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Lars Lofgren

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The 17 Copywriting Axioms of Joseph Sugarman

April 21, 2013 By Lars Lofgren 11 Comments

Who is Joseph Sugarman?

Well, he’s considered one of the best copywriters of all time. He’s up there with David Ogilvy, Eugene Schwartz, and John Caples. He’s the real deal.

And he happened to write a book on copywriting that has become a classic. It’s easily one of the top 5 books on copywriting.

In Advertising Secrets of the Written Word, he breaks down his approach to copy so that you can replicate it. Within the book, he includes 17 axioms of copywriting. To write copy as persuasive as Sugarman’s, this is where you want to start.

I’ve gone ahead and copied each of his axioms here.

So if you want to write better copy that gets you more customers, I’d staple these to the wall behind your desk:

1. Copywriting is a mental process the successful execution of which reflects the sum total of all your experiences, your specific knowledge and your ability to mentally process that information and transfer it onto a sheet of paper for the purpose of selling a product or service.

This is Sugarman’s definition of copywriting. Basically, it’s the process of putting your knowledge and experience in writing in order to sell a product or service.

2. All the elements in an advertisement are primarily designed to do one thing and one thing only: get you to read the first sentence of the copy.

Your entire ad is designed to do one thing: get people to read the first sentence. This is why people include giant, bold headlines. If you can’t get people to start reading your ad, you’ll never persuade them to buy from you. Never design an ad that distracts people from reading the first sentence.

3. The sole purpose of the first sentence in an advertisement is to get you to read the second sentence of the copy.

There’s a lot of formulas out there on how to write headlines and start your copy. But at the end of the day, all it really needs to do is to get people to keep reading. Grab people’s attention with the first sentence and set the stage so that they’ll want to keep reading.

4. Your ad layout and the first few paragraphs of your ad must create the buying environment most conducive to the sale of your product or service.

As you get people to start reading your copy, the next goal is to create what Sugarman calls a “buying environment.” This includes the copy, the layout, design, everything in your ad. The rest of these axioms will help you create that buying environment.

5. Get the reader to say yes and harmonize with your accurate and truthful statements while reading the copy.

As people read your copy, they should say yes to each of your statements. All of your claims should resonate deeply with them. The goal is to write from their point of view so that they get the feeling that you know exactly what they’re going through. This is only possible when you put in the time to deeply understand your customers. The easiest way to do this is by talking to them in person and asking them about their problems.

6. Your readers should be so compelled to read your copy that they cannot stop reading until they read all of it as if sliding down a slippery slope.

Your copy needs to be so compelling that people can’t stop reading. Do this by leading with a personal story, give hints about what’s coming later, or not completing answering a question. Give people a reason to want to keep reading.

7. When trying to solve problems, don’t assume constraints that aren’t really there.

When writing copy, none of us know what will truly work. The only way to find the best solution is to try different approaches. So experiment with your copy and make sure you can measure it to see which versions work the best.

8. Keep the copy interesting and the reader interested through the power of curiosity.

By building curiosity in your copy, you’ll easily get people to keep reading. Sugarman relies heavily on curiosity to keep people reading and it can be a very powerful tool. But make sure you’re using curiosity to attract the right kind of customers for your business. Using massive amounts of curiosity will get you plenty of attention but it won’t do you any good if it doesn’t produce valuable customers.

9. Never sell a product or service, sell a concept.

The benefit of the product is far more important than the product itself. So pay close attention to your positioning and unique selling proposition.

10. The incubation process is the power of your subconscious mind to use all your knowledge and experience to solve a specific problem, and its efficiency is dictated by time, creative orientation, environment and ego.

After you’ve put together all of your notes and done your customer research, take a break. This will give your subconscious time to work through the problem and come up with the best approach for your copy. When you’re ready to start writing, let the copy pour out of you. Don’t worry about grammar or anything else. Your job is to get everything that’s in your head on paper. Editing comes later.

11. Copy should be long enough to cause the reader to take the action that you request.

If you need long copy in order to sell effectively, use long copy. Some products don’t need long copy like a bottle of Coca-Cola. All people need to know is where they can get it, that it’s cold, and the price. But other products will need to take people through an entire sales process before anyone will be willing to buy. Use as much copy as you need in order to make the sale.

12. Every communication should be a personal one, from the writer to the recipient, regardless of the medium used.

Your copy should be in the first-person. We don’t connect with amorphous “brands.” We connect with people. Make your copy personal so that readers feel like it was written directly to them from someone else.

13. The ideas presented in your copy should flow in a logical fashion, anticipating your prospect’s questions and answering them as if the questions were asked face-to-face.

Each new claim should logically flow from the previous one. If you jump around between all sorts of different ideas, people will get confused and feel like you’re trying to trick them. Keep it simple by moving people from one step to the next.

14. In the editing process, you refine your copy to express what you want to express with the fewest words.

The most important role of editing is to remove unnecessary words. This makes your copy more persuasive and easier to read. A lot of people skip this step and end up with rambling copy that doesn’t get great results. The best copy has been edited and refined countless times.

15. The more the mind must work to reach the conclusion successfully, the more positive, enjoyable or stimulating the experience.

You can’t just grab people’s attention, throw out some basic copy, and hope for the best. You need to engage people and get them to form their conclusions with you. If copy is too obvious, people will feel dumb or bored. Then you lose them. Build some intrigue into your copy.

16. Selling a cure is a lot easier than selling a preventative, unless the preventative is perceived as a cure or curative aspects of the preventative are emphasized.

People don’t care about prevention. They’re not willing to spend money to prevent a problem they don’t have yet. Cures on the other hand sell VERY well. Even if you have a preventative service or product, you want to position it as a cure instead of a prevention.

17. Telling a story can effectively sell your product, create the environment or get the reader well into your copy as you create an emotional bonding with your prospect.

People love stories. It’s the single best way to communicate a message and persuade people. Whenever you get stuck and don’t know what to do with your copy, start with a story.

There you have it.

The 17 copywriting axioms of Joseph Sugarman.

If you want to dive into all this and get better at copywriting (one of the most important skills in business), I highly recommend picking up Sugarman’s book.

The hardback version of Advertising Secrets of the Written Word can be pretty hard to get your hands on (copies usually sell between $50 and $300). But the publisher just released a Kindle version for $10.

The 35 Headline Formulas of John Caples

April 11, 2012 By Lars Lofgren 12 Comments

I’ve previously discussed the importance of headlines and why they deserve the majority of our attention when writing copy. But what does a solid headline look like? As it turns out, John Caples (one of the most famous copyrighters of all time) put together a list of 35 headline formulas in his book, Tested Advertising Methods.

I’ve pulled all 35 of them for this post. I even included guidelines for how to use each group. You’ll never draw a blank on headlines again.

Using Keywords in Headlines

These are your workhorse headlines. Use them often.

When you can’t come up with anything and your blinking cursor starts staring you down, choose one of these bad boys. Each sets you up to get the attention you need.

Now that I’ve shown you these formulas, you’ll see them everywhere. But don’t worry, they can’t get overused. Now matter how often we see a headline that starts with the word “How,” we never grow immune to it. As long as the rest of the headline is about something we’re interested in, we bite.

These headlines also encourage you to write good copy that provides value through helpful information. Use these headlines to teach, explain, and help people. Then ask for the sale. You’ll build trust with your audience and prove to them that you have value to offer.

  1. Begin Your Headline with the Words “How To”
  2. Begin Your Headline with the Word “How” (It’s basically a duplicate, I know)
  3. Begin Your Headline With the Word “Why”
  4. Begin Your Headline with the Word “Which”
  5. Begin Your Headline with the Words “Who Else”
  6. Begin Your Headline with the Word “Wanted”
  7. Begin Your Headline with the Word “This”
  8. Begin Your Headline with the Word “Because”
  9. Begin Your Headline with the Word “If”
  10. Begin Your Headline with the Word “Advice”

Headlines that Focus on Benefits

My favorite headlines focus on benefits. When people consider new products or services, they want to know how their lives will improve. Don’t keep them guessing, throw that benefit straight into the headline.

These headlines will give you the most sales with the least amount of effort. Take the time to get good at them and you’ll never have to worry about your marketing failing ever again.

  1. Use a Testimonial Headline
  2. Offer the Reader a Test (Can Your Kitchen Pass the Guest Test?)
  3. Offer Information in Value
  4. Tell a Story
  5. Warn the Reader to Delay Buying
  6. Let the Advertiser Speak Directly to the Reader (Write the entire ad in the first person and speak directly to the reader)
  7. Address Your Headline to Specific Person or Group (I suggest you address your target market)
  8. Have Your Headline Ask a Question
  9. Offer Benefits Through Facts and Figures

News Headlines

These 8 headline formats deliver because they do a fantastic job at arousing curiosity. People always want to know what’s new and exciting. And the best way to show them that you have something new and exciting is to blantantly tell them.

  1. Begin Your Headline with the Word “Introducing”
  2. Begin Your Headline with the Word “Announcing”
  3. Use Words that Have an Announcement Quality (Finally, Presenting, Just Released, etc)
  4. Begin Your Headline With the Word “New”
  5. Begin Your Headline With the Word “Now”
  6. Begin Your Headlines With the Words “At Last”
  7. Put a Date Into Your Headline
  8. Write Your Headline In News Style (This one’s a little redundant, focus on pushing the announcement angle)

Price Related Headlines

Be careful with price headlines, they’re too easy. Marketers rely on them WAY too frequently and condition their customers to only respond to discounts. When you can only sell with discounts, you’ve pushed your business into a death-spiral. Keep them in your back pocket for emergencies but avoid them as often as possible.

Now, some businesses depend on low prices. Their entire business model is based on delivering the product or service cheaper than anyone else. Think Walmart and generic brands. If that’s the game you’ve chosen to play, you’ll want to display your prices every chance you get. Put them in each headline you have and hope someone hasn’t figured out how to do it cheaper than you.

  1. Feature the Price in Your Headline
  2. Feature Reduced Price
  3. Feature a Special Merchandising Offer
  4. Feature an Easy Payment Plan
  5. Feature a Free Offer

One to Three Word Headlines

You’ll want to leave these headlines for the pros. Why? Because they still need to accomplish what the other headlines do naturally (grab attention with benefits or curiosity). But they only have 1-3 words to do it.

It’s simply too easy to slip from attention grabbing to completely confusing.

Too often, marketers believe they can be pithy and cute by embodying their message into an abstract phrase or word. Usually, they just end up confusing everybody and the ad is worthless.

Remember: don’t make your copy pithy and cute. No one will get it. They’ll just think you’re boring and confusing.

So approach these last 3 with extreme caution.

  1. Use a One Word Headline
  2. Use a Two Word Headline
  3. Use a Three Word Headline

Headlines: Why You Should Spend All of Your Time On Them

March 27, 2012 By Lars Lofgren Leave a Comment

Want a simple rule for how to write an advertisement or design a web page? Let’s say you have a month to write an ad. Spend 27 days of that month working on the headline. Use the last 3 days for everything else.

You think this is an exaggeration. It’s not.

Of all the elements on your site that need improvement, you need to focus on your headlines above all else. This is also true for print ads, PPC ads, emails, sales letters, and every other piece of marketing material you’ll ever use.

Why are headlines so important?

Many people are going to see your ad or website. Some of them can be sold, some of them can’t. It’s your job to reach out and tell the right people that they’re in the right place. The headline does exactly this, it’s your filter. It grabs your target market (the people that can be sold) and convinces them that they should look through the rest of your ad.

You see, headlines are the only element of an ad or web page that every person reads. In just a few seconds, people decide whether or not your entire ad has any relevance to their lives. And they use the headline to make this decision. So great headlines flag your target market down and convince them that it’s in their best interest to stick around.

Without a solid headline, your target market will never realize that you have something that will help them. They’ll take a quick glance at your ad or web page, decide it has nothing to offer, and move on. They’ll be lost forever. If you even want a chance to make a sale, you have to hook people with the headline. People will cut you some slack on everything else in your ad but they only give your headline one shot. Take advantage of it and spend the majority of your time getting the headline perfect.

Don’t Make Your Headlines Cute, Make Them Clear

Since we’re trying to filter out the portion of our audience that will actually buy what we have to offer, we need to be extra careful not to be confusing. If there’s any confusion, everybody bails and we don’t have any hope of making the sale.

Here’s a list of cute headlines that I pulled from a recent issue of Inc.:

  • Tomorrow Never Stops Exploring.
  • Tough Just Got Better.
  • Choice is Not an Option, It’s a Necessity.
  • Business Can’t Wait.
  • Ignite a Movement. Accelerate Impact.
  • Let Your Inner Business Mogul Shine.

Do any of these headlines grab your interest and make you want to find more information about the offer? Of course not. These headlines are so abstract and cute that we have no idea what they’re talking about. If we don’t know INSTANTLY how our lives are going to improve by continuing to give out attention to something, we move on and never look back. Remember the cardinal rule of all marketing: don’t be cute.

What a Clear Headline Looks Like

Here are a few more headlines (from the same issue of Inc.) that do a much better job at being clear with what you’ll gain if you keep reading:

  • Now, TEMPUR-PEDIC Beds come in SOFT, FIRM and EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN!
  • “Their custom-fit solutions are enabling CenturyLink to add 1,150 employees faster.”
  • Check “Launch website” off the list (before lunch).
  • Build Your Business Without Sacrificing Your Family.
  • Homeowners Insurance. Now Available at your Favorite Online Insurance Store.
  • Be the ENVY of Your Well-Traveled Friends

These headlines create a completely different dynamic. Now, you might not be interested in these offers. But it’s not due to confusion, it’s because you’re not in the target market for the ad. You’re being filtered out (or filtered in if you’re wishing I included the rest of the ad).

The Most Important Aspect of a Great Headline

To dramatically improve your headlines, focus on the benefits that you have to offer. Remember, benefits are how your customers improve their lives, not the features of your product. I’ve discussed the benefits versus features concept here.

Figure out the benefit that your customers care most about and get it right into the headline. The second batch of headlines does this much better than the first. Stop talking about yourself and talk about how the lives of your customers will improve.

The astute reader (that’s you) probably realized that a few of the headlines above talk about features instead of benefits. This is true. The Tempur-Pedic and homeowner’s insurance headlines only reference new features, not benefits. Talking about features can work once you’ve built a national brand and everyone is already familiar with what you have to offer. For these two headlines, each is supported by the millions already invested in advertising. Bottom line: the rules change if you’re a Fortune 500 company and have the budget to do any marketing you want. For the rest of us, I recommend sticking with benefits.

Now there are dozens of other headline formulas out there. Don’t worry about any of those to start with. Keep it simple.

“But Lars, I’ll exclude too many people if I make my headline too clear!”

You’re approaching this from the wrong direction. Nobody cares about abstract ads that are trying to appeal to everyone. We don’t have the time for it. So we move on and look for something that does appeal to us. If you go after everybody, you get nobody. In other words, every ad starts at zero. The job of your ad is to find the small group of people that do care about what you have to offer. Forget about the rest, you never had a chance to get them in the first place.

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