10 Head-Turning Copywriting Tips

No matter what it has to offer, every business ultimately relies on words to convince, convert and generate sales. Every business relies on copywriting.

If you’d like to level up your copywriting skills, then you’re in luck: I’ve got 10 head-turning copywriting tips for you [we’re talking about advanced tactics that are also really easy to implement].

And make no mistake, I’ve left no stone unturned here.

So let’s dive into this copywriting heaven…

Copywriting Tip #1: Pay A Close Attention To Your Headline

Your headline copy is everything! On average, a whopping 8 out of 10 people will read your headline, but only 2 out of 10 will go on to read the rest. (Copyblogger)

It’s your first and maybe the only chance to make an impression. I don’t care about how good your body copy is…unless your headline is good, you will sell sh*t.

So, you need to pay close attention to your headline and use advanced copywriting strategies like these to make it super-effective:

Give Them A Huge Promise That Will Let Them Slide Into The Sales Copy

To hook the reader and persuade them to read the sales copy, you need to give them a massive promise in the headline.

Tell them what will they get when they will read the sales copy. Tell them that they are going to make a massive amount of income, make their dog live longer, improve the kid’s marks in school…whatever!

But you need to include that big promise.

Here is an example of the no-promise headline:

“Discover Our New Product!”

Well, you wouldn’t read sales copy with a headline like this, would you? I wouldn’t. If I would be on the web, I would click off the damn page and go somewhere else…

A headline from an experienced copywriter that includes massive promise would look like this…

“Discover How This Astonishing Formula Can Increase Your Income By 300% And Free You From All Frustrating Obligations You Just Can’t Stand!”

You would read a sales copy with a headline like this, wouldn’t you?

Leverage Curiosity Gap In Your Copywriting Headline

Sparking curiosity is one of the most powerful things in whole copywriting.

According to Copyhackers, breaching the curiosity gap can increase click-through rates by 927%.

This gap is the space between what you know and what you need to know.

Your prospect wants to fill the information gap, and your job as a copywriter is to delay filling the gap for as long as possible to keep your readers engaged.

You can ask a question that arouses curiosity, like:

“Do You Already Know This Shocking, Secret Formula? According To Apple, You Can…”

Do you see how this headline arouses curiosity? I would bet that you would read the sales copy that continues after the headline.

Use Words That Will Make The Subject “Newsy”

People love news. That is the good old fact. That is why you watch the news on TV, read them in the newspaper, check the news on the Internet, etc.

And this strategy also works well when it comes to writing persuasive headlines. Making the subject look like a new thing can be extremely effective.

To do that, use newsy words in your headlines like:

Introducing
Announcing
At last!
New
Discover
It’s here!

Copywriting Tip #2: Structure Your Opening And First Sentence Correctly

Copywriting, First Paragraph, Person Holding Pencil

If the headline is the most important thing in copywriting, then the first sentence and the whole opening is the second-most-important thing copywriters must master…

The majority of the readers are lost when they start reading your headline. But the “second majority” is lost when they read your first sentence and opening.

The first sentence should be short, snappy, and it should engage the reader’s mind.

Try to start the sentence with words like:

Imagine,…
Picture,…
Think about,…

Everything that will come after these words will engage their mind. And that will make them want to read more.

Another thing you can do to engage their mind is to ask an opening question. This is a tactic used by copywriters all the time.

ASK THEM SOMETHING. Think about it. What do you do when somebody asks you a question?

You immediately think. And that is engaging your mind. In fact, when I asked the question above…I engaged your mind too.

Questions are extremely powerful things.

The next thing you want to do is to immediately show them that there is some reward for reading on.

Tell them what they are going to discover, use cliffhangers to make them excited, etc.

For example,

“As you read every word of this message, you are going to discover the most closely-guarded marketing secrets that will change your life.”

After they read something like this, they immediately know what they can gain by reading your sales copy. Also, they know what they can lose if they won’t.

And that is important.

Copywriting Tip #3: Show Them Your Authority

Showing them an authority in your sales copy

Showing your authority is always important. Think about a police officer.

When they stop you on the road, you would give them all the documents, so they can check them, wouldn’t you?

And what if I told you that the police officer is fake? But, you don’t know that, so you would give them the documents even when the police officer is fake.

Why? Because of the authority, the uniform is giving them. You respect police officers and you trust them. All because of the authority.

And it is the same in copywriting. People respect authority and they trust it. So, every time you are writing some kind of sales copy, you always want to show them your authority.

Tell them about your achievements, years in business, clients you worked with, etc.

All of these things build up your authority and trust. An even better strategy is to explain the authority in a story. That way, you will be able to make it extremely effective, and you will be able to get the reader to resonate with you.

So that is copywriting tip #3 – show them your authority.

Copywriting Tip #4: Shock Them With Your Irresistible Offer

Demonstration of irresistible offer in copywriting

Sometimes when a product isn’t selling, the problem isn’t with the product… but with the OFFER.

See, your offer is different from your product.

Having a good product is important. It’s essential, really. But… it’s not enough. A good product on its own may not sell.

Instead, you need to frame that product as part of an irresistible offer. “But Filip, I don’t know how to do that. What should I do?” That is exactly what you are going to discover…

Offer Them Valuable Bonuses

This is a powerful copywriting classic. Every product or service can be improved with some kind of bonus. It incredibly improves the irresistible offer.

Try to keep the bonus consistent with your product. You wouldn’t offer somebody a free survival kit when you would be selling a marketing course, would you?

But even if you can’t offer something relevant, something is still better than nothing.

For example, if you are selling something like a marketing course, you can scale their desire to the next level by offering them a free and signed book about marketing funnels. This will make the offer incredibly sweeter.

Give Them A Discount

Everybody likes cheaper things! That is why adding discounts is effective. It is used for centuries and it works great.

That is also why Black Friday is one of the most profitable marketing events. It is entirely based on the irresistible offer.

A company will offer you an 80% discount and you have the feeling to run into the store and buy everything you can.

This is based on greed and it works extremely effectively.

There are more ways to craft an irresistible offer. If you want to discover more of them, you can read my “irresistible offer” blog post right away!

Copywriting Tip #5: Shoot Them With Killer Bullets

3 plans demonstrating the use of bullets in copywriting

Bullet points make your copy easier to read, they add emphasis to important points and they stand out and grab the attention of your audience.

Or, to illustrate better, bullet points will:

Make your copy easier to read
Add emphasis to important points
Stand out and grab the attention of your audience

Bullet points tell your reader to stop and take notice (perfect for people who like to skim-read, or scan copy). They can also be used to break long lists of information into bite-size pieces of copy that are much easier to read, digest and remember.

But when to use them? Well, to get the best use out of this tool when writing a sales page, use bullet points to:

Highlight Introductory Benefits

Within seconds your reader is going to make a decision. Keep going with your sales page, or click away.

Bullet points can get that attention quickly. You might decide to start your sales page talking about the problem, in which case you could use bullet points to highlight your customer’s pain, or you might want to highlight the big benefits of your offer.

For example:

This eBook can help you:

Create beautiful, inspiring rooms without hiring an interior designer
Buy jaw-dropping furniture on a budget
Discover which colours and styles will leave you feeling invigorated every time you come home

Show Them What They Will Get

This is especially useful when you are selling bulk.

When you are selling bulk you want to show them 101 benefits of your sales copy and that can be only done through the bullet points.

Also, it makes the list of benefits more readable and memorable. So, it is damn effective.

Copywriting Tip #6: “What do you think?”

Testimonials are absolutely necessary when it comes to building credibility and making your sales copy work.

People want to verify their decisions and you will save them time when you will put testimonials in your sales message.

But the testimonials should be always result-oriented not some good-feel kind of testimonial that doesn’t tell the reader anything.

And to make them work even more effectively, put them in the place where they reinforce your sales argument the most.

If you lack credibility when you are describing some kind of unbelievable benefits…put some testimonials there.

If you lack credibility when you ask them to take action…put some testimonials there.

Also, using testimonials gives you the opportunity of creating a psychological trigger called “mirroring”.

But more on that in another blog post.

Copywriting Tip #7 – Break Up The Sales Copy Into Smaller Chunks

Making the sales copy readable is one of the basic skills a copywriter must master. One of the best things to start off with is to break up the sales copy into smaller chunks.

Nobody wants to read one column flooded with text. It is just too hard. And that can make you lose sales hand over fist.

Consider this example. You wouldn’t read a huge chunk of text like this:

“For me, copywriting books are the best way to learn copywriting. The only reason why I am where I am today is because of the books. It is a cheap mine of gold. It contains so much money-making information that it is crazy! And it is cheap as hell! Have you ever seen these copywriting courses like from Dan Lok (nothing against Dan Lok, he is awesome) that costs at least $50? And he tells me there are just 3 copywriting secrets? You can have a book for $9.99 and you will discover thousands of these… Honestly, if you are not using books, you are truly a dummy and you should start using them right away! It is the single best way to learn to copywrite and become great! ”

Here is the much better option…

“For me, copywriting books are the best way to learn copywriting.

The only reason why I am where I am today is because of the books.

It is a cheap mine of gold. It contains so much money-making information that it is crazy! And it is cheap as hell!

Have you ever seen these copywriting courses like from Dan Lok (nothing against Dan Lok, he is awesome) that costs at least $50? And he tells me there are just 3 copywriting secrets?

You can have a book for $9.99 and you will discover thousands of these…

Honestly, if you are not using books, you are truly a dummy and you should start using them right away! It is the single best way to learn to copywrite and become great!”

Do you see the difference? In the first example, damn I would just see some chunk of text like this, and I would run.

But in the second example, it is much better.

You want to break up the sales copy into smaller chunks every time. There are no exceptions!

Copywriting Tip #8: Use Grpahic Enhancement

Readership is never guaranteed. You need to use every strategy available to ensure all kinds of readers will delve into your copy.

In terms of extremes, you have the analytical reader who will read every word of your copy, no matter its length.

Opposite of him, you have the impulsive reader who wants the quickest shortcut to your message.

The design of your copy needs to accommodate both types of readers, and everyone in between.

However, in today’s gotta-have-it-now mentality, most people skim long copies and rapidly decide whether or not to read them in detail.

To compensate for this, you have three options:

1. Shorten your copy, which is the path of least resistance but not the path of best effectiveness. No copywriter in his right mind would do this to increase readability.

2. Or grab your reader’s attention by making the sales copy more attractive so that you can deliver the best possible sales presentation to every type of reader. This is clearly the better option.

3. Use selective emphasis. Not every word of your copy has the same level of importance, so you must draw the reader’s eye to critical areas, such as a benefits list, call-to-action, or contact information.

Here Are 5 Graphic Enhancement Essentials You Should Use:

Boldfacing – Use bold type to emphasize subheadings, important words, phrases, dates, and other segments of important copy. Bold type instantly draws attention to these important points and allows your reader to skim the critical content.

Borders – Borders draw attention to important points such as headlines, testimonials, bullet points, etc. Consider using borders around guarantees to make them even stronger, or around testimonials to immediately reinforce the sales argument.

CAPITALIZATION – se capitalization to set off a single (or two or three) word(s) which need extra emphasis. Use sparingly, since oftentimes it’s perceived as “shouting.”

Color – Blues and softer colors relax us, reds and hotter colors energize us. Use strong colors to grab attention and create urgency (red is the best.) But be crafeul to not overuse it.

Highlighting – This adds a touch of realism and color. Use highlights to emphasize key copy. Be careful not to overuse.

Copywriting Tip #9: Write Like A Human

There is this really strange dynamic that occurs when marketers start to write online.

It’s like there’s a competition to see who can write the most convoluted statement with the fanciest words.

We turn into robots devoid of emotion who are programmed to generate sales copy.

You’ll have a natural urge to write with buttoned-up professionalism that uses buzzwords and marketing language. The end result might look like this, “High-Performance, Vendor Neutral, Contingent Workforce Solutions.”

I’m not an IT professional, but I walk away from this statement with no idea what they are saying.

I can hear your rebuttal through the computer screen, “But my ideal buyers are well-educated and understand the industry jargon.” Yes, a portion of them might. There is also a portion that will not understand.

By writing like this, you lose the ability to authentically speak to your audience in a way that they will understand and relate to.

The portion of your audience that doesn’t feel like you’re relatable is clicking the back button and will never be heard from again.

Just keep things simple.

Copywriting Tip #10: Write You-Oriented Copy

Nobody wants to read stuff that says, I did this, I did that, I am so awesome…

Who gives a sh*t?

You don’t want to write the sales copy about yourself. You want to make it about the reader. Make the reader the hero of the story.

That is what copywriting is about. Talk about their problems, what can your product or service do for them, etc.

That is the secret of the whole copywriting.

Conclusion

No matter what it has to offer, every business ultimately relies on words to convince, convert and generate sales. Every business relies on copywriting.

That is why I showed you 10 head-turning copywriting tips for writing sales copy that converts.

First copywriting tip – you want to pay close attention to how you write your headline.

Your headline copy is everything! On average, a whopping 8 out of 10 people will read your headline, but only 2 out of 10 will go on to read the rest.

It’s your first and maybe the only chance to make an impression. I don’t care about how good your body copy is…unless your headline is good, you will sell sh*t.

Second copywriting tip – structure your opening and first sentence correctly.

If the headline is the most important thing in copywriting, then the first sentence and the whole opening is the second-most-important thing copywriters must master…

The majority of the readers are lost when they start reading your headline. But the “second majority” is lost when they read your first sentence and opening.

Third copywriting tip – show them your authority.

People respect authority and they trust it. You don’t want to forget this step.

Fourth copywriting tip – create an irresistible offer.