COPYWRITING
By Mario Brown
www.MarioBrown.net
www.facebook.com/MarioBrownPage Copyright © 2013 Mario Brown
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Disclaimers / Legal Notifications
FB Masterclass. Copyright © 2013 Mario Brown. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without prior written permission of the authors.
While the publisher, author and editor have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Income and Earnings Disclaimer
You and you alone, are responsible for any income you make or fail to make. This guide makes no promises of realized income or ranking placement within search engines. You recognize and agree that the Author has made no implications, warranties, promises, suggestions, projections, representations or guarantees whatsoever to you about future prospects or earnings, or that you will earn any money, with respect to your purchase of this ebook, and that the Author has not authorized any such projection, promise, or representation by others. Any earnings or income statements, or any earnings or income examples, are only estimates of what we think you could earn.
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There is no assurance you will do as well as stated in any examples. If you rely upon any figures provided, you must accept the entire risk of not doing as well as the information provided. This applies whether the earnings or income examples are monetary in nature or pertain to advertising credits which may be earned (whether such credits are convertible to cash or not). There is no assurance that any prior successes or past results as to earnings or income (whether monetary or advertising credits, whether convertible to cash or not) will apply, nor can any prior successes be used, as an indication of your future success or results from any of the information, content, or strategies. Any and all claims or representations as to income or earnings (whether monetary or advertising credits, whether convertible to cash or not) are not to be considered as "average earnings".
About the Author
Mario Brown was born in Durham, NC and grew up
in Germany. He lived in Ecuador for 7 months in
2007 where he met the love of his life before
moving to Miami in 2008. He played professional
Basketball and successfully studied foreign trade in
Germany. In Miami he developed his passion for
entrepreneurship and self-improvement and he now
owns 2 highly successful online businesses.
Mario Brown is one of the most in-demand
speakers on Online Marketing, Facebook
Advertising, Leadership and High Performance. He was elected 2012 JMI Marketer of the Year by 700+ entrepreneurs.
Today, Mario spends his time running his online business as well as coaching and mentoring other marketing entrepreneurs, as well as travelling the world.
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Table of Contents
Introduction.........................................................................................................5 Chapter 1: Crafting a Winning Headline ...........................................................6 Chapter 2: Headline Templates........................................................................11 Conclusion ........................................................................................................16
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Introduction
When it comes to selling a product, nothing is more important than the quality of the product itself. If you have a good product, pitching it and attracting word-of mouth advertising will be easy. Customers will recognize that it has intrinsic value as a product; and they will purchase it and spread the word to their friends.
However, when it comes to selling that same product, the next most important thing is the quality of your sales pitch. Even if your product is excellent, you won’t get a lot of word-of-mouth advertising unless at least a few brave souls are willing to purchase the product initially to kick things off. And the only way that will happen is if you persuade them to. And that’s where copywriting comes in.
Copywriting, for the uninitiated, is the art of using salescopy to persuade readers to become buyers. In the remainder of this guide, we will focus on the most important part of any piece of salescopy: the headline. In chapter 1, we will briefly consider what should go into a good headline. And in chapter 2, I will give you an exhaustive list of “fill-in-the-blanks” headlines for all occasions.
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Chapter 1: Crafting a Winning Headline
There are five important components of any winning headline. We will consider each of them in this chapter.
Speak to Your Audience
If you ever hire a top-notch copywriter (i.e. the ones who charge hundreds or even thousands of dollars per page), one of the first things they’ll ask you to do is to procure some market research about your segment—or to help them to conduct that research.
The purpose of this research is simple. In order to write good copy, a copywriter needs to speak directly to her readers—not to “readers in general.” This means you must know something about your prospective buyers: their ages, their tastes and preferences, and their nationalities, for instance.
You will want to know where they come from, what they want, and—most importantly—why your product would be a good solution to a problem or problems they have. Without having this information, your chances of writing compelling copy are poor.
With this in mind, think hard before you start hammering out your first headline. Think about your target group, their desires, and the particular problem that your product solves. Make sure you address it succinctly and clearly in your headline.
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Use Psychological Trigger Words
When it comes to writing a winning headline, few things are more important than psychological triggers. These are words that evoke a positive psychological response in your readers, independently of whatever is said about your product.
As an example, “free” is a psychological trigger word. So, if you’re planning to give a product or service for free, include the actual word in your headline. It will catch visitors’ eyes and lure them to read further.
Another powerful trigger word is “tested.” For instance, you might say something like “This book contains dozens of tested and proven strategies that I have used for years.” This will convey to the reader that your product isn’t just any product; it is one that has been evaluated—tested—by many trials over time.
Other powerful triggers include words like pioneering, surefire, crammed, soar, growth, explosive, secret, scientific, research, breakthrough, truth, unlimited, and special.
So, next time to you write a headline—or even fill in a headline template— remember to employ some of these psychological trigger words, so you can be sure to draw the greatest possible emotional response from your readers.
Read News Headlines for Inspiration
At first, you might not see a clear analogy between salesletter headlines and news headlines, but in fact, it is there. Many of the greatest copywriters use elements of news headlines in their copy; and sometimes even write headlines as if they were news headlines.
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To get a better idea of how this works, go to http://www.cnn.com or http://www.bbc.com, where you can find hundreds of different news headlines each day. What you’ll find is that the “newsworthy” portion of the story is always captured in the headline.
Why is this important? And how does it reflect on your own efforts? It suggests that if you want your headlines to have a newsworthy appeal, then you should craft them in the same way.
For instance, instead of citing a good feature of your product in the headline, cite the thing that is most different. For instance, if a blogger were to announce that your product was finally released, they might say something like “Internet marketer revolutionizes the net with product that optimizes a site for search engine traffic in ways never seen previously.”
In general, focus on the most important benefit—the one that is newsworthy. Use a Good Headline Formula
It might sound formulaic and trite, but it works. Start your headline with something like “Who Else Wants to Make $700 in the next 3 days?” or “Who Else Wants to Learn the Secrets of a Reclusive Millionaire?” or “Who Else Wants to Become Wealthy Beyond Your Wildest Dreams?” All of these different approaches will work; and they will work because you started with “Who Else Wants to…”
Alternatively, consider starting with something like “What Everyone Should Know About…” This will draw readers in by playing upon their lack of knowledge about what you are going to say. They will think “Well, I don’t know that secret, so maybe I should read on.”
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When it comes to headline formulas, you have a lot of options. Pick a good one and put it to use.
State a Major Benefit or Propose a Puzzling Question
When writing headlines, your goal should always be to hook the reader. You don’t have to provide useful information, tell them something new, or offer them the world. All you have to do is to give them a very, very good reason to keep reading. And if they stick around to do that, they might just learn something about your product—and could even buy it as a result.
So how can you do this? There are several ways.
1. State a Benefit that Your Product Provides that None Others Can. When it comes to drawing a reader in, few things work better than clearly differentiating your products from all others. If you do this successfully, your readers will have an “ah-ha” moment, where they realize why your product is so much better than the other options available. If you can get them to do this while they’re reading the headline—rather than later—this is always good.
2. Suggest a Benefit by Issuing a Brash Order. Rather than asking a question or softly stating a benefit, forcefully order your reader to do something. For instance “Become a millionaire in just two years!” or “Live an extra 20 years by applying these 7 secrets of longevity.” By commanding your readers to do something, rather than suggesting it, you will subconsciously push them to take action.
3. Propose a Question. For instance, ask your readers what they would do if they suddenly became rich overnight. How would they spend that money? What charities would they donate to? Use this as a way to
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make them think about how their lives will change after using your product. And then specifically say that your product will make it happen.
4. Frame Your Product’s Primary Benefit as a Newsworthy Item. As mentioned earlier, an excellent way to hook people with your headline is to make it newsworthy. Consider writing it in the third person, talking about the newsworthy features of your product, and framing it as an important development in your niche. If your product is indeed innovative and good, then there’s nothing wrong with using this method.
In short, use your headline to communicate at least one major benefit of your product; or to propose at least one thought-provoking question.
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Chapter 2: Headline Templates
In this chapter, we will consider some “fill-in-the-blanks” headlines. All you have to do is pick a headline from the correct category, fill in the blanks, and add it to the top of your newsletter or squeeze page. Shape the rest of your copy around your chosen headline.
News-Style Headlines
1. Reclusive Internet Tycoon Finally Reveals Secret to Success in [Name of Niche] Niche
2. [Your Business] Launches Powerful New Product that Promises to Change the Market for [Product Niche]
3. After [# of Years] Years, [Product Niche] Will Finally Witness a Major Innovation
4. New Product Shakes Up Market for [Product Niche]
5. Age-Old Secret Helps People to Become More Successful in Their [Profession/Hobby]
6. Getting Rich Doesn’t Always Have to be Hard, Says [Your Name]
7. Pioneer, [Your Business Name], Offers Solutions Where Other Businesses Cannot
8. Shocking Developments are on the Horizon, says Internet Mogul
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9. [Your Business] Unveils Master Plan to Revolutionize the Market for [Product Niche]
10. Internet Mogul Claims that She Knows Why You’ll Never Succeed at [Task/Hobby/Profession]
11. News Flash: This Innovative New Idea Might Just Change How You Do Business… for Good
Question-Style Headlines
1. Are You Ready to Get Serious About [Job/Product/Task]?
2. What Would You Do If You Became a Millionaire in Just One Year? If You Get [Your Product], You Might Just Have to Answer that Question.
3. Do You Know the Secrets to [Hobby/Profession/Task]? Find Out What You’ve Been Missing.
4. Your Co-Workers Know Something You Don’t. Are You Ready to Learn the Truth?
5. Is Your Business Living Up to Its Potential? Find Out Why It Might Not Be.
6. Are You Ready to Transform Your Hum-Drum Life into a More Positive, Successful, Worthwhile One?
7. Are You Sick and Tired of [Problem #1] and [Problem #2] Preventing You From Achieving [Goal]?
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8. Do You Feel Like Progress is Elusive? Like You’re Running on a Hamster’s Wheel? Find Out How to Move Forward in
[Profession/Business/Hobby].
9. Are You Prepared to Take Your Future into Your Own Hands?
10. Do You Know that Two Tiny Problems Could Be Killing Your [Business/Love-Life/Career]?
Benefit-Style Headlines
1. Learn the Top Five Things that Science Suggests You Should Do to Become Successful at [Career/Business].
2. Use My Tested Methods for [Achieving Goal #1] and [Achieving Goal #2] in Just Days!
3. Finally Experience the Benefits of Using a Real, Effective, Authentic [Type of Product].
4. There’s an Important Difference Between [Your Product] and All Others: [State Biggest Benefit of Your Product].
5. Change Your Life Overnight with [Name of Your Product]!
6. Improve Your Energy-Levels, Get Healthier, and Enjoy Your Life to its Fullest Using My Proven Strategies
7. Steal My Ideas to Make Your Business More Powerful, Effective, and Better-Monetized
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8. It Took Me [# of Years] Years to Learn This. But You Can Learn It In as Little as [# of Days] Days.
9. Sick of the Rat Race? Find Out How to Get Out of Your Cage Using My Patented Strategies for Being Successful in [Name of Niche].
10.Tired of Your Lackluster Ability to [What Product Does]? Make the Switch to [Your Product] and Change Everything in Just Days!
How-To Style Headlines
1. Learn How to Change Your Life and Your Career in Just [# of Days] Days Using My Proven System.
2. Don’t Despair. Find Out How to Explode Your Profits in Just [# of Steps] Simple Steps.
3. Find Out How Other, Ordinary People Just Like You Become Wildly Successful at [Career/Hobby/Task].
4. Learn How to Triple The Amount of Traffic That Comes to Your Site in Just [# of Days] Days.
5. Learn How to Transform Your [Career/Hobby/Relationship] in Just [# of Days] Days and [# of Steps] Steps!
6. Learn How the Experts Do Things. Adopt My Proven System to Change How You Do [Whatever Your Product Promises].
7. How to Build an Empire from the Ashes of Your Failed Business Venture
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8. How to Improve Your Relationship with Your [Spouse/Kids/Family] without Hurting Your [Career/Other Goal]
Trigger Word Style Headlines
1. Seven Explosive Secrets that are Guaranteed to [Product’s Promise]
2. Sick of Paying Outrageous Amounts for [Niche Product]? Download Your Copy for Free.
3. You Might Be Shocked to Learn What Science Has to Say About [Niche]
4. Warning: If You Think Your Business Practices Are ‘Good Enough,’ You Might be in For an Unpleasant Surprise
5. The Fast Win Big and the Slow Fade Over Time. Learn Why The Coming Revolution in [Your Niche] Might Render Your Business [Slow].
6. The World is Changing Around You. Adjust to the Times or Face Extinction. Read On to Learn How [Your Business/Your Career/Your Family Life] Will Change… Forever.
7. Learn the 10 Dangerous Secrets that Every Successful Person in [Your Niche/Career] Knows, But You Don’t
8. Generate a Hurricane of Revenue in [Niche] Using These Secret Strategies that Even Some of the Best [People in Your Niche/Business] Don’t Know
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Conclusion
Writing good copy is never an easy task. And perhaps hardest of all is writing a good headline. Striking the right balance between enticing the reader with language and hooking them with a benefit or a question can often be very difficult. Fortunately for you, this guide takes much of the hard work out of the process.
From here, you determine your own path. You might start by using the advice I’ve given for writing headlines. Craft a few of your own, think about how you would react to them, and ask a friend, neighbor, or fellow marketer to evaluate the quality of your copy.
Once you have gotten the hang of writing headlines in general, think harder about your niche in particular. Do market research if needed; and think long and hard about what the average buyer thinks like—and what that average buyer wants from a product like yours.
After you have answered these questions, grab a headline from one of the templates above; and then tailor it to your particular needs. Start by filling in the blanks, but if needed, go further and make alterations to the rest of the headline.
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Resources
Join my Mastermind – www.fblocalacademy.com Connect with Me – www.joinmariobrown.com
Webinar Mastery – www.webinarmastery.net
Consulting Mastery – www.consultingmastery.net Online Marketing Mastery – www.onlinemarketingmastery.net Platinum Coaching Program – www.coachingwithmario.com LeadPages – www.mariobrown.net/leadpages
Perfect Audience – www.mariobrown.net/perfectaudience
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