There’s a reason for putting the brand name as well as the headline in the subject line. It’s called getting your attention. See, customers subscribe and then they forget you. And yes, a great headline can catch their attention, provided you write a great headline. Most of us fall in love with our headlines, but […]
The Kiss of Death: How to Read Between The Customer’s Lines
Read my lips. No, not mine. The lips of the customer. Here’s one of three things customers are telling you, right after you’ve made your presentation about your your product or service. Your product or service is boring. Your communication is boring. Where have you been all my life? But they don’t say any of […]
The Power of ‘Knew’ and ‘New’
If you were to step into a disco today, you’d run bang, smack into a hit song by Madonna. It’s a song called ‘Hung Up.’ And then your fingers would start snapping. Your feet would go tappity-tap. And you’d find the tune familiar. …Even though you’ve never heard the song before So what’s in the […]
Why Headlines Need To Avoid the Shotgun Approach: Using Pet Peeves
You’ll see the waffle in headlines everywhere you look. You’ll see a headline that’s weak. And wimpy. Headlines that say:“Do you fit this category?” (As in: Do you have these problems in sales?) And then that headline proceeds to list every sort of problem, relating to every sort of target audience that could possibly be […]
Slip-Sliding: How To Get Customers To Read Every Word Of Your Copy
Do you know how you flip one page of a novel, not expecting to read the book, and before you know it, whooops away you go, and then you’re reading, and reading, and reading…and may I add…reading. Copywriting isn’t much different. If you write copy that slip-slides, then your audience will read it to the […]
How To Avoid Barriers That Weaken Your Headlines
Assume I visited your home. How would I enter? Through the window, or the backdoor. Surely you’ve reserved the chimney for good ol’ Santa. So where do I enter? Why through the door, right? And when you write copy, what’s your door? Why the headline. So think about it. How many obstacles would you put […]
How Pre-Sell Sold The Article Writing Course In Fewer than 24 Hours
A client wrote to me and told me that he was amazed that we’d managed to sell an extremely high-priced course in a matter of 24 hours. He was curious. How is it possible to sell a course in fewer than 24 hours when the price tag is well over $2000? And here’s what […]
Do Long or Short Headlines Work Better?
Let’s say I told you to go down to the supermarket. And I gave you directions. Take the first left, and then take a right at the fifth corner. After which you take a U-Turn at the traffic lights. But don’t miss the right hand turn, which you’ll see right after the roundabout. Huh? What […]
Story Telling: Why It Ramps Up Your Persuasion Power
Without a doubt, stories take first place. Stories are way more powerful in creating any sort of persuasion because of how they unfold. Robert McKee is a creative writing instructor who’s famous for his “Story Seminar”. In that seminar, he explains why persuasion through stories is so effective as compared with other methods. So let’s […]
Why “WHAT” is a Good Starting Point for Most Article Outlines
In any article writing outline you could start with just about any point of view. Your article could start off answering the questions “why, how, when” etc. So why start with “What”? And when do you start with “What”? There’s a simple answer… “What” brings all your readers on the same page in a microsecond. […]
