The Problem With Swiping Sales Copy

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Scott Bywater


I was chatting with a client yesterday about his advertisement.

And when first looking at it, it appeared to be an okay advert to the untrained eye.

But then I asked him a question -

What's the most common question you get asked when you talk at seminars... when clients are interested in purchasing your product... etc?

He answered my question and a light bulb went off inside my head because I knew I had found the new angle.

And this is what people miss when they try to simply "swipe" sales copy from another advertisement.

They think they can just pull out a few words like:

Who else wants to

or...

WARNING

or...

They laughed when I

or whatever.

But if you get the angle wrong, then you are dead in the water.

For instance, let's say you are trying to sell aquariums - then you might think an ad in the paper which says:

Who else wants to buy an aquarium

or...

Warning: Don't buy an aquarium before you read this

... is going to be a winner, simply because you have seen these sort of ads somewhere else before.

But if I was to chat with you and dig a little deeper, we would discover...

- Who bought aquariums from you in the past (the 20% of your business that makes up 80% of your customers)

- What questions they generally ask

- Why they buy aquariums

etc. etc.

And let's say the answer was (and I am totally guessing) that most aquariums were bought for kids between 5-12 years old. And the number one priority was that they were easy to maintain.

If that was the case, then a "warning" style headline simply wouldn't cut it unless you were advertising to readers who were specifically looking for your product via a phone directory or internet search.

So what would cut it?

An advertisement which focused around making someone's child the happiest kid on the block. i.e.

Headline: How to make your child the happiest kid on the block this Christmas

Followed by a question about "how do you choose a present for your child and what to look for"

Followed by a story of just how an aquarium gave so much joy to a young child

Followed by taking away the objection of "high maintenance" and explaining how easy it is.

Remember, every product has an angle. The problem is just like I would have a problem trying to work out what was going on with my car by opening up the bonnet (as compared to a mechanic) it's very difficult for the untrained eye to spot.

And that's why I have finally opened the doors to my critique service - http://www.scottbywater.com/critique/ - where I tear your existing ad or sales letter to pieces and show you how to get it to start making money immediately.


About the Author:
Scott Bywater is a direct response copywriter with extensive experience in B2B and B2C writing. Mr Bywater is the author of Cash-Flow Advertising and More Customers Made Easy. You can gain access to his copywriting and marketing tips via his entertaining and eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/