How to Be a Copywriting Genius: The Brilliantly Sneaky Trick You Must Learn

Are your readers doing what you want them to do? Are they registering for your free membership site, downloading your ebook, or signing up for your email newsletter?
If not, you need to learn a master craftsman’s copywriting secret.
This technique acts like a remote control to get your readers to take action. Press this “magic button” and you’ll see your results improve dramatically.
The secret, masters-only technique to compelling your readers to act is to …
Ask them.
Annoyed? Think I’m pulling your leg? There’s nothing magical or tricky to getting someone to do something just by asking them, right? That’s completely obvious.
And most copy doesn’t do it.
Which is why most copy gets weak results.

Persuasive writing needs a strong call to action

The advice to “always ask them” has been turned into a heroic-sounding marketing term called the call to action, as if trumpets were sounding and prospects were marching off to war just because you inserted a couple of words at the end of your copy.
The term might sound a little bombastic. But the simple fact is, once you’ve gained your reader’s attention (with a great headline and a strong hook) and presented all the benefits she’ll get by taking the action you want, you still have one more hoop to jump through.

"You need to tell your reader exactly what to do, how to do it, and that you want her to do it right now."

Make it specific

Copywriting master Gary Halbert liked to include seemingly insane levels of detail in his calls to action.
His copy would end with something like, “Call (specific 800 number). You’ll talk with a woman named Robin in a blue sweater who will ask you, ‘Would you like the large size or the jumbo?’ Tell her you want the jumbo. She’ll ask you for your mailing address where you can receive packages, and you’ll give it to her.”
He goes on and on like that for quite some time.
For the beginning copywriter, it feels like a strange, awkward technique that’s going to “look weird.” But for the reader, in the context of taking action that might cost some money, time, or inconvenience, this level of detail creates a solid, comfortable understanding of what to do next and what to expect.

"If you want your reader to take action, use highly specific language with clear, concrete details. Don’t leave any question about what you want to see happen. And don’t be afraid to be a little “too obvious.”

Your readers are not dumb; they’re distracted

As you’re writing, you’ll think you have made yourself stupidly clear. You spent 14 hours on that lengthy article describing your fascinating new product. You followed up with a 12-part series on your blog and an autoresponder sequence of 20 emails.
To you, anyone can see what to do next — your reader should click through to that PayPal button and order your new work of genius.
But the reality isn’t very appealing.
For example, Ron Reader may have found one of your posts (maybe #3 out of that carefully planned series of 12) from a link on Twitter and spent 30 seconds skimming the subheads. He read the first sentence twice because he thought it was funny; then he skipped down and read part of the last paragraph.
Then you got lucky — instead of exiting your post and going back to his Twitter timeline, Ron’s boss came up behind his cube and Ron had to think fast. He brought up a spreadsheet to look like he was working.
An hour later, Ron’s cousin sent him a link to a cute cat video on YouTube, and Ron spent the next 20 minutes surfing videos of dogs drinking beer. Then he wrapped up that really overdue report while eating a bag of Fritos and catching up on email.
Four minutes before he shut down for the day, Ron noticed your post again, so he read your first paragraph and one of the sections that looked kind of interesting.

How to compete for attention … and win

Your readers are not dumb. But they do have a lot of other things competing for their attention.
So no, Ron Reader is not going to know what to do next unless you spell it out with painful clarity — and probably tie a giant red ribbon on it while you’re at it.

"It might be hard to believe, but many hurried and distracted users don’t instantly get that they are supposed to click here. You have to tell them."

Being clear isn’t the same as talking down to your reader

Granddaddy copywriter John Caples wrote about this very point way back in 1932. When you see the word “ad,” substitute “cornerstone content page,” “landing page,” or “online copy.” All persuasive writing is built on the same foundation.

“Don’t make ads simple because you think people are low in intelligence. Some are smart and some are not smart. The point is that people are thinking about other things when they see your ad. Your ad does not get their full attention or intelligence. Your ad gets only a fraction of their intelligence … People won’t study your ad carefully. They can’t be bothered. And so you have to make your ads simple.”

Decide what action you want readers to take. Ask them to take that action. Ask them clearly, succinctly, and unmistakably.
Put at least one unambiguous call to action into every piece of persuasive writing you create. You’ll see results.


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The 30 Magic Marketing Words You Should Be Using

Savvy business owners, copywriters, and designers know how language influences emotions and persuades action. Certain words and phrases are time-tested to boost response and conversion rates almost across the board. Of course, different motivating words and phrases work better in different situations, and it’s up to you to figure out which work best for your business. It isn’t all that difficult to figure out, though: If your intuition doesn’t tell you, your customers will. Test the following 30 “magic marketing words” in your next email, social media or blog post, on a direct-mail postcard or website to see which yields the best response.

1. You – Write as though you’re speaking to the customer and about the customer, not about yourself.
2. Because – Give customers a reason why they need to take action.
3. Free – “Because” we all like free things, right?
4. Value – This implies customers are getting something versus losing something (i.e. money when you say “cost” or “price”).
5. Guaranteed – Give customers a guarantee to minimize risk perception, so they feel they have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
6. Amazing – Customers will respond to something that is incredible.
7. Easy – Make it simple for customers to take the next step in the purchasing process, and let them know how much easier life will be with your product or service.
8. Discover – This implies there is something new and unknown to the customer, something that has supreme benefits and gives them an edge.
9. Act now – Motivate an immediate response with a limited-time offer.
10. Everything included/everything you need – This establishes that your product or service is all your customers will have to buy in order to achieve their goal.
11. Never – Point out a “negative benefit,” such as “never worry again” or “never overpay again.”
12. New – Your product or service is the cutting edge in your industry.
13. Save – The most powerful word to showcase monetary savings, or even time savings.
14. Proven – Remind customers that your product, service or business is tried-and-true.
15. Safe and effective – “Proven” to minimize risk perception for health and monetary loss.
16. Powerful – Let customers know that your business, product or service is robust.
17. Real results/guaranteed results – Your customers want results, after all.
18. Secret – Not everyone succeeds, and there are secrets to success. Let customers know you can reveal those secrets.
19. The – This implies your solution is the “end-all-be-all.” Consider the difference: “3 Solutions for Marketing Success”/”The 3 Solutions for Marketing Success.”
20. Instant –Instant access or downloads are more appealing than waiting.
21. How to – Start off with a solution so customers read the rest of your copy.
22. Elite –Your customers are among the best in the world. Invite newbies to join a highly desirable club.
23. Premium – Premium helps denote high quality.
24. Caused by – If your marketing literature builds a case for your product, transitional phrases such as “caused by,” “therefore,” and “thus” can help reinforce the logic of a purchase.
25. More – Do you offer more than your competitors? Let your customers know, because they want the best deal, after all.
26. Bargain – Because customers want a great deal, remember?
27. No obligation – Create a win-win situation for your customers.
28. 100% money-back guarantee – Again, no risk.
29. Huge – A large discount or outstanding offer is difficult to resist.
30. Wealth – If you’re selling products and services related to money, wealth is a desirable word for customers.

They key to success is to combine these words into phrases that trigger buying behavior. For example: “Get real results instantly – 100% money-back guarantee – act now!” Keep your copy short and sweet, play on emotional triggers with these words and phrases, and you’ll increase your conversion and response rates.

Ready to put your copy to action?

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