This Book Will Teach You How To Write Better

Words on a page have an enormous impact - choose them wisely

People are self-motivated.

• "When people come to something new, they immediately assess if it's USEFUL to them."
• Get attention by implying what knowledge can do for them

e.g:

"Welcome to Ace Tennis Coaching. We are dedicated to serving our customers. We have been focusing on quality service for years, and have a dedicated staff to help fulfill your tennis needs. Our team is focused on quality coaching and delivering great training"

• too much about them, no value to audience.

vs:

"Every amateur player has the exact same problem with their tennis swing: They don't bend their elbow at the proper angle for their height...

This little body-hack will let you:

• Hit the ball harder, without swinging harder.
• Hit the "sweet spot" of the ball with each swing
• Increase the speed of your serve by 20%

All these improvements come from simply bending your elbow in a slightly different position!

This is just the first thing we teach you at Ace Tennis..."

• less "we", more "you"

Use visual headlines to your advantage

• "How to avoid getting stretch marks" ⇒ "How to avoid gross stretch marks on your belly"
• "Three ways to increase email opt-ins" ⇒ "Three ways to increase email opt-ins before your lunch break is over'

Don't be boring while trying to be informative - unlearn the tendency to speak formally ("write like you speak").

You can make copy more interesting simply by writing more casually, like if you were trying to explain a product and it's benefits to a friend. Just don't try to be too over the top with humor or zaniness - keep the main message intact.

• Ask yourself "Is this adding to the users knowledge?"
• "Am I helping them get through this by adding this in?"

People respond to what is "New, Novel, or Helpful"

AIDA formula for creating better sales letters:

(originally from Gary Halpert's "The Boron Letters")

• Attention, Interest, Desire, Action
• Write to someone, even if it's a group of people, pretend it's one person.

Using this formula in a sales letter template:

*"I personally write at least 4 titles before settling on one subject line or headline"

Subject Line 1: Sample subject email line

Subject Line 2: Sample subject email line

Subject Line 3: Sample subject email line

Subject Line 4: Sample subject email line

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1. Attention: grab attention in this section.

example:

Hey Jason,

You know that drive from your apartment to this office is SO brutal that you end up cursing at everyone who cuts in front of you? Well if you had a helicopter, that wouldn't even be an issue!"

2. Interest: Interest them with interesting facts about it.

example:

"With a helicopter, you would:

• ...get to work in only 20% of the time.
• ...have no more frustration when you get to work.
• ...have a fun ride to anywhere in your city within minutes
• ...not have to live by the rules "normal" people do!

3. Desire: Make them desire product or action to take.

example:

"Your time is worth about $200/hour, and since you spend an average of 300 extra hours in traffic each year, you're losing out on $60,000 in income!!!

Not to mention that after all that frustrating traffic, work is the LAST thing you want to do.

That's why having a helicopter would make your life so much more enjoyable, and even help you make more money"

4. Action: Describe exactly HOW they should take action, and whey they should do it by.

text  goes here

Link to Checkout

Sincerely,

Your name

P.S. A friendly reminder to hurry up and do the action

example:

"I have 3 people looking to sell their helicopters now, and wanna show them to you. When can I send you the specs and prices of these helicopters?

Also, if you'd like to call me, just pick up the phone and dial 713.301.1546 and I'll answer any questions you have.

Sincerely, Name

P.S. The CEO of Ardent Labs here in town has a helicopter, and said it was the #1 thing that made him want to come to work each morning!"

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Create a "Bob" (a composite of the average customer you're trying to reach) and think like them when envisioning how to sell to them.

e.g. when writing to a "Bob" who is a rich dentist who owns a business, get into their minds and think like the customer (i.e.. have a customer avatar).

Maybe they're very competitive and want to win, to be the best, and beat their friends. So sample headlines to sell a golf-club would be:

1. "Two guys. Same skill level. But the guy with the Acme Club hits further every time."
2. "A solid-Tritium core  in these clubs hits the ball further and straighter....every time."
3. "Drive the ball 15 yards further than with your current club. Guaranteed."

Stylize your Writing

Reduce the amount of effort to read something,  whether that's putting longer lines after shorter ones, separating out into more paragraphs, using more bold or more sections with bold titles - make reading as easy as possible.

Easy Headline Formula

[End result customer wants] + [Specific time period] + [Address the objections]

1. [triple the conversions on your ecommerce store] + [in 3 days] + [or I'll refund your money]
2. [wipe away your debt] + [before your tax return is due] + [so the IRS won't call]

or switch them around:

[I'll refund your money for this conference] + [if you don't get 7 real estate leads in one week]

Three "Lenses" for Headlines:

1. Competitive - show how to beat others

• e.g. "Download and steal all your competitors profitable keywords"

2. Benefit Driven - show benefits of what your product/article/service does. Good place to put testimonials as well

• e.g. "Within 2 weeks you'll be playing your favorite Beatles song on the guitar!"
• e.g. "I couldn't believe after only 2 weeks I was playing guitar at the Christmas party!"

3. Inspirational - ' Shows that "even you" can do something. Paints a picture of the user getting some benefit from your product/service'

• "You can teach your children to read by the age of 2 just by following these DVD's....all from your home."

Author's examples for WPengine:

• Current headline - "Hassle free Wordpress hosting"
• Competitive - "86% faster than regular Wordpress...means more pageviews and better SEO"
• Benefit Driven - "My site loads ridiculously fast, my pageviews are up, and my business is seeing the results!"
• Inspirational: "Even non-computer nerds can have a Wordpress site, with zero technical hassle"

Long copy v short copy depends on what you're trying to sell, if more expensive, longer is better.

Keep copy and ideas simple. Cover the essentials and do enough to keep the audience engaged and informed, with the least amount of words (don't try to impress writer).

"If you read something, and it requires "extra cycles" in your brain to process that information...scrap it. Get straight to the real point so everyone is CRYSTAL CLEAR on the message"

Before writing:

• you tend to write in the mood you're in, whether you're aggressive, sad, playful, intense
• whatever mood you're in, keep writing and don't stop. Write for that tone you're in - it make you more relatable to others in the same mood.

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