor is “shiny new toy syndrome.” We want the latest gadget, the newest phone, and the biggest TV.

The reasons: not just pride in ownership, but also being able to improve our status, be admired, and impress others.

Hey, look what I have! Isn’t it cool? Doesn’t it make me cool too?

4) Protect their jobs

If the economy is bad, or your boss is nasty, something that can help protect your job, or get you promoted is extremely attractive. If you’re worried about losing your job, a new skill may help improve your job security, protect your family, and give you peace of mind.

5) Belonging to something

Humans are generally social (even the introverts). We like being part of a group and we like to interact with people who share our interests. We go to sporting events, buy t-shirts with our favorite team’s logos, and proudly point out the professional organizations we belong to.

What do these buying reasons have in common?

Emotional reactions to belonging, fear, security, or promises of stability are called emotional triggers: the desire to get more, to fit in, to be successful, look good to the boss, protect your family, make difficult problems easier to solve, etc.

There’s a full list of emotional triggers here.

When you write your your sales letter or web copy, think about the emotional reasons people make decisions, not just the logical ones. This applies even if your product is highly technical software or machinery. Sure, add the specs and the sizes and the capacity, but don’t forget why people really buy things.

Emotional triggers in action

Here’s an example that’s so common we hardly even notice it. It doesn’t make it any less effective though. We’ve all seen the label on Ivory soap proudly proclaiming that it’s 99 44/100% pure. We don’t know pure what, but it appeals to our emotions because it sounds both scientific and friendly. It says this product is wholesome and good for your skin.

Another popular trigger is belonging. Take beer ads for instance. A carefully chosen group of unusually attractive people are in a bar, having the best time you’ve ever seen anyone have. The advertiser wants you to associate this with their beer. They’re appealing to your sense of belonging.

Then there are the bourbon ads: hand-crafted, made in small batches. This time the appeal is to snobbery and exclusivity. Not everyone can buy this (we don’t make that much of it). Only people with great taste and disposable income can purchase the product. And, of course, if you do buy it, it shows how smart and refined you are.

How to Prevent Typos

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

How to prevent typos

How do you feel about typos (especially other people’s typos)?

Do you react angrily? Are you offended when you see one?

Or appalled that someone could let that happen?

Sometimes, it seems we just can’t get rid of typos. We proofread and proofread, but there they are, like dandelions popping up in your lawn.

I heard a story once about a publisher who swore they would print a book with no errors. There was a mistake in Chapter 6.

It’s not only book publishers that have this problem. Here’s an example from the Metropolitan Diary section of The NY Times (June 4, 2007)

“Dear Diary:
I wasn’t too surprised when a nearby Columbus Avenue restaurant closed up shop. The fliers that they distributed in the neighborhood when they first opened had, after all, boasted of “Chicken to Die From!”
Maureen Manning”

How to prevent typos

Typos were a lot harder to stop in the days when people used actual typewriters. They were harder to cover up too.

1) Start with spell-check. This helps, but isn’t perfect. It can’t tell, for example, when a word is spelled correctly, but not the word you really meant (“world” instead of “word”).

Even with spell check, typos can be really hard to find, especially if you’re proofreading your own work. And, they’re notorious for showing up in posts about spelling, grammar, and typos. They just sneak in.

2) Read it backwards. You see the individual words more clearly when you’re reading them out of order, because you have to focus on them harder.

3) Let it rest. Put the article or post aside for a few hours, or overnight. Read it again later.

4) Phone a friend. Have someone else look at it. This is especially important if you’re writing in your second language. A native speaker will see things you missed.

5) Read it out loud. This forces your brain to focus on what you’re doing, and the typos become more noticeable.

6) Hire a professional. Copy editors are worth their weight in gold. You may not want to pay for a blog post, but it’s worth it for a book or longer article.

If you spot one in someone else’s work, and your inner editor won’t let you keep it to yourself, tell the person nicely (pssst, rogue hyphen in paragraph three). Or, pencil the correction in the book. You’ll feel better.

Here are some more proofreading techniques and common English grammar mistakes.

All that said, I just read a book printed by a major publisher. There was a big typo in one of the chapter headings. It said, “DIMJLY LIT ROOM.”

Oops.

How to Write Landing Pages That Convert

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

Greg called yesterday wanting an opinion on his landing page.

He asked, “Does it suck?”.

It did.

“Should it be longer”?

It should.

“I don’t want it too long.”

It should, I said, be like Abe Lincoln’s legs; long enough to touch the ground.

A landing page is your 24/7 cyber-salesman

When you’re talking to someone directly, you can answer their questions, respond to their concerns, and make sure they know everything they need to know about your product.

Since you can’t be there in person, the landing page has to answer any questions on your behalf. It’s got to address any objections the buyer may have about price, features, future obligations, benefits, who you are, why you can help them, and whether you’re trustworthy.

In order to be effective, the landing page has to do four things: has to get attention, explain your offer, demonstrate the benefits, and give them a call to action.

That’s it. No more. No less.

No Twitter feed. No LinkedIn profile. No newsletter signups. Those are all distractions. Leave them for other parts of your site, but not on a landing page.

How to write landing pages that convert:

In order to make more sales, your landing page will need the following:

An explanation of why you’re talking to them. Make it clear exactly who your audience is, and why your product is relevant
Details of what the product is and does (a seminar on using LinkedIn, an ebook on how to write ebooks).
Information on what buyers/registrants can expect to get by signing up. What will they learn? What problems will your product solve?
Common questions and answers. Think of the questions they may have. What topics will you cover? How will knowing that information help them? What will it cost? How long is it?
Proof that it works. Testimonials from satisfied buyers, before and after photos, or your own story (here’s how I did it).
A call to action
What to expect next (the details of the sign-up, or buying process – what emails they will get, delivery time, confirmation of the order, etc.).

If you get stuck, try writing the end first. If it’s a seminar, put in the date and time it will be held, the cost, and what people have to do to signup. Write the call to action. Insert spaces for the shopping cart buttons.

Call a friend and explain it. Or, record yourself talking about it. Write down what you said.

Or, you could contact a professional. 🙂

Share your thoughts

Do you use landing pages for your products and services? Got a different approach or technique that works? Anything else you add? Share it in the comments.

Three Proven Headline Formulas and Why They Work

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

Image thanks to: Robert Couse-Baker

Friday, I gave some examples of killer headlines that grab your attention.

Sure, they’re formulas. They’ve been used over and over since the days of John Caples and Eugene Schwartz.

The question is, why do these headline formulas work so well? What makes us keep reading (or clicking)?

Curiosity

Some of these formulas work by arousing your curiosity. They make you wonder how something could possibly be true, or what the connection between two unrelated things might be.

For example, “How a Pebble on the Beach Changed my Life.” We expect a new job or a move or other big events to influence our lives, but not a pebble. The only way to find out what happened here, and how it happened, is to keep reading.

Other headline formulas work by setting up a contradiction. The headline “Eat More and Weigh Less.” doesn’t sound right. We all “know” that to weigh less you have to eat less, right? Or do we?

Sometimes the headline asks a question, such as “Do you make these common marketing mistakes?” The only way to find out what those errors are, and whether you are making them, is to read more (or click).

Problem-solving

Other headline formulas offer an easy solution to a tough problem.

If your readers are struggling with their weight, or setting up a blog, or getting rid of weeds, a headline that offers to fix those things (and even fix them easily) can be very powerful.

If you’ve got bugs, a headline that says, “Get Rid of Bugs Forever in Just One Step” is going to definitely attract your attention.

Promises and inside information

Another proven formula is a headline that makes a big claim or promise. The lure of learning secrets or inside tips can be nearly irresistible.

Headlines such as “Retire Early Without Being Rich” or “Secrets the SEO Experts Don’t Want You to Know” promise access to information that other people don’t have. And, it’s information that can help you earn more, be more comfortable, and happier. That’s a powerful inducement to read or click.

Who wouldn’t want to know how to do those things?

What makes you stop and read a headline?

Write Great Headlines Without Writing

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

Image thanks to Mannoobhai

Writing headlines is hard. You know (cause I’ve gone on and on about it) that the headline is what gets attention. Why is writing better headlines important?

Write a bad headline, nobody reads your article. Give everything away in the headline and there’s no need to read further.

A headline that says, “Fed Raises Interest Rates One Percent” has told you the entire story. On the other hand, a headline that says, “How the Fed Rate Rise Affects Your Savings” promises to explain how that action will affect your wallet (and your savings). Big difference.

Good headlines engage your readers’ emotions; they become charged up, excited, curious, and suddenly alert.

They’re interested and they want to read more!

But sometimes your brain is just stuck on neutral. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Luckily, there are some tips you can use to write a great headline with very little work.

Have Google do it

Search for your topic and check out the sponsored links and ads. This tells you if there are a lot of other pages and posts on the topic and if it’s worth pursuing further.

Then, use Google’s keyword tool to see how many searches are made with those words.

Use a headline tool

Try the linkbait generator. Type in a topic and get a catchy headline. You may have to revise it a bit (it’s a robot and sometimes the combinations it comes up with are a bit silly. But silly or not, it helps to get you thinking.

Fill in the blanks

(OK, this requires some writing, but very little)

Who Else Wants to _______?

Little Known Ways to ________

Get Rid of [Problem] Once and For All

The Lazy [Bloggers/Developers/Designers] Way to [Get More Traffic/Code Faster/Get More Clients]

_____ That Wow

There! You’ve just written a week’s worth of headlines without writing very much.

On Monday, why these headlines work.