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!

7 Secret Shortcuts for Writing Great Headlines

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Image: autiscy

The headline is the first thing that catches a reader’s eye. Nobody (except for judges in advertising competitions) will read your entire post or ad unless the headline does its job.

If you’re stuck for ideas, here are seven headline tips and formulas that make creating headlines easy.

1. Start with a number

People love lists. They promise knowledge, quick help, and understanding of complex problems— in a format that’s easy to read and digest.

2. Ask readers if they make common mistakes

A headline asking if readers made “these common mistakes in English” was a bit direct mail hit long ago. Ask your readers if they make these common design mistakes, or web development errors.

3. Offer a quiz

It’s fun to test your knowledge, especially if it’s a contest. Have your readers see how well they do on common (or uncommon tests of grammar, design, or photography tricks.

4. Make a big promise

Offer to get rid of [horrible problem] once and for all. Or, a quick, easy way to do something hard.: Get a web site that’s impressive and easy!

5. Offer inside information or big savings

Everything you need to know to get cheaper software, or how to (do something that’s usually expensive) on a budget.

6. Create an especially large list

This is particularly effective in social media or blog posts you want bookmarked or shared. List 51 design tools under $50, or 27 free marketing ideas. The longer the list, the more important it appears.

7. List the best (or the worst) examples

“The best software under $50,” or “The worst marketing email. Ever. ” Why is that software so great?  And what made that email so awful?  The only way to learn the answer is to read the article.

What are your best sources of inspiration for headlines? Share them in the comments.

And how many of the headline formulas did I use in this post?

Six Emotional Triggers Every Marketer Should Know

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janus masksWhat are emotional triggers?

Emotional triggers are words that generate an emotional, visceral response—a reaction that comes without a lot of analysis or thought, just straight from the lizard brain.

Emotional triggers work by building a connection that will prompt people to act. That’s why they’ve been used by copywriters for years,  because they increase responses.

What are these emotional triggers?

And why are they so powerful?

Here’s a list of them.

One: Greed

Because people want something for nothing, or to get something they don’t have. That’s why “free” works so well.

If you offer investment advice, you’ll get a better response from saying, “I help people get rich and retire early, even in an economic downturn.” than you would if you just said, “Oh I help people manage their stocks and bonds and other investments.”

The first one certainly gets people’s attention. The second one is dull and doesn’t really say anything to anybody that tells them why they should really care about what it is that you do.

Two: Fear

People are afraid they won’t get promoted, or they will lose their jobs, or won’t do well as a new parent.

The fear here is people who are worried they won’t have enough money for retirement. So offer them something that gets their attention and appeals to this particular fear, such as:

Do you have enough money for retirement? Take this 30-second quiz and find out!

(That’s both an attention getter, and a call to action)

Three: Guilt

Guilt is effective, particularly for nonprofits or pitches to parents, because people want the best for their children or want to help others who are less fortunate.

Four: Exclusivity or scarcity

This works because people like to have things that other people don’t have.

If something is a limited offer, or only 100 will be made, it appeals to people’s desire to stand out from their neighbors, or to have something special and unique that few other people can own.

Five: Anger

When people are mad about something they often want to act.

If they’re mad about high oil prices, or a proposal to put a big, smelly landfill two blocks from their homes, they will get excited, they will get mad and want to do something to stop it.

So, they will pay more attention to your mailing or your ad if you’re telling them how they can do something about it.

Six: Problem-solving

It doesn’t have to be a big problem. It can be a small problem, such as digging through your whole purse or lots of pockets to find your keys. Or, it can be how to set up a blog when you don’t have a lot of technical skills.

Photo: gemsling

Business Marketing Tips from Dr. Dolittle

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dr. dolittle albumWhat does Dr. Dolittle have to do with business marketing tips? Or even marketing in the 21st century? What kind of marketing tips can we get from a story written about a man who wore a tall top hat, tails and lived “long ago when our grandfathers were little children.”

Dr. Dolittle may have “lived” a long time ago, and may have been fictional, but  he also knew the value of taking the time to listen, learn, and use his patients’ language.

Use your customers’ language

In the movie musical version, Dr. Dolittle sang,
“If I could talk to the animals, just imagine it,
Chattin’ with a chimp in chimpanzee”

Marketers need to do this too.

If you don’t talk the way your prospects talk, they’ll tune you out.

For instance, I got an email message today that said, “How can I get BDM for my Product?…We specialize in optimizing business processes and implementing ERPs.”

I have no idea what that means, what problem they solve, or whether I have it. He might as well have sent that message in chimpanzee.

Where does it hurt?

In the book, once the animals learned that Dr. Dolittle could speak to them in their own language, they told him where it hurt, how they felt, and he could cure them easily.

If you tell the average non-techie business owner that you create Joomla web sites it won’t mean anything. Say you can get them a Web site that will improve their sales and they’ll sit up and take notice. Because more revenue is something that every business owner understands.

Understanding and trust lead to referrals

After Dr. Dolittle cured them, the first group of animals went back and told their friends that there was a doctor who understood them. Whenever any creature got sick, they came directly to his house, so his garden was always crowded with animals trying to see him.

He’d built authority and trust with his patients, so they felt comfortable recommending him to other animals who needed medical care.   You can do the same thing.  Take the time to talk to your customers, use their language when you speak to them, and they will start to like you, trust you, and refer you.

In fact, new customers will (ahem) flock to you.

Photo: the young thousands

Freebie Friday: 102 Ways to Write Great Headlines

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freebie_fridayThe headline is the first thing readers see. It can make (or break) the rest of your ad, email, or post. But sometimes, you get stuck. Your brain is blank. You’ve tried 7 different ways to write great headlines, and still nothing.

If that’s you, you’ll love today’s Freebie Friday. It’s a list of  102 headlines from Chris Garrett.  All you have to do is download it, pick one, and fill in the blanks.

How easy is that?

Get the list here. No signup or email required.

 

Calls to Action: The Super-Easy Copywriting Trick You Need to Know

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We’d all like to get more orders from our Web sites.

But sometimes, a great product and lots of traffic isn’t enough. It can be pretty frustrating to watch people come to your site or your landing page, and not buy anything. The reason may be that your website is missing something essential: a call to action.

Luckily, there’s a way to fix that. It’s easy, it’s quick, and it jolts people into doing exactly what you want.

Lights! Camera! Action!

Everyone knows what that clapboard in the picture means (even if you’re not in the movie business). It means “go.” In its simplest form, a “call to action” is doing the same thing. It’s asking someone to do something. You’ve probably seen them on lots of web pages. They use words like “call,” “buy,” or “download.”

Writing a call to action is simple

You start with an action word, like “sign up” or “start,” then you tell your readers to do something. Here are a few examples:

  • Get your copy of Write an Ebook in an Hour
  • Click this link for your free sample

Make it urgent

A sense of urgency will increase response. Years ago, a company sent out a mailing with an error. The letter should have said, “respond by Thursday, May 19”. Instead it read, “respond by Thursday.” The error drove sales up by 39%.

If you’re writing a call to action for a webinar, or a series of consultations, stress a deadline or a limited number of places.

Add a bonus

  • Register by Tuesday and receive a free bonus book.
  • Donate $50 and get a t-shirt

Stand out

Make sure your buttons, calls to action, or text is clearly visible. It should pop out against the rest of the page. Use a contrasting color, with lots of white space around it. Don’t crowd the button with lots of other text or graphics. You want people to find it and click on it.

Make it easy

The more steps, the fewer responses. Tell people exactly what will happen: they’ll download an e-book, get directed to a video, or register for a breakfast forum.

Be clear

Too many options can be confusing. 30-day trial, view demo, buy now. Create a clear path: step one, step two, step three.

Test, test, test

This is especially easy on the web. Try different wording, such as “subscribe” vs. “sign me up.”

You can also test buttons against text links, different colors, or different placement on the page. See which link gets the most clicks.

Write calls to action for all your marketing materials. Watch what happens.

Photo: Bart Groenhulzen