- Effective copy is “salesmanship in print.” At least this is what copywriter John E. Kennedy said in 1904. It seems obvious now, but 100 plus years ago, it was revolutionary. Copy is persuasion.
- You “big idea” (mission, value prop) needs distillation into “a short, pregnant sentence as clear as a crystal.”
- P.A.S.T.O.R. – A pastor originally means “good shepherd.” In other words, be loving, caring, and protective of your prospects and customers. Persuade only in their genuine best interests. The acronym breaks down to:
- Person, Problem, and Pain – understand the person you are serving, the problem s/he has, and the pain that occurs from the problem. You must first empathize with your reader – understand his or her experience. As Zig Ziglar said, “sales is a transfer of feeling.” You can’t transfer unless you first feel.
- Amplify and Aspirations – amplify the costs of not solving the problem, and how the prevents their aspirations. For example, if a potential client aspires to earn $10,000/month but only earns $2,000 right now because of a deficient sales funnel, every month without improvement is losing $8,000. From there, you can “paint the picture of paradise” of how your solution will help.
- Story, Solution, and System – this one is simple but crucial. Tell a real story of a person who overcame a problem, who solved it with wild success. People like stories. People want social proof. People want to be drawn in.
- Transformation and Testimony – People don’t buy the drill, they buy the hole that the drills creates. They buy the result, the transformation. Always appeal to this WHY. And include testimony for more social proof.
- Offer – With the P.A.S.T under your belt, next is the value prop for your reader, or the offer. Be sure to tie it back to the WHY, to the transformation. For example, “start your journey at Acton Academy and watch your child glow with excitement. Watch your child look forward to school.”
- Response – this is when you give specific instruction on how to buy your product/service. I will quote directly from Edwards here:
“And then I will write very specific, directive copy telling them exactly what to do next:
“Click the button below, fill out the order form, and we will immediately ship your entire package to you. It will contain everything you need to get started.
“Some people shy away from strong language like this, but the fact is, if you truly believe that you have a solution that will solve a problem for people, why on earth would you not be as direct as possible in telling them how to get that solution? In fact, aren’t you doing them a disservice by not making the strongest case possible?”
