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How to Begin Your Sales Copy With a Story

How to Begin Your Sales Copy With a Story

 When I'm running copywriting workshops, two of the most popular questions I get is: "How do I begin my sales copy? How do I kick it off in a way that's compelling and holds the prospect's attention?" "I've heard storytelling can boost my response and conversion...

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Writing Follow-up Emails that Maximize Conversions

Writing Follow-up Emails that Maximize Conversions

Okay. You're sitting down to write a series of follow-up emails to those who've attended a webinar or downloaded a white paper. You know those emails are key to driving more conversions, so they've got to be good. What are you going to say in each of those messages?...

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Why it pays to say “Thanks” in an email marketing piece

Why it pays to say “Thanks” in an email marketing piece

I recently came across a survey, by BoomerangApp.com, which showed that closing an email with some sort of “Thanks” will boost response rates. In fact, “Thanks in advance” did a little better than “Thanks” or simply “Thank you”. (By the way, “Best” scored the lowest.)...

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4 Surprising Traits Clients Want in a White Paper Writer

4 Surprising Traits Clients Want in a White Paper Writer

I had an opportunity recently to interview some clients about their experience with white paper writers. (As well as those who write special reports, ebooks, and other types of “long form” content.) The results were interesting — to say the least. Much of what these...

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How to Write a Sales Email That Works

How to Write a Sales Email That Works

Chances are, you receive dozens of “sales emails” in your inbox each day. You ignore most of them for a myriad of reasons: too long, too spammy, I-don’t-know-this-guy, boring, not relevant to me, hyped-up drivel, and so forth. That should give you an idea of what...

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How To Write Faster Than a Superhero

How To Write Faster Than a Superhero

Confession: I’m a fan of the superhero The Flash. If you’re at all familiar with comic book lore, you know that this is the guy who runs super, super fast. Why am I a fan? There’s something about being able to go “zoom” and you’re “there” -- in seconds -- that somehow...

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4 Simple Cures for Boring Marketing Copy

4 Simple Cures for Boring Marketing Copy

I actually nodded off once while reading a company’s marketing copy. Granted, I was tired at the time, having already reviewed about a gazillion copywriting examples that day. Still, if the writer had attempted to make the copy just a tad more interesting -- rather...

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When writing copy, which features should you focus on?

When writing copy, which features should you focus on?

Like any copywriting trainer worth his salt, I teach the importance of stressing benefits in marketing copy. After all, it’s the benefits of a product or service that the customer is truly buying. However, during a recent workshop a participant asked, “Do we need to...

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How to Write an E-Book That Generates Leads

How to Write an E-Book That Generates Leads

I was speaking to a client the other day who joked, “E-books are the new white papers.” He was kidding, of course. He knows all too well there are significant differences between e-books and white papers, and even e-books and free reports. That being said, there’s no...

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Quick Ways to Read Your Prospect’s Mind

Quick Ways to Read Your Prospect’s Mind

Just about every marketing guru touts the importance of "knowing your prospect". But how much do you really know about the person you're trying to persuade with your landing page, email or other marketing piece? A few years ago, for example, I was hired to write a...

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How to Double the Effectiveness of Testimonials

How to Double the Effectiveness of Testimonials

Do you have glowing client testimonials on your website and in other marketing materials? If so, great! But are prospects actually reading those testimonials? Or just looking at them? I just published an article on my other blog (at the Copywriting Training Center) on...

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Double the effectiveness of testimonials

Double the effectiveness of testimonials

There's a good reason why some websites (mine included) feature so many client testimonials. They build belief and credibility like no other copy element can. In fact, these days, prospects get suspicious if your website doesn't feature clients or customers saying...

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Getting “Marg the Marketing Manager” to hire you

Getting “Marg the Marketing Manager” to hire you

I had an interesting phone call with my friend, Dianna Huff, yesterday. We were chatting about the importance of creating "Buyer Personas" to represent the kind of clients we're trying to attract. What's a Buyer Persona? It's simply an imaginary character you create...

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Should you be writing infographics?

Should you be writing infographics?

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this. But three years ago I hadn't even heard of infographics. Now they're everywhere! In fact, according to a recent survey, infographics rank in the top 10 types of marketing communications that B2B companies will be investing in...

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Do “snail mail” sales letters still work?

Do “snail mail” sales letters still work?

I just posted an article on my other blog. (The one for my consulting business.) It's on the topic of sales letters, and since the majority of readers of this blog are copywriting professionals I thought you'd find it interesting. You can read the article here....

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