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7-Steps To Killer Ad Copy

(Including 25-Question "Client Questionnaire")

By Russ Phelps

INTRODUCTION
Welcome to this email course "7-Steps To Killer Ad Copy". My name is Russ Phelps, and I'm your "Tour Guide" through the world of killer copy writing. Before we begin, a few words about what to expect.

First, you won't get any fluff, airy theory, or re-hash of old concepts that don't work any more. There's already too much of that floating around these days.

Second, what you will get is the truth about what I've learned from my actual experience of writing thousands of marketing pieces for more than 600 clients since 1978. I'll take you inside the actual 7-step process I personally use to write killer copy. This process actually works, as proven by the results from my confidential client files, and my own experience with my personal projects.

STEP #1) Do Your Homework

Almost nobody does enough homework before they write a word of ad copy, make a marketing plan, or start selling. And that's the main reason why most ad copy and marketing tactics are anemic, weak and ineffective. Frankly, about 80% of the ad copy I see is:

• full of puffery instead of power
• loaded with generalities instead of specifics
• full of sound and fury, signifying nothing

Here's what I mean by "doing your homework". Before I write a word of copy for a client, I have them fill out a 25-question Client Questionnaire. In its original form, it runs to 5 pages! Below is a list of those 25 questions you can also use to get your thinking focused. Feel free to print out these questions in your own form, and use it for your own projects.

Make sure you do the research necessary to get the answers to these questions before you write the copy.

Now here are the 25 questions:

CLIENT (Company name)
Address:
Phone number:
Fax number:
Email address:
Website(s) URL(s):
DESCRIPTION of product/service. (In 50 words or less, what are we offering?)
PURPOSE of product/service. (What does it do? How does it work? How is it used?)
PRICE. (How much does it cost?)
What is the OFFER? (Special introductory savings? Premium? Limited-time offer? Buy one, get one free? Free information? Guarantees? Etc.?)
What are the FEATURES of the product? (All facts and specifications.)
What are the main BENEFITS? (What will it do for me? What specific problem(s) does it solve? What need(s) does it fulfill? How will it make or save me money? Save time, work or worry? Make my life easier or better?
OTHER SELLING POINTS? What will it give me that I can't get anywhere else? How and why is it new, better or different than what's already available? What is unique or exclusive about it?
What is our ASSIGNMENT? Direct mail package, sales letter, display ad, brochure, press release, insert, catalog, self-mailer, postcard, information kit, TV spot, radio spot, web site, complete campaign?
What is the OBJECTIVE of the project? To generate leads or inquiries, make a direct sale, answer inquiries or leads, make an announcement, build image, etc.?
What is the BUDGET?
What is the SCHEDULE? When do you want it? Any deadlines or project schedules we should be aware of?
Who is the MAIN PROSPECT? In business, what is his title/responsibility? What are his biggest goals, concerns, fears, hopes and dreams, attitudes, possible objections? How will he use your product to get ahead or keep from falling behind? For consumers, what main interests/desires/fears/hopes and dreams does it appeal to?
Who (if any) are your SECONDARY PROSPECTS? Are there enough prospects in this secondary niche to create specially targeted copy versions that appeal directly to them?
What MAILING LISTS/MEDIA have you used in the past? What worked and what did not? What is the actual sales performance by source?
What TESTS do you wish to conduct? What copy, price, offer, mailing list, media, etc.?
What selling points MUST be included?
What TABOOS do you have? What must never be said or promised?
Who are your COMPETITORS? How to you compare on product, service, price, terms, features and benefits, etc.? Where are you strongest and weakest by comparison?
Any IN-HOUSE COMPETITION that might affect positioning, copy approaches, etc.
Any operational RESTRICTIONS? (e.g., no 9" X 12" envelopes, 4-color, etc?)
What is the METHOD OF PAYMENT? Cash with order; bill-me later; purchase order required; Credit cards VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, Discover?
How do you receive ORDERS? What percentage of your sales comes in by phone? Internet? Mail? On-site retail? Through distributors? Etc?
What GUARANTEE do you offer? (100% money-back any time? 30-day free trial? Refund of unused portion upon return? Other?)
What is your COMPANY PROFILE? Company history, personality or bio of the owner, founder, main spokesperson; position of prominence in the marketplace; special achievements; public/community image; industry awards or kudos; or anything else that might enhance sales or goodwill?

PLEASE BE SURE TO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

Product sample if possible.
Any testimonials or endorsement letters from happy users; media coverage; publicity; celebrity endorsements; industry/peer reviews.
Any complaints letters from unhappy customers, etc.
Copies of your past advertising/marketing efforts.
Copies of competitors' advertising/marketing efforts.
Any other research or background material you can supply.
Recommended background reading and names of key resource people I should talk with.

Pretty thorough beginning, ain't it?
WARNING: If you try to weasel out of getting the answers to these questions, you might be a "marketing accident waiting to happen."

Sure, some of these questions might not relate exactly to your project. If so, fine -- omit them or modify them to fit your situation. However, make sure you are not kidding yourself, or trying to cut corners. If you are, it will come back to haunt you!

HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS: If you do this homework, you are 50% of the way to having killer ad copy that can make you lots of money for years to come - maybe even set you up for life! So, then, I ask you: Is it worth it? Of course it is!

How does this work in actual practice?
Here's an example from my own client files:

In 1993, I started working with Laughlin Associates, Inc. of Carson City, Nevada. They have a wide product line (books, tapes, seminars, newsletter, consulting services). But their target customer is very well defined; they cater to business people and investors who are concerned about reducing taxes, protecting their assets, and maintaining financial privacy.

My first assignment was to create a direct mail piece to sell their flagship product, a 500+ page book titled "The Corporation Manual." Before I wrote a word of copy, here was the "homework" I did:

Got the completed Client Questionnaire from the client.
Interviewed three key people at the client company and took careful, detailed notes on every aspect of their business.
Got copies of every ad, mailing piece, brochure, press release, etc. they had ever used, with data on how they used it, what the results were, etc.
Got copies from them of every competitor ad they had collected.
Contacted six of their competitors, acted like a prospect, collected all of their marketing literature, talked with their sales people, and took copious notes on how they acted, what sales approaches they used, what I learned, etc.
6Bought and read the four best books I could find on the same subject as The Corporation Manual.
7Called and interviewed five of the client's key customers.
After that, I took the next step, which I will reveal to you in Part Two of this course, "7 Steps To Killer Ad Copy"

By the way, you may ask, what was the result of my ad copy for Laughlin Associates? Well, I'll let them speak for themselves:

"We tested you against seven other copy writers and our own in-house control (which we had used for more than five years). Your mailing piece beat second place by more than 3 to 1 in sales! Since then, the only one who has been able to beat your control is YOU, with your steady stream of new copy ideas and marketing innovations. Not only that, the series of 17 back-end sales letters you wrote has been converting leads to paying customers in droves -- and the direct mail pieces you wrote promoting our seminars have been filling the room consistently. We've been successful in business since 1972, but you increased our customer base by more than 50% in just three years! You're a genius! Keep it up!"

Lewis Laughlin, CEO, Laughlin Associates, Inc, Carson City, Nevada
Phone: (775) 883-8484 WEB: www.laughlinassociates.com

STEP #2) Make An Offer They Can't Refuse

In the previous lesson, I taught you how to "Do Your Homework." Now, let's focus on making an irresistible offer to your prospect.

The Offer is, simply put, your statement of what you offer to the buyer in exchange for what you want from them in most cases, their money.

In making your offer, you have to make them want what you have so much more than the money they have to pay you to get it, that they will quickly do what you ask them to do in order to "seal the deal" and buy from you. Simple as that.

In the 25-question Client Questionnaire I gave you in Lesson #1, your answers to questions #2, 4, 5, 22 and 24 will give you some of the raw material you need to create your offer.

But, before we do that, think about, then answer, these two questions:

What's the biggest promise you can make, that you KNOW you can fulfill?
What's the MOST you can offer for the price you are asking, without hurting yourself?

It's vital that you answer these two questions, because, as a seller:

You might try to get away with making a smaller promise than you could. Maybe you're afraid, and you want to play it safe. Or maybe you are giving in to your greed, and trying to get more than you deserve in the deal.
You might be trying to get as much as you can from the buyer, while holding back what you could be giving in return. You're not really "going the extra mile."

If so, don't worry. You're just being human. (We are amusing creatures, aren't we?)

Now that you know that about yourself, also please realize that if you act on these impulses, you will lose sales and profits!

So get over it, OK? Here's how:

Make the biggest promise you can, that you KNOW you can fulfill
Give as much as you can for the price you are asking, without hurting yourself. In other words, give until just before you say "Ouch I'll LOSE money if I do that!"

There are exceptions to number 2 above; for example, "loss leaders."
These are offers you make to "buy business", in which you intentionally take a loss on the front-end in order to get a customer that will make you profits on the back-end. For example, record and book clubs give you tons of product for peanuts when you join. They happily lose money on the first order, because they know they will make money from your back-end purchases. Another example is giving away something for FREE in order to introduce yourself to a prospect.

If that's true of you, fine. Create your offer accordingly. But most business people I know would like to make money on the front-end, back-end, in-between and forever. You can too! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let's back up a bit.

Here are the 4 key components of the offer:

Product & Bonuses
Price
Terms
Guarantee

Each of these four key components have many elements that you must test in order to find the most profitable offer for your product or service.

Now lets' look at each key component in turn, and I'll give you some suggestions you can test to jump-start your thinking.

Product & Bonuses:
Basic Product or Service
FREE gift for inquiring, trial order, or basic purchase.
FREE bonus, multiple bonuses for basic order
FREE bonus, more bonuses based on size of order
Surprise FREE bonus for bigger purchase
Price:
Discount introductory offer
Discount for paying cash
Refund or rebate after trial
Early-bird discount price goes up the longer they wait
Quantity discount
Terms:
Cash or charge in advance
Bill-me later
Charge my card in 30 days unless return for refund
Cash, check, credit card, barter
Time limit this entire offer expires within 10 days
Time limit for bonuses order within ten days and get this extra free bonus
Guarantee:
Promise refund for any reason at any time
Unlimited, unconditional lifetime guarantee
Time limit for refund 30-day, 6-month, one-year, lifetime
Keep the bonuses just for trying even if you request refund
Double or triple your money-back if not satisfied
Performance guarantee money back if you don't make at least $____
within one year using our system

Now create your "Offer Architecture." This means you make a series of offers that create a relationship with the prospect, then build the relationship through making a series of offers to upgrade them to a long-term buyer of your product/service.

Here's an example of Offer Architecture you might want to emulate:

1) FREE offer
Introductory offer for your "flagship" product
Upsell to your next back-end product
Offer your complete product line, catalog, etc.
Offer back-end support services such as consulting
Create joint ventures so that you offer the products/services of other companies who serve the same market you do.
Create joint ventures/affiliate programs whereby you offer your products/services to other companies' customers in order to further build your customer base.

Orchestrate your Offer Architecture so that it proceeds in a series of logical steps as outlined above.

In doing this, you are creating a money machine in the form of a customer base to whom you continually make offers throughout their lifetime.

As a baseline goal, you may want to create 10,000 prospects/buyers in your database. For example, you have 10,000 people who responded to your FREE offer; 3,000 bought your basic product; 2,000 bought your upsell; and 1,000 buy your various back-end offers, including joint venture offers.

Do the math for your business. You may find that if you get 10,000 prospects, and orchestrate your Offer Architecture properly, you are well on your way to creating a fortune. Hooray!

STEP #3) Sell The Benefits

Sell the benefits.
Feature the features.

Simple as that.

Unfortunately, most people try to sell the features. They bore the reader, miss the point, and lose sales as a result. Don't do that!

This is a Feature: briefly put, it's a fact about your product size, shape, color, specifications, performance, durability, maintenance required, etc. as well as what it does and does not include in its basic package, if applicable.

This is a Benefit: it's the favorable result(s) the buyer gets, enjoys or derives from buying and using your product! This includes both tangible and intangible benefits.

For example, some benefits are: making or saving money, feeling happier, more powerful, more joyful, sexier, healthier, smarter or wiser, more attractive or energetic, safer, more secure, more personable or likeable, more respected or rewarded, etc.

So here's your homework:

Satisfy the two prime motivators that drive all people. The Two Prime Motivators:

Get more of what you want (greed)
Avoid losing What You Have (fear)

People Want More:
Profit: money, property, possessions
Passion: sex, love, joy, happiness
Power: mastery, spiritual attainment, magic, mystery, wonder

People Want To Avoid:
Loss of Profit: lose money, lose property, lose possessions
Loss of Passion: lose sex life, lose love, lose joy, lose happiness
Loss of Power: lose mastery and ability, lose spiritual status, lose magic

You must promise that they will:
Get more of what they want,
And/or avoid losing what they have,
And/or avoid losing the opportunity and/or promise of getting more in the future

The key is to get the reader to focus the prime motivators onto your offer, and to become convinced that buying from you is the next thing they must do before anything else in order to move ahead in life.

People are motivated by emotion, and justify it by logic.

So you sell them the benefits, and justify it logically by explaining how the features will give them the benefits they crave.

STEP #4: Hit 'Em With a Headline

You may have heard that 80% of the success of any ad is dependent on the headline. This may be true. No matter what, if the headline doesn't hit 'em between the eyes, and arouse enough interest to keep them reading, you will not sell them.

Simple as that.

Tests have shown that one headline will outpull another by up to 18 times! Would you like to get 18 times as much sales revenue than you are now getting with your weak headlines? Then read on.

Here are some of the most powerful types of headlines you can use:

Benefit Headline

Communicate your strongest benefit(s). For example:
"Here's How To Avoid Probate -- Pass On Your Estate Quickly To Your Heirs - And Keep The Government From Taking 70% Of Your Estate When You Die!"
"Here's How You Can Triple Your Reading Speed In Ten Days Or Less Without Losing Comprehension Or Recall"
"Here's How To Cut Your Taxes To The Bone, Protect All Your Assets With An Iron Fortress, And Maintain Complete Financial Privacy And Anonymity"

Offer Headline

Simply State Your Offer in the headline. For example:
"Enjoy A Delicious $99 Steak Dinner For Two For Only $1 If You Reserve It Before Friday, March 13"
"You'll Get This New Eye-Opening Internet Marketing Course Worth $495 For Only $97 Plus Five FREE Bonuses Worth $1497. But You Must Act Within The Next Ten Days!"
"Take 30% Off Our New Stock of Designer-Label Men's Suits! But Hurry! Sale Ends Monday, April 7!"

Testimonial Headline

Take a customer testimonial that sells your best benefit(s) and feature it in quotes in the headline. For example:
"Your Ad Copy Tripled Our Response!" (from one of my clients)
"I Saved $35,676 In Federal And State Taxes Last Year, Thanks To Bob Smith's Advice! It Was The Best $1500 I Ever Spent!"
"I Was Lucky If I Could Please My Wife In Bed Twice A Month. After Using Your Prostate Health Formula, Now We Have Great Sex At Least Three Times A Week!"

Problem/Solution Headline

Take your target reader's biggest problem that you can solve, and build a headline around it that offers your solution. For example:
"Termite Problems? Here's The Quickest, Cheapest Way To Get Rid Of Termites Once And For All!"
"Tired Of Slow Internet Connections? Get Lightning-Fast DSL For Only $29.95 Per Month!"
"Jock Itch? Cruex."

Guarantee Headline

Make your guarantee right up front in the headline. For example:
"Get Rid Of Back Pain Forever In Six Weeks Or Less Guaranteed!"
"If You Earn Over $100,000 A Year, I'll Show You How To Pay Zero Taxes Next Year Or Else I'll Pay Your Tax Bill Myself!"
"New Natural Remedy Cures Insomnia Or Your Money Back"

Now here's your homework:

Write at least one headline for yourself using each one of these models.
Then, test each one to see what pulls the best response.
Then, keep testing new headlines to keep increasing response.
Think of how much more profit you will add to your bottom line with only a 20% increase in response.
How about double the response?
It's worth the work! Now go to it!

STEP #5: Weave The Web

By now, you have done your homework. You have crafted an offer the buyer can't refuse. You have made a list of your key features and benefits. You have written at least five headlines for your ad, sales letter, web page, or other marketing piece.

And now, you're ready to write a first draft of your piece.

In this part of our 7-Step course, I'll show you how to weave the web that captures the reader, and gets them to buy from you. Here is a basic outline of how to structure your ad:

Headline
Subhead(s) that elaborate on the headline
Opening or first paragraph that elaborates on the headline and/or subhead(s).
Benefit Feature Testimonial cycle. Here you state a benefit, tell the feature that delivers the benefit, and include a buyer testimonial that proves they enjoyed that benefit.

For example:
"This widget will double or triple your assembly-line speed [BENEFIT], because of the state-of-the-art proprietary chip developed by our engineers [FEATURE]. In fact, Bob Adams of TechHound Systems says, "Our production capacity is up by 217% since we installed your widgets in our plant and my controller tells me that it increased our bottom-line profit last quarter by 32%! Best investment we made in the last five years!'[TESTIMONIAL] "
More benefit "bullets"
Re-statement of your offer
Reasons why you can make this offer
Credibility and proof
Scarcity offer won't be "on the table" for long, because.
Call to action - ask for the order NOW
P.S. Here you can restate the offer, add on another bonus for ordering within the next ten days, warn the reader of what they will miss if they don't order NOW, use another killer testimonial, etc. Many readers scan the letter and see the PS before they read the entire letter, so make your PS count!
Order form or other response device. Elements to include here are: re-statement of your headline, offer, guarantee, call to action, payment information, all ordering options, your contact info, etc. A good order form will tell the reader everything they need to know to buy from you even if they never read the rest of the ad!

And there you have it! There are many other variations and options you can use in an ad, but this basic outline will work in many of the cases you will confront in your advertising efforts.

STEP #6 - Copy Checklist

In the previous lesson, I showed you how to Weave The Web of copy so you can produce a first draft of your ad. Now here's a Copy Checklist I use to make sure I haven't missed anything that should go into the final ad.

Have you done all your homework in Step #1?
Have you created the best offer you can afford to make?
Have you listed all Features and Benefits?
Have you collected testimonials that are specific, believable, and related to your key features and benefits?
Have you written a collection of headlines and subheads?
06) Have you listed all the credible reasons why a buyer should buy from you NOW?
Have you listed all the reasons why you are a better choice than your competitors?
Have you chosen what elements to survey- price, offer, media, guarantee?
Have you chosen the format? Sales letter, space ad, web page, email, postcard, insert, TV, radio, press release, etc.?
Do you have a clear mental picture of the buyer? Do you really know what makes them tick?
Are you set up to receive orders in the way(s) the buyer wants to buy from you?
Have you overcome all the weak points, if any, in your offer, and introduced and overcome any objections in the copy?
Have you had someone read your copy OUT LOUD to hear how it flows in the buyer's mind when they read it? And have you smoothed out any rough spots, so it flows like a greased slide from opening to close?
Is your call to action as strong as it can be?
Have you used all the appeals to Greed and Fear that are appropriate?
Have you introduced scarcity and urgency?
Have you created a "self-contained" Order Form or Response Device with all the elements mentioned in Lesson #5? Could the buyer get all the key info here even if they never read the whole ad?
Is your copy full of enthusiasm, passion and promise?
Does the worst skeptic you know really believe your ad?
Are you sincerely proud of what you are doing?
If you have passed the test in this checklist, then go back and re-write your final draft. Then run the ad and get ready to count the money!

STEP #7 - Keep Your Creative Juices Flowing

Many people fee l they are just not creative. It's true, some people are more talented and creative than others, and some have their creative muscles in better shape than others. But, let's face facts. Writing ad copy is not writing a Shakespeare sonnet, painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, or composing a Bach fugue.

It's darn hard work, with a practical application to help you make more money.

And sometimes it's a challenge to keep the creative juices flowing. Here's what I do personally, and w hat some other "Idea Generators" do, to stay sharp and creative. Take what works for you, and go with it.

Collect and study ads in your field, and many others. Create a "swipe file" of ads, sales letters, bookmarks of URLs of key web sites, etc
Read books and publications in your field, as well as general publications, and even a few kooky ones. I like the tabloids, women's and men's magazines, financial news, health publications, self-improvement and how-to stuff, expose and scandal pubs, and culture-sensitive magazines like Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, etc.
Cruise the Internet. Start with a keyword search on a cool search engine like Google, AskJeeves, GoTo.com, etc. Input key words related to your field, and start cruising and bookmarking sites. Do this regularly, as there are new sites coming on line every day.
4) Visit and participate in discussion forums and newsgroups in your areas of interest, and a few that you have NO interest in. It's amazing how one idea or approach in an odd field can be applied or modified to solve a challenge you face in your own life and business.
Think outside the box, then bring those ideas into your existing box in order to enlarge it. Keep growing your box, and you'll grow too.
Take a hike - literally, as in spending time in nature. Nature is one of my greatest teachers. Not sure how to explain it, but if you spend enough time in nature, I don't have to explain it to you. It clears my head, renews me, and gives me fresh juice.
Maintain a Sense of Wonder. That's where you kind of wander around all day going "Wow, look at that! What's going on over there? What's that? How does that work? Why did that happen? Why are they doing that? What is the meaning of this? What is emerging or unfolding regarding this or that?" And so on. Get involved with life by asking focused questions.
Stay crazy. Most copy writers I know are at least a little eccentric (including me), and some of them are downright crazy compared to most people who have "real jobs" or wear suits all day. That's good. I guess it goes with being creative, but don't quote me on that or I'll go crazy.
Laugh, sing and fool around a lot. Humor, music and play somehow get the creative juices flowing, and help disarm the left brain logic to let good ideas bubble up from the unconscious.
Get physical. Besides hiking, get fresh air, exercise, dance, make love, move your body. It keeps your brain fresh, fed with oxygen, and flowing with "happy chemicals.
Cultivate a spiritual practice such as meditation, prayer, yoga, chanting, visiting the world's sacred sites and "power spots", studying sacred texts, feeding the poor, becoming a Big Brother, or serving humanity in some form. It will expand your perspective, and just might transform your life.
If nothing else, cultivate the practice of what I call "Active Compassion," which is simply finding what others need the most and giving it to them. This is a direct reflection of what smart marketers do, which is "find a need and fill it."
3) Immerse yourself in popular culture. Keep up on news, events, controversies, scandals, issues, people's problems, hopes and dreams, etc. It makes you better able to love and serve the market you are selling to.
Get out of your ivory tower if you find yourself stuck in one for too long. Mix with people. All kinds of people. Ask them open-ended questions. Act like a journalist from time to time. Ask: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
Spend at least one day a week NOT writing copy or thinking about business. It helps you stay fresh and avoid burnout.
Travel. Experience the "Otherness of Others". You will expand as a person, and your creative capacities will expand at the same time.
Once in a while, break a habit or a routine, and/or substitute a new one. Adopt a whole new way of doing something you normally do. Ultimately, be willing to change anything and everything about your life if you find it serves your "Higher Life Purpose.
Keep your heart open, even if it hurts sometimes. If you close down in order to avoid pain, you'll stop the flow of joy as well. And your creative well will dry up, too. Let the joy AND the pain in and out as quickly as possible. Don't hold on to anything for too long. Experience yourself as a Creative Vessel, through which flow all the forces of this thing we call "Life." As a result, your life will become a mighty river that never stops flowing.

Well, my friend, I hope you have found "7 Steps To Killer Ad Copy" helpful.
Good luck, have fun, and make lots of money. And send me an email once in a while to let me know how you're doing, OK?

Russ Phelps is a master copy writer and marketing consultant, with more than 600 clients nationwide since 1978 - including Fortune 500 companies and many smaller businesses and entrepreneurs. He has created thousands of marketing campaigns for direct mail, print, publicity, Internet, TV, radio, back-end marketing and ancillary marketing. Contact him at (www.russphelps.com) or call (858) 831-1668

Hostedware Corporation is a pioneer in providing online software solutions for research, education and performance improvement. Hosted Survey and Hosted Test are used by human resources professionals, market researchers, education and training organizations and membership associations worldwide.

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