How to WIN
…With Clayton Makepeace
Two types of assignments:
“The Launch” “The New Control”
“Beat a respected copywriter
and you can
write your own ticket!”
– Some guy
Three chances to win:
1. Get more orders
> Theme
> Benefits
> Offer
2. Get more money with each order
> Bump
3. Lower promotion cost
> Format
It’s about ROI (Return on Investment)
Example:
Responses 10,000
X Average Unit of Sale $50
--------------------------------------------
Gross Revenues: $500,000
/Promo Cost: $250,000
ROI: 200%
Ask:
“What’s more important to you?
“New customers?
“Or Money?”
HOW WILL MY WORK BE JUDGED?
The “Control’s” advantage:
P Proven theme
P Proven format or strategy
P Residual sales due to market saturation
Your “Edge”
P Response attrition
P Borrow and improve on what’s working
P Fresher theme
P Offer improvement
P Employ dominant resident emotion copy
10 opportunities to beat a strong control:
1. Theme 6. Product description
2. Headline 7. Offer
3. Opening copy 8. Guarantee
4. Credibility 9. Urgency
5. Premiums 10. Format
STEP #1:
Grill your client:
1. How many promos will I be up against?
2. What are the response rates and AUS of the current
control?
3. How many test panels can I
submit?
4. Can I have new premiums?
5. Can I change the offer?
6. What themes are resonating
best now?
7. Can you help with research?
Step #2:
Size up the competition
What’s making it work?
What could you have done
better?
How can you make your
message more credible?
What are competitors doing
better?
What does this say about your
prospect?
New ideas from unrelated
TIP: Outline the control to look
industries?
for strengths and weaknesses.
A word (or two) about your selected format …
A word about the strategy …
Typical Lead/Conversion Flow
Ask:
What’s the upsell?
What’s the downsell?
What’s the conversion strategy?
May I see all components of the control
campaign?
Step 3:
Size up your prospect
1. Walk a mile in his shoes.
> Go to the doctor.
> Open a brokerage account
2. Chat with friends and family
3. Talk to strangers
4. Immerse yourself in pop culture
5. Ask customers
6. Ask ANGRY customers
7. Decode competitors’ copy
8. Check the polls
9. Talk to the media people
Step 4:
Select your theme
Macro: A forecast that will either threaten or enrich your
reader.
News: A current story that will impact your prospect.
Consumerist: Debunk
a myth or expose a
scandal.
Strategy: Provide a
better plan.
Intrigue: Tease
or reveal something that will
change your prospect’s
life.
Step 5:
Select your lead style:
n Proposition/statement lead
n Benefit lead
n Scare lead
n Topical lead
n Story lead
Your most powerful advantage …
Hint #1:
There’s no product to sell and no
benefits to offer.
Now go write something that brings
in millions of dollars.
Hint #2:
No real product …
But they still make gazillions of dollars …
Hint #3:
All you really need is a cave, a fire
and a recently deceased squirrel …
Conclusion:
People don’t buy for practical reasons.
People buy for EMOTIONAL reasons.
Therefore, copy that directly connects with your
prospects’ most dominant emotions is likely to outperform
copy that doesn’t.
Step 6:
Add the Secret Sauce
-- Dominant Emotion Copywriting
Definition: Sales copy that connects with the
strongest emotions prospects already have about
…
P The problem your
product solves or
the desire it fulfills.
P The WAY it does so
(benefits) your product
delivers and …
P How they’ll FEEL.
Step 6:
Add the Secret Sauce
-- Dominant Emotion Copywriting
PROCESS: 1. Identify the fears, frustrations and
desires that relate to the problem your product solves
or the positive effect it achieves.
2. Identify which of those
emotions are most
dominant in the greatest
number of your prospects …
3. Craft your copy
accordingly.
THINK: How is your prospect likely to feel about
your main theme …
n Dominant Resident Emotions about a health
problem:
l Fear of the problem
l Exasperated with incompetent doctors who
can’t help
l Angry at drug and insurance companies who
exploit him just to make a buck
l Frustrated with constant and expensive doctor
visits, tests and drug side-effects
l Annoyed by the sacrifices his condition forces
him to make in his life
THINK: How can you connect with dominant
emotions in your headline, deck and opening copy?
l “32-cent miracle pill ends heart nightmares
forever.”
l “I’ve declared victory over my high blood
pressure!”
l “I’ll never worry about my heart again!”
l “No more mad, terrifying dashes to the
emergency room at 3:00 AM.”
l “Your next heart attack has been
CANCELED.”
THINK: How is your prospect likely to feel about
your main theme …
n Dominant Resident Emotions about investments:
l Fear of outliving his money
l Exasperated with incompetent advisors who
can’t help
l Angry at the Wall Street establishment that
exploits him just to make a buck
l Frustrated after years of paying for advice that
didn’t help
l Annoyed by the sacrifices lack of money forces
him to make in his life
THINK: How can you connect with dominant
emotions in your headline, deck and opening copy?
l Dirty, Rotten S.O.B.s!
l CAUTION: Landmines in Your Portfolio!
l 7 Horsemen of the coming Stock Market
Apocalypse
l Invest Without Fear (even in these crazy
times)!
l January 28, 2015: Bloody Wednesday —
America’s Day of Reckoning!
l How would it feel to casually walk up to your
bank teller and hand her a check for $400,000?
THINK: How is your prospect likely to feel about …
l Your product benefits
n Practical Benefit:
“It protects your heart”
“It dissolves the plaque that causes heart
attacks.”
n Emotional Benefit:
“Never worry about heart disease again!”
THINK: How is your prospect likely to feel about …
l Your product benefits
n Practical Benefit:
“Faultlessly guides you to more profitable
stocks”
“Options that can multiply your money 100
times over in 30 days or less”
n Emotional Benefit:
“Feel like a winner again!”
“What will your wife say when you confess
…”
“The new Mercedes … the second home at
the beach … the luxury vacations with all the
trimmings …”
Most common dominant emotions
for leads in financial and health promos:
1. Fear
2. Anger
3. Righteous Indignation
4. Frustration
5. Embarrassment
6. Desire
7. Envy
8. Curiosity
Blunders to avoid when using fear in your copy
1. Trying to give prospects a fear they don’t already have
2. Playing on fears of events that are distant in time or
space
3. Using a fear that paralyzes your prospect
4. Invoking a fear that isn’t actionable or that isn’
5. Emphasizing fear over the solution
Focus on emotional benefits:
For each benefit the product offers, ask,
“How do I feel right now NOT having that benefit?”
And
“How would it feel to enjoy this benefit?”
Write about THAT!
ALSO THINK:
How is your prospect likely to feel about …
n Your story points
n Your type of product
n Your offer
n Your guarantee
n Ordering NOW
Infuse your copy with passion:
l Eliminate passive copy
NOT “A 50% profit was earned by John.”
INSTEAD: “John banked a 50% profit.”
Infuse your copy with passion:
l Choose active, emotionally charged words and
phrases
NOT: “Stocks declined 52% in 2008-2009.”
INSTEAD: “Stocks plunged by more than half in
2008-2009.”
Infuse your copy with passion:
l Use metaphors, analogies and similes
NOT: “John earned a substantial profit.”
INSTEAD: “John made out like a bandit.”
or … “John hit a bases-loaded grand slam.”
Infuse your copy with passion:
l Use everyday language and slang
NOT: “An unexpected thing happened …”
INSTEAD: “ A weird thing …” “A crazy thing …” “A
freaky thing …”
Beware the unintended …
The acid test …
Questions?
