You have to write a sales letter, landing page, or website. You start to write…then realize it’s (a) something you really don’t want to do; (b) something you have no time for; or (c) something you enjoy but you’re always looking for ways to do it better.
If your answer is (a) or (b), you’ll probably hire a copywriter or schedule a consultation with a copywriter who can help.
If your answer is (c), I you may decide to skip the copywriter altogether (although a copywriter can do much more than wordsmithing – click here for a free guide).
Here are 3 strategies to try if you’d like to remain independent (along with some resources if you’d like to dig deeper):
(1) If your copy isn’t drawing results, the first place to check is the headline. Without a strong headline, your copy won’t be reviewed.
Most copywriting courses include as small section on headlines. Almost always they focus on form and provide a bunch of templates (“Who else wants to…” or “How to get X without giving up Y”).
Templates are fine but they’re not the best place to begin. You begin with your client’s story and your own story and take it from there.
Once you’ve got your stories straight, you can do the usual exercise of writing 100 headlines to see which one “pings” for you…and yes, consider a template.
I have a course on writing headlines with stories (the only one out there, as far as I know!). You can learn more about it here.
(2) Use the “so what” question. After each section of your sales letter or landing page, imagine your client saying, “So what?” or, “What’s in this for me?” or, “Where’s the benefit?”
Even if you’re an experienced copywriter, it’s easy to forget to focus on benefits and view through the client’s perspective.
(3) Don’t be afraid to chop off the first half (or even two-thirds) of what you’ve written. Every professional writer knows, when you’ve particularly fallen in love with some part of you’re writing, that’s the part you need to remove immediately
More than once I’ve been working on copywriting when I think of an idea that totally changes what I’m offering. For instance, while rewriting the landing page for a lead magnet, I wrote, “How to use your sales letter to test your offer.”
Then I realized there were two things wrong with that headline. First, it wasn’t very exciting. Second, it gave away the solution.
So I did what I tell my clients to do. I wrote more headlines. I considered, “The copywriting compass: finding the path to increased sales.” That was too vague and too metaphorical. I did have some fun looking for images of compasses to illustrate the sales letter.
After drafting another 20 headlines, I came up with, “A Surprisingly Simple Way To Avoid The Nightmare Of Creating A Program You Can’t Sell”
That headline converted at over 50%. And although I had to go back and make a lot of changes to the copy, everything flowed easily.
Working through even a few simple tips will put you ahead of 50% of the DIY copywriters out there. If you’re looking for a more effective (dare I say “fun”) way to write copy, I have a course on Copywriting With Stories.