Copywriting That Gets People To Buy
Great direct response copywriting is like a mirror. A skilled copywriter can make us see ourselves in their copy. It almost feels like they’re typing our thoughts back to us.
Most marketing isn’t created by skilled copywriters. Pay attention to the websites, emails, and ads you come across each day and you’ll notice “I”, “we”, and “our” used far more than “you”, “your”, or “yours” throughout the copy. These selfish sites, emails, and ads mean opportunity for you.
You may not be the next Hemingway (I’m certainly not), but you can write a persuasive piece of marketing that feels like it’s written individually for each customer. You just need a framework that helps you build a mirror for your readers.
That’s what I’m giving you here, a direct response copywriting framework anyone can use to construct a landing page, email, or ad that gets results. Open up a Google doc and let’s build an outline.
Who do you want as a customer?
Everything starts here. Spitting out a generic message in an attempt to please everyone is a quick way to produce a bland piece of marketing. You have to zero in on a specific group of people to write something that feels like it’s speaking to an individual.
Write down who you want as a customer at the top of your outline. Go as narrow as possible to start. You can always open up to a wider group of people later. I often write to one specific person. This helps me focus the message and sound more conversational. I’ll literally address the outline to them and remove it later.
What Problem do they have?
Worry less about what you sell and more about why your customer is buying. You won’t write anything persuasive if you can’t define your customer’s problems or desires. Every great piece of direct response marketing starts in the head of the customer.
What keeps them up at night? If you don’t know, ask them. Write down a list of problems that your customers have on your outline. Don’t worry about editing at this point. Just get a thorough list of problems that are pestering the folks you want to buy.
