Sales
Copy Striptease
Dear
Associate,
If
you're a savvy business professional preparing for a promotion:
writing your sales letter, website copy or display ad can
often twist you into more knots than a pretzel. After staring
at a blank page for hours—you begin to realize maybe
you are mortal after all.
What's
the answer?
Hit
your swipe files for inspiration as many gurus recommend?
Take some R & R time, indulge in a Jacuzzi, and return
relaxed, rested and refreshed? Start writing whatever comes
to mind hoping to magically come up with a jugular-grabbing
hook?
Yes,
those may work...
But
another simple, yet effective formula you could try is returning
to the roots of copywriting: Getting inside your prospect's
head. And heart. Because if you can do that—you will
lower their force field. When writing to your prospects, you'd
want to model the Borg (Star Trek: The Next Generation) and
declare, "Resistance is futile."
And
without a doubt—one of the most colorful professionals
who knows the inside secrets to reducing prospect resistance
is the striptease artist. From start to finish she has mastered
the art of owning eyeballs and raising heartbeats. We can
apply her secrets into writing copy that lead our prospects
to say, "Yes, please take my money."
Her
crafty secrets revealed...
1)
She begins with the right audience. If the audience were
members of the Vice Squad, the PTA, or little old ladies from
the Christian Women's Association—she will probably get
booed off the stage. And not make any new friends.
To
create positive response for your sales copy—get your
message in front of the right audience. Even if you are a
world-class copywriter. Otherwise, you'll go hungry.
2)
She grabs instant attention. The lights dim, the music
begins and the curtain is drawn. She shows a leg. All of a
sudden, it gets really quiet and all eyes zero in on her.
You've
only got a few seconds. Your promotion must grab attention
quickly. This is your headline's job.
Your
headline must be so compelling—all eyes are riveted upon
it. There's no room for hesitation. If you fail here, you
could lose your campaign.
3)
She creates want. She works her audience with seductive
eyes, patiently removing an article of clothing one by one,
and effortlessly manipulating her twirling tassels. She's
methodically building anticipation. She tempts.
You
must keep your readers glued to your message. Not only that,
but you must keep their jaw dropping with want. But not only
that, you've got to keep them salivating.
Stating
benefit after prospect benefit will keep them focused on your
marketing copy. One tactic I use is to include benefits in
bullet form, and then include additional benefits littered
throughout the body copy. This creates and reinforces anticipation
throughout your sales promotion.
4)
She's a pro. One sin our artist doesn't commit is admiring
her own performance. She doesn't marvel at her own abilities.
That's what amateurs do. She may lose her audience that way.
And
critically important in your sales copy is not to have your
audience focus on your words. You want them to read it through
non-stop. Using clichés, unnecessary verbiage and fancy
word play can cause them to pause—and discontinue.
If
your copy confuses, piques questions or causes your reader
to ponder—that will work against you. People don't have
time to decipher coded messages. You must be clear. It's up
to you to lead them by the hand. This is what separates the
amateurs from the pros.
5)
She says, "Wait." That's the secret wild card
power of our artist. She seduces. Her biggest asset is not
in revealing, but in concealing.
In
your marketing piece, don't let the cat out of the bag too
quickly. (Unless that's the copy platform you've chosen.)
Conceal your offer until you've given them enough information
to make an educated decision.
This
tug and pull effect further shrinks your prospect's force
field. Just when they think you're about to reveal your offer,
pull back to build more anticipation. This is a perfect time
to introduce another big benefit or a special bonus they'll
get if they take advantage of your offer.
You
can vary this method by introducing your offer, and then increasing
their want by adding one premium bonus after another. A classic
example is the Ginsu Knives infomercial. They masterfully
dissolved their prospect's force field and kept them salivating
by repeating, "But wait... there's more!"
Like
our colorful artist, you too can increase sales without appearing
pushy. You can reduce your prospect's resistance one step
at a time. Become creative like our artist and you'll have
your audience salivating at your offer.
Warm
Regards,
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Tommy Yan helps business owners and entrepreneurs make more
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