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Web Copywriting Tune-up Kit

Copyright © 2004 Brian Keith Voiles & Jo Han Mok

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“Web Copywriting Tune-up Kit” Brian Keith Voiles & Jo Han Mok Page 2 of 74

Copyright © 2004 Jo Han Mok - 2 - http:// www.KillerWebCopy.com

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CONTENTS

Please Read This First .............................................................................................2

About The Authors ..................................................................................................7

The Importance of Copywriting to Net Marketers ..............................................9

Is there a substitute for writing great copy? ........................................................................ 10

Would it be a good idea to hire a copywriter instead? ........................................................ 10

What should I look for if I hire a copywriter? ..................................................................... 11

What Common Mistakes Do Most Internet Marketers Make? ........................13

Marketing Mistakes ................................................................................................................ 13

Marketing Mistake Number One: ....................................................................................... 13

Marketing Mistake Number Two: ....................................................................................... 14

Marketing Mistake Number Three: .................................................................................... 15

Marketing Mistake Number Four:...................................................................................... 17

Marketing Mistake Number Five:....................................................................................... 19

Marketing Mistake Number Six:......................................................................................... 21



Do you have a recommended format for our UCA (Say, 17 words or less)?..................... 23

The Words You Use & Those that You Don’t Use. ............................................25

Are There Any ‘Taboo’ Words?............................................................................................ 25

What Are the Most Powerful Words That You’ve Used?................................................... 25

Copywriting Mistakes............................................................................................28

Most Internet marketers don’t write enough headlines!.................................................... 29

Most Internet marketers don’t talk to a specific prospect in a conversational, warm tone.

............................................................................................................................................... 31

Most Internet marketers don’t focus enough of their copy on their prospects’ pain and

problems ............................................................................................................................... 33

Most Internet marketers don’t use energetic, exciting action words ................................. 36

Most Internet marketers don’t use specific numbers, results and testimonials................. 37

Testimonials ......................................................................................................................... 39

Most Internet marketers don’t give prospects enough compelling reasons to do business

with them now ...................................................................................................................... 40

Most Internet marketers talk about their credentials, instead of the benefit the credentials

will GIVE to prospects ......................................................................................................... 42



What is the most important factor in converting a browser into a buyer?......43

Are conversion rates solely dependent on the web copy? ..................................45

What does ‘strategy’ mean to you? ......................................................................46

What are your thoughts on Email marketing? ...................................................48

Is using physical mail a ‘step backward’ - should we move forward instead?49

Email has advantages for split-testing and snail Mail has more risk? .............50

What are your thoughts on postcards?................................................................51

Why Did You Disappear after the success of Advertising Magic? ...................53

Why are You creating your own Membership site?...........................................54

Copywriting for “Newbies”...................................................................................55

How do you suggest that a “newbie” approach copywriting? ............................................ 55

How long might a “newbie” take to become a competent copywriter? ............................. 56

How do you suggest a “newbie” practice copywriting? ...................................................... 58

How can existing copywriters 'sharpen' their chops? ......................................................... 59

What is YOUR process for writing copy? ............................................................................ 60



Do you believe that marketing is a spiritual activity? ........................................63

What’s important in an ad’s appearance, what “cosmetics” are best?............65

What are your ‘tricks’ to encourage readership? ............................................................... 66

How should popups, pop unders, pop outs or Flyins be used?........................................... 66

Do you agree that all the 'good stuff' is in the 'old stuff'?..................................68

That being said, who is your personal favorite ‘old’ copywriter and why? ...................... 70

Advertising On-line................................................................................................71

Will you share your strategy for advertising online? .......................................................... 71

Pay per click advertising – How can readers improve click-through rates?..................... 71

Brian’s recommended resources ..........................................................................72

The Gary Halbert Letter ........................................................................................................ 72

Brian Keith Voiles’ “Advertising Magic” Course ............................................................... 72

John Carlton’s Copywriting Course ..................................................................................... 73

The Brian Keith Voilles’ Killer Copy Clinic ........................................................................ 73



About The Authors

Brian Keith Voiles is regarded as one of the world’s greatest copywriters. His course,

“Advertising Magic”, is widely acclaimed as the ‘bible’ of copywriting.

Brian’s list of top dog clients includes:

Ted Nicholas, author of "How To Form Your Own Corporation For Under $75"

Gary Halbert, author of "How To Make Maximum Money In Minimum Time"

Jay Abraham, marketing consultant and author

Dr. Stephen R. Covey, N.Y. Time’s best-selling author of "The Seven Habits Of Highly

Effective People"

Robert Allen, Best-selling author of "No Money Down Real Estate”

Brian routinely commands up to $25, 000 for a sales letter, and has helped coach literally

thousands of ‘rookies’ to become good copywriters.

Subscribe to his newsletter at: www.briankeithkillercopyclinic.com

http://www.briankeithkillercopyclinic.com/go.php?affiliate=3305



Jo Han Mok is, himself, a copywriter who’s highly in-demand. He has written copy for some of

the top names in marketing and one of his sales letters grossed 6 figures in 4 weeks.

Jo Han is also a frequent guest and featured speaker at Internet Marketing boot-camps and

conferences (where people pay up to $4997 to attend) on subjects such as Copywriting and Joint

Venture Marketing.

He specializes in showing the lucky people that attend these sessions 'simple but unorthodox

shortcuts' that they can apply to their marketing immediately to explode their sales and income.

Jo Han's recent works include "The E-Code", co-authored with Dr Joe Vitale.

Get Jo Han’s explosive Internet Marketing Tips here:

http://www.Superfastprofit.com

http://www.superfastprofit.com/



The Importance of Copywriting to Net Marketers

Why is Copywriting Important for Internet Marketers?

It takes a sincere communication from you to your prospects to get them to trust you enough to

give their money to you to get the benefits you’ve promised in your communications to them.

Mastering communication and persuasion is how you make money on the Internet. And that’s

what copywriting is in a nutshell.

Once you’ve targeted a hungry crowd, there’s absolutely nothing more important than

copywriting… at least, if you really want to succeed big-time on the Internet.

The truth is, no business can survive without customers. It doesn’t matter how great your

product is or how wonderful your service is – if you don’t have customers all you really have is

zero cash flow.

Mastering the skill of copywriting for your online business is the bridge that joins your great

product or service with the cash-paying customers who want to get the benefit of your product or

service.

Most online businesses are good at what they do… but they’re not good at getting customers.

And a business without customers won’t put a single dime in your pocket.

But knowing how to connect to your target market with a heartfelt sincerity and passion they can

feel is what will get them to buy from you again and again. And that’s exactly what well-crafted

copywriting gives you. If you can write passionate copy that connects with your prospects, your

prospects will line-up in droves to purchase from you over and over again.



You can’t do that without communicating your passion and the benefits your prospect will enjoy

from connecting with you. And for most Internet Marketers, communicating your passion and

its benefits means one thing: skillful copywriting.

In my opinion, there’s no more valuable skill for an Internet Marketer to absolutely own than

copywriting. And it’s not that you’re going to go out there and start writing copy for everyone

and their dog… that’s not what I mean when I talk about mastering copywriting.

What I mean is this: you must become THE master copywriter for YOUR BUSINESS… for

your niche… for your target market.

Is there a substitute for writing great copy?

Absolutely not! The only “substitute” is to get on the phone and cold-call your prospects, or to

go door-to-door to pitch your prospects. If you expect to sell on the Internet, you must do one of

two things:

1. Become your own master copywriter

2. Pay serious money to hire a master copywriter

Would it be a good idea to hire a copywriter instead?

That’s fine… hiring a copywriter is an option. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as

you can afford to pay him. You also need to make sure it’s someone that can get excited about

what you’re selling.

Perhaps they even have experience with your target market? That’s not always possible to find

in a copywriter.



But a really good writer can sell to any market – because they are able to conduct the necessary

market research and get inside the life, brain and world of their prospect.

You need to realize (and I’m cutting my own throat by being honest with you)

you are the very best copywriter for what you’re selling

If it’s a product that you passionately believe in, there’s no better copywriter than you for your

business.

What should I look for if I hire a copywriter?

If you DO hire a copywriter, you need to look out for several things:

Are they a direct response copywriter or do they write to “promote” your image?

In other words, do they write to sell?? You want a direct response copywriter.

Check their track record.

Do they have testimonials that talk about specific results clients have gotten or do they

just have testimonials that say, “great job” or other generalities?

Have they got some serious experience under their belt?

Personally, I think you should hire a writer that’s made tons of profits for their clients

through the mail if you can afford them. Writers who successfully sell through the mail

know their stuff – no questions asked.



However, there are some good “Internet-only” copywriters out there, too.

Be prepared to pay several thousand dollars. I have packages that range from $6,500 to

$35,000… plus 5% of the gross sales generated. Other decent copywriters tend to charge no less

than $5,000 or so… depending on how “hungry” they are when you call.

Quite honestly, copywriters’ fees will vary depending on how bad they need the business. That

can be a good thing for you – but then again, are you sure you want to hire a copywriter that

can’t keep himself busy?

Also, hiring a copywriter in the middle of Summer can make it less expensive for you, because

he’s probably less busy at that time. But don’t expect to call in the Fall and get a steep discount.

In fact, you may not get through to the guy during that season if he’s really good.

January and February are great months to be in the mail, and any copywriter worth his salt is

pretty much booked solid during October and November.

At least, that’s been my experience.



What Common Mistakes Do Most Internet Marketers Make?

There are two categories of mistakes that are being made right now;

1. Marketing Mistakes… and

2. Copywriting Mistakes.

I have a whole list of each that we can cover!

I’ll put the marketing mistakes first because, if you don’t have these right then it won’t matter

how many copywriting mistakes you’re making – chances are, no one wants to do business with

you anyway!

Marketing Mistakes

Marketing Mistake Number One:

Your Business Focuses On Itself, and Not On Your Prospects and Customers.

Now, this may seem a bit too obvious at first. But, if you look through your local Yellow

Pages, I’m sure that you’ll see what I mean. Pick up your Yellow Pages right now and glance

through.



Answer this question: Are most of the ads telling you the benefits you get if you become a

customer of the advertiser?

Or: Are the ads telling you about the advertisers;

where they are

how wonderful they are

what they do, how great their quality is, or

how great their service is?

99% of the time… Their Advertisements Are All Focused on Them!

99% of websites are totally focused on the business and not on what the business can do for

YOU, the prospect! You'll find the same thing happening in every medium, but especially on the

Internet.

Any website you create should start out by focusing on what the prospects want. Every sentence

should show that you understand your prospects’ desires. Until your marketing efforts focus on

the prospects’ wants, your marketing is handicapped.

Marketing Mistake Number Two:

Failing To Determine Specifically Who Your Market Is, Their Wants & Needs

I see this all the time.

I go to a website and find a catalog of choices rather than a targeted sales message aimed right at

what I want.

What’s happening here is, usually, the marketer doesn’t really know who he’s selling to, so he

tries to sell to everyone, hoping to snag a sale here and there!



Every successful Internet marketer can tell you precisely who he's marketing to and what their

prospect’s want from a product or service.

He can tell you:

how old his best prospect is

who this person is

where this person is

educational and income levels and other critical information

You must know “who” is buying, and then you can find out “why” they’re buying.

Think about it....

How can you expect to adequately fill someone's needs if you never take the time to understand

them?

Yet, few Internet ventures ever bother to seek to meet their customers’ needs.

Marketing Mistake Number Three:

You Don't Try To Sell Your Customers Something Else As They’re Leaving

Your hottest prospect is someone that has just bought from you. This is your best opportunity

for another immediate sale. The key to successfully doing this is to have several related products

that offer solutions to your prospects’ other problems.



Related problems and related solutions equals increased opportunity for sales.

If I just bought a downloadable mp3 from you, “How to do a relaxing meditation in the middle

of my hectic day”, do you think I just might be interested in “How to do a relaxing meditation

that’ll make me sleep like a baby at night”?

Sure!

Think about this concept on your next visit to the local discount store…

How simple would it be for the cashiers to suggest another product that may help solve your

problem?

They need to know enough about what the store offers and which of those products “relate” to

what the customer is currently buying, so that they can suggest another product which could help

to solve the customer’s problems.

The buyer that just bought from you offers a prime opportunity to sell again… right then and

there, as well as later!

However, your products must be good and you must prove that your "back-end" product will

also solve his problem.

Here again we are talking about knowing your prospects’ wants and desires. Your job isn't over

when you sell your customer his first product. You and your staff should constantly strive to

find the problems that your prospects have and propose appropriate solutions.

If you focus on what your customer wants and offer them another solution to a related problem,

he won’t resist you as you try to "up-sell" him.



He’ll be grateful for your desire to solve his problems.

Just remember: Your customers are never hotter than when they first order. Acknowledge their

first purchase and immediately tell them how appreciative you are. Then, offer them something

else so they'll have the chance to solve more of their problems (and spend even more money with

you)!

Marketing Mistake Number Four:

You Have No “Real” Marketing Plan To Guide Your Online Business To

Financial Success.

No doubt… a rock solid 90% of all businesses (not just online) are flying by the seat of their

pants, with

× no direction for tomorrow,

× no idea how much they're going to make in the next 365 days, and

× no written plan whatsoever.

Let me say this as strongly as I can....

Your online business will never succeed on a large scale

unless you commit to writing a plan that guides you to success.



If you have no plan right now, grab a piece of paper and a pencil. Let me help you get off to a

good start.

Your plan must include the following:

A specific, clear, precise dollar objective each year for each of your products or services

A specific dollar amount for each month for each of your products or services

An objective evaluation of all of the different online, and offline, marketing alternatives

that will help you reach your monthly and yearly goals

An exact indication of which marketing alternatives you decide to use, in what ways, and

how often, and how much these alternatives will cost you in money, time and materials.

Your plan to keep track of your customers and prospects, what they buy, why they buy,

etc.

Your plan to help you sell the "back-end" and to up-sell each new customer.

Mind you, these are the bare-bones-basics that you need in your online marketing plan. With

this information alone, you'll probably perform head and shoulders above your competition.

If you want to take the plan further, make sure you include precise deadlines for each step.

Then, take each step and break it down into the smaller action steps that you can take on a daily

basis to reach your monthly and yearly goals.

It's not a difficult thing to do but without a specific marketing plan ON PAPER, you cannot

expect your business to have massive successes. Yes, you do need to put it on paper.



Why?

On paper, you have focus. If you just keep your ideas in your mind, you'll lose focus on your

objectives. Believe me I know, I've made that mistake before.

Get you plan on paper.

Just because it's on paper, doesn't mean that you can't change it. Be flexible. Understand that as

your business grows and succeeds, you'll want to update your marketing plan.

I reevaluate my plan on a weekly basis. I ask myself:

Is this plan taking me where I want to go?

Is there any part of the plan that isn't focused on the desired end objective?

What can I do to update my plan to focus more on my end objective?

Asking questions like these on a weekly basis will help you reach your objectives quicker and

more smoothly.

Marketing Mistake Number Five:

You Can’t write or Produce Persuasive Marketing Documents so You Fake It

on your own, hoping that no-one will notice!

If your car was having a problem and you knew NOTHING about cars (except where to put the

gas), would you open the hood and try to fix it? NO!



Then, why do many businesses try to write their own ad copy without taking the time to learn

how to do it right?

It doesn't make sense.

If you don't know what you’re doing, you shouldn't do it - you'll mess things up worse than they

were before! How bad could you really mess up a car’s engine if you worked on it with

absolutely NO IDEA of what you’re doing!!!

However, the real problem comes when someone thinks that they know what they're doing when,

in fact, they really suck.

No-one has all of the answers, but I believe that a small-to-medium sized company (online or

offline) will do better if they hire an outside copywriter to do the job right first time.

The fact is, most Internet marketing materials:

× Focus on the seller instead of the buyer and the benefits that the buyer gets.

× Are terribly boring, dull, and uninteresting (Usually because the company is droning on

about how great they are.)

× Don't excite the prospect to want to take action NOW!

× Don't ask for any action from the prospect.

× Don't tell the prospect "what's in it for him" if he acts right away.

× Assume that the prospect is as interested in the product or service as the seller is.



× Brag on and on about product and service features, when all the prospect really cares

about is the benefits he'll get from the product or service.

× Try to be creative and clever, thinking that "clever sells" when actually clever does

nothing to motivate a prospect to buy NOW, and that should be the main purpose of any

marketing piece.

× Try to be "professional" and worrying about their image.

The only thing that matters is that you relentlessly focus on your prospect’s desires.

Focus on the benefits that your prospect wants you to tell him about. Deliver on your promises,

improve your product or service and forget about the "professional" image.

These are just a few of the problems that you see every day when you look at typical websites.

It's terrible!

Don't play this game. Either find yourself a professional copywriter or invest the time and

money that you need to turn yourself into a master copywriter for your own business!

The truth is, you’re probably the very best copywriter for your business… IF you know and

understand how to write copy.

Marketing Mistake Number Six:

Not Establishing Your Unique Competitive Advantage.



You must determine what it is about your offer that your prospect can't get elsewhere and will

make them want to buy from you.

What advantage is there for your prospects or customers to do business with you? What makes

you unique? Your Unique Competitive Advantage is the distinguishing advantage that a

customer can't get anywhere else and you point out in all marketing, advertising and sales efforts.

It's the foundation of your business and its essence should pervade everything you do. The

formulation of your UCA depends on that specific market niche you have already carved or wish

to carve out.

Your UCA may be that:

you only sell the highest grade products in the industry.

you sell your products at the lowest mark-up in the industry.

you maintain 24-hour, 7-days-a-week service for your customers.

you maintain 5 times more service personnel than anyone else in your industry, so that

you can respond in three hours instead of three days.

you provide more information, education, and service than anyone else.

you have everything in stock at all times -- no out-of-stock, waiting, or back orders.

Most companies are "me-too" companies - they develop nothing that makes them different,

nothing that creates a desire in the prospect to have that special uniqueness.

Too many companies are just out there to sell.



You need to commit to becoming a company that's dedicated to solving clients’ problems.

Perhaps that could be your UCA!

Your essential selling advantage can carve out a market for you so quickly that you won't

believe it!

Figure out what your UCA is and start promoting its benefits to your customers and prospects

today!

Do you have a recommended format for our UCA (Say, 17 words or less)?

My only “rule of thumb” is this: It must tell the prospect why they should do business with you

rather than your competition.

It can be as long as you’d like but it must communicate clearly so that it is “obvious” to a

prospect that he’d much rather do business with you than anyone else.

Perhaps a quick example will help you get what I mean:

Home Improvement Store

“If you can’t find exactly what you need to get your home improvement project done, we

guarantee that we’ll pay you ten dollars on the spot… and then we’ll RUSH order it in for you.

PLUS, if you find any of our competitors, regardless of their size, who has a product that’s less

expensive than ours, we’ll not only match their price but we’ll also beat the price by 5% AND

give you ten dollars for the trouble of shopping around. We want you to know that you don’t

need to shop around anymore!!!”



Now that’s a pretty long statement… but who would you rather do business with – Home

Depot… or a store that gives you these kinds of promises?

The length has nothing to do with it – what it important is what you’re offering that the

competition doesn’t offer!



The Words You Use & Those that You Don’t Use.

Are There Any ‘Taboo’ Words?

I just can’t ever picture using the “f” word and it’s hard for me to picture using many swear

words (cuss words) at all.

I do use the word “damn” on occasion. Or, I may use “BS”… but I don’t think I’d ever spell it

out.

However, there is a time and place that any marketer may feel perfectly comfortable using swear

words of any kind. Gary Halbert comes to mind - I’ve seen him just flat-out lay it on the line…

telling it like it is, using all the filthy phrases you could possibly imagine.

You’ve got to consider how well do your prospects know you and your persona?

Gary’s audience is a bunch of stark-raving mad marketers (and marketing wanna-be’s) who

absolutely hang on to his every word – even in a sales pitch.

My point is this: Gary gets away with it, and he makes sales with it because he knows his market

like the back of his hand.

Most of us aren’t really that in touch with our market.

What Are the Most Powerful Words That You’ve Used?

I consider the most powerful words in advertising have to be a form of the word “You”.



The next most powerful would probably be “Free”.

There are a lot of opinions on the subject but here are the words that I find myself consistently

using in my copy:

• You

• New

• Easy

• Save

• Results

• Guarantee

• Proven

• Sure-fire

• No-risk

• Hassle-free

One trick that I recommend is that, once you think you’re close to done with writing your copy,

go through it and look for all these words…

• I

• We

• Me

• My

• Us



• Our

• Ours

• Mine

… and try your best to turn those phrases into “you-focused” statements.

Sometimes you can change them, sometimes you can’t… but they can be turned around easily

enough 90% of the time.



Copywriting Mistakes

Now, let me shift gears and talk about the Copywriting Mistakes that people make constantly

online.

Here are some basic rules that you must use to make sure that your copy makes sense. Most

people do the opposite, and that's a mistake.

Most Internet marketers:

1. Don’t write enough headlines to get a headline that’ll “hook” their ideal prospect

2. Don’t talk specifically to a specific prospect, and in a conversational and warm tone

3. Don’t spend enough of their copy focusing on their prospects’ pain and problems

4. Don’t use energetic, exciting action words

5. Don’t use specific numbers, results, and testimonials

6. Don’t provide prospects with enough compelling reasons to do business with them right

now

7. Talk about your credentials, instead of the benefits your credentials will GIVE your

prospect

Now then… these are the mistakes that are being made. I hope it’s okay if I go over each one of

these in just a little detail.



Let’s start at the top of the list…

Most Internet marketers don’t write enough headlines!

Your headlines must work. IF your headline doesn't pull your prospect in, he'll just click through.

It doesn't matter how powerful, good, appealing or wonderful the rest of your copy is, you’ve

lost the sale if the headline doesn't stop your ideal prospect dead in his tracks!

Give headlines more attention than your copy. Headlines are crucial to your documents

overall success. The purpose of the headline is to snag your prospects’ interest.

The biggest mistake that I see Internet marketers do is to write just a dozen or so headlines, pick

one and then move on. Write hundreds - that’s what it takes to get a headline that’ll actually

“hook” your ideal prospect.

The truth is that I spend hours and hours writing headlines for each project. I’ll write hundreds

of headlines to come-up with just the “right” headline!

If I go through that, don’t you think you should too!?

Give your headline the attention and time it deserves because your prospects see from 2,500 to

7,500 such headlines a week in other web sites, radio ads, TV commercials, magazines,

newspapers and direct "junk" mail... so yours had better be damn good.

A good headline is one that:

Talks directly to your ideal prospect and stops him dead in his tracks. They’ll stop for a

good headline because it practically grabs them by the throat and says, “Hey You! This Is



For You! Here's Information You Need to Solve Your Specific Problem!" Sound silly?

It's true. If your headline doesn't do this, then it misses the mark by a mile.

Promises a benefit, relief from their pain, or pours salt into the wound of their “pain”

even more – and then promises them relief. (Don’t overlook the power of rubbing the

pain in your prospect’s face!)

Lets your prospect know that, if he doesn't at least stop and read your information, he'll

lose something important to him.

This is my “short list” of requirements. If your headlines don’t live up to this shortlist, you've

got to change what you’re doing in your headline.

I guarantee the main problem is that you just don’t spend enough time on it.

I can’t tell you how many gigabytes of headlines I have on my computer!

The reason that I write so many (other than the fact that my reputation is on the line!) is that

headline number 27 will have something that’s absolutely PERFECT to throw into headline

number 344.

And then… if I took the best part of headline 344 and added it to headline 127, I’ll really have

something amazing!

And on and on it goes.

You see, if you take the time and energy to write headlines on this level, you find your websites

converting more sales because that’s what a professional copywriter does to ensure his client’s

success.



Most Internet marketers don’t talk to a specific

prospect in a conversational, warm tone.

Too many Internet marketers write copy as if they were some sort of untouchable god with

statements such as:

× “we represent”

× “we feel it important…” or

× “our team of experts…”

… and on and on they go. Pompous, stuffy windbags!

Who would WANT to do business with you if you talk that way, let alone ACT that way?

Do you want people to see you as untouchable, unapproachable?

If that’s what you really want, you should pack your bags and leave the Internet Marketing arena

now.

Listen, the best sales letters and websites are written to a specific person with specific problems.

Your copy must read as a conversation flows. It must use one-word sentences, one sentence

paragraphs. In other words, it must sound and read like conversation.

The type of conversational tone you have is determined by your market. For instance, you

wouldn't write copy to a dentist in the same tone that you would use with a pre-school director.



No matter who you’re writing to, exude a caring, problem-solving attitude and personality so that

the prospect reading your website feels strongly that it was written especially for him and

nobody else.

Empathy is the key.

Empathy comes from walking a mile in your prospect’s moccasins; if you honestly care about

your prospect, write from a space of deep caring empathy.

Think of it like this… your copy must be written with the zeal of a well thought out love letter.

This is the hardest language to write.

The conversational tone is easy… it’s the way we talk in our everyday conversation.

Here’s a way to get a rough, first-draft of your copy done in no-time-flat:

1. Turn on you tape recorder and act as if your prospect were in the room with you.

2. Start talking to him as though he would die if he didn't use your services. Literally DIE

on the spot, if he didn't sign you up right now.

Go ahead.

Do it.

“Sell” him.

To make it a little better, pretend that this person is someone you loved more than anyone else on

the planet; they mean more to you than anything or anyone.



Now... “sell” them on buying your product, service or whatever it is you’re selling.

After you've done that, listen to the tape that you made. You'll hear what your copy should sound

like.

I do this all the time... with great success.

This exercise helps you learn how to write to a specific person, which is what all of your copy

must do if you want it to have impact.

Most Internet marketers don’t focus enough of

their copy on their prospects’ pain and problems

This is what I call the “building anxiety” portion of the copy. It’s where I spend a few

paragraphs pouring salt on the prospect’s pain. You focus on:

× Your prospect’s pain

× His anxieties and

× The problems he has

… the problems that you can, of course, solve for him!

Remind him that he’s uncomfortable where he is and that he’d like to change.



The truth is that most web copy doesn't do this.

Typically, they start off talking about

× Themselves

× Where they're located

× How great they are

× Their phone and fax numbers

× Their products and services

But, you know what?

Your prospect doesn't care about any of that stuff... YET.

He’s just sitting there wondering what the heck you can do for him!

Yes, secondarily, they want to know about you.

But you must start by talking about THEM…

their pains,

their life,

their frustration



their hopes

their fears and

their dreams…

Think of it like this – what's everybody’s favorite subject?

ME!

Everybody looks out for number one. Therefore, start your copy by talking about:

Your prospect’s problems.

What will happen if he doesn’t solve his problems RIGHT NOW!

Talk sincerely, yet openly, about where your prospect is and how things are going to stay the

same (or get worse) unless he takes some sort of action.

Now… don't be afraid that your prospect will be offended or “turned-off” by focusing on and

reminding them of their pain.

Think about your own life… are you offended when someone takes a sincere interest in your

problems and is willing to help you stop suffering from your problems?

I doubt it. You’re thankful to that person and your prospect will be thankful as well.

Not only that - your prospect will get an immediate inkling that you understand him and that you

know what his problems are.



Solving his problem or achieving his desire is exactly what the prospect is interested in.

He doesn't want to know

× how many customers you have

× how many products you have or

× how many colors you have

Never start out talking about yourself! Lead with your prospect’s anxieties or aspirations.

Of the two, anxieties pull stronger. The fear of loss is almost always greater than the hope for

gain.

Most Internet marketers don’t use energetic, exciting action words

If your copy is boring, your prospect will be bored.

Do you think that a bored prospect will become an excited buyer?

Absolutely not!

If your copy is boring, dull and unexciting, your prospect will rightly determine that YOU are

boring, dull and unexciting!

Use short words.

Use highlighting techniques to draw the prospect’s attention to benefits that he needs.



Use bold

Use underlining

Use italics!

Use one-sentence paragraphs.

Use one-word paragraphs!

Make your copy dance!

Make your copy sing!

Break-up the page with short paragraphs and highlighting techniques.

Let your prospect know that you are concerned for their well being, that you are here to solve

their problems and to save the day!

Show your prospect that you'll help in any way that you can.

This is what works.

This is action-oriented copy.

This copy moves your prospect to action: action that solves his problems and gets you the check!

Most Internet marketers don’t use specific numbers, results and testimonials

Generalities don't sell. Specifics do.



So, be as specific as possible about how you work and the benefits you provide.

If you sell trade show booths, talk about "five ways to make your next trade show the most

successful ever."

Give specifics. Let the prospect know how many steps it takes to reach the desired outcome.

In short, show the prospect that you know what you're talking about. This tells him that you can

work with him in a specific fashion to give him the result he wants.

Don't write copy that is vague and unspecific. It only shows that you don't know what you're

doing and gives your prospect reasons to stop reading your website and click on to your

competitor’s site.

You should tell your prospect precisely what benefits he gets for buying your product or service.

Let him know the specific benefits; why they are benefits and what he can expect from working

with you.

The basic rule to remember is this:

If your marketing copy is so general that it could apply to everyone,

it cannot be of any special interest to your prospect!

Never forget this.

Use this rule for every sentence you write and every word you use.



Testimonials

Using testimonials can reduce your prospect’s fear of buying, but not those vague testimonials

you see most of the time:

"You were great!" D.M. Kansas

YUK! This type of testimonial is unspecific and useless.

This type of testimonial actually hurts the pulling power of your web copy. Your prospect will

think, consciously or subconsciously, "Well, if D.M. from Kansas was so impressed, why don't

they give me their full name?"

It leads the prospect to believe that there never was such a person! This hurts your credibility,

and you have lost the sell... I guarantee it!

People want to be reassured that they are making the right decision when they buy.

Specific testimonials are a powerful tool to help reduce a prospect’s anxiety.



If someone were, for example, looking to hire a magician, that person wants a specific

testimonial something like this:

"I was hesitant to get a magician, it worried me a little. After

hiring Jo-Blow magician though, our entire event was ten

zillion times better than last year! We had more people

comment on your act than any other! Great work, and I'll be

calling you again!" Jim Johnson, President, IBM.

Now that's a good testimonial. It’s specific.

Most Internet marketers don’t give prospects enough

compelling reasons to do business with them now

If your prospect, after reading your copy, clicks on a button, picks up the phone or otherwise

takes the next step towards buying from you then your website has succeeded.

If he's not motivated to act, then your website has failed.

Pretty simple, eh?

This means that every sales letter or website that you create must always give the prospect an

invitation and a reason to ACT NOW!

Don't just tell the prospect to act though, tell them WHY to act.



For example:

"Pick up the phone now to solve (your prospect’s greatest problem)."

"Schedule an appointment to see our new widget now so you won't lose (what the

prospect desires)."

You see, for your copy to succeed you must talk about your prospect continuously.

That's what they're interested in. They want to hear about themselves… so do it:

Talk about the problems that they want to solve

Talk about the aspirations that they have

Every thought, every word in your copy must clearly show that, above all else, you are thinking

only of the prospect and their needs and that you'll do whatever it takes to solve the prospect's

problem, if he contacts you NOW!

Give more reasons why than you think you should.

“Reason why” copy is powerful because it’s convincing.

As long as the reasons you’re telling your prospect are believable, always tell them your

reasoning!

Tell them your reasons

Behind your guarantee.

Behind your generous offer.



Why you can afford to offer your introductory product at that low price point in spite of

all the value they get.

Why you do EVERYTHING!

Just make sure it ties back to them somehow, because you’ve got to keep the focus on them.

Most Internet marketers talk about their credentials,

instead of the benefit the credentials will GIVE to prospects

When you talk about yourself in your copy, talk about yourself in terms of your prospect.

Think about what the prospect wants to know; that you'll give him the benefits you say you can

deliver and the benefits he wants you to deliver.

Your prospect continually wants to know, "What's in it for me?" Therefore, you must

continually answer that question, even when you're talking about yourself.

He wants to know what you can do for him, not how many degrees you have, where you got

them, and when you got them. He doesn’t care until you tell him why it’s important to him.

He wants to know that you understand his problems and have solved similar problems for other

people like him.

He wants to know that he can trust you. Tell him that he can and then give him reasons why he

can (your credentials).

Jo Hon… these are the mistakes I’m seeing marketers make on the web… fundamental

marketing mistakes, and key copywriting mistakes.



What is the most important factor in

converting a browser into a buyer?

I honestly believe that people can “sense”, on some level, your sincerity.

Now, sincerity is different from being honest, or truthful. Sincerity comes from a place of deep

empathy.

Empathy is also different from understanding, though understanding and compassion are also

essential.

But I think that the true key, the single most important factor for converting a browser into a

buyer is having heart-felt empathy. That empathy can only come from really delving into:

Your prospect’s mind

His life

His situation

His moods, and

His passions.

You’ve got to put yourself in his shoes to really “get” where he’s coming from and what his

attitude about life is.

This is so critical.



Sure, you’ll convert browsers into buyers without this in your copy – it certainly can (and is)

done but, for those huge home-runs, your copy has to be chock-full of sincere empathy.



Are conversion rates solely dependent on the web copy?

I wouldn’t say “solely” – no, because you’ve got “eye appeal” to consider.

You can have incredible copy written by a guy like me and then splash it up on the page with no

formatting, no paragraphs, no spacing and no human involvement devices and it’s not going to

convert very well.

Your copy must “appear easy to read”. That’s how I like to say it… it must appear easy to read.

The other thing that’s key to a healthy conversion rate is how well you’re targeting your market.

Again, you can have absolutely killer copy written by a top-notch writer, but if you’re not

sending the “right kind” of traffic to the site, then it won’t really matter how good your copy is,

or even how much eye appeal it has!



What does ‘strategy’ mean to you?

First, let me explain the difference between a strategy and a tactic.

Strategy is your overall planning - it means that you determine, in advance, an ultimate goal that

you want to achieve for each tactic.

Tactics are the things that you do to achieve the goal. A tactic is a marketing effort such as:

A sales call

A trade show

A newspaper ad

A meeting with a new client, etc. etc.

Understand that you must determine the ultimate objective that you want to achieve before you

“deploy” any of these tactics.

For example, if you have an interaction with a customer (like a sales call), and I ask you what

you want to achieve, you would, most likely, say, "to make a sale”.

But I would ask you to consider that you could (and should) achieve a lot more.

• Maybe you want to build in a pre-emptive strategy for “dis-empowering” your

competition.

• Maybe you want to build in an “automatic referral program” or plant a seed that

generates more referrals.



• Maybe you want to arm all your clients with better information; every client that you

have is a potential salesperson for your organization.

What do you want your prospect to say?

Have you planted the right strategic positioning into your tactical tool? TO BE CHECKED?

The point is that, if you're not THINKING this through, your tactics cannot MAXIMIZE the

results from the opportunity.

Also, don’t forget to focus on how your tactics should be working together to achieve the

ultimate goal (sales or enhanced reputation) that you want to achieve.

Most companies do not look at their tactics as an integrated program.

Essentially,

“Strategy” is the overall game plan; the ultimate position that you would like to have in the

market.

“Tactics” are the things you do to achieve that position, such as advertising, direct mail, website,

etc.



What are your thoughts on Email marketing?

Personally, I think it’s time to achieve more offline marketing.

Why?

Consider this: When you go to your email box in the morning, what do you have? … 50, 100,

200 or more emails to wade through, right?

Many of those emails are competing for one thing: your money.

They don’t even have to be directly competing offers… they still want your money.

Now, what do you find when you go to your physical mailbox?

… some bills, maybe a letter from Aunt Sally and the average person might find just one sales

pitch!

I like those odds.

Hey, I don’t know about you but I look forward to checking my physical mail every day – after

all, there may be a check from a client in there!

Now, I don’t have anything against email marketing – but it’s just not the grand opportunity that

it used to be. Plus now, you’ve got this CAN-SPAM law going around… and the feds have

already made public examples of several big-shot Internet Marketers.

It can certainly work… especially with targeted, personalized copy. But me?… I’m looking to

mail quite a few more snail mail pieces this year!



Is using physical mail a ‘step backward’

- should we move forward instead?

Jo Han Mok: “Brian, I don’t mean to be a smart-ass, but part of the reason that Internet

Marketing is so powerful, is that we do not have any ‘mail delivery’ costs. Isn’t starting to

use more “snail mail” a step backward?”

I definitely don’t see it as a step backwards. If anything, it’s a step sideways but, in my opinion,

it absolutely IS a step forward.

Think of it this way - how many offers for “Viagra at Dirt Cheap Prices” did you get in your

email this morning? Now, how many offers for “Viagra at Dirt Cheap Prices” did you get in

your snail mail box today?

All I’m saying is that there’s less competition in the mailbox these days for almost ANYTHING

that you’re selling.

So, why not take advantage of it?



Email has advantages for split-testing and snail Mail has more risk?

It’s quite simple really… test online, then expand offline!

Here’s what I mean…

1. Use your URL rotators to test until you come-up with copy that sells at a really high

conversion rate.

2. Then, deeply survey your new online customers and prospects, too..

3. Then, you rent lists that match-up with your customers!

4. Then, mail your website copy in the form of a sales letter to the mailing lists!

Better yet, capture the snail mail address of every prospect that comes to your site but doesn’t

buy and physically snail mail your offer to them!

I’m doing that right now with 3 clients and the results are astonishing! Prospects that didn’t buy

online are buying like crazy from the mailed sales letter!

There’s nothing difficult about it… it’s a total no-brainer.

Now, it won’t work for every business under every circumstance – but I believe that most will be

surprised how well it works.



What are your thoughts on postcards?

Oh… don’t get me started!

Postcards are, without question, one of the most powerful marketing vehicles on the planet.

Anyone that’s NOT using postcards in their Internet marketing is overlooking a massive

opportunity to make a lasting impact, in several different ways, on their prospects and customers.

Here are some ways I use postcards…

Send a hand written “Thank You” postcard to customers thanking them for their

purchase. And, if you want to, give them a secret code that gives them a meaningful

discount on their next purchase.

Send pre-printed “Thank You” postcards with a hand written signature… again, feel free

to offer them a discount for a repeat purchase. This kind of postcard works great for

products that your customer will use-up and need to purchase again.

Send postcards to a targeted list to drive prospects to my website! It’s cheaper than

mailing a letter. Besides that, my web site IS my letter right?! Postcards are dirt cheap!

Instead of “spamming”, send out postcards instead. You’ve GOT to have your online

prospects’ addresses don’t you? That’s why you should ALWAYS collect physical

mailing addresses along with email addresses!

Postcards are awesome.



Postcards are the best way to:

Launch your new product!

Increase retail store traffic!

Increase traffic to your website!

Target hard-to-reach prospects!

Sell more to existing clients!

Get referrals from existing customers!

Get steady leads for your sales team!

And more!

Usually, when a client contacts me for marketing and advertising advice, the very first thing I

recommend is that they start mailing postcards!

Why?

Postcards are the fastest, easiest and flat-out cheapest way for any off-line business to

dramatically increase sales and profits without spending a fortune on untested advertising,

questionable marketing or ill-thought-out promotional giveaways. For an on-line business,

postcards can boost your traffic, increase your conversion rate and blow sales through the roof.

Postcards are the “cat’s meow” of marketing, if you ask me.



Why Did You Disappear after the success of Advertising Magic?

Quite frankly, it’s because my wife left me. In fact, she left all of us - my 4 kids and I. Just

between me, you, and the fence, I’m lucky to have come through it alive!

While I was going through all that, I made some stupid decisions. One of those was to sell the

reprint rights to the “Advertising Magic” book. I wish I hadn’t done that, but I did.

Now it’s time to just let be what it is.

The good news is that I got over the whole horrible mess.

My kids and I are now happier than ever.



Why are You creating your own Membership site?

I just feel like my very own membership site is the best thing I have to offer right now for the

people that can’t afford to hire me to write their copy.



Copywriting for “Newbies”

How do you suggest that a “newbie” approach copywriting?

I know this sounds really self-serving, but I honestly feel the very best approach to copywriting

for a newbie is to get my Advertising Magic course.

I have thousands of testimonials on file to prove it! I can safely make that claim because of

what these thousands of testimonials say; Advertising Magic is truly the no-brainer way to

learn how to write copy for your own business, there just isn’t anything better.

But I’ll answer your question for anyone who wants to improve their copy without using

Advertising Magic, too.

The most important factor for a newbie towards copywriting is in the mindset… have the

mindset of “service”… of serving your prospect.

You know, the idea that “I’m going to take care of you no matter what”.

Another approach is the way that my dear friend, Gary Halbert, did it way back in the 1970's.



His idea was along these lines:

Imagine that the most precious individual

in your life will be killed UNLESS you write

a letter that MAKES some dude let that person go.

I’ve found this to be a very valuable state of mind to get into when I’m writing copy.

How long might a “newbie” take to become a competent copywriter?

How bad does this “newbie” want it?

If he wants it bad enough, he can start having it in just a couple of months.

I did.

I wanted it so-o-o-o bad that I absolutely DID NOT STOP READING for two weeks

solid!

I went, for the most part, without sleep!

I read and read and read

But then (and this is key) I TOOK ACTION!

I started writing to my target prospects (at the time they were mothers that were preparing their

kid’s birthday party – I was a birthday party magician!).

I wrote oodles and oodles of ads, fliers, postcards, business cards and hand-outs of every kind!



There weren’t any lists I could rent and mail to at the time (not at least that I knew of), so I stood

outside the grocery store and passed my fliers and ads out to families until some “official” person

came along and kicked me off the property!

Then I’d just go to a different parking lot and do the same thing until someone kicked me off of

that property!

I handed out thousands of fliers like this. That is, in part, how I became the most successful full-

time magician that the Salt Lake Valley has ever seen! I was making an average of $4000 a

month doing nothing but kids’ shows!

That’s how “bad” I wanted it. I worked my butt off because I wanted to live my dream.

I would do anything moral or sane to live my dream…

Then, once the money was flowing in, I developed ways of building my own in-house mailing

list and started to MAIL my fliers, postcards.

Then, I moved up to sending out personalized sales letters.

Within just a few months, I had a sales letter that I sent to moms whose child was having a

birthday the following month. This letter is in the back of my Ad Magic book and it pulled an

amazing 36% month after month for almost two years!

So, for every 100 letters I mailed, I’d book 36 magic shows!

Some friends, that I highly respected, told me that I should get out of the magic business and into

the copywriting business because, as they said, “You could make a hell-uv-a lot more money

writing letters like THAT one!”



And so, I did!

Writing killer copy has been what I do since 1990.

So, to answer your question, “How long do I think it’ll take a “newbie” to become a competent

copywriter?”, I’d just say, “about as long as he wants it to take.”

For me, it took a little under four months to be able to write copy for my own business that got

the phone ringing off the hook.

How do you suggest a “newbie” practice copywriting?

That’s an easy one.

Simply hand-write all the best copy that you read.

How do you know what “the best copy you read” is?

It’s the copy that makes you fork over your hard earned cash

It’s copy that practically forces you to buy

It’s copy that makes you feel that you can’t live without whatever they’re selling you.

I don’t care if it’s an infomercial, a radio commercial, a website, or a letter, grab a piece of paper,

a good-ole BIC pen and write out every word of that sucker!

This is some of the best “programming” you’ll ever get as a copywriter.



Don’t shrug this off as some “waste-of-time” gimmick… this really works. In fact, it’s

something that I STILL DO (believe it or not!) at least once a week!

How can existing copywriters 'sharpen' their chops?

Whenever I come across copy that really, really sells me, I always write out that copy by hand

(that’s where the once-a-week comes from!) That’s one way I “stay sharp”.

Another thing that I do is to constantly listen to sales, marketing and copywriting cassettes by

marketers whom I respect. It’s like basketball… you can never get enough of the fundamentals…

no matter how good you get.

My new membership site is a “goldmine” for ALL copywriters to help keep their skills sharp, if

you ask me.

There are videos of me actually writing copy for real clients and, heck, I would have paid a

fortune to sit and watch Gary Halbert write copy back when I was really trying to get good!

Actually, I’d still pay a fortune to sit and watch Gary write, just because I KNOW I’d learn so

much more about copywriting from watching him think, hearing his thoughts and following his

mental process.

That’s what my new membership site is all about… getting constant exposure to the mindset and

thinking process of a top-paid copywriter. That will help you to become a top-flight copywriter

for your business.

Another way to sharpen your chops is to ensure that you don’t get over-confident in your

abilities. I have a dear copywriter-friend who has really gone south. He was amazing in his day



but, now, his arrogance precedes him and his clientele has fallen off because he just doesn’t

bother to do the fundamentals any more.

Mind you, he’s in his 40’s so he’s still got a long life to live! But, because of his cockiness and

“know-it-all” attitude, he rarely gets a client anymore.

Instead of following ritualistic research processes (like I do), he’ll just write copy off the cuff

without doing his research… without finding out what the prospect’s pain really is. It really

shows in the copy he writes.

True, he’s been around the copywriting block a few times and made a lot of money for a lot of

clients, but he’s allowed his over-confidence to dull his “sharp edge”.

What is YOUR process for writing copy?

Hmmm… do I really have to tell? : )

I dig deep. I research the target market to really get inside:

Their head

Their lifestyle

Their deepest desires.

Then I absorb myself into their “attitude” toward life. I try to “become” them in a way - live a

day in their life, as it were.

Conjuring up true empathy for a target prospect is my greatest asset.



You know about “walking a mile in his moccasins”? Well, I’d say I walk a good 3,000 miles in

his moccasins before I even pick up a pen or fire-up the computer to write.

This is truly my edge, and it’s the first step in my process for writing copy.

At that point, I dive deep into the product (or service)…

What’s the story behind it?

How did it come to be?

Why did it come to be?

Who brought it to be?

What’s so special about him or her?

What’s unique about this product compared to the competition?

How can I exploit that uniqueness in a way that’s never been done before?

I’ll dig for hours and hours, wade through thousands of testimonials just to find the “right” idea

for a headline. But I won’t “get married” to that headline, because you never know when the

“best” headline will come!

Once the research is done, I put everything away – outta sight, outta mind. Then, I just let it all

percolate., usually for days… but sometimes for weeks!

That’s when I start to work on headlines.



I write more headlines than any other damn copywriter on the planet! Where most copywriters

will quit at 20 or 30 headlines, I’ll write ten or twenty times that! I probably have gigabytes of

headlines on my computer!

Then I write the offer… that’s the “here’s what you get” part of the copy.

I like to know what the offer is before I write the rest of the copy because it gives me the “target”

to shoot for – I know exactly where I’m heading!

The rest of the copy just seems to flow at that point. I don’t mean to get ethereal or even Spiritual

on you, but copywriting has become such an embedded process in my life that it pours out of my

soul and onto the paper (or computer screen) without much effort at that point.

That’s because I’ve put all that “effort” into the foundations; the research, headline and the offer!



Do you believe that marketing is a spiritual activity?

I think everything we do is a “spiritual activity”.

Before I go on, let me make sure that I’m perfectly clear: Spirituality is a far cry from religion.

What I’m talking about here has nothing to do with religion.

Whether any of us like it or not, everything in life is a spiritual activity.

In fact, if you don’t like the word “Spiritual”, then replace it with the word “Scientific”.

It’s a scientific fact that, when you look at a rock under a super-microscope, you find life…

energy… atoms bouncing around.

That same energy dwells within all human beings. It’s a divine energy. The power of this

energy permeates our entire being and lets us perform every function in the vast repertoire of

human thoughts and behaviors!

For instance:

• You don’t have to consciously “think” to breathe - it just happens.

• You don’t have to consciously think for your heart to beat - it just happens.

Yet, without these two things “just happening”, your physical body would die!



So, what is it that tells a heart to keep beating?

What is it that tells a body to keep breathing?

It’s the same divine energy that is in each of us. I believe that our purpose here is to move from

lower levels of living to higher and higher planes. But, in order to move to the next level we

must actually fall down first. That’s the way that we acquire and generate the necessary energy

to propel ourselves to the next level.

Thus, every single fall that you experience is really an opportunity to acquire energy and the

added energy gives the turbo-boost that you need to move up and fulfill your purpose on the next

level.

Your subconscious knows that your falls are necessary for the achievement of this goal. The fall

is always in what you might call “divine order”. Or call it “universal order” if you don’t like the

connotation of “God” that is behind the word “divine”. Whether we choose to acquire the

energy to move to a higher spiritual level or not is entirely up to each and every one of us.

I simply believe in using my falls to come to an awareness of the higher power and loving

presence that is always with us. The energy that you acquire is similar to what the pole-vault

jumper gets when he falls way back in order to propel himself over the bar at a higher level than

before.

Trusting this energy is what I do when I tap into my “copywriting Zone”. I believe that it’s the

same sort of “Zone” that high-level athletes tap into as well.

Yes… marketing is a Spiritual activity… and so is life!



What’s important in an ad’s appearance,

what “cosmetics” are best?

Essentially, as long as copy is laid out so that it looks easy-to-read, that’s all I care about. But I

do tend to prefer certain typefaces, certain spacing between paragraphs and sentences… things

like that.

But, even all that is dependant upon what the message vehicle is. For example, if it’s a website, I

want it to look easy-to-read and inviting – but I may be more flexible on the type of font and

paragraph spacing that’s used.

Let’s use your Membership site as our example: www.briankeithkillercopyclinic.com

Jo Han Mok: It looks VERY different from all the other web pieces out there. The color of

the subheads is somewhat random. Enlighten us, please?

Well… there are some red subheads… they are the “Warning” type. That’s the only reason

I used red. Other than that, there’s no rhyme or reason to the colors I chose.

This is something I need to study up on - the psychological affect of colors.

That could be a great book –about how color relates to marketing!




What are your ‘tricks’ to encourage readership?

Make the copy look “easy to read”. You do that with layout and design but you can also do it

by:

Keeping paragraphs less than 5 lines tall

Using one-sentence paragraphs

Using one-word paragraphs

Using subheads that entice the “scanner-reader” to quit scanning and start reading again

Using tasteful bolding, highlighting, underlining, and italicizing…

Quite honestly, my biggest “trick” to encourage readership is to express that heart-felt empathy

and compassion for the prospect that I’ve talked about over and over again. Your prospect can

sense your “authenticity”… they can sense whether or not you’re all talk and no walk.

And people are just dying to make a connection!… your prospects are dying to do business

with someone that will really, honestly “connect” with them and deliver on their promises!

How should popups, pop unders, pop outs or Flyins be used?

I like the idea of capturing a potential customer’s name and contact information.

Pop-up type devices have been one of the best ways to do that. Someone recently told me,

however, that an entry or exit pop-up will affect how the search engines rank you. The search

engine companies don’t like pop-ups because people (in general) are sick of pop-ups.



While I don’t have a clue how to get around the search engine issue, I think that you’re fine, as

long as your pop-up is relevant to what you’re selling - and most of the marketing sites do this.



Do you agree that all the 'good stuff' is in the 'old stuff'?

Jo Han Mok: I mean that it’s all in the old copywriting books from people like Maxwell

Sacheim, Elmer Wheeler, Kenneth Goode, etc.

Nope… I don’t agree at all because, someday, mankind will look back at our day and say things

like, “Man, oh, man… that Gary Halbert was truly a legendary master!”… or heck (who knows?)

– maybe they’ll even say something like that about me!

Quite honestly, I just think the past gets romanticized and people inflate what reality truly was.

Not many people are alive today who could still tell you specific results of some of these greats.

Now, I’m not putting down their greatness – please don’t misunderstand me.

After all, I couldn’t possibly be where I am today without standing on the brilliant shoulders of

all those who’ve come before me. We all owe them our gratitude and there’s a ton to learn from

reading these books over and over and over again.

But, there are many brilliant marketers and copywriters alive today who share cutting-edge

information that’s never been shared before.

There’s a lot to learn from the current-day geniuses, too!

For example, my friend and professional associate, Gary Bencivenga, is retiring. He’s just now

starting to share some of what he’s learned through years and years providing top pieces for the

biggest mailers on the planet.



This guy is just incredible. He’s probably got more surprising breakthroughs to teach about

copywriting than anyone who ever lived on the planet.

I was first in line when he announced his free “Bencivenga Bullets” e-mail newsletter! I

recommend it to anyone and everyone that I meet.

Check it out at: www.accountableadvertising.com

Tell him, “Brian Keith Voiles sent me!”

Anyway, to say that “all the brilliant copywriters have already lived” is, without question,

inaccurate in every way.

http://www.accountableadvertising.com/



That being said, who is your personal favorite ‘old’ copywriter and why?

My favorite copywriter (maybe you’d consider him “old”?) is Gary Halbert.

I love Gary over the whole lot of them. The guy’s been through the trenches – heck, he

CREATED most of the trenches!

I mean, you’ve gotta admire a guy who didn’t have a clue what copywriting was but writes a

letter totally on his own:

× Without any swipe files

× Without any “experts” to listen to

× Without any newsletters to read

…and ends-up mailing billions and billions of pieces over the years!

A version of that letter is still being mailed to this day!

The guy’s sheer genius. I talk to him 3 or 4 times a month and he just blows me away with his

brilliance. Hopefully, some of it is rubbing off on me!



Advertising On-line

Will you share your strategy for advertising online?

What is, in your opinion, the most effective form of advertising we can use online?

In my online experience, targeted ezine advertising can be amazingly effective but the most

effective form of advertising online, especially when combined with an endorsement is to give

away valuable information in a “viral report” – it’s an incredible advertising opportunity..

Terry Dean has been a client of mine, as well as Yanik Silver, Kirt Christensen and Frank Kern.

These guys are, to me, are freaking amazing Internet marketers. So, really, I’m just doing

whatever they tell me I should do!

Pay per click advertising – How can readers improve click-through rates?

Hmmm… you know, I’m just not an expert in this area. But, and tell me if I’m wrong… human

nature is STILL human nature… and the very same rules for crafting targeted, compelling copy

apply no matter what the medium.

So – and I know I sound like a broken record – I would recommend that you write from your

heart, with sincere empathy for your target prospect.

Then, just employ some common-sense copywriting tactics and go for it!



Brian’s recommended resources

There’s lots of stuff out there about copywriting now. It surprised me how much seemed to

come out after I released Advertising Magic… it seemed like the market got flooded with it.

Some of it’s decent… but most is being taught by people who never lived it!

If I had to pick and choose the greatest “current” copywriting information today, I suggest these

valuable resources (in priority order):

The Gary Halbert Letter

I paid $2,800 to become a “Lifetime Subscriber” to Gary’s newsletter back in 1989 and it’s now

posted FREE to the world so I’m completed ticked off at Gary!

No, I’m just kidding. Gary’s stuff is brilliant, from the man who’s truly lived it.

Find Gary’s newsletters at: www.thegaryhalbertletter.com

Brian Keith Voiles’ “Advertising Magic” Course

What can I say?… I’m an unabashed self-promoter to the end. Aren’t we all?

Check out the details for what most direct marketers call, “The Bible of Copywriting” at:

www.thebkvspecial.com/admagic

http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/

http://www.thebkvspecial.com/admagic



John Carlton’s Copywriting Course

This is, in all humility, the ONLY other course on the planet that I ever recommend besides my

Advertising Magic course. John is a freakin’ genius at this stuff. My only hope is to some day

catch up with this guy’s vast reservoirs of knowledge.

He is truly incredible and his course is worth every dime of the $1500 he charges.

www.marketingrebel.com

The Brian Keith Voilles’ Killer Copy Clinic

This is the most innovative way to master copywriting on the planet. It’s unlike anything you’ve

ever seen before. If you’re ready to peek inside the mental process of a top copywriter like me,

you will absolutely love this! Check out the details at:

www.briankeithkillercopyclinic.com

http://www.marketingrebel.com/




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