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“On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.” - David Ogilvy

Any advertiser or copywriter will tell you that the headline is the most important part of a written ad. But what exactly is a headline? Read the rest of this entry »

Going the Direct Mail Route

Depending on the size, price, and complexity of your product, you may want to present your message in a traditional direct mail pack with these elements:

• Envelope
• Sales letter
• Brochure
• Response device
• Reply envelope

The envelope, properly used as a copy carrier with an intriguing teaser, can generate excitement and interest to see what’s inside.  The whole objective of using the envelope is to get the letter opened. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been two weeks since The Copy Box changed format from a static website to a Wordpress blog, and the results have been encouraging. Not only are we enjoying working with the new site, but pages seem to be getting indexed very quickly by Google and we’ve had scores of new people sign up to our mailing list - which bodes very well for the future.

My own personal conclusion is that Wordpress is definitely the way forward for everything from personal blogs to corporate websites. The system is so flexible and powerful that even a novice can use it, while experts can achieve some truly great results building their own templates and plugins etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Introduction

Welcome…and congratulations.  You’re about to embark on one of the most exciting, interesting, and important missions of a business owner:  the quest for effective sales copy.  It’s a grand quest and one that can last a lifetime.

Don’t be alarmed.  While many people can and do spend their lives perfecting the art-and-science of copywriting, you don’t have to.  In this book, you will find all the information you need to create sales letters, postcards, newspaper advertising, online sales messages, etc. in no time.  It’s a streamlined, step-by-step, process-oriented approach that makes it easy for even the most word-challenged entrepreneur to put together effective sales and marketing messages. Read the rest of this entry »

Ok, so you’ve found a great page of copywriting resources. The following links will help you improve your copywriting, hire a copywriter or secure a copywriting job.

Copywriting books
Copywriting jobs
Copywriting courses
Copywriting tips
Copywriting services

Read the rest of this entry »

In the interests of helping as many people as possible with their business writing and copywriting, I’ve decided to release my new 15,000 word 50 page e-book on sales letters as a free resource. Obviously, I hope this will draw some attention to my new blog over the next few weeks and months, but primarily, I want to answer the many questions I get on sales letters in one go.

Read the rest of this entry »

When Shakespeare was writing during the Elizabethan period, two types of dramatic style were merging together to form an exciting new voice. Previous to this, London theatre audiences were served up either the traditional Tudor morality play of slapstick allegory and farce, or the more rhetorical academic play based on classical Roman drama. Usually shown in universities, the latter were perhaps not much fun.

Yet Shakespeare was an innovator, and sensed that the audience of Elizabethan England was changing. Read the rest of this entry »

Writing sales letters is part art and part science. If you get good at writing them, it’s one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways of promoting your business. No matter what the copywriting gurus tell you, no sales letter formula will work well every time, and your response rates will be determined by a variety of factors. But it is true that if you always include certain prerequisites that are proven to work more often than not - your sales letters will perform better as a result. Read the rest of this entry »

When you hire a copywriter, there are many things they will need to know in order to do a good job for you. Knowing how to brief a copywriter in advance will therefore help you get the best out of them, and secure the optimum return on your investment.

When you’re launching a new product or service, there’s normally a whole load of written information that goes with it, even if it’s a new venture. As well as asking you lots of questions about your project, the copywriter will need to see as much of this written information as you can muster.

Essential sources of background information can include:

• Previous adverts
• Brochures
• Press releases
• Product descriptions
• Technical information
• Website copy Read the rest of this entry »

Aside from agency creatives and freelancers, it’s no surprise to learn that not everyone really knows what a copywriter actually does, especially those in business. I still get several calls a year from people who have seen my ads on the Internet and want me to secure the legal rights for their logo and tagline, or something similar.

It’s not my place to mock these people, and I politely explain that I’m not a lawyer and I’m not involved in copyright. After all, you either know what a copywriter does or you don’t. When my friend’s dad, a graphic designer, suggested I would make a good copywriter when I was 15, I didn’t know what one was either. Read the rest of this entry »