Copy Tip 35: Contrast
Yesterday, we sweltered a little in the Melbourne summer weather, which has increased somewhat since the Australian Open tennis started on Monday, must be because of the tennis!
Anyway, it hit 41.1 Celcius (106 F) near home yesterday afternoon — making it rather hot. And, gulp, my office is without an air conditioner (our other office shared by my wife and our part-time staffer Alissa has the air conditioner, I just have a fan). So in my office on days like yesterday, the temperature can hover around 33C/92F — pretty warm indoors too.
So what’s this little discussion about the weather got to do with copy?
Plenty! And here’s why …
During the afternoon, I was sitting in my office when Alissa came out of the air-conditioned office into the corridor.
She mentioned to me that it felt quite warm to her, compared to the cool office she’d been sitting in for the afternoon.
But for me, as I hadn’t been sitting in the cool office, I didn’t notice the warmth as much (even though we were in the same place) … and that’s how the “contrast” in the change from cool to warm got Alissa’s attention and reminds me to share this tip with you.
Just like with the weather and how you can contrast and compare — and feel different in the same environment — you can do the same thing in your copy/marketing.
Example of Contrast
One very effective place you can use contrast is to minimize the impact of pricing in your offer.
It is used quite a bit, but that doesn’t say it still can’t be used just as much.
Let’s say your offer is for a yearly subscription valued at $320.
Now, on its own, $320 may SEEM to be a lot to some people.
To overcome that perception, you can state exactly the same price in a different way . That can make it seem like a smaller investment.
Stated another way — that subscription is worth “less than 88 cents per day” over the course of a year.
So you might find the contrast from “$320″ to “88 cents” much easier to use in persuading your prospects to take action.
There are other ways to use contrast — from both a writing point of view and graphic point of view — and we’ll cover those next, but this contrast tactic can help you increase your response.
Copy Tip 34: My Writing Formula
Last copy tip we discussed a well-known writing formula, A.I.D.A.
As I mentioned though, I don’t use this exact formula in my writing. I use another one.
And in it’s simplest form, it’s called P.A.S. …
Problem - Aggravate - Solve
For me, I’ve expanded a bit on that for my own purposes.
Mine is P.A.S.C.A. …
Problem - Aggravate - Solve - Credibility - Action
That’s an effective writing formula (P.A.S.) that I’ve picked up from premier Australian marketer and millionaire-maker Mal Emery.
Whatever way you open your copy — with a story, with an if/then formula, or another way … the aim of this style of writing is to introduce a problem the prospect faces, raise the temperature a little on how that problem is affecting their life (the aggravation), and then offer a solution.
I add in credibility — to make sure my offer is completely credible, and a strong call to action … building in effective techniques like using urgency, risk-reversal guarantees and effective pricing strategies to maximise my response.
And knowing my prospect and getting to know their emotions, fears and frustrations, I can build empathy and rapport about why the prospect should listen to me … and why my solution to their problem should be their obvious choice.
We include the “aggravation” to really stir up the emotions about what can happen if a prospect doesn’t take action — it helps make your irresistible, compelling offer more effective — prospects can find emotional and logical reasons to act NOW.
Aggravation
One “classic” example that comes to my mind is the story about the character Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’ classic novel A Christmas Carol.
When the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet To Come (Future) show Scrooge just how he’ll end up based on the way he currently acts … he begs for once last chance — which he gets as he wakes up on Christmas morning — and suddenly changes to be much more generous and kind.
That’s really “aggravation” in action … really highlighting the problem, stirring up the emotions and showing how staying the same way can really be the wrong choice … putting the prospect — Scrooge — right in the picture to see, feel, hear and intensely experience the problem when it is magnified, and in his case “begging” for a chance to repent and change his ways.
(In fact, master motivator and personal development/peak performance leader Tony Robbins has an effective strategy to instigate change known as the “Dickens process” … where you imagine yourself in the future, both as you are, and as you want to be … and really feel the difference … and discover for yourself why taking action NOW is so worthwhile).
Once you’ve done that, along comes the “solution” — your product or service — that is the obvious choice for the prospect to make to get rid of this problem.
Credibility
You then use credibility elements to back up your solution … to persuade the prospect why your solution is the best choice to make.
For example, your credibility might include elements like proof, testimonials, case studies etc. that back up your claims and positioning, to really reinforce your offered solution.
And then of course you must ask and spell out how a prospect should respond (take action!), and why they should respond NOW. More about credibility and action in future posts.
Copy Tip 33: AIDA Formula
Just in case you’re wondering, I’m not talking about Verdi’s opera “Aida” here!
Although, I’d say there is a connection … like the four Acts in Aida, your copy also is a “performance” that captures the attention of your audience and draws a response.
No, the AIDA I’m referring to here is the “ever-popular advertising formula” — as described by copywriting giant Brian Keith Voiles.
This is a formula for writing copy that helps everything flow together.
In this case, AIDA is probably one of the most recognised formulas (although there are others, and I have another I generally follow instead of AIDA, which I’ll reveal soon. It’s still worthwhile knowing what AIDA is all about).
AIDA stands for …
- (A) Attention — getting the attention of your prospects
- (I) Interest — arousing their interest in your solution
- (D) Desire — intensifying the desire for your solution; and
- (A) Action — getting the prospect to take action.
In this simple form, you’d have to quite liberally interepret each step to include other essential elements that you should include in your copy.
As we’ve seen in earlier tips, people buy from people they know, like and trust — so you would include credibility elements in your copy to address this behaviour. You’d also very strongly back up any claims you make with proof they’re true. You’d also want to include scarcity elements, as we discussed with the ERBN and LRBN buying reasons — to give your prospect reasons to buy now.
Actually, Brian Keith Voiles uses an expanded version of AIDA that does this, and he calls it AICPBSAWN!
(That’s Attention, Interest, Credibility, Prove, Benefits, Scarcity, Action, Warning, NOW!).
The warning is part of Brian’s formula to make sure you let your prospect know what happens if they do NOT take action … what they’ll miss out on, the pain of not buying your solution, how remaining at the status quo is a painful choice.
And as part of your Offer, you should also ensure a strong risk-reversal guarantee is part of your copy.
Whatever you call it, it is the flow of copy that is persuasive in getting your propsect to take action towards your objective (from the MOOVE marketing formula).
Okay, so there’s a formula I can follow … how do I do that?
One great way to see this “flow” in action is to study a great sales letter or ad you find, and “pull it apart”.
Find each of the elements within it … Attention, Interest etc … see how much of that is used and how it flows through the piece you’ve selected.
Look at how benefits are included — using bullets, sub-headlines, and other graphics to convey the message. Find the difference between features, benefits, and the emotions met by the benefits. What is the main pitch, what’s the offer? Is it guaranteed? Is scarcity used? Proof? Credibility? Differentiation from competitors?
Sometimes, in ads or letters with less copy, these elements might not be so obviously separated: several may be used together in a section of copy.
When you’ve done this, you’ll see the elements in action — and you now have a “recipe” at your fingertips to follow yourself.
All good copy should include this …
Regardless of the length of the copy used (a future Copy Tip topic!), effective copy includes the essential elements, at a minimum having an attention-grabbing headline, an irresistible offer and a call to action with a reason to buy now. The offer is backed by proof, credibility, scarcity and a guarantee.
Next up, I’ll tell you about another copy formula — one that I follow — that’s a little different from AIDA.
Copy Tip 32: Awww Shucks (And Thanks!)
Well I had the awesome news today that one of my blog posts was the winner of a Grand Prize by none other than US copywriting legend Clayton Makepeace!
Have you heard the saying by Sir Isaac Newton that “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”? Well, in business, marketing and copywriting, Clayton Makepeace is that giant (and you’ll get a great view if he’s out on the road on his Harley!)
First I want to say thanks to Clayton, Wendy and everyone at The Total Package (from the amazing expert contributors to the brilliant support team like Martha) … TTP really is a must-have, must-read daily resource for every business owner, marketer and entrepreneur.
So it was well worth sharing this on my blog even just as we were about to sit down to our family Christmas lunch!
There were six Grand Prize winners in all — two for blog/forum posts, two for emails and two for YouTube videos, and there is, of course, a big lesson in just observing what Clayton does.
Congrats to all the winners, and all the loyal TTP readers who helped spread the word about Clayton’s wonderful resource. It was especially exciting to see fellow Copywriting Board contributor Mike Humphreys win in the email section (fantastic persuasive email), jump over to the Copywriting Board to see this post and the winning links.
So my Copy Tip today …
Yes, after my excitement … there is a Copy Tip here to share!
Leverage
Firstly, it’s a reminder: it’s a great idea to leverage the knowledge and skills of others in your field to continue to improve your own skill base and knowledge. For me, a resource like TTP is the perfect way to do this — and that’s why it’s my home page.
Best of all, implement what you learn!
Find What Works
The second part of the tip is to always keep your eyes open — look at what you see in terms of finding ways to make it work for your own business or project.
I’ve heard marketing masters like Mal Emery, Bill Glazer and Dan Kennedy lament business owners who complain “but that wouldn’t work for me”, or “that won’t work in my business.”
Having a closed mind keeps you closed off for innovation and growth… having your eyes open, and an open mind as to how you can borrow and adapt concepts yourself, will find you be on the best path to success.
For example, you might be at a seminar and listening to a speaker. You can do this on two levels: firstly, to listen to and learn from the speaker’s content. But on a second level you can borrow the formula and use the speaker’s approach to be a speaker in your own business or industry — leveraging what’s working, keeping your mind open for new opportunities.
It’s great advice I’ve heard from the masters on this issue and I’m glad I follow what they recommend!
Copy Tip 31: Opening Formulas
This is where I love the nature of the internet to be able to share resources without having to re-hash the same content for you!
On one of my favourite free online business resource sites that I revealed in Copy Tip 16, Daniel Levis recently posted two articles on riveting opening body copy:
- 5 Proven Ways To Get Started; and the sequel,
- 5 More Proven Ways To Nail Those All-Important First Few Paragraphs.
The ten strategies that Daniel covers are:
- You Have a Choice — a choice between staying where you are (the status quo), or taking action and getting successful results;
- The Genie Within You — unlocking knowledge you already possess (the product will reveal how to do that);
- Do You Know This? — If you don’t know the answers to these questions that you should know, you won’t get the results you’re after … the product will provide the answers;
- Winners and Losers — and the difference between the two is owning your product!;
- Let Me Tell You The Story — a concept we’ve covered in our Copy Tips — the power of story telling to get your readers into your copy
- Opening with a Damaging Admission — again, another concept we’ve covered — grab attention and trust by admitting something your reader wouldn’t expect you to say — great for believability;
- The If/Then Opening — I love using this one — qualifying with the “if” section, and agitating a problem (”if you’re sick and tired of __________, then _____________”) — and the “then” section promises a strong benefit / the outcome your prospect is looking for (by reading your copy);
- Make A Prediction — as Daniel says, ” by taking a topical happening, making a prediction about how it will play out, and relating that outcome to your reader”
- Emotional Release opening — identify the main problem your reader needs solving and really agitate what that problem is doing to their life. You’re showing a lot of empathy for their situation, and this helps to get them hooked on your copy;
- Will You Do Me A Favour? Opening — As Daniel points out, I’ve seen this many times in Robert Collier examples — this is very much connected to the “puppy dog close”: take the puppy home for a week to “try it out”, and if you don’t like it, just bring it back. But how could you resist doing that?! There’s a strong element of reciprocity in here too — helping to get readers to comply to future requests you make of them, because you’re giving them something now of value (and they feel obliged later to return the favour).
You should read Daniel’s two articles, as he goes into some great detail and examples about each of these opening formulas.
Sharing Resources — Dangerous?
So for me to point out someone else’s expert published content, I’m using the power of leverage … referencing and using “other people’s content” to help demonstrate valuable information I want to get across to you.
You may be thinking to yourself though why I’d do this? Wouldn’t I be better off writing it up myself and not “exposing” my sources? Doesn’t that mean you’d then just go to the source and have no need to come to this site?
Couldn’t you just bypass my content?
When you look at what’s going on, I don’t think that’s how most people will approach it.
Instead, there’s another thought process that takes place: “Hey, Dean shares with me some great free resources, I’ll keep a tab on what he says to see what else he’ll share with me.”
Or something like that!
The benefit of leverage for me is not having to re-create something that’s already been well said — and for you the advantage is more the time saving in tracking down the “good stuff”.
For me, this is part of my day-to-day life. My resources and references are quite varied and I really get immersed in this kind of content.
You might not spend anywhere near that time — for good reasons — doing the same thing.
Also, pointing out one of my resources still implies — which is completely true — that there are lots of other useful resources I’d probably know of, use and learn from too in my professional life.
You’d be right if you made that assumption. My knowledge has come from dozens and dozens of sources over a VERY long time — I was earning money before I was even old enough to go to school!
I’m also happy enough to admit that I’m a constant student — studying marketing, psychology, persuasion, story telling, copywriting, professional sales and presentation, design and usability … topics I love!
So if you didn’t keep on following the tips, then you’d likely miss out on these other resources, as well as other lessons of my own to share and tips and advice I’ve put to good use on dozens and probably hundreds of client marketing, copywriting and public relations projects over many years.
That means to me that there’s really no danger here in sharing my resources with you … it helps me build my relationship with you, and you see that I can add value to your business, mixing in my own content with some valuable resources I’ve previously identified, evaluated and thought to be worthwhile.