Lie #1: Good copywriting uses many exclamation points and over-the-top jargon a five-year-old wouldn’t believe.
“This Brand New Revolutionary Never Before Seen Blah Blah Will Explode Your (Bank Account! Abs!! Sex Life!!! Etc.)” Seriously, who wants their abs to explode???
“This Revolutionary Once In A Lifetime Opportunity Is Only Available To You Because You’re So Damn Handsome, But It Will Disappear In 10 Minutes, And Then You’ll Be Ugly Forever!!!” Okayyyy…….
“This Incredibly Awesome Majestic Indescribable Super Secret Opportunity That Only The Super Duper Uber Wealthy Rich Know About Can Be Yours Because This One Rich Nerd Guy Decided To Spill The Beans Because He’s Angry At All The Other Rich Jerk Guys!!!” Yeah, who doesn’t believe that?
If you think you need exclamation points, it means you need a thesaurus. Writer Henneke Duistermaat gives some great examples of this. Instead of “It’s big!” Try “It’s enormous.” Instead of writing, “That was brave!” Use, “That was heroic.” Finding the right words instead of lazily using exclamation points makes your essay more persuasive and compelling.
And forget wild promises and over-the-top worn-out phrases. Instead, try being honest and genuine, like talking to a friend over tea. Your sales copy will get noticed and read because it sounds like it’s coming from a natural person and not the worst possible version of a used car salesman.
Lie #2 – You can ‘swipe’ to copywriting success.
Just rip off other writers, substitute your product for theirs, change a bit here and there, and call it good. Yes, it will save you time, and you might make some sales.
But it would be best if you had fresh thinking and an actual copy to be genuinely successful and be a success (two different things, by the way).
Because unless you are selling the same product to the same customers, ripping off someone else’s copy won’t provide the sensational conversions you’re looking for.
Telling your own story in your way will.
Think about every blog that you read regularly. Could someone else write those blogs and have them be the same? No. If someone tried to rip them off, would they be as successful as the original authors? No.
Once you master copywriting, you’ll have tremendous power to write your paychecks because you will be the source of new ideas and perspectives that resonate with your customers and create buying frenzies.
Lie #3 – Copywriting is simple once you know the ‘secrets.’
That’s right – spend $997 for my latest course, and in no time, you’ll know all the secrets of the pros and be a copywriting savant.
Actually, no. There are no secrets; you won’t become a copywriting wiz overnight.
The fact is, there is a multitude of books and courses that will teach you about copywriting. But there are no real secrets except this – there is no substitution for practice. And more practice. And more training after that.
Hopefully, this won’t sound too sentimental, but great copywriting is about one thing: Caring.
He is caring for your customer, caring that he gets the best possible solution to his problem, caring enough to see to it that you make every effort to get that solution in his hands.
It’s about empathy, stepping into your customers’ shoes, and seeing life from their perspective. Living with the problem they have, knowing what it’s like to want the solution desperately.
You can’t outsmart your prospects. What you can do is be one of them so you can talk to them and counsel them as they would want to be talked to and counseled.
You’ll be a great copywriter when you learn how to do that.
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