joanna wiebe old school copywriting for new school businesses

Old schoolFOR NEW SCHOOL MARKETERSCOPYWRITING

JOANNA WIEBE @COPYHACKERS

“You'd better not let your father see this.” John Caples’s mom

@COPYHACKERS#bos2017

IF IT FEELS SAFE, SCRAP IT


“Five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy.”


“I find if I drink two or three brandies, I’m far better able

to write.”


COPY IS NOT YOUR BRAND’S CREATIVE EXPRESSION. COPY IS YOUR ONLINE SALESPERSON.


WANNA BE CREATIVE? WRITE A poem. got that outta your system? great - let’s work.


“The only purpose of

advertising is to make sales.”

claude hopkins


I ROLL WITH THE HARDEST.

MAKE MONEY WITH THE SMARTEST.

AIN’T GOT TIME FOR YOU ARTISTS.

bOS-APPROPRIATE rewrite of lyrics by The Game


Gene SchwartzJohn Caples

Claude Hopkins


CAVEATErr on the side of caution

sometimes. Not everything that worked then flies now.

Let’s START WITH 4 quick hits (‘cos it’s end of day)

@COPYHACKERS

ASK GOOD QUESTIONS


Ba

@COPYHACKERS

sold better

WRITE FOR READERS



Ba sold better

“THAT’S MORE COPY THAN WE’RE USED TO”

Andrew Capland, Wistia

TAKE THE CAP OFF THE

COKE


DON’T BE TOO

FORTHCOMING

aka


fewer clicks


Ba

PUT YOUR HEADLINE & BUTTON IN THE FIRST PERSON


sold better


Ba

24% increase in CTR with 98% confidence

13% lift in CTR with 99% confidence

24% MORE CLICKS

13% MORE CLICKS


3 BIGGER IDEAS TO SHAPE YOUR COPY


Don’t write copy. 1@COPYHACKERS

YOU GO TO A QUIET PLACE TO WRITE.


(Because to write, you need to be alone with your thoughts.)


Yet, somehow, genius doesn’t strike.


Turns out the copy in your head… sucks.


So you give up. And find something else to do.


Don’t write copy. HOLD up a mirror.1

@COPYHACKERS

Stop “writing”

Understand that the thing on the page is the customer - not “the product”

Know the customer so you can show the customer him/herself (ideally happy or getting there)

Hold the mirror (i.e., be in the background)

to do this, you must:


the PRODUCT is NOT the product


the CUSTOMER IS

the product


YOUR COPY IS CREATING A CUSTOMER.

NOT SELLING A PRODUCT.


HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE MIRROR

SHOULD REFLECT BACK?


What do you do with the mad that you feelWhen you feel so mad you could bite? When the whole wide world seems oh so wrong, And nothing you do seems very right?

What do you do - do you punch a bag? Do you pound some clay or some dough? Do you round up friends for a game of tag? Or see how fast you go?


LISTEN.


HERE’S THE EASIEST, fastest, cheapest WAY

(I’LL FORGIVE YOU IF YOU OPEN AMAZON.COM NOW)


http://amazon.com

1. On one or more sites with reviews, find products / services in your category.


2. Go through the reviews and clip the STICKIEST insights.


3. TAG THE VERBATIMS AND ASSEMBLE THEM INTO DRAFT 1.

@air_story#bos2017

Joanna is assembling

in

“Copy is not written. Copy is

assembled.”gene schwartz


TO TRULY BE A MIRROR, YOUR PAGE HAS TO REFLECT BACK A SPECIFIC

PERSON. NOT AN “AVERAGE PERSON.”


“Your message should single out your prospect like a man

being paged in a crowded hotel

lobby.”claude hopkins


~ POEM BREAK ~

@COPYHACKERS

Roses are red, Violets are blue -

Donate to a teacher With the same name as you.


Dear Joanna -

Roses are red, Violets are blue -

Donate to a teacher With the same name as you.

Mr. WiebeFrench novels for his junior high students. $68 remaining Donate to Mr. Wiebe’s project

3x more likely to give to a project

Gave 3x as much

Reactivated lapsed donors

Source: Donors Choose Annual Review 2014 - 15


Can your prospect see herself on YOUR page?

@COPYHACKERS

Don’t write copy. hold up a mirror.1

@COPYHACKERS

“THEY ALL LAUGHED WHEN I USED A FORMULA. BUT WHEN

THEY SAW THE RESULTS!”2@COPYHACKERS

FORMULAS FOR ADS

FORMULAS FOR

LAYOUTS

FORMULAS FOR

ELEMENTS


FORMULAS FOR

LAYOUTS


Problem Agitation Solution


“The correct solution, the right

headline, the perfect ad lies buried in the

problem itself.”gene schwartz


Problem

Agitation

Solution


NO FORMULA PAS FORMULA


Ba

(when you suggest delaying the product shot, even the coolest lose their cool)


sold better


Ba

“Just as the physician uses the same prescription many times with beneficial effect… Just as the civil engineer uses the same formulas

again and again for building bridges… So can the copywriter use formulas that have worked

successfully in the past.”

john caples


Don’t write copy. HOLD UP a mirror.1

@COPYHACKERS

start with a formula or framework.2

@COPYHACKERS

EDIT IN THE AWESOME.3@COPYHACKERS

YOUR FIRST DRAFT SHOULD BE A BUNCH OF ASSEMBLED VOC

DATA


grammar!!!PROOFREADING!!!


grammar???


1. The clarity sweep 2. The voice and tone sweep 3. The So What sweep 4. The Prove It sweep 5. The specificity sweep 6. The heightened emotion sweep 7. The Zero Risk sweep

THE SEVEN SWEEPS


“You cannot bore people into buying your product. You can only interest

them.”DAVID OGILVY GENE SCHWARTZ

“Advertising is the literature of desire.”

G. BENCIVENGA

“Emotions are the fire of human motivation, the combustible force

that secretly drives most decisions to

buy.”


emotion / “feeling" isn’t always edited

in after

• Need for love

• Fear of shame

• Pride of achievement

• Drive for recognition

• Yearning to feel important

• Urge to look attractive

• Lust for power

• Longing for romance

• Need to feel secure

• Terror of facing the unknown

• Lifelong hunger for self-esteem

GARY BENCIVENGA

“It’s not about building better mousetraps. It’s about building larger

mice - and then building a terrifying fear of them

in your customers.”gene schwartz


As many as 60% of sales are lost to “no decision.”

Source: CorporateVisions.com @COPYHACKERS#bos2017

http://corporatevisions.com

MAKE YOUR READER DECIDE. EVEN IF THEY DON’T CHOOSE YOU.


DON’T “WRITE COPY.” use formulas.

EDIT IN THE AWESOME.

@COPYHACKERS

“THIS IS NO LAZY MAN’S FIELD”Claude Hopkins


JOANNA WIEBE

THANKS!

joanna wiebe old school copywriting for new school businesses

Marketing