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FAQs: The Key to Fast, Easy and Effective Copywriting

May 17, 2012 By Alex Mandossian Leave a Comment

Want to write better marketing copy … and practically eliminate writer’s block? Write your Frequently Asked Questions first.

According to legendary copywriter Robert Collier, the secret to successful copywriting is “Always enter the conversation already taking place in the customer’s mind.” FAQs are like taking a shortcut into the heads of your website visitors and prospective customers.

FAQsWhen copywriting, many people think first about the benefits or headlines. This puts the pressure on you as the copywriter to figure out what will connect most with your audience.

But if you know what your prospects’ questions, challenges or barriers, and/or problems are before you start writing – as you will when you start with FAQs – you’ll gain valuable insights into how to write the rest of your marketing copy.

A good FAQ list will mirror the conversation in your first-time [Read more...]

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Leverage the Principle of Recommendation

May 15, 2012 By Alex Mandossian Leave a Comment

comment buttonThe most powerful persuasion tool is the principle of recommendation. It’s a principle that all entrepreneurs should incorporate into their marketing, because we’re in the midst of what’s been called the Recommendation Age.

The principle of recommendation is not the same as the principle of referral. Recommendations are more active. You’re not just referring; you’re putting your reputation on the line by recommending it.

If you look at the Internet and you go to Amazon.com, what are you allowed to do? You’re allowed to rate a book. When you go to You Tube, what are you allowed to do? You’re allowed to rate a video. When you go to Ted.com, you’re allowed to rate a speech. When you go on social networks, you’re really rating each other just in your commentary.

When writing marketing copy, this means that the new call to action is not Order Now, Buy Now, or Opt-In Now. The new call to action that you want to use is getting people to comment and share.

By getting people to comment and share, you get them to [Read more...]

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When to Innovate

May 10, 2012 By Dan Kennedy Leave a Comment

Just the other day, I was listening to a recording of a speech by Joe Sugarman* and Joe said, “One good path to success is to learn all the proven rules and meticulously follow them. Another path is to occasionally break all the rules, because breakthroughs come only from breaking rules.”

Dan Kennedy Renegade MillionaireResonates with me … as you know, I wrote a whole book based on breaking rules.

On one hand, I’m cautious about innovation; pioneers usually come home full of arrows; it’s often costly and time consuming…and I am always much more interested in “what works” than a new idea.

However, as Joe said, OCCASIONALLY, or I might say, at carefully chosen time, you have no alternative but to be the pioneer in order to move forward and in order to [Read more...]

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Pavlovian Principles for Copywriting

May 8, 2012 By Alex Mandossian 1 Comment

When asked how to distinguish persuasive web copy, I have a two-word answer: Behavior modification.

Pavlov's dogBehavior modification is what powerful and persuasive words do. They modify behavior. In fact, that’s how I define good marketing.

The person who taught me the importance of behavior modification in marketing is the late Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, who made behavior modification history in the late 1890’s.

In his revolutionary experiment, Pavlov put a slab of meat in front of dogs. As the dogs started salivating, he rang a bell. Over time, the dogs became conditioned to salivate whenever they heard the bell – whether or not meat was present. Their nervous systems had associated the bell with red meat.

What does red meat have to do with writing copy? Simply put… [Read more...]

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Want Greater Influence? Smuggle Donkeys

May 3, 2012 By Alex Mandossian 1 Comment

Do you want prospects to take action more quickly? The fastest, easiest and most reliable way to influence your audience to take immediate action is to be transparent in your marketing.

transparency and donkey smugglingWhether you’re writing a sales letter, a video script, an email or even meeting a prospect in person, nothing is as persuasive as the truth. People can sense the truth. And when you’re not telling the truth, they can sense that, too.

Master salespeople are magicians of persuasion. They’re transparent. They tell on themselves. They show you exactly what they’re doing, but it’s so natural, so organic, and so seamless that you often don’t notice.

When teaching my students about this elusive aspect of truth, I like to share the 13th century Turkish fable about a merchant named Nasraddin Hodja.

Hodja crossed the Turkish border every single day on his donkey, which always carried a big load of straw on its back. The border patrol knew that Hodja was smuggling somethinginto the Far East, because he was [Read more...]

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