YAWN…

That’s the WORST response you can get to your copy.

Absolutely the worst thing you can do is to be BORING.  Because even if you have the best offer in the world, going to the best market, you’re going to miss out on most (if not all) sales by being boring.

I keep coming back to a specific phrase recently: “A war of attention attrition.”

In any and every advertisement, that’s what you’re fighting.  Your challenge is to get enough of your compelling story out there for them to take action, before they get bored and click away.

Gary Halbert used to teach that your advertisement had to be the most interesting thing they came across all day, all week, all month.

Eugene Schwartz once said that every piece of copy should be like a Hollywood action film: a barrage of bullets, followed by just enough plot to tell you what’s going on, followed by explosions, followed by a touch of plot, and back and forth between action and plot until your heart is beating out of your chest.

Don’t write “safe” copy…

Now, I have to issue a warning here.  Because if you write copy for clients, they will often wince at anything besides safe copy.  Your clients usually have more at stake than you do, in putting certain messages out.  However, the best clients are the ones willing to test copy that makes them uncomfortable, to see how the market responds.

What’s “safe” copy?  Image copy.  Brand copy.  Copy that toots your own horn.  Copy that talks about how many years you’ve been in business.  Copy that talks about service, and quality.

None of this is bad in itself.  But it doesn’t make sales on its own.

How about an embarrassing story?  Or sharing about your darkest hour?  Or…  SOMETHING that will make the reader FEEL?

How about this?

When I was in my first marketing job, I got called into my boss’s boss’s office.  He was the owner of the company.  My boss was in there, too.

Between my boss and I, we were in charge of all marketing decisions for the company.

And our boss — the company’s owner — said something that will forever stick in my mind…

“If we don’t have an infomercial for [PRODUCT] within a year, every one of us in this room should be fired.”

I looked my boss in the eyes.  I knew an infomercial for this product would be fun to make — but an incredibly dumb business decision.  I could tell my boss agreed.

But all either of us could manage to get out was a dumbfounded “Uh, OK.”

Our mutual boss and the company’s owner said something like, “Well, let’s go make it happen.”

It was a short meeting.

I talked with my direct boss afterward.  And we agreed it was an incredibly dumb business idea.  We might be able to make it work.  But we’d be even more likely to tank the company in trying.

Now, I’d been doing a little freelance copywriting on the side.  And even before I got that job, I told them my eventual goal was to go off and become a freelance copywriter.

But it was during that meeting that I knew, deep down in my gut, that I had to make copywriting work.

Because I could not rely on the crazy whims of this boss — or any other — for my livelihood.

And it wasn’t long after that meeting that I launched my freelance copywriting career — and learned what you really need to do to succeed as a freelance copywriter.

Those are the lessons I share in The Copywriter’s Guide to Getting Paid.

Telling that story could make someone angry…

But do you see how it’s WAY MORE INTERESTING and less boring of a way to talk about my book than, say, teasing the contents of the book?

Sure, it helps to eventually talk about your product, its features, and the benefits it will convey.

But that’s not very interesting.

On the other hand, you have an interesting story.

Your client has an interesting story.

The product has an interesting story.

The market has an interesting story.

And it’s quite possible that finding that one truly compelling story is what will get the prospect all stirred up…

It’s what will get them engaged and interested.

It’s what will buy their attention for the length of your selling message.

And when you tell that story, and tie it to your prospect, you will win the war of attention attrition…

They stick with you through that story…

Through the product introduction…

Through the offer…

And when it comes time to ask for action, it will be natural and something they’re excited to do.

And if you don’t have a copy of The Copywriter’s Guide to Getting Paid yet, why the heck not?

Yours for bigger breakthroughs,

Roy Furr