source: https://openclipart.org/detail/95137/check-list-by-yves_guillouA while back, I recorded a video explaining exactly how to maximize conversions and profits from your direct response (sales or lead generation) copy…

Maybe you watched it?  Click here if you want to watch it now.

I watched it again this morning, and thought it was really good.  So good, in fact, that I wanted to create a cheat sheet for myself, to use as I’m reviewing copy (including my own!).

And so I’m going to use today’s Breakthrough Marketing Secrets essay to do just that — create a written version of the steps for improving your copy, boosting conversions, getting more customers, and increasing profits.

And as I say in the video, this works for all kinds of copy: VSLs, Sales letters, Landing pages, Direct mail pieces, Webinar scripts, Email sequences, Launch copy, Space ads, Advertorials, Whatever!  As long as we’re talking copy that’s intended to get a response, it will work for you.

Also, importantly: this is based around the 7 BIG areas of copy that you must get right in order to get response.  Those CAN be used as an outline for writing copy.  However, this isn’t really meant as an outline, and there are much better outlines (including in previous Breakthrough Marketing Secrets essays like this and this).

This is primarily meant as a tool you can use AFTER writing the copy (whether it’s your copy or someone else’s) to make sure you have hit all the critical points that are required for response.

Here are the 7 major problems that I see preventing copy from getting higher response, conversions, and profits:

  1. Doesn’t capture attention of your ideal target market
  2. Doesn’t get read/consumed
  3. Doesn’t present clear problem/solution
  4. Doesn’t demonstrate believability, credibility, and proof you can fulfill on your promises
  5. Doesn’t establish buying criteria for your unique solution
  6. Doesn’t make a compelling offer
  7. Doesn’t make the prospect act NOW

The best way to solve each of these is by asking the right questions.

What follows is the series of questions to ask to help you overcome each of the problems or challenges listed above.  You can use this like a checklist as you review your own copy, to make sure you’ve really made sure you’re firing on all cylinders.

To make sure you really understand each question, you can watch this video where I walk through them and add side commentary on each.

My 7-part copy review checklist to maximize profits…

Capture attention

— Do you call out to your ideal target market?  Is it clear within the first couple seconds the message is for them?

— Does it interrupt the prospect, and pull them out of whatever else they’re doing?  Do you use a pattern interrupt?  Is it shocking or surprising?  Is it exciting or new?

— Does it convey an urgent problem or a compelling benefit of the solution in a way that can’t be ignored?

— Does it catch my curiosity in such a way that it’s more painful to ignore than to engage with?

— Does it feel new, unique, original?

Ensure Consumption

— Is the ad interesting and worth consuming on its own?  Does it promise and fulfill on valuable content in the ad itself?

— Does it conform to the Power of One?  One good idea?  One core emotion?  One captivating story?  One single, desirable benefit?  One inevitable response?

— Is it easy to read?  Is the FK score at 7.5 or below?

— Does the narrative flow logically?  Does it make sense?

— Is it full of enough compelling information and stories, delivered fast enough that it is entertaining and stimulating?

— Does the ad stimulate my curiosity and intrigue to keep me engaged?

Present Clear Problem/Solution

— Is the problem or challenge your offer helps the prospect to overcome presented early and clearly?

— Is the solution offered clearly tied to the problem?

— Are the problem and solution big enough to compel the prospect to action?

Demonstrate Believability, Credibility, Proof

— Is the voice one of credibility and authority?

— Is the voice confident in its message and the offer being made?

— Is there compelling proof behind what is being said?

— Are the promises big but believable?

— How does it handle skepticism and objections?

— Does it speak within the confines of the market’s preexisting beliefs, such that they don’t have to change their beliefs or identity to read and respond?

Establish Buying Criteria For Your Solution

— Is there a USP?

— Is it clear why I should do business with you over every other option available to me in the market, including going to a competitor, doing it myself, or doing nothing at all?

— Have you established clear and compelling buying criteria that only your offer fulfills?

— Have you used your buying criteria to eliminate all other options?

Make A Compelling Offer

— Have you presented the offer in a way where the value feels overwhelmingly tilted in my favor?

— Are there relevant bonuses that add value to the product?

— Is the guarantee dramatized in the most compelling way?  Does it feel like I’m trying it today, instead of making a commitment?

— Is the risk of the transaction removed from me, the buyer, and taken on 100% or more by you, the seller?

— Is there a payment plan, if relevant?

Make The Prospect Act Now

— Is there a time-based urgency element?

— Is there a quantity-based urgency element?

— Is there a personal reason presented for why it’s urgent?

— Do the urgency enhancers feel believable and not gimmicky?

This is a pretty dang comprehensive list of opportunities to improve any piece of copy…

Now, I’ve internalized most of them.  And they frankly just scratch the surface on what I bring to the table when I do a copy review.

But if you were to simply use the above to review any piece of copy you’ve written, it’s quite possible you could bump conversions 10%, 25%, or a whole lot more — getting that many new leads, customers, sales, and profits without spending another dime on marketing.

In fact, I just reviewed a lead generation landing page for one of the world’s top Facebook advertising experts.  He was doing a TON right.  But I still gave him a handful of opportunities to improve.  And now he’s getting 40% more leads, for a $30k sale.

Here’s what he said: “OK final results from 2.85% to 4% cold traffic conversion. We’ve done everything you said except for the video. Video will be done next week. So we’ll see a new split test. 🙂 Well done!”

What’s that going to be worth?  Well, convert those percentages to dollars.  For every $2.85 he was going to generate before, this has the potential to generate $4.00.  If the total campaign was going to generate $2.85 million, now it could generate as much as $4 million, with no additional ad spend.

Of course, there are assumptions built into that, but those numbers aren’t too far off from his targets on this campaign.

In other words, this short copy review could be worth over $1 million in additional revenue for this guy!

Paying attention to these opportunities to improve your copy can be very, very valuable!

Click here to watch my full 49-minute video for how to increase conversions from your copy!

Then use the checklist above as your cheat sheet as you implement what you learned!

Yours for bigger breakthroughs,

Roy Furr