Copywriting Resource Kit

Copywriting Resource Kit By Michele PW Your $Ka-Ching!$ Marketing Strategist (Michele Pariza Wacek) Creative Concepts and Copywriting LLC MichelePW.com Copywriting Resource Kit 1

Copyright/Disclaimer The material contained in this product is protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is forbidden. The author and publisher of this product have used their best efforts in creating their course. They make no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness or completeness of the contents of this course. The information in this course is strictly for educational purposes. By using this information, you are taking full responsibility for your own actions. The author and publisher disclaim any warranties (express or implied) merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. The author and publisher shall in no event be held liable for any loss or other damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential or other damages. As always, the advice of a competent legal, tax, accounting or other professional should be sought. The author and publisher do not warrant the performance, effectiveness or applicability of any site listed in this course. All links are for information purposes only and are not warranted for content, accuracy or other implied or explicit purpose. Copywriting Resource Kit 2

Table of Contents: Copywriting 101: How to Get Your Customers to Take Action......................................... 4 The Secret of Writing Memorable Sales Copy (or, How to Create Pictures Using Only Words)...7 Seven ways a copywriter can boost your business................................. 10 Six Ways Your Creativity Can Turbocharge Your Copywriting.......................... 11 Michele PW Bio...13 Copywriting Resource Kit 3

Copywriting 101: How to Get Your Customers to Take Action If you want people to buy, you gotta ask for the sale. Truly, it is that simple. Yet I can t tell you how many ads, Web sites, brochures, sales letters, etc. are floating around out there that aren t asking. So, what is a call to action? It s telling people what action you want them to take. Typical calls to action include: Hurry in today. Buy now. Call now. Visit now. Click here now. Nothing terribly sexy, I agree. However, if you want to see an increase in your customers, leads, income, etc., this is an essential component. But, you might be thinking, isn t it obvious? Why else would you be running an ad if you didn t want people to buy what you re selling? Good question. And it s true, people do know (if they stop to think about it) that you would probably like them to buy from you. However, the unfortunate truth is your potential customers aren t going to spend that much time thinking about it. People have too much going on in their lives to spend very much time and energy on your business. If they do read your ad or promotional material and it doesn t contain a call to action, they ll likely say, Oh, that s nice and go on to the next thing. And even if they were interested in purchasing your offerings, they may not know what their next step should be. Do they pick up the phone? Go to a specific Web page? Visit a store? And if they don t know what they should be doing, chances are they won t do anything at all. So you need to tell your potential customers what you want them to do. (Remember, people are busy, and if you don t make doing business with you easy, they probably won t do business with you at all.) Copywriting Resource Kit 4

So, back to the above call to actions. Did you notice they all had something in common? The word now (or, in the case of the first one, today ). If people think they can buy from you anytime, they ll say oh, I can do this later. And later rarely comes. You need to give them a reason to buy from you right now, while they re interested. Adding the now or some other urgency or scarcity technique (maybe a limited time offer or few copies left statement) is a great way to push people into doing what you want them to do right now and not later. While we re on the topic of calls to action, I want to talk about one other type of advertising campaign where you rarely see calls to action. These are called branding campaigns. Typically they re shown on national television by big corporations (MacDonald s, Nike, Starbucks, Target). In those instances, the businesses are building a brand that will cause you think of that business first when you re interested in purchasing their products. For instance, when you re hungry, you think MacDonald s. You need new athletic shoes, you think Nike. You re dying for that cup of joe, so you think Starbucks, etc. While there s nothing wrong with branding campaigns, they are tougher to track than campaigns with a specific call to action (Sale ends Saturday, call before Friday to receive your free gift, etc.) Those campaigns are also called direct response because you re asking the customer to respond directly. Direct response campaigns can be tested, so you have a good idea what s working and what s not (and can tweak the campaign accordingly). And, if the campaign doesn t require getting a salesperson involved (i.e. if the call to action is for the customer to whip out his wallet right there) the campaign will just run itself (and make money all by itself). (One note: You do need to do more than add a call to action to have a strong direct response campaign, but that doesn t negate the power a call to action can bring to your campaigns.) Branding campaigns are nearly impossible to test, track and tweak. They either appear to work or don t appear to work. And if they don t appear to work, it s very difficult to start tweaking to improve the response rate. However, branding is still very, very important. As a business owner, you need a good brand and you need to communicate that brand effectively. And sometimes it makes sense to run a branding campaign. However, my advice for most situations is to combine branding and direct response. Your brand is clearly communicated in your ads and promotional materials, but you also take advantage of some direct response techniques at the same time. If nothing else, make sure you don t forget the call to action. Creativity Resources Write Your Call to Action Copywriting Resource Kit 5

Want to include a call to action in your promotional materials but don t know where to start? Here s an easy step-by-step formula: 1. Figure out your purpose for the ad or promotional material. Why are you running this ad, creating this Web site, printing this brochure? (And no, an acceptable answer is NOT because everyone else has one.) Is it to generate leads? Get your name out there? Get people to buy? Or what? 2. Now write it down. 3. That s it. That s your call to action. Whatever the end result you want for the campaign is what you should be asking people to do. Copywriting Resource Kit 6

The Secret of Writing Memorable Sales Copy (or, How to Create Pictures Using Only Words) Want to know the secret to creating MEMORABLE promotional copy? Sales copy that actually stays with your customers long after they ve finished reading it? Then master the art of using words to create pictures in your customers heads. If you can describe your products or services in such a way that it forms images in your customers heads, well, then you ve just created something that will last long after the marketing is over. Why else do novels stay with us for so long? Those pictures we see draw us into the world of the novel, and those pictures stay with us long after we ve closed the book. If you can create that kind of staying power with your marketing materials, think about how much ahead of your competition you ll be. So, how do you get started? Below are three tips. (Note how all three tips have the word specific in common. Be specific whenever you can. We don t think in generalities, we think in details. The more specific you are, the stronger the pictures.) 1 Use specific nouns. Quick what springs to mind when I say the word bird? Now erase that image. What pops into your head when I say cardinal? When I said bird, you could have pictured any number of bird species or maybe even some sort of generic bird (something brown with wings and feathers). When I said cardinal, I bet you saw a bright red bird with that distinctive triangle head. See the difference? Cardinal is specific and it brings a specific picture to mind. Bird is generic, and it brings a generic picture to mind. Whenever possible, use the most specific noun you can. (However, if the most specific noun is something most people wouldn t know, say some rare exotic insect only found in the Amazon jungle, then make sure you describe it as well.) 2. Use specific verbs. Verbs breathe life into your copy. They re the difference between words lying flat and comatose on the page or jumping up and dancing a jig. Verbs bring movement to your copy. They tell your readers if someone is walking, jogging, sauntering, skipping or crawling. Or maybe that someone is exhausted and has decided to lie down for a bit. Copywriting Resource Kit 7

Now, when I say verbs, what I m NOT talking about are to be verbs am, is, are, was, were, etc. Those verbs don t paint a picture. Not like hug, skate, sail, run, fall, spin, flip, etc. See the difference? While to be verbs are necessary, the idea is to use them as little as possible. In fact, I have a fiction-writing friend who has a was/were rule. Only three wases/weres per page. Yep, you heard me right. Per page. Yes, it can be done. I didn t think I could do it either in my novels. And let me tell you, when you start pruning those wases/weres out of your prose, it s amazing how strong your writing becomes. 3. Describe specific situations. Compare: Our bookkeeping service is the best in the area. We can take care of all your bookkeeping needs, from invoices to paying bills to reconciling your bank statements. To this: Do your invoices go out late because you can t stand the idea of sitting down to do them? Does your cash flow suffer droughts each month because no checks arrive in the mail (because your invoices went out late)? How much hair have you pulled out over the years because of accounting mistakes? Never fear, those days are over when you hire us to do your bookkeeping. The first example is generic (take care of bookkeeping needs). The second example shows you HOW the business does it. (In fiction we call it show, don t tell. Good advice, even for copywriters.) You can actually feel those business problems late invoices, cash flow droughts, loss of hair. It s the difference between something cold and impersonal that really has nothing to do with you and something that wakes you up with a spark of recognition ( Hey, that s me. I need that. ) Creativity Exercises See what others are doing Pick a piece of copy. Something with meat at least 300 words or so. No, it doesn t have to be something you wrote either. In fact, this exercise might be easier if it isn t yours. Now analyze it. Look at the nouns. Are they specific? Or are they a bit too generic? What about the verbs? Could they be stronger? And does it describe a specific situation, something that you can actually feel and touch? Try this with a variety of writings novels, nonfiction books, newspaper articles, Web sites, sales letters, etc. Look at both good and bad examples. (Although good and bad are somewhat subjective, follow your gut.) See what trends you discover. Copywriting Resource Kit 8

By analyzing what others are doing, you re better able to see the strengths and weaknesses in your own writing. Copywriting Resource Kit 9

Seven ways a copywriter can boost your business Think you can t afford to hire a copywriter? Think again. Here are seven ways a copywriter can contribute to the success of your business. 1. Save you time. Chances are, you have more than enough things to fill your day with other than writing brochure copy or freshening your Web site or getting that pesky newsletter article off your desk. When you hire a professional copywriter, not only are you getting one more thing off your to-do list, but also it will probably get done faster than you could do it. 2. Find the right words. What s the purpose of copywriting? To sell your business, your image, your products or your services. Obvious, right? But what s key here is sell. The words chosen to represent your business, your image, your products or your services need to be doing their job selling what you need sold. That s where a copywriter shines (the great ones anyway). Making sure those words are out there selling to your target audience. 3. Cut through the chaos. Every day, Americans are hit with over 3,000 attempts to snag their attention. The right words can help your message stand out and be noticed rather than getting overlooked. 4. Provide the foundation of your marketing. The right words can work hand-in-hand with your sales force. Words will soften your target audience, giving your salespeople an edge when they deliver their pitch. A piece of literature or ad can reach hundreds, thousands or even millions of people, and if crafted right, can have them calling your sales force rather than the other way around (wouldn t that be nice?). 5. Keep you in control. When you supply your sales force or employees with already written pitches, sales letters and high-quality literature, you stay in control of your message because they re using words you ve already approved rather than coming up with their own message. 6. Make you look good. Well-written copy combined with eye-catching graphics will add a level of professionalism and elevate your business s image to a higher level. 7. Help you be objective. Many business people are too close to their business, so it s difficult for them to see not just faults but also strengths. Copywriters can come in and be objective, really seeing how best to sell the business, the image, the products or services. Then they can craft the right message for maximum results. Copywriting can be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. Make sure the words chosen to represent your company are as compelling and as effective as possible. Copywriting Resource Kit 10

Six Ways Your Creativity Can Turbocharge Your Copywriting 1. A different voice will set you apart. In a cyber-world filled with more than 16 million Web sites, one of the most effective ways to make yourself stand out is through words. If you have a different or unique way of stringing words together, you WILL stand out from the crowd. And isn t that what you re trying to do? There s a lot of talk about voice in writing circles. It s one of those things that s easy to recognize and tough to teach. However, I CAN tell you that the more in touch you are with your creativity, the easier it will be to develop a distinct voice. 2. Putting your personality in your writing is worth its weight in gold. Even more than a different voice, work on allowing your personality to shine through your writing. If people like your writing style or voice, chances are, they ll like you. And if they like you, they ll probably become your customers (or they may tell other people about you, and those people may become your customers). Again, your creativity is your best friend here. Let it help you. 3. A picture is worth a thousand words (even if you use words to paint the picture). If you can describe your products or services in such a way that it forms images in your customers heads, well, then you ve just created something that will last long after the marketing is over. Words are powerful. Why else do novels stay with us for so long? Those pictures we see draw us into the world of the novel, and those pictures stay with us long after we ve closed the book. If you can create that kind of staying power with your marketing materials, think about how much ahead of your competition you ll be. Painting pictures requires more than just creativity. But it s a good start. Try thinking about different ways you can describe your products and services so they re more likely to stay with your customers. 4. Create an experience your customers won t forget. Like painting pictures, you can also create an entire experience using words. Again, the more real your marketing materials are to your target market, the more your business will stay with your customers. A big push with branding has been creating an experience. Starbucks has done it. So has Nike. Both of them have created their brand experience using more than words, but words are certainly one of the cheaper ways you can do it. Think of using your senses when you do this how does your product smell? Taste? Feel? (Creativity definitely helps here.) What will your customers experience when they use your products or services? What experience do you want them to have? How can you extend that experience to your marketing materials so they get a taste of what your products or services will give them? Copywriting Resource Kit 11

5. Approach your marketing materials from a different angle. One of the reasons creative people are creative is they re able to look at ideas differently from other people. And, the last thing you want is your marketing materials to sound like everyone else s. Let your creativity help you create a new, fresh angle for your marketing materials. 6. Connect with your target market. How do you make a sale? You connect emotionally with your target market. How do you do that? By putting yourself in their shoes. You show them how your products or services are something they need and want. And they feel like you understand them. Again, your creativity can help you here. It can help you envision your target market while you write to them, choosing the words and phrases that will speak directly to them, and helping you empathize with them. The bottom line? No matter where you are on the creativity scale, your attempts at creativity won t hurt your copywriting (no matter how bad you think you are at it). But if you don t at least try to be creative, you re definitely never going to stand out from the crowd. And, chances are, being creative will only enhance your copywriting probably in new and unexpected ways. That s the beauty of creativity you never know when or how it will step through the door, bringing with it the all the energy and excitement of new adventures. Copywriting Resource Kit 12

About Michele PW Considered one of the hottest direct response copywriters and marketing consultants in the industry today, Michele PW (Michele Pariza Wacek) Your $Ka-Ching!$ Marketing Strategist, has a reputation for crafting copy and creating online and offline marketing campaigns that get results. Michele started writing professionally in 1992, working at agencies and on staff as a marketing/communication/writing specialist. She started Creative Concepts and Copywriting LLC in 1998 and has never looked back. Going into business for herself was the best thing she ever did. She discovered a passion for combining her creativity with her writing ability to solve marketing problems for her clients. She s also developed a specialty for online marketing campaigns: from using Web 2.0 traffic strategies to bring a flood of hungry visitors to Websites, to turning those visitors into actual paying customers. Now a national speaker and author, her client list reads like a who s who of Internet Marketing. She regularly works with national and internationally known consultants, speakers, authors and companies. Michele is the author of two novels, a special report Why Isn t My Website Making Me Any Money? 10 Easy Steps To Make Your Website Go Ka-Ching! and a home study course Sales Letter Secrets: Rev Up Your Business With Copy That Sells! She holds a double major in English and Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently she lives in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona with her husband Paul and her three border collies, Nick, Maddie and Roxie. Michele PW (Michele Pariza Wacek) Your $Ka-Ching!$ Marketing Strategist PO Box 10430, Prescott, AZ 86304 Phone/Fax: 877-754-3384 Copywriting Resource Kit 13