10 Steps To Writing Great Copy Joe Vitale Style
My thoughts on Joe Vitale's Writing Letters that get results.
Anyone who knows me , knows I am a fan of Joe Vitale (among others). His system of writing great copy for sales letters, books, etc. is the one I recoomend anyone to learn if they want their business to grow. Here in a nutshell is his 10 Laws of writing great caopy with my reasoning along of his.1. Know what's in it for your reader.
"Get out of your ego and into your reader's ego. Complete this sentence: "Get my book so that you can...(fill in the blank)." Your book (or whatever you are selling) is the feature. What people get as a result of having your book is the benefit. Focus on benefits. Always! Without this, your letter will bomb." Joe Vitale
This is the "what's in it for them?" law. If you are not willing to check out what the other side might want and gain from their interaction with you, then you've lost your audience, if you had one at all. Not to consider what the customer might want or need first is to commit business suicide. That might sound a little harsh, but not knowing what's in it for them leaves you out in the cold.
2. Write a headline that telegraphs the key benefit to your reader.
"ALWAYS use a headline. There is only ONE exception to this rule. When you personalize your letter, the "Dear (whoever)" opening becomes your headline. There are few headlines more powerful than the reader's own name. The headline is THE most important part of your letter! Spend nearly all of your time on it. (See 30 ways to write a headline in my book, The AMA Complete Guide to Small Business Advertising." Joe Vitale
If your headline can't catch people's eyes on Twitter, then you need to redo it. My most successful headlines have been on twitter. I get the most response out of those headlines. Also, Your headline needs to be twitter compatable. If you can't tweet it, delete it. The reason for this is that most people nowdays get their news on the go via Twitter.
3. Be brief.
"Say what you have to say in terms of the reader's self interest and shut up. This does NOT necessarily mean a short letter. If you are trying to make a sale, and the reader has never heard of you or your item for sell, you may have to write four or more pages to get your message across. If all you want is a return call, a one page letter may do. Don' be afraid of length. People will read any length of copy AS LONG AS IT'S INTERESTING! For proof, check out the long letter that got a 100% response in The Seven Lost Secrets of Success." Joe Vitale
You must catch the reader with that headline, keep them with the first parargraph and give them something to return for. Give them advice they can use, right there in your copy. Show them examples of how your product or service works. Don't give testimonials like, " I loved XYZ's book it was thrilling!" That kind of example doesn't tell the reader anything. There is no example of how the service or book worked for them. Great copy usintrigues, stimulates and gets the emotion following without hype.
4. Always use a PS.
"Always. Why do copywriters who charge upwards to $15,000 to write a sales letter and have weeks to draft it always use a PS? They are always read. Always" Joe Vitale
A PS is like an "oh, by the way" there is usually something important saved til last that seals the deal. The high paid copywriters get paid for the PS at the end. It truly does take weeks to test and work out the kinks of the PS.
5. Look good.
"Visual attractiveness accounts for 70% of your letter's impact. Use short sentences, short paragraphs, bulleted points, indented paragraphs, subheads, etc. Some people will just skim your letter, so engaging subheads and bulleted points help reach them instantly." Joe Vitale
If people can follow the train of thought down the page they are more likely to read the entire copy. Breaking up long sales letters with subheads that are bolded seem to work very well for those people who are skimmers. These sub heads are in no way inferior. They too need to be in a form to be able to be headlines in themselves. This is very important.
6. Outline First.
"Use a planning tool such as the program Project KickStart to help you think throughyour message. Or talk to a friend. Or to a tape recorder. Or toyourself. This also helps you get comfortable with speaking your letter rather than writing it." Joe Vitale
Use the letter as a speech. When you get the outline written use the outline as a speech. Join your local Taotsmasters group and improve your copy simply by making speeches out of them. Here you can gage the reaction of people to your letters and get great feedback. This also helps in being able to gain more exsposure and people get to know you and what you are capable of.
7. Write first, edit Last.
"Turn your inner editor off. you can ewrite it later. For now, write spontaneously and quickly to get your ideas on paper." Joe Vitle
Try writing continuously for 10 minutes per point in your outline. Forget grammar and everything. Just get the thoughts to paper. This makes you a better writer.
8. Ask for something.
"Why are you writing? you want a call to action. Or an order. Something. Say so!" Joe Vitale
That is what your letter is about. Isn't it? You want to make some money with Sales letters, right? You need to make sure you put a time limit on your offer and not sound desperate. If you sound desperate, people loose interest, to put it mildly.
9. Get a reader.
"Find someone to read your letter OUT LOUD in front of you. If he has trouble reading your letter, if he wrinkles his nose or stops to reread a sentence, rewrite those places. Don't skip this step! It's the secret of many professional writers." Joe Vitale
I like to use my 14 year old. If she can't make sense out of it, then I start over. If she's learned something or remembers a point or two afterwards that's great. If she can't remember the main points that I want whoever's getting this copy to remember, then I concentrate on those areas. This helps her compresension, too. Kill two birds with one stone.
10. Rewrite your letter again.
"Is it the best way you can do? Be honest! If not, throw it away and call the person instead. Or hire a copywriter to write it for you. Why waste your time or your reader's with something that doesn'tcommunicate in a persausive and interesting way? (I rewrote this leter 24 times!)' Joe vitale
It takes work to write great copy. You must be humble. Humble meaning, knowing your limits and having the mindset that with all I know I can improve. When you are humble you are more honest with yourself. If you need assisitance because you cannot write worth a flip I'd certainly be glad to assist.
At the end of this article are some things that might help make copywriting easier. I hope these will help you.
P.S. Writing in a conversational tone always puts the reader at ease. Be professional, but don't forget they are people, too.
Links:
Instant Sales Letters are pre made for those of us who can't write or don't have the time.
Check the out. http://dld.bz/GDd5
Join our discussion group. There are some special offerings with this one. http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/TheArtOfPreSELL
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