Before I pack up for the next Maverick trip to Aspen – I wanted to give you guys something you could put to use immediately…

I’m going to share a bit of the information that I first taught at my $3,495.00/per person copywriting workshop. This subject is something I have not seen anyone tackle in full – so if you are interested in making your sales copywriting (or actually any writing) work harder for you – pay attention!

[Side note: I'm doing a more in-depth section on this in the latest Underground Secret Society issue. Next issue is coming off the press shortly and you can grab a free 1-month trial.]

You see, once most people learn about copywriting they can usually crank some pretty decent letters. I mean they get the gist of it right with a few formulas like “problem-agitate-solution” or “AIDA” or whatever.

But where the rubber really meets the road is something most people don’t want to think yet alone do – and that’s the copy editing part. I have a 9-step sequence I use to really hone, polish and sculpt my sales letters (and you’re going to get 8 of them right here). Fact is, most people’s rough drafts are quite similar but it’s in the editing that you see the difference between a blockbuster and ho-hum copy.

Before we get into the phases of editing – you need to have something worth editing. Many writers fail to let their creative brains loose because it’s always being stymied by the critical part. It’s that little voice in your head that says, “That’s dumb”, “Blah!” or “Nobody is going to care about that” etc.

I suggest you write fast and turn off your internal editor. Get it all out as soon as you can and then edit later. There are 2 different parts of your brain. You really cannot edit and write at the same time.

Now when we get to the editing phases – I focus on one particular part for each pass through and edit. You might want to highlight that because right there is one of the biggest secrets. It’s like when you buy a new car and all of a sudden you start seeing your make and model everywhere. The same number of Mini Coopers were on the road before – but now you have selective perception. Our brains are trained to seek out what we are hunting for and most people will do 1 ‘general’ edit. That’s not good enough.

Phase 1 Edit: Opening   

Your opening is one of the most critical parts of your sales copy (after your headline). In readership studies it’s been shown that readership after 500 words will only fall off again at 5,000 words. So the key is getting people into a slippery slope and into those 500 words.

Most writers have a lot of ‘warm up’. Essentially getting ready to say what they want to say – you need to be ruthless and cut out the fluff. Many times when doing critiques I will literally ‘X’ out an entire first page (or 2) or initial paragraphs. This is an easy trick to making your writing more powerful is to see what you can cut from your original opening. Typically your lead-in will be further down the page.

Phase 2 Edit: Moving Pieces and Copy Blocks

The next thing I look at is if the copy blocks fit into a sequential process. Here, I’m looking for a logical and most persuasive order of the parts of my letter. If my audience is especially skeptical then I will move my ‘Authority’ and ‘Proof’ elements near the beginning. If I’m using a copy analogy or a story – is it positioned in the best spot to keep readers engaged?

I will read through the entire with one thought “Does this paragraph/section/copy block make sense where it is?”

Phase 3 Edit: Graphics, Embellishments & Look

The next thing I’m thinking about is the ‘look’ and ‘feel’ of my copy. As online copywriters we have a few items in our toolbox to choose from like

Bolding

yellow highlighter

shaded boxes

bullet points

check boxes

fake handwriting

embellishments

(I also will very sparingly use italics and underline if it’s an online letter.)

When looking for where I am going to put graphics and embellishments in – I am considering a few things. I look at each one as a spice and just like a top chef doesn’t want the spice to overpower the food – we don’t want the graphics and embellishments to overpower the copy. Just a pinch will do it. I use what I call my “Squinty test”.

I will print out each page and then hold it far enough beyond my face that I just squint to see it. I want to see a good amount of white space, different engaging elements (like bullets) and shaded boxes. But also I don’t want to see too much bolding or too much yellow highlighter.

Phase 4 Edit: Double Readership                

I first learned this term and concept from Dan Kennedy and it’s especially useful online. As prospects hit your site – many are only going to skim what is there unless they are fully engaged. Essentially there are skimmers and readers. You want someone to be able to simply skim through the headline, subheads, boldings, yellow highlighter, embellishments, etc and be able to make a buying decision.

If they can do that – you’ve done your job.

Let’s look at one of my first million dollar products – Instant Sales Letters®. I’m going to only write out the headline and subheads here. Nothing else.

“In Only 2 ½ Minutes You Can Quickly and Easily Create A Sales Letter Guaranteed To Sell Your Product Or Service…Without Writing!”

Looking To Increase Your Business?
Just Fill In A Few Blanks And PRESTO…
You’ve Just Created A Powerful, Money-Making Sales Letter!

But Creating That Winning Sales Letter
Is The Hard Part…

“Instant Sales Letter Templates”

At Last! Every Sales Letter You Need
Is Already Written For You…

Now, No Matter What Product or Service
You Have To Sell -

You’ll Find A Sales Letter That’s
Already Written For You…

And You Too, Can Use This Secret To Make Yourself a Fortune!

Okay, Now I Hear You Grumbling:
“But I Can’t Write” or “I’m Not Creative”

Which Of These Fill-In-The-Blank, Sales Letter Templates Could You Use To Grow Your Business?

Okay, So What’s The Cost For This Incredible Resource?

4 FREE Bonuses For Ordering By Midnight Tonight

100% Risk-Free Guarantee:

You Really Can’t Afford Not To Invest In
These Instant Sales Letter Templates!

(Order now through our Secure Server, and get instant access!)
Click Here Now

This doesn’t include any bolding or yellow highlighter, etc to draw the eye in. Just from skimming these subheads – somebody could get the main idea and actually buy the product. Look at your copy from a skimmer’s viewpoint and see where you need to add more subheads or graphical embellishments to make the sale.

Phase 5 Edit: Bucket Brigade

This is where you smooth out and “stitch” everything together. Your copy’s readability (next edit) is directly part of the “bucket brigade” copy transitions. They are called bucket brigade because they keep moving the reader forward and through the copy. Use words and phrases like these:

•    And that’s just the beginning…

•    As you read on, I’ll tell you more about how…

•    But before we go into that,…

•    But better still…

•    But don’t take my word for it…

•    But I’m jumping ahead. Let me tell you how this all came about:

•    Here’s more…

•    Fact is,…

•    Here’s the deal:

•    Here’s the scary part:

•    Listen, there’s more. Lots more.

•    My strong hunch is…

•    Needless to say,…

•    What this all boils down to is..

•    What’s more,…

•    What’s the catch?

•    Then it hit me…

•    Wait, there’s more…

Anytime you can use a copy transition – it will help keep the reader sliding down the slippery slope we’re creating that ultimate ends in the sale. (I have compiled 226 I use that are part of my copywriting workshop material)

Phase 6 Edit: General Flow    

I don’t know what it is about reading something aloud versus reading to yourself, but you’ll pick up lots and lots of insight into how good (or bad) your ad really is by reading it aloud. All the bumps and rough spots jump out at you.

Or a variation on this is to have someone else read it you. This is even better. As they’re reading it, you should take out a copy of the ad and make notes on it. One big advantage of this is your reader is completely impartial. He won’t stress certain phrases or words to make the meaning clearer. And if the reader is having trouble you know that’s an area to edit.

Also, at this editing phase I like to see if I can change some of the “I”, “We” or “Me”s to “You’s” and make most of the sentences geared to the readers benefit. i.e.

“We are giving you 6 must-have bonuses” to “You’ll get 6 must-have bonuses”.

Much stronger that way. A simple start of a sentence you cannot over-use is “You get…”

Phase 7 Edit: Sleep On It 

First, you should let your ad sit for at least a day. Then the next day you can come back to it with new eyes and a fresher perspective. You can find errors that weren’t apparent before. Also, your chances of writing a good ad are significantly improved with rewriting. (I will rewrite an ad or letter 3, 4 or 5 times before I’m done.)

If you do not have the luxury of an extra day – even a few hours will help to give you a new perspective on the writing.

Phase 8 Edit: Grammar and Spelling Edit   

This is my final pass through and I will typically have someone else who is much better at grammar and English look at my work. Not I definitely take this with a grain of salt because a copywriter’s grammar is usually not proper English but I don’t want to look like a total dunce when I confuse ‘their’ and ‘there’.

Now I know most people will not go through all 9 8 copy editing phases – but I promise it will dramatically improve the power of your writing!

***

Note: If you really want to get serious about copywriting – our Ultimate At-Home Internet Copywriting Workshop is a must-have resource. Over 1579 pages of swipe files, formulas, etc. Plus an entire manual with actual examples of copy I’ve critiqued and gone through the 9 phases of copy editing. I strongly suggest this resource! (Yes, I left one out in this blog post because it involves my proprietary 68-point copy checklist.)

This entry was posted on Monday, August 11th, 2008 at 8:27 pm and is filed under Marketing-O-Rama. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.