These are without a doubt the biggest mistakes new marketers tend to make when it comes to copywriting…
Lie #1: Good copywriting uses lots of exclamation points and over-the-top jargon a 5 year old wouldn’t believe.
“This Brand New Revolutionary Never Before Seen Blah Blah Will Explode Your (Bank Account! Abs!! Sex Life!!! Etc.)” Seriously, who really wants their abs to explode???
“This Revolutionary Once In A Lifetime Opportunity Is Only Available To You Because You’re So Damn Handsome, But It Will Disappear In 10 Minutes And Then You’ll Be Ugly Forever!!!” Okayyyy…….
“This Incredibly Awesome Majestic Indescribable Super Secret Opportunity That Only The Super Duper Uber Wealthy Rich Know About Can Be Yours Because This One Rich Nerd Guy Decided To Spill The Beans Because He’s Really Angry At All The Other Rich Jerk Guys!!!” Yeah, who doesn’t believe that?
If you think you need exclamation points, it means you really need a thesaurus. Writer Henneke Duistermaat gives some great examples of this. Instead of “It’s big!” Try “It’s enormous.” Instead of writing, “That was brave!” Use, “That was heroic.” Finding the right words instead of lazily using exclamation points makes your writing more persuasive and tantalizing.
And forget wild promises and over the top worn out phrases. Instead, try being honest and genuine, like you’re talking to a friend over tea. Your sales copy will get noticed and read because it sounds like it’s coming from a real person and not the worst possible version of a used car salesman.
Lie #2 – You can simply ‘swipe’ your way to copywriting success.
Just rip off other writers, substitute your product for theirs, change a little bit here and there and call it good, right? Yes, it will save you time and yes, you might make some sales.
But to be truly successful and to BE a success (two different things, btw) you need fresh thinking and honest copy.
Because unless you are selling the exact same product to the exact same customers, ripping off someone else’s copy won’t provide the sensational conversions you’re looking for.
Telling your own story in your own way will.
Think about every blog that you read on a regular basis. Could someone else write those blogs and have them be the same? No. If someone tried to rip them off, would they be as successful as the original authors? No.
Once you master copywriting you’ll have a tremendous amount of power to write your own paychecks because you will be the source of new ideas and perspectives that resonate with your customers and create buying frenzies.
Lie #3 – Copywriting is super simple, once you know the ‘secrets.’
That’s right – just spend $997 for my latest course and in no time at all you’ll know all the secrets of the pros and you’ll be a copywriting savant.
Actually, no. No there are no secrets and you won’t become a copywriting wiz overnight.
The fact is, there are a multitude of books and courses that will teach you about copywriting. But there are no real secrets except this – there is no substitution for practice. And more practice. And more practice after that.
Hopefully this won’t sound too sentimental, but great copywriting is about one thing: Caring.
Caring for your customer, caring that he gets the best possible solution to his problem, caring enough to see to it that you make every effort to get that solution in his hands.
It’s about empathy and stepping into your customers’ shoes. Seeing life from his or her perspective. Living with the problem they have, knowing what it’s like to desperately want the solution.
You can’t outsmart your prospects. What you can do is be one of them so you can talk to them and counsel them as they would want to be talked to and counseled.
When you learn how to do that, you’ll be a great copywriter indeed.
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