7 Great Copywriting Secrets I Learned From Ted Nicholas
I recently sponsored and attended Joel Christopher and Ted Nicholas’s Double
Birthday Party and Interactive Marketing Summit in beautiful San Antonio, Texas.
There was a fantastic lineup of speakers including John Assaraf, Joe Vitale,
Brad Fallon, George McKenzie, Shawn Casey, Alan Bechtold, Tom “Big Al” Schreiter,
Brian Keith Voiles, Rosalind Gardner and Sydney Johnson.
And, of course, Joel Christopher and Ted Nicholas also introduced.
Don’t you know who Ted Nicholas is?
Ted is a living legend in the world of offline direct marketing. He’s considerated
the “King of Printing”, the “Copywriter’s Copywriter”, the “Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur” and the “Godfather of Direct Marketing”.
He is known as the “4 billion dollar man” because that is what he has
products you have sold using offline marketing methods.
Ted’s business card reads: “I help people turn words into money“.
Anyway, it should be clear that Ted knows a lot about marketing and
especially writing.
Copywriting is simply selling with words. When someone reads the “copy” or the words
of an advertisement or letter of sale and is obligated to respond to the offer,
then you know your copy is effective.
I wanted to pass on some writing secrets I learned from Ted while I was at
double birthday party These secrets are taken directly from my notes so any
errors or omissions are mine.
Secret #1: Write the copy BEFORE you create the product!
Ted Nicholas says that the smart salesperson writes the copy BEFORE the product is
created.
Let’s say, for example, you have a product idea. You should write the copy that sells.
the benefits of the product even before creating the product.
There are two big reasons to do it.
The first reason is that you get a much clearer idea of the focus of the product
from the customer’s perspective because it will focus on the benefits for the
client in the copy.
Remember, people buy products that help them solve their problems or give them away
information they need to solve a problem. By focusing on the benefits for
the customer, you can ensure that your product is really intended for
providing those benefits.
The second reason to write first copy is to do market validation. In others
words, even if you have done market research that indicates there is a huge
market, you can do a final test using the copy you write first.
Even if people order your product, you can tell them it’s not ready yet, but
they will be the first to be notified when it is ready.
If no one tries to order the product THEN, don’t spend any more time on it! East
is the smart way to determine if a product is worth building before wasting time
creating it! Especially for a Big Ticket product.
Also, if a bunch of people order the product based on the copy, then it’s a great
motivating factor to create a product that meets expectations in the copy!
Secret #2: Headlines – The most important element to focus on when writing copy
When Ted Nicholas writes copy for a product, he has to look at the research, the
product features, claims, and benefits, all before creating the product.
copy for that product.
The first things Ted writes are potential product headlines.
Ted writes the headlines FIRST!
Before any copy.
Without tea headline you are DEAD!
Because if the headline doesn’t grab your reader’s attention and intrigue them
enough to keep reading, then they will NOT buy your product!
It doesn’t matter if you have the world’s killer Big Ticket product,
If people stop reading after the headline, you have no chance of making the sale.
Spend 50-80% of your time on your headline and make sure there is no
more than 3 ideas covered by the headline. More than 3 ideas too
confusing to readers. And the confusion makes readers stop reading, something
you definitely don’t want.
One final tip about headlines: studies show that 27% more people will read a
headline that has quotation marks because it indicates that someone
important said. And of course someone important said it: you did it 🙂
Secret #3: Headline Generation Process
As mentioned in Secret #2, when Ted Nicholas writes copy for a product, he has
examine the research, features, claims, and benefits of
product.
As you go through this process, you list all the benefits of the product in 3×5
cards List one benefit per card and use as many cards as needed to list
all benefits
Once Ted has all the benefits on the cards, he rearranges the benefits into
order of greatest impact.
The strongest or best benefits are used in the main headline of the sales copy.
Many of the other benefits become subtitles for the copy. Any other than
leftovers are often used as bullet points in the body of the text.
Therefore, this process is extremely useful not only for creating headlines, but also for making
Make sure all benefits are covered somewhere in the body of the copy.
With Big Ticket items and their higher price tags, it’s crucial to make sure
all benefits are covered. The more benefits you can point out in the copy
The more you move your reader away from his natural skepticism towards the
value your product can offer!
Secret #4: Copy flow is key
Ted Nicholas mentioned a quote that many top writers agree on:
“Copy can never be too long. Just too boring.”
What this means is that you need to engage your reader and keep them engaged.
throughout the copy of your sales letter or ad.
If your potential client loses interest at any point and stops reading or puts
your copy down there will most likely never come back and end up
reading.
Your copy of Big Ticket must cover all benefits and possible objections
that your potential client may have. That means it’s going to take a lot
of copy to cover everything. So you need to make sure your copy flows and that
keep reading.
Here’s what Ted had to say about the flow of copy and what makes good copy:
- Keep your paragraphs short and only cover 1 idea per paragraph.
- The best way to test the flow of your text is to read it out loud. If it doesn’t flow naturally when you read it out loud, it probably isn’t. Change the copy until it does.
- Have a 7th or 8th grade student read the copy. If any part of the copy is difficult for them to read, then she should rewrite the copy for her. She wants the copy to be easy to understand.
- Great writing is about rewriting. It makes it clearer and simpler, eliminating unnecessary and emotional words. That’s when the writing is really great.
Secret #5: Buying is Emotional
Almost all purchasing decisions are driven by emotions. When we buy something, we do so because we think it will make us feel better or because we think it will solve a problem for us and make us feel better.
We can find all sorts of other rational reasons why we should or should make the purchase, but the main reason is always emotional.
The last bullet point of Secret #4 says that great writing is clear, simple, and charged with emotion. It appeals to our emotions.
So when you write or read a good sales letter, you should look at the copy and ask yourself:
What is the emotional feeling you get when you read the sales letter?
It’s hot?
Exciting?
Important boring goal?
Or just bored?
Any part of your copy that is in the “Important but boring” or “Just boring” categories needs to be rewritten or gotten rid of those sections.
Why?
Because those sections are the ones that your potential client could choose to stop reading.
You never want them to stop reading!
Ted Nicholas also said:
“If you can’t cry, you can’t write copy!“
It takes a lot of strength to admit your feelings.
It’s also vitally important that you can relate emotionally to your prospects’ situation. The more you can emotionally experience where they come from, the better copy you can write.
Secret #6: Trust
When people know you, trust you, and love you, they will buy from you forever.
If you ever betray that trust, you will lose your client forever.
In copywriting, never try to fool your prospect with misleading copy and then change the subject.
They can detect that, they will be disappointed and won’t read your copy anymore. You have lost the sale.
So when you sell someone a first product, make sure you surprise them with the first product because you want to win their hearts and minds!
This is especially true of Big Ticket products.
Secret #7: Avoid These Common Copy Mistakes in Your Sales Letters
Here is a list of the most common mistakes to AVOID in your sales letter or advertisement:
- no owner – You must have a headline. It’s what grabs your reader’s attention and makes them want to read your copy.
- few subtitles – People tend to read in two ways. Either they read the whole letter or they scan it. If they do scan it, you’ll want to have plenty of subheadings to grab their attention and interest and get them to read at least those sections.
- No warranty – Always include a money back guarantee with your offer. The longer the warranty period, the more credible your offer will be.
- PS no. – Always use a PS on each letter you write. If people scan a letter, they will usually read the PS at least. The PS must re-emphasize the stronger benefits and reaffirm its offer.
- No signature – Always sign your letter. It’s more personal.
- No free bonuses – Free is one of the most powerful words in the human language. Providing free bonuses enhances the already great value of your product offering. In some cases, the right bonuses can convince someone to buy your product just to get the bonuses!
- Logo on the letterhead – Your logo is about you, not about your customer. It’s just one more distraction from your sales message. If you must include a logo, put it at the bottom of the letter.
- Do not close – Be sure to give specific instructions about what you want your prospect to do. If you don’t tell them to buy your product and exactly how to do it, then they won’t.
And that’s it for 7 Great Copywriting Secrets I Learned From Ted Nicholas. Hope this helps you improve your own copy.
Or, if you need help with your copy, at least hire someone you know and follow these secrets. It will be worth the money you pay them to get more sales with great copy.
Copyright (C) 2005 Chuck Daniel, Like Magic Marketing, LLC — All rights reserved.