Writing persuasive copy is simple – but not always easy.
The most persuasive techniques usually are the ones that are simplest. Here are three simple tricks the top copywriters know will help them sell more (of whatever they're selling)…
- Know your prospects. This means doing your homework, and knowing the audience you're writing to (and selling to) inside out. You must know, at the very least their FFA's (fears, frustrations, and aspirations). If you know those three things, you have some powerful mojo at your disposal.
- Speak the language of your audience. If you are writing to golfers, for instance, you absolutely must not call the instruments of play anything other than clubs. Referring to “ball striking sticks” will earn your copy a quick trip to the trashcan. I know the example is ridiculous, but I see copywriters making mistakes equally as ridiculous all the time. Just sayin'.
- Know your product. Again, a seemingly obvious point, yet one of the most frequently violated principles of writing persuasive copy. The more you know about your product, the more persuasively you will be able to communicate about it. Newbie copywriters would do well to study the greats, particularly Eugene Schwartz, who often read a book four (or more) times, and had 100 pages of notes written in his own hand, when he finally sat down to write the copy that would sell the book.
As I said, simple. Not necessarily easy.