Entries Tagged 'Lessons' ↓

In late May, I went on a three-day cycling trip in southern Colorado. I got to see some amazing places, including Pagosa Springs, Wolf Creek Pass, La Veta, Cuchara, and even Chama, New Mexico.

As I was grinding my way up steep mountain passes, I had a lot of time to think. And I began comparing marketing to bicycling. Here are some of the lessons I learned.

Hitting the Road: Kevin, Rick, Bruce & I get ready
to drive to southern Colorado.

Lesson #1: Consistency Is Key

Question: How do you climb more than 14,000 vertical feet in 3 days on a bicycle?

Answer: One pedal rotation at a time.

It really is that simple. You just grind it out. Set your sights on an object you can see in the distance and commit to pedaling until you get there.

After you’ve achieved that mini-goal, pick another object you can see. Keep pedaling until you get there. Next thing you know, you’ve eaten up miles of road almost without realizing it.

It’s the same way with marketing.

Marketing is not an event. It is a process. And so the spoils of marketing go to those with endurance. You have to consistently take action over time to see results.

The Pay-Off: Kevin & me at the top of Cuchara Pass.

Lesson #2: You’ve Got to Work Hard for the Pay-Off

When you’re climbing up a mountain pass, it’s hard work. Sometimes you might be going uphill for 1-2 hours straight without a single downhill section.

But when you get the top, what an awesome feeling that is!

I remember back in 2001 when I did The Triple Bypass. After climbing Squaw Pass, Loveland Pass, and Vail Pass, I got to enjoy more than 20 miles of downhill into the small town of Avon.

But I had to go 100 miles before I reached the “pay off.”

It’s the same in marketing. You’ve got to work at it. You’ll have moments when you’re coasting and moments when you’ve got to put your nose to the grindstone. But if you stick with it and focus on doing what works, you’ll eventually experience that “pay off” moment.

Cottage in the Trees: Ahh, peace and quiet.

Lesson #3: Take Time to Rest

Day 1: 46 miles

Day 2: 63 miles

Day 3: 37 miles

The only way you can have the strength to keep going when you’re logging miles like this is to make sure your body has sufficient rest.

After each day of riding (especially Day 2), I was exhausted. All I wanted was to sit and eat. So that’s what I did. Lots of sitting and lots of eating. And, of course, some good conversation to pass the time.

Each night my body began to shut down about 9 p.m. I got to bed early and allowed my body to recover before the next day of riding.

Marketers need “down time” too. You can’t stay plugged in 24/7. It kills your creativity, your passion, and your drive to get things done.

Just like your body, your brain needs rest. It needs time to digest information and clear out the tangle of information strung up in your gray matter.

Unfortunately, with Twitter and iPhones and WiFi, it’s hard to get away.

But you’ve got to get away.

So be deliberate about unplugging from the grid. Give yourself structured down time… and watch your creativity, focus, and productivity soar.

-Ryan M. Healy

Popularity: 35% [?]

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As you might already know, I’m currently looking for any questions you may have about how to grow your copywriting business.

Tammy responded late last night. Although she’s not currently looking for clients, she still asked an excellent question. Here it is:

What steps do you take to learn every single thing you can about your prospects? Would you explain the steps you take in a way I can understand as a fairly new writer?

I empathize with Tammy. Here’s why…

I remember when I was writing copy for the homeschooling company. For a long time, I struggled to understand how to write to a single person. I was always writing to “you-all” (a group of people) instead of “you” (just one person).

It was really difficult for me to grasp the idea that I was writing to “Amy” or “Jill” or “Judy.”

My breakthrough came when I was put in charge of the biweekly ezine. It was my responsibility to collect the best forum posts from the week and write a short introductory article to introduce that particular issue of the ezine.

When I began doing this, I started getting responses from the readers. All of a sudden, I realized, “Hey, there are real people out there! My words are causing these people to respond!”

I began to visualize an imaginary homeschool mom… a single person who represented all homeschool moms. I then began writing to her every time I wrote something for that market.

Since then, I’ve made a lot of progress. And I’ve discovered that one of the best ways to get into your prospect’s head is to…

Use Your Imagination

I personally like to imagine that I’m walking in my prospect’s shoes.

What would I be concerned about if I was a homeschool mom with four kids? How would I feel? What would I be thinking about?

Imagine what life would be like as your prospect. This is a good starting point.

But to really get inside your prospect’s head, you can’t rely solely on your own intuition and imagination. You’ve got to know for sure what’s really on your prospect’s mind. And a great way to discover this is…

Participate in Forums

Almost every market you’ll ever write copy for has a forum where people gather and talk about their problems and successes.

Another breakthrough for me was when I started actively participating in the homeschool forums. I got to see firsthand what homeschooling moms are thinking about, talking about, struggling with, etc.

Let me tell you… it was a real eye-opener!

But it gave me an improved ability to write to that market. And I needed every advantage I could get. (After all, I was a 22-year-old married man without kids at the time… writing to middle-aged moms with 2-10 kids each.)

While forums are great… and help you get a pulse on the market… sometimes you can get into your market’s mind simply by…

Asking!

You’ll notice I wrote my last post specifically to find out what freelance copywriters are thinking about. All I did was ask.

My “survey” was fairly informal. I simply asked my readers (that’s you!) to leave a comment on my blog.

You can also do something more formal by creating a real survey. (Check out Survey Monkey or the ASK Database.)

A formal survey may best if you expect a large response. You’ll be able to see trends and patterns more easily when you use software designed to slice-and-dice the data in seconds.

Another strategy for becoming “one” with your market is to…

Study Successful Ads

In almost any market you ever write for, there will be a successful advertiser.

This advertiser has already thoroughly researched the market… determined his prospects’ emotional triggers… and crafted offers and appeals that successfully sell a product or service to that market.

Why not study those ads to discover what’s already working?

By studying more than one ad, you’ll quickly notice themes and patterns. You’ll see which triggers keep “popping up” repeatedly.

If you see some idea, concept, or phrase appear in multiple ads, and you have good reason to believe those ads are profitable, then it’s probably a good idea to include those same ideas, concepts, and phrases in your ad as well.

Here is one final strategy for getting into your prospect’s head…

Become Your Target Market

This strategy is especially powerful. Because now you are your target market. You are immersed in the same issues and problems as every other person in your market.

For instance, I’m already a freelance copywriter. I have a pretty good idea what keeps freelance copywriters up at night… because I am a freelance copywriter!

So… how do you become your target market?

Let’s use “golfing” for example. If you are not a golfer… and you want to sell things to golfers… what might you consider doing?

1. Go to the driving range. Hit a bucket of balls for $5.
2. Go shopping for clubs and golf gear. See what the salesman says to you. Take notes.
3. Go play 18 holes at a few local courses (or play 9 holes on a par 3 course if your golf skills are lacking).
4. Sign up for golf lessons.

If you did these things, you would very quickly begin to understand what it’s like to be a golfer. You would begin to understand what motivates them, what problems they have, what emotional hot buttons you can push.

I realize there are some markets you can’t become a part of. For instance, you can’t voluntarily experience what it’s like to have cancer or have a rodent infestation in your home.

But in these markets, the problems are obvious and the appeals are simpler.

Nevertheless, if you plan to sell to a certain market for a long time, and you have the inclination, become a member of that target market. It will help you immensely.

To recap, here are the 5 strategies you can use to get inside your prospect’s head:

1. Imagine walking in your prospect’s shoes.
2. Participate in forums where your prospect hangs out.
3. Ask your prospect what his biggest problems are.
4. Study successful ads that your prospect has already responded to.
5. Become a member of your target market… become a prospect yourself.

No matter where you’re at in your copywriting career, these strategies should help you get inside your prospect’s head, find out what motivates him, and (ultimately) sell him your product or service.

-Ryan M. Healy

Popularity: 37% [?]

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A copywriter’s job is to recognize people as they are, and not how he wishes them to be. This is one of the secrets to becoming a great copywriter. If you can see people as they actually are, then you will be much better equipped to write in a way that connects with your readers and influences them to take the action you desire.

Here’s one of those ugly human traits most good copywriters recognize: people don’t like to take personal responsibility. Rather, they like to blame other people, circumstances, government, and everything else for all of their problems.

Take responsibility? No.

Blame others? Yes.

It’s this deep understanding of human nature that leads to the creation (and use) of certain copywriting strategies like the one in which you create a common enemy.

Have you seen this strategy before? It goes something like this:

If you’re struggling to make ends meet; if you can’t seem to ever save any money; if you’re going deeper and deeper into debt every day, week, and month of the year… it’s not your fault!

What’s more, the situation you’re in is certainly not unique. Thousands of people around the country are in the same exact situation. Why? Because big business is doing whatever it can to milk you for all you’re worth.

Every advertising campaign you witness, every product you buy, and every purchasing decision you make has been designed to get as much of your money as possible… often leaving you with nothing left! (Except for a big credit card balance.)

I just wrote that off the top of my head so you could actually see what I’m talking about. In this case, the common enemy is “big business.” It could just as easily be “credit card companies,” “the wealthy elite,” or even “Wall Street.”

By creating a common enemy,
you are siding with your reader.

All of a sudden, you’re the good guy. Imagine… your reader is standing next to you and you’ve got your arm around his shoulder. You point at your common enemy and play the blame game. “It’s your fault we’re in this mess!” you yell together.

All this is really just a set-up for making the sale. Because while your prospect is distracted by blaming everybody for his problems, you’re getting ready to present the solution. And since your reader’s state of mind has been altered, he will be more receptive to whatever solution you present him with.

The ironic (sad?) part is, the solution being offered will probably also be designed to get as much money as possible from your prospect. Although your reader won’t recognize this immediately because he sees you as a friend.

Let me give you an illustration not at all connected with business, sales, or marketing:

David Barsamian: In A People’s History of the United States, you quote Randolph Bourne, “War is the health of the state.”

Howard Zinn: Randolph Bourne wrote that around the time of World War I. He saw that war was something that the state needs, that the government needs, for various reasons but one of them being that it gives the government a reason for existence. It gives the government a rationale for all it does. It gives the government more security from the possible rebelliousness of its own population when they face difficult situations. Because war gives the government, the state, as Randolph Bourne put it, an opportunity to unite the country around a foreign enemy and therefore to put into the shadows the grievances that people have against their own system.

[Source: Original Zinn: Conversations on History and Politics by Howard Zinn with David Barsamian, p. 89]

I found this passage illuminating because as we do in war, we also do in advertising.

Just as the government wages war to unite the people against a common enemy, thereby making citizens more receptive to legislation that takes away personal freedom, so copywriters “wage war” against a common enemy, thereby making prospects more receptive to products that take away their money.

“Advertising is much like war,
minus the venom.” –Claude Hopkins

My observations are by no means unique. Claude Hopkins made some of the same observations many decades before I did. Although I might alter Hopkins’ quote to say simply, “Advertising is much like war.” Period.

In business, there are casualties along the way (overextended consumers), and often the ends (profit) justify the means (advertising), even though the means are not always entirely above board.

But that is the nature of the business we find ourselves in. The trick, then, is to recognize these things and act in a way that is ethical, honorable, even admirable.

-Ryan M. Healy

Popularity: 31% [?]

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A surprising number of business owners view copy as a cure-all. They believe sales copy can fix whatever problems they may have in their business.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but copy is not a cure-all. It will not make up for a bad product, a bad offer, or a bad list.

Let’s look at a real-life example.

A client came to me with a problem: her site wasn’t converting as well as she wanted. I could see a few big problems right away, and told her so.

She decided to hire me to rewrite the copy on her primary landing page. So I did. The copy went live, and I thought it was a significant improvement over the old version.

A couple weeks after the new copy had been put up, my client and I exchanged a few emails (edited for clarity).

<–Start Conversation –>

CLIENT:

We put up the copy you gave me and everything went lower than it was… so we added photos and still nothing… I liked what you wrote, but I am sad that nothing has gone forward… will it take a month or so?

RYAN:

What was your conversion rate before? What is it currently?

I can help, but need to know some numbers.

Has traffic tapered off or has it been steady?

CLIENT:

We have had only 112 visits and 2 orders from the time the new info went up. Before that I had at least 5 orders in 2 weeks… I thought that was very bad, that’s why I called you.

My web guy said it was because I lowered my daily money to AdWords. I was at $30.00 a day and I lowered it to $10.00 a day. I just couldn’t afford the monthly bill.

This is all so beyond me… and I thought I would be rich and famous long before this!

RYAN:

Hmmm… it’s hard to compare results. For instance, 5 orders out of how many visitors?

It may be that the new page is converting better. Two orders out of 112 visits is 1.79% conversion rate. Not great, but certainly not bad.

If we don’t know how many visitors it took to get five sales, then we don’t really have any basis for comparison.

It sounds like at the moment you have more of a traffic problem than a conversion problem. Although with a split-test, we may be able to improve the conversion rate a bit.

Ultimately, it’s not about how many sales you get… it’s about how many sales you can get at a profit.

It does you no good to get five sales worth $100 if it costs you $300 in advertising.

But if you can get two sales worth $30, and only spend $5 in advertising, that’s much better.

<–End Conversation –>

As you can see from our email exchange, my client slashed her daily AdWords budget from $30 to $10, which probably reduced her traffic by at least 66%. Assuming no change in conversion rate, this would automatically reduce the number of sales by 66% as well.

But with no “before” numbers available, it’s hard to say if there was an improvement or not. Based on the information she provided, the numbers seem to indicate the conversion rate actually went up.

The bottom line is this: my client expected a miracle. She got good copy instead.

Copy is a multiplier.

It is important to be realistic about what sales copy can and can’t do.

If you have a good source of quality traffic, a solid product, and a reasonable offer, then good sales copy can multiply the sales you get. Depending on your volume, an extra half point tacked onto your conversion rate could mean thousands of extra dollars a month.

But let’s look at the flip side. If you have only an okay source of mediocre traffic, an average product, and a weak offer, then good sales copy will not rescue the project. The copy might get you a few extra sales, but you won’t experience the breakthrough results you’re looking for.

There are too many other variables negatively affecting the project–variables that are, for the most part, completely outside the expertise of your average copywriter.

What is copy worth?

It all depends on where your business is. Copy isn’t worth much to a person who has no plan, no product, no marketing savvy. But copy that converts is worth a fortune to a business owner who has the other critical pieces in place: traffic, product, offer.

(Here I’m speaking of what the copy can actually do in terms of real results. It is entirely possible for a person without any business sense to overvalue copy. And it is possible for a person with a well-run business to undervalue copy as well.)

All is to say, copy is worth the most when all the variables are working together in harmony. Copy is worth less when those same variables are missing or out of synch with each other. Which, really, is just another way of reiterating my main point: copy is not a cure-all.

-Ryan M. Healy

Popularity: 39% [?]

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One of the biggest benefits of being a copywriter is I get to learn while I earn. I learn something new from every single client I work with. This was especially true when I recently wrote a sales letter for Ed Oakley.

Ed is the co-author of two books: Enlightened Leadership and Leadership Made Simple. As part of my research, I began reading the latter of the two. Then, on page 27, I came across a “gold nugget” of insight.

Nothing redirects people’s thinking better than a well-phrased question.

This really struck a chord with me because of a few “coincidences” that all happened around the same time.

For one, I started using questions as post titles on my blog. Based on Alex King’s Popularity Contest plug-in, I’m able to see which posts are most popular. Currently, on this blog, my post titled “Eight Months to Write a Letter?” has been the most popular.

On another blog, the most popular post was a blog carnival I hosted (the people who participated in the carnival linked back to the post, which produced a lot of out-of-the-ordinary traffic).

But the second and third most popular posts both use questions as post titles. The second most popular post is “Are Cars Worth It?” and the third most popular post is “Should You Tithe When You’re Broke?”

And yet it seems using questions as blog post titles isn’t the only place they’ve been proven effective. They’ve also worked extremely well in direct response sales letters.

Examples from sales letters.

• One of the greatest copywriters of all time, Bill Jayme, is most famous for this headline that was used to promote Psychology Today magazine: “Do You Close the Bathroom Door Even When You’re the Only One Home?”

• And Gary Bencivenga got good mileage out of this famous headline phrased as a question: “Has This Man Really Discovered the Secret of Inevitable Wealth?” (Kudos to Ben Settle for digging this one up.)

• One of Maxwell Sackheim’s most famous headlines was for a space ad that advertised the Sherwin Cody School of English. The headline said: “Do You Make These Mistakes in English?” (Note: If you have the AWAI Hall of Fame book, you can read the entire ad on page 257.)

• Eugene Schwartz made his mark selling a unique type of rose plant that produced incredibly large quantities of blooms throughout the entire growing season. To sell this plant, he asked a poignant question: “Who Ever Heard of 17,000 Blooms from a Single Plant?”

• And perhaps the most imitated headline on the entire Internet was a question written by John Caples. It was originally to sell a laundry detergent: “Who Else Wants a Whiter Wash–with No Hard Work?”

The bottom line: questions
definitely work as headlines.

So, in light of all this proof, does it make sense to always phrase headlines as questions?

The answer, clearly, is no. I believe questions as headlines are some of the riskiest types of headlines you can write. Many times the question simply won’t be compelling enough to capture your readers’ interest. In most cases, you will be better off with a statement or promise of some kind.

But I also believe the right question used as a headline can have the biggest payoff. My recent experience has proved this to be true.

Recently, I conducted a headline split-test for an upcoming real estate conference. The headline that won by a long shot was a question: “Would You Like 2008 to Be the Year in Which You Build the Foundations for Long-Term Real Estate Wealth?”

(I actually thought this headline variation would lose the split-test. But the actual results proved otherwise.)

Anyway, the whole point of this article is this: Whenever you are brainstorming headlines for blog posts, sales letters, articles, etc., always consider headlines that are phrased as questions.

You may ultimately decide to go with a statement or promise, but occasionally you will happen upon a well-phrased question that outperforms all the other “normal” headlines you can possibly think of.

-Ryan M. Healy

Popularity: 64% [?]

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Today I’d like to relate a real story from this past summer. It involves a client and three copywriters. And it goes something like this.

In July, I was contacted by a potential client who was planning to run a space ad in USA Today, a nationally distributed newspaper. The product being advertised had done well because of press coverage, and only a couple space ads had been run without tracking results.

In other words, there wasn’t a lot of historical information to go on. The ad would have to be cut from whole cloth.

Creating a space ad for USA Today
was new territory.

To get started, I reviewed the company’s previous ads, but nothing impressed me. The ads were dominated by a photo, and the headlines were weak. I felt the ad needed a complete overhaul.

With that in mind, I got to work. I felt fairly confident in my direction, especially since I had told the client during our phone conversation that I was a direct response copywriter, and that I specialized in writing ads that generate immediate response.

My first version was 841 words. Turns out, it was too much copy based on the size of the ad. The client hadn’t clearly communicated how much space they were buying, and I hadn’t clarified. So I had to cut the word count down.

This wasn’t a problem. Cutting copy is always easier (and faster) than adding copy. It only took me an hour or so.

The second version was much smaller. It had a word count of 521. So I submitted the revised ad for consideration.

I received a response from my primary contact based on the owner’s response: “He did not like the copy. He felt it was way too much information and wanted to change a few things.”

Of course, I was initially discouraged, but called to discuss what changes the client wanted. I never got very far.

That’s because client had actually hired three copywriters. All of us were writing (or designing) ads at the same time.

The client then simply chose
the one he liked best.

At that point I realized getting my ad published was basically a lost cause. It became clear to me the client was more interested in image-based advertising and visual appeal than conveying a strong sales message.

But then I also began thinking that my client’s method was a curious way to go about selecting an ad.

Normally, if a client hires two or three copywriters to write ads, the client will then pit the two “best” ads against each other to see which one wins. He will create a tracking mechanism to see which ad produces the strongest sales results.

Ultimately, this makes sense. After all, not one of us knows enough people in any given market to average up their desires. We really don’t know what appeal will bring the most returns. That is the purpose of testing in the first place.

But instead of testing, this particular client just picked the ad he personally liked the best. My ad lacked the branding and visual appeal my client wanted, so it quickly got the ax. Such is the life of a copywriter.

So what’s the lesson?

It is simply this: When selecting between two or more ads or sales messages, don’t select one based on your personal opinion, likes and dislikes. Rather, test at least two of them to see which one the market likes best.

Nothing proves the value of an ad more than real sales, made to real people, who’ve given you real money for what you’re selling.

-Ryan M. Healy

Popularity: 48% [?]

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One reason I wrote The Eight-Month Letter was this: it is much harder to persuade a person to a new belief than it is to get them to part with money. This is because we value our beliefs much more than we value money. In that respect, writing the letter was a monumental challenge for me. I asked myself, “How can I communicate in such a way that a person would reconsider their core spiritual beliefs? How can I do it so they will adopt new beliefs contrary to their old ones?”

As I wrote the letter, I re-learned a few lessons about copywriting. These are lessons I already “knew,” but hadn’t deeply absorbed. I’d like to share these copywriting lessons with you.

Lesson #1: Your tone matters.

I completed the first draft of “The Eight-Month Letter” in the summer of 2007. I thought I had really nailed it. So I began to share it with some close friends and family members. I wanted to get their feedback.

Guess what?

The response was nothing like I expected. One person said it was succinct and well-written, but didn’t say much beyond that. Another close friend literally ripped the letter to shreds. After he was done telling me all the things he didn’t like, I asked him what he liked about. He said, “Nothing! I don’t like anything about it!”

Whoa. I’ve got thick skin. But that comment really hurt, especially coming from a friend.

After that conversation, I had to put the project on hold. Not only did I need some time to process my emotions, I also needed time to reflect to see if what my friend had said was true.

Ultimately, I concluded my friend was right. The tone of my letter was all wrong. It had been written in a spirit of aggression rather than a spirit of love.

This is one reason it took me months to rewrite the letter. I had to get the tone right. I had to find the right voice. And now, looking back at the old version, I’d be embarrassed to show it to anybody. So I’m glad my friend called me to account, even though it hurt at the time. It forced me to focus on a single issue for months: saying the right things in the right way for maximum effectiveness.

Lesson #2: It’s not a sales letter; it’s a legal case.

Time and time again, I’ve heard about the importance of proof in making the sale. I totally agree with this. It is not wise to stop with testimonials. You also want screenshots, videos, credentials, etc. Whatever you can present to support your claims should be presented.

It’s one thing to preach the importance of proof; it is quite another to view your entire sales letter as a legal case.

This is the shift in perception that happened to me as I wrote “The Eight-Month Letter.” I realized I couldn’t toss everything together willy-nilly like a 10-minute meal. Rather, I had to methodically present the evidence in a logical sequence such that the “jury” (my readers) would issue the verdict I wanted.

How does a court case work?

Loosely speaking, you first introduce the problem. (What crime has been committed? What wrong needs to be rectified?) You then present your case, including all the evidence and a proposed solution to the problem. The defense then presents their case, which includes all the objections. You address those objections with all the possible evidence, logic, and emotional appeal you can use.

In the end, you hope the outcome (verdict) of your case is that your audience (the jury) takes the action you’ve prescribed, whether it be signing up to a list, buying a product or service, or requesting more information.

So why should you view a sales letter as the proceedings of a court case?

Simple. It takes the focus off of the promise you’re making, reduces hype, and refocuses your attention on the structure of the case and the evidence you present. Not that you should spend less time on crafting the promise of a letter. The promise you make and how you get attention is critical. But it’s far too easy to overlook the importance of how your letter is structured and how the evidence is presented. These greatly influence the success of a sales letter.

Said another way, where there is a sloppy letter and a paucity of evidence, you will not get the verdict you desire.

Lesson #3: Spend time away from your letter after you’ve written it.

Most of the projects I write for clients involve fairly tight deadlines. Rare is the client who calls me with a two- or three-month lead time. Usually, the client wants the copy ASAP, but no later than some date three weeks away.

I won’t say this is a recipe for bad copy, but working on an extremely short deadline has the potential to produce copy that is not as strong as it could be.

I view the writing of a sales letter in three stages:

1. Research
2. Writing
3. Editing

I feel it’s imperative to have “down time” between each of these stages. One day at least. Preferably, two or three days between research and writing; and another three or four days between writing and editing.

Why do I say this?

One, because after digesting a large amount of information, your brain (particularly your subconscious mind) needs time to process. Lacking time, you will probably struggle to come up with the hook. But give your brain some rest and the ideas will begin to flow effortlessly.

The same principle applies to the the time you should give yourself between writing and editing. After writing a letter, you will often be too involved to see anything objectively. You need time away to pull your mind back… to quite literally forget what you’ve written.

After you’ve had time away from what you’ve written, you’ll be able to see the copy with “fresh eyes.” You’ll quickly and easily be able to spot errors, weak sections, bad transitions, and more.

Lacking this time away from your copy, you might end up calling a colleague in a panic because you “can’t see the forest for the trees.” You might need somebody else’s eyes because yours are too tired–and you haven’t given them any time to rest. Sound familiar?

Obviously, since “The Eight-Month Letter” had no deadline, I was able to spend a lot of time away from it between rounds of editing. After a month or longer away from the letter, I was amazed by the holes in the letter that all of a sudden seemed so “glaringly obvious.” If I had not spent time away from the letter, I would probably have never seen these holes.

Wrapping Up…

Of course, if you read “The Eight-Month Letter,” I hope you got some value out of it. But if you didn’t, I hope these copywriting lessons I’ve shared here will be of value to you and your business. I figure, at the very least, you can benefit from the lessons I re-learned through the writing of that letter.

So the next time you’re faced with a copy project, remember these three things: find the right tone; build your letter like you would a legal case; and give yourself sufficient time between each stage of the copywriting process. Your bottom line will thank you.

-Ryan M. Healy

Popularity: 41% [?]

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JP Maroney just published a new episode of his Mr. Monetizer podcast. He included a segment of an interview I did with him last year. In that segment, I talk about how to write a successful business flyer. My segment starts at about the 10-minute mark and lasts for five minutes. (The whole podcast is only 17 minutes long.) If you’re interested, here is the link (no opt-in required)…

==> Tips for Writing Business Flyers

-Ryan M. Healy

Popularity: 19% [?]

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