What I Learned from The Bible of Copywriting
If you’re wondering which book am I referring to as the Bible of Copywriting? It’s a book called The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joe Sugarman. If you don’t know him, just know the fact that he is a legend when it comes to copywriting.
He literally sold 100,000+ sunglasses from a single advertisement.
Here is the advertisement so you don’t need to look for it on the internet.
And in 2007 he published his book compiling his 40 years of experience in advertising in just 293 pages.
Isn’t that amazing? A guy spent 40+ years advertising and learning about it and you can get all his experience in just a few dollars?
And in this article, I’m gonna be sharing his 7 step process for writing effortless and high-converting copy.
So, Let’s begin:
STEP 1: Become an expert on the product or service you’re selling
This sounds like an obvious step right? But you’d be surprised by how many people do it wrong.
Many people learn what the product or service does and list them out as the features and try to sell people those features.
And that’s where they are wrong. Nobody cares about how good your product is or why it is better than others.
What people care about is what it can do for them. All they care about is what problem of their can this product or service solve?
If you don’t have an answer to this. Learn more about the product until you become an expert at it.
STEP 2: Know your prospect in and out
Writing compelling copy boils down to these two things:
- Define your ideal customer
- And write only for them
Forget about the masses. Forget about the fact that billions of people live on this planet. Only write for your ideal customer and no one else.
Understand the fact that we sell a product or service only to help someone solve a certain problem and for that, you need to clearly understand
- Their problems
- Why is it a problem for them
- What have they already tried to solve that problem in the past
- What exactly happens when they solve that problem
STEP 3: Write your headline and your first sentence
The goal of your headline is fairly simple. Force your reader to read the first sentence and the goal of your first sentence is to force your reader to read the second sentence.
View it as the next bite of your favorite Pizza. You never stop at just one bite, right? You never stop at just one slice. As you eat one bite, you crave the second. Then the third. You keep eating until the Pizza is finished.
Make reading your copy the same as eating a Pizza. When they read your headline, it should be so juicy and flavourful so they read the next line. You can use this framework to keep your reader interested until the end.
Because, here you’re competing with, TikTok, Instagram, and Netflix for people’s attending. What is in your copy that they should read it instead of watching a series on Netflix?
Basically, Your headline should be a promise, and if you don’t deliver at the promise by the end of the copy if you don’t provide them the solution by the end. Then it’s clickbait and they’re never going to read another copy of yours.
STEP 4: Write your Copy
And Joe Sugarman suggests is doing it as quickly as you can. Just write down, everything you can, no matter how many errors you make don’t use the backspace key.
If possible remove the backspace key.
Write down all that is in your mind. Don’t edit. Never edit your first draft.
STEP 5: Edit the Copy
Now, is the step that I love the most. After writing down the first draft as first as you can. Edit it like crazy.
Edit it to make your copy sound like you’re talking to a 5-year-old boy. And do it in the least amount of words you can.
STEP 6: Let your Copy breath
These last two steps are the most difficult to do. Because, Once you finish editing you think, your work is done. You have won. Now, it’s time to publish. To show the world the masterpiece you have created.
But this step is very important. Just let the words breathe. This lets you reset your perspective around the copy.
Don’t touch it.
STEP 7: Give your Copy a read
We normally write on our laptops. So, take some time and try to read it aloud on your phone. Because 99% of people who are reading your copy will be reading it on a phone.
This sounds like a very basic step but many people skip it thinking it’s unproductive.
Don’t make this mistake, this will cost you in conversions.
Read it on your phone and believe me you’d find many flaws in it automatically. Then edit them such that your copy reads
“Like a slippery slide from one sentence to the next from the headline to the call-to-action.” — Joe Sugarman
Then, hit publish and watch the conversions skyrocket 🚀.
