Everyone loves a conversation. We all like to be part of a community. And we also like to buy .
But we hate being sold.
That’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in recent times. I totally believe in my products and services, but if it smells like a traditional pitch, you could lose the interest of those who would otherwise buy.
Does Old School Copy Still Work
I’m going to say yes. It is effective but perhaps not so much as it was 20 years ago. People seem to have their B.S. radars more active than ever with the expansion of online marketing.
Would you agree? Think back to a time you last read a sales letter from somebody you had no relationship with. How did that make you feel?
In mid 2016, I went to a copywriting seminar by Australia’s top copywriter, Bret Thomson. It was an awesome event and I met some wonderful people.
The content was very traditional and I quickly actioned what I’d learned. However, I soon discovered the flaw in swiping copy.
Even with my understanding of psychology, it still smelled like a traditional sales letter. I think if I wanted to sell to an audience that hadn’t heard of me prior, aka cold traffic, I would have to warm them up.
This is the exact point I made to you earlier. If they haven’t yet heard of you, you need to build that know, like and trust factor.
Your traditional salespage has become more like a followup in my opinion.
But copy can also be conversational right out of the gate.
People Love Conversation and Community
Have you ever stopped and wondered why Facebook is so popular? It’s because people get to voice their opinions, show their likes and passions as well as exercise their right to speech.
A traditional sales letter, on the other hand, is a one way communication. Some of the top copywriters use tactics to make it more conversational – and we’ll get into some of those shortly.
But my biggest piece of advice; if you are going to write a salespage, warm them up first by adding an extra step in front of it.
Jeff Walker does so with his \”sideway salesletter\”.
Lynn Terry of Clicknewz does so by inspiring and engaging people first.
Eben Pagan treats his pitches with a coaching and mentoring approach.
But Psychology Still Sells…
With all this being said, I want to caution you NOT to give up on the study of copywriting gurus like Dan Kennedy, John Carlton and co.
Beneath each traditional headline, is a piece of psychology. I recently read Jeff Walker’s book \”Launch\”. He outlined a few of those emotions in his book. He calls them mental triggers.
Here are some of the examples he taught us:
- Community
- Scarcity
- Curiousity
- Likability
- Credibility
This one piece of advice alone has been worth a lot to me. Make every word count and understand the purpose behind each sentence. I especially love doing this when writing emails.
Very powerful stuff.
Some Closing Tips
Here are some closing tips to make your copy more conversational:
- Directly ask for feedback and keep it two way
- Keep them pumped and inspired – tell personal stories if possible
- Make sure you have a healthy dose of the words \”you, your, yours\”
- Be generous with your knowledge – the law of reciprocation will reward you
- Get them excited by connecting with their desires
- Make sure you respond to their responses – this is a common oversight
- Be gracious and handle criticism with style
- Consider handing out worksheets and supplementary handouts to keep things interactive
- Share even if its uncomfortable, be open and honest
- Encourage sharing
So there we have it, my recent lesson in engagement. Just keep the conversation going and your tribe or prospects will appreciate it.
Speaking of conversation, I’d love to hear how you engage your tribe. And if you don’t have a following, consider how you engage your friends? Do you just talk about yourself, or do you share in their interests too.
Discuss below.
