Copywriting - An Introduction and An Advanced Lesson
A lot of the most basic concepts that help make copywriting good look so basic that you might not even notice them. This happens because people think that if it is worth knowing then they already know it. This is because quite a lot of what goes into writing copy is merely common sense.
Many famous direct marketers always said the most valuable skill you can learn is copywriting. Your instinct might be to disagree but really look before you jump to conclusions. Copywriting is the form of every single piece of marketing and advertising that is being done. Even the higher end content articles that get syndicated employ certain copywriting techniques. The entire internet has evolved to the point where your content better use these devices or you’re in deep trouble.
The first letter in AIDA stands for attention, and that is the very first thing you need to achieve in your copy, or content. In many cases, marketers that have businesses don’t do this, or are not even aware that it needs to happen. If you use a headline, instead of shouting at the visitor, it grabs their attention using the words that you write. Just like screaming on a street corner, your headline needs to be a huge neon green blinking font. Directors was letters were used by marketers years ago to capture the attention of thousands of people every year. They used headlines using the knowledge that they had, and did so with wisdom and fortitude. There is no other way to explain this. It’s just how it is done.
Framing in copywriting is another type of mental illusion you can create with powerful impact. And this is not so difficult and does not need a lot of words to accomplish the task. Once again, like false logic, you are working with perspective and comparison to your favor.
Framing involves context and the information you frame other information in. A cheap piece of art being sold for several hundred dollars is going to seem like quite a lot of money--because it looks cheap. Take that same piece of art and put it in an art gallery in an upscale neighborhood and gallery. Now, it looks a little different and you think different thoughts about it - guaranteed, every time.
When you write a sales letter, the last thing that you put is the postscript or PS. This is very important. In the right hands, this particular element of your sales letter can pack a wallop. In most sales letters, people will scroll down to read the PS at the end. In many cases, people read them just so they don’t miss something good. It’s how we think! Leverage the PS smartly and it’s not a good idea to put just anything in them. Anyone reading the PS may be motivated to purchase what you are selling if written in this way. Almost every sales letter that is written is never read from top to bottom. People like to scan. The PS should mention something about an important concept or tip in the sales copy that they just skipped over. What happens is people will try to find what it is you are referencing in the copy. If you do your homework and keep at it, eventually you will come to understand that copywriting isn’t exactly a difficult subject. What is the most difficult is recalling what you have already learned and studied. The rest of it is understanding how and when to use the things you’ve learned because, with copy, there is a time and a place for everything.