Bullets With Bite: Master Copywriting�s Second Most Powerful Tool
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Marcia Yudkin
Apr 23, 2013, 5:10:29 PM4/23/13
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Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Marcia Yudkin
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The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
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Article Title: Bullets With Bite: Master Copywriting�s Second Most Powerful Tool
Author: Marcia Yudkin
Word Count: 532
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=1595703&ca=Writing
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1595703
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1595703
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Whether you're preparing a sales letter, a space ad or a Web page, if you're hoping to incite the passion to buy, spend ample time crafting energetic bullet points. These usually appear in the heart of your marketing piece, and they can have such power that if just one hits a bull's-eye with a particular reader, the sale occurs.
Bullets are the second most powerful copywriting element, after headlines. Here's a step-by-step guide to creating excitement with these verbal nuggets.
First, generate a dry, factual list of the benefits of your product or service. A benefit is what the product or service does for the customer, an advantage they get from using it. For instance, the benefits of a press release writing service include:
* getting visibility and exposure
* saving on advertising
* making more sales
* gaining credibility
Second, dramatize the benefits. Add passion, mystery, intrigue and contradiction. Note the electricity added here to the straightforward bullets just listed:
* become the envy of your Chamber of Commerce by being "read all over"
* enjoy a bonanza of ink all over the world from a story that gets picked up by the wire services
* receive out-of-the-blue orders from new accounts that wouldn't previously return calls from your sales reps
* acquire a halo of importance after being featured in respected publications
And these:
* get highlighted as extraordinary even though you run your business exactly like your competitors
* become able to double your fees without complaints, and bask in the privilege Bill Gates once called "the sweetest reward" of success
* develop a lead-generating system that you pay for once but benefit from all year
Third, make them fearsomely specific. Instead of "you'll save lots compared with advertising," write, "enjoy $63,548 of print or broadcast exposure for just $375 (our fee) plus fax charges or postage." Numbers are always a dependable way to get precise:
* five ways to save 420% on your publicity budget
* sixteen bonus services all our clients receive once a month
* eighteen-hour turnaround for tie-ins with fast-breaking news stories
* multiply your leads five-fold with our two little-known magnetic techniques
Fourth, check that you've appealed to every possible motivation. Bullets should target a variety of reasons people might buy and a range of concerns and interests. Some prospects for press release services may care more about impressing the boss with media hits than about improvements in the company's bottom line.
Fifth, proofread and check your facts. If you promised "seven ways to make a boring product launch sound interesting," make sure there are indeed seven and not six or eight. Likewise, grammatical mistakes, spelling errors, reckless capitalization of words not usually treated that way and overuse of boldface for emphasis distract the reader and detract from your credibility.
Last, tone down anything that comes across as a promise you may not be able to keep. A bullet point I cited earlier might be more safely worded as "enjoy up to $63,548 or more of print or broadcast exposure..." Keep your dramatizations within the bounds of reason for best results.
About The Author: Veteran copywriter and marketing consultant Marcia Yudkin is the author of Persuading People to Buy, Meatier Marketing Copy and 14 other books. In her 10-week one-on-one mentoring program, she trains copywriters and marketing consultants. For more information, go to http://www.yudkin.com/become.htm
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1595703
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Marcia Yudkin
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1595703
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1595703
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: Bullets With Bite: Master Copywriting�s Second Most Powerful Tool
Author: Marcia Yudkin
Word Count: 532
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=1595703&ca=Writing
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1595703
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1595703
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Whether you're preparing a sales letter, a space ad or a Web page, if you're hoping to incite the passion to buy, spend ample time crafting energetic bullet points. These usually appear in the heart of your marketing piece, and they can have such power that if just one hits a bull's-eye with a particular reader, the sale occurs.
Bullets are the second most powerful copywriting element, after headlines. Here's a step-by-step guide to creating excitement with these verbal nuggets.
First, generate a dry, factual list of the benefits of your product or service. A benefit is what the product or service does for the customer, an advantage they get from using it. For instance, the benefits of a press release writing service include:
* getting visibility and exposure
* saving on advertising
* making more sales
* gaining credibility
Second, dramatize the benefits. Add passion, mystery, intrigue and contradiction. Note the electricity added here to the straightforward bullets just listed:
* become the envy of your Chamber of Commerce by being "read all over"
* enjoy a bonanza of ink all over the world from a story that gets picked up by the wire services
* receive out-of-the-blue orders from new accounts that wouldn't previously return calls from your sales reps
* acquire a halo of importance after being featured in respected publications
And these:
* get highlighted as extraordinary even though you run your business exactly like your competitors
* become able to double your fees without complaints, and bask in the privilege Bill Gates once called "the sweetest reward" of success
* develop a lead-generating system that you pay for once but benefit from all year
Third, make them fearsomely specific. Instead of "you'll save lots compared with advertising," write, "enjoy $63,548 of print or broadcast exposure for just $375 (our fee) plus fax charges or postage." Numbers are always a dependable way to get precise:
* five ways to save 420% on your publicity budget
* sixteen bonus services all our clients receive once a month
* eighteen-hour turnaround for tie-ins with fast-breaking news stories
* multiply your leads five-fold with our two little-known magnetic techniques
Fourth, check that you've appealed to every possible motivation. Bullets should target a variety of reasons people might buy and a range of concerns and interests. Some prospects for press release services may care more about impressing the boss with media hits than about improvements in the company's bottom line.
Fifth, proofread and check your facts. If you promised "seven ways to make a boring product launch sound interesting," make sure there are indeed seven and not six or eight. Likewise, grammatical mistakes, spelling errors, reckless capitalization of words not usually treated that way and overuse of boldface for emphasis distract the reader and detract from your credibility.
Last, tone down anything that comes across as a promise you may not be able to keep. A bullet point I cited earlier might be more safely worded as "enjoy up to $63,548 or more of print or broadcast exposure..." Keep your dramatizations within the bounds of reason for best results.
About The Author: Veteran copywriter and marketing consultant Marcia Yudkin is the author of Persuading People to Buy, Meatier Marketing Copy and 14 other books. In her 10-week one-on-one mentoring program, she trains copywriters and marketing consultants. For more information, go to http://www.yudkin.com/become.htm
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1595703
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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