Everything I know about Copywriting...✏️

Essay by Domi Hess

Why I even bother you with the boring Topic of Copywriting…

“It’s writing salesy Words.”

“I don’t care, I can hire someone to do that Job anyway.”

I know your thoughts about this…

But what if I tell you, that there are a lot of Cases where great written Copy made other People Millions in a Day? (Yes in a Day, not Months!)

Meet Hint. (a Vitamin-Water Company)

Hint had a big Problem. They were paying too much in Acquisition Costs per Customer. And they also weren’t finding enough of them in the first place.

So the Marketing-Team started to improvise with Copywriting in Form of a written Advertorial… (we will talk later about this)

After that, they used payed Traffic to bring potential Customers on this Post.

Then something really surprising happened…

Instead of getting 80 Customers a Day with a high Spend of Money, they drove down their Customer-Acquisition-Costs to Cents per Customer. Next they made Millions of Revenue a Day.

Only with a little Founder Story, Hint was solving their Growth Problems all at once.

And I teach you now how you can do this too…

Great Copy is not always obvious. The Rules for converting Texts are sometimes even weird. But they can help you to succeed although if you can’t throw a lot of Money around you.

This is why Copywriting as a Skill is so important.

Do a quick rethink. You sell all the Time. To your partner, to your kids, to your family, to your friends, at work... You sell everywhere & every day.

Copywriting can make all of this Stuff easier and can push your Career to new horizons.

So reading the next Part is a wise Investment of your Time. I promise…

All the following Tricks are proven in Battle & any Language. (like German, Spanish etc.)

So let’s jump into the Rabbit Hole:

General Advise for writing great Copy

The most important Tip at first. Don’t write like Business Schools and Marketing Classes try to teach you…

Don’t write boring Business Speak like 90% of the People!

No-one likes to read this. This kind of Stuff is not converting Readers to Customers. Instead:

  • Write like you Speak: This is the most important Cheat to Success. (This is why I write to you, like I would talk to you in person)

  • Write simple but straight: Don’t use any specific Jargon. Use words and sentences everyone can understand. Don’t use passive Voice.

  • Write with Rhythm: Use a long Sentence, then a short One. You often can replace a Comma with a Point. Avoid putting multiple Thoughts in one Sentence.

So you see. The Voice & Tone in how you talk to the Reader is important. Of course you can vary your “Speak”, if the Context of the Topic is more “serious” or more “fun”.

But, how can I bring the Reader to follow my Idea with this, you may ask.

This is where the following Formula turns your whole Game to the Top…

The AIDA-Formula

AIDA is maybe the most crucial System to write converting Texts and Messages. And it is easy to learn too.

AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. This his how you lead the Reader down the “slippery Slope”. (will explain that in the next Step)

  • Attention: Use this for an Attention Grabber. An interesting Fact. A Quote or a sticky Beginning. Make the Reader curious for more. (Rewrite the first Sentences until it’s an Attention Grabber)

  • Interest: Here you have to feed the Reader with interesting Facts. Use KPI’s or just explain why your Product is good Stuff.

  • Desire: Describe the Benefits for the Reader. Or the Lifestyle the Reader gets with this, if following the Instructions.

  • Action: The Call to Action. What the Reader has to do now. How you can Order or Subscribe... (Don’t forget the Action!)

Fact: You may recognised that I used AIDA for this Text as well.

I started with some Quotes to make you curious. Then I told you an interesting Story of what you can achieve with Copywriting. Making you desire the same in your Future and show you now how you can do this as well.

This Example shows, that Copywriting works. Write AIDA next to your Texting-Tool before you start writing and follow the System. And yes it’s that easy…

The “slippery” Tricks

Let’s talk “slippery Slope”. What do I mean with this? These are the little but effective Tricks to keep you engaged and create FOMO for the Reader.

These Tricks are way more simpler than you may believe…

So to create the “slippery Slope” try these Tricks here:

  • Use hooks: Like: “I promise you there is a better way…” or “Do you really think this is the best Way to do this?”. You get my Point.

  • Copy should create Tension & Resolve: Do that in best case multiple times. Show a Problem first and then the Solution.

  • Use Emotion: Emotions are one of the best Triggers to make Readers read. Think first of the Emotion you want to create and then start.

  • Dialogues can add Depth: An easy Way to create Emotion and “Stickyness” is to use Dialogues between People or Groups.

  • Use Endorsements: They are perfect as an Opener and create Interest as well. Especially from Industry-Experts or well-known People.

  • Use BOLD, Italics or Colour: See how I use these Visuals to make a Point. Design is also important for readability. Make it easy to skim through your Text.

  • Paint a vivid Picture: This is a great way to build a slippery Slope. You help the Reader to imagine the Situation and Emotion you create.

  • Use ( ) Parenthesis for adding Context: Just see how I use this to add Jokes, Context or give a certain Tone to the Story. 

Power Tip #1: A Pro Cheat is to start your Copy with a Story. A Story can be the Attention- & Interest-Part together. Remember a Story has a Main Character, a Hero’s Journey and a Plot with Up’s and Down’s like in Hollywood-Films.

Parting Advice - “Trust the Process”

Before you go, here are some Things to consider.

There is always a Discussion between Long vs. Short Copy. In general, your Copy needs to be long enough to achieve your desired Action. Bringing your Idea into the Reader’s Head is the Target.

So here is my Rule of Thumb:

  1. Longer Copy is better for unknown, expensive Products.

  2. Shorter Copy it better for well known or cheaper Products.

Just imagine Dirk Nowitzki is offering a Course in vertical Throwing. And a random Guy from a Sports-Club is doing the same. Dirk would need just short Copy, because he don’t have to proof something in Terms of Throwing a Basketball. The other Guy should use long Copy to succeed.

This brings me to the next Point. Always explain the obvious Things to the Reader. Don’t forget this. Also, address Objections which are may coming up.

But what if you can’t use longer Copy? A great Way to save a lot of Copy is to use Pictures or a Video to show how your Product works. This can be worth 1000 Words of copy. So show your Stuff.

The Following is important too. Do you ever heard of the Term “forgotten Copy”?

Everything is Copy. Even your “Unsubscribe”-Page, the Check-out in your Shop or the “About us”-Page. (Second most visit Part of your Website)

Use this as well for great Copy. Don’t forget these Opportunities.

Now we talk about Advertorials, Social Proof and Testimonials. You may think they are “scamy” or “sketchy” Shit you don’t need.

Wrong! This Things done right, can be worth Millions. (like in the Story above)

So don’t think there is no need for this. You can make this Stuff with Ethics. Just don’t be “scamy” and “sketchy” like so many others.

Also a cool Tip is to start building a “Swipe File”.

A Swipe File is a Collection of great Stuff you find in the Internet that inspire you to write great Copy. Every-time I come through great Copy, I screenshot it and put it in my Swipe File.

So you never run out of good Ideas…

Power Tip #2: To nail always the right Tone, warm up before you start. Look for a great Text of Someone you really enjoy Reading and like the Voice of. (Maybe use your Swipe File)

Then copy and rewrite the Text for 5-10 Minutes yourself. After this little Practice, start writing your own Text. (I think of this like warming up before Sports)

You will be surprised, but now it feels like you write in the Shoes of the Author you copied. A really great way to write in the Voice you want.

- End -

This was a long exhausting Post, but an important one. Proofs also my point that Copy has to be as long it has to be. Hope I gave you some good Tools to start your Journey through Copywriting. Feel free to share the Web-Link with Friends who need help here too.

Power-Tip #3: The Hemingway Editor is a Free Tool which helps you to write plain-simple but great Texts. You should really give it a shot…

I don’t know if you realised, but I made you read +2.000 Words. That’s the Power of Copywriting…