Learn the Unwritten Rules of Copywriting as a Nigerian

Copywriting is essential to all internet marketers. It is part Science, part Art, and part Psychology, and as an internet marketer, you must either learn copywriting or outsource to a copywriter . . . and a professional copywriter can charge thousands of dollars or even naira (like I do) for doing a one-page sales letter. So it’s up to you to learn and refine those skills.

 

 
The most common formula for writing copy for a sales letter or a classified ad or article is called the “A.I.D.A” formula.

 
AIDA is an acronym for a step-by-step process which goes like this:

 
A= ATTENTION.

You must first grab the reader’s attention. This is usually done by means of a compelling headline: “Discover How A Homeless Man Went From Sleeping Under Ojota Bridge To Making #150,000 Dollars A Month!”.

 
I= INTEREST.

This is where you sell the customer on the BENEFITS – NOT The Features. You must answer the customer’s unspoken question, “What’s in it for me?”. Even though most people will not even admit it to themselves, more-often-than-not, they buy from EMOTION and not from logic.

 
When a person buys a new car, actually, they are buying the FEELING that they will get by owning that car. Just look at a car commercial. Those advertisers are MASTERS at selling the “sizzle”. You see the guy get into his new Lexus, followed by a great looking “chikala” who gets into the car with him, and as he drives off, the people on the street are all looking at him with envy and admiration.

 
Summary: Sell the “Koko” (benefits) and not the “palmwine dregs” (features). e.g (“Your friends will be kicking themselves in the butt when they see how much money you are raking in with my new profit-pulling system”).

 
D= DESIRE.

This is often achieved through urgency or scarcity. e.g. (“Only 100 Copies of This System Will Be Sold And Then The Doors Be Closed Forever” . . . or, “Order By Midnight And Save 50% Off The Retail Price – Tommorow, It Will Go Back Up To $300″).

 
A= ACTION.

Often coined as “The Call-To-Action”. This step is often overlooked by marketers – usually because they are too timid or feel that the customer may be offended if they are asked to “Buy Now!” . . . or “Click Here To Claim Your Copy”.

 
Actually studies have shown that customers WANT to be told what to do next. (“Click Here To Place Your Order”,etc). It is YOUR job to clearly tell them to click on the Order Button.

 
The currently popular internet guru, Frank Kern, has a simple way of distilling the above formula. He puts it like this:

 
1) “Tell them what you have”.
2) “Tell them what it will do for them”. (Sell the “koko” – real thing)
3) “Tell them what you want them to do next”. (“Click Here To Order Your Copy”).

 
So Remember: Sell the “koko – the main thing” – not the dreg and bullshit filled with stories! Don’t sell them the product. Instead, sell them the FEELING that they will get from owning that product – YOUR product.

 
ONE LAST TIP: The next time you are watching TV, instead of running to the kitchen for another bag of Dorito’s when a commercial comes on, study the commercial from a copy-writing/sales persuasion point-of-view. See what their “USP” (Unique Selling Proposition) is. Ask yourself, “What are they doing that is making their product so appealing?”

 
Notice some of techniques they are using. “Social Proof” (Customer Testimonials), Urgency, Scarcity, etc. Take notes and then try to “model” some of their techniques and apply them to your own sales campaigns. Essentially, what you will be doing is learning from Multi-Million-Dollar Copywriters who are the best in the business. And it won’t cost you a dime!

 
Best of Luck to you all who can use this… It has helped me and I believe it will help you.

 
To learn more about Copywriting, please read through our previous posts or through the related posts listed further below. You should also subscribe with your email address, RSS, follow me on Twitter, become my friend on Facebook, become my friend on Linkedin and become my fan at www.facebook.com/jadesojiadegbulu so as to get more effective posts delivered to you as soon as they are made available here.

 
This post was originally written and titled as “Copywriting 101 : Rules of Copywriting” by Peter Emu