Have you ever heard of the FEF formula?
Probably not. Because I just made it up to get you to read this — at least, this name for it.
But the reality is that it’s something I think about on a semi-conscious level during pretty much every minute I’m writing copy.
And when I’m editing copy, it’s even more important. I’m constantly asking if the copy I’m looking at conforms to the FEF formula.
Most other really good copywriters also use it — consciously or unconsciously — to make their copy more appealing.
And if you’re serious about generating response to your copy, you should, too.
So…
What the FEF is this all about?
FEF is an acronym for…
— Fast
— Easy
— Free
And that’s how your prospect wants to get the results you’re offering.
The more you can legitimately position your product or service as delivering on your promises in a way that’s fast, easy, and free for your prospects, the better.
Some examples…
The world’s best investing formula is also the least appealing…
Warren Buffett is the world’s most successful investor. His track record is unparalleled. Most others who’ve made similar fortunes have made their money building a business. Warren Buffett made his through buying others’ businesses. That’s a very important distinction.
Buffett’s approach — value investing — is based on a ton of waiting. Wait for something you want to buy to get beat up by the market until it’s so cheap there’s almost no downside risk. Then wait for the market to realize that price was a mistake, and bid up the price.
Not only that, Buffett doesn’t actually like to sell businesses he buys, if he can help it. He’d rather buy something that’s a really good deal, and sit on it, enjoying the income it generates. Then he waits for that income to add up to enough to buy more stuff.
This is all a vast simplification, of course, but there’s a really important point to this.
Buffett’s formulas work. They work really well. His friends and peers in value investing also have great track records.
If you follow the value investing approach, you will probably get rich — eventually.
But that eventually is why it’s almost impossible to sell people on value investing.
Some people are predisposed to it, and will seek out help and resources.
But it’s really difficult to sell value investing newsletters or stock picking services to the great unwashed masses.
It doesn’t fulfill on its big promise fast enough to get the average investor excited. And even with the very best of intentions, there’s very little you can do to stimulate the market’s desire for value investing advice.
On the other hand, there are countless successful promotions in the investing world very similar to a recent piece of direct mail I have sitting in front of me as I write. It details an ultra-cheap stock about to “go vertical” after a government approval of one of its projects. And it says, “3,000% gains are on the table here.”
Is that possible? Absolutely. It does happen and I’m not saying anything about those claims. But Warren Buffett is still the most successful investor in at least recent history. Even if the go-vertical 3,000% gains is what will sell a lot more newsletters.
Again, it’s the fast that sells.
Another example…
Are you collecting passive income yet?
Why work when you can just get checks showing up in the mail every month? That’s been the promise of countless investment promos in the last year, especially as the markets themselves became really uncertain. (And plenty before that, too.)
And the story is pretty much the same.
There’s a program you’ve never heard about. It’s probably related to something guaranteed by the government. And there’s a bunch of money being spent. Now I’ve discovered the loophole that can lead to you getting these checks in the mail.
The reality behind these promos is that they’re typically some kind of dividend to stockholders.
The presentation is simply creative copywriting, putting together an interesting story to sell the idea as new.
But the biggest point of it is that it’s almost always positioned as an income stream you can turn on with a couple minutes work. Which is, of course, true… in context. Buying a stock takes a couple minutes, and then you get the dividend for as long as you own it.
The reason it works though is because it’s easy income.
If I tested a promo head-to-head that offered to show you how to make 10X as much but only by working your butt off, the easy income promo would outperform hard work to almost every market imaginable. (There are small exceptions to all these rules, so I won’t speak in absolutes — in this case, it’s worth noting that some people truly embrace hard work.)
Easy sells.
Here’s why I like selling wealth products…
This becomes rather formulaic, so you have to be careful that you don’t just dial it in.
But with almost any wealth or moneymaking product, you can very quickly make it feel free.
Let’s steal examples from above.
If I’m selling the stock recommendation that could go vertical and deliver 3,000% gains, how much would you pay for that? That’s 30X your money. Even if you just invested $500 in that, it could multiply to $15,000. So of course if I were asking $500 or even $1,000 for just this one recommendation, it could easily pay for itself. But when you get this pick with a $49 subscription to my newsletter covering even more profit opportunities like this one? I’m practically giving it to you.
See what I did there? I made it feel free — if not profitable — to give me $49.
Or how about that income promotion? Typically you’ll feature examples of income a larger shareholder is receiving. So it’s not uncommon to have examples where people are getting thousands of dollars at a time. And because of the nature of dividends, they’re getting anywhere from a couple to 12 of these checks per year. So if I can show you how to get as many as a dozen checks for $1,000 or more every year, without a couple minutes of up-front work? Well that’s definitely worth a paltry $49!
Again, you’re getting more money because you buy from me today.
(And I’ll reinforce here, there needs to be a reasonable expectation that if someone follows your advice, your product or service will fulfill on these promises.)
This same strategy is great for justifying the cost of copywriting and other marketing services, as well. If your copy could easily make the client $1 million or more, what’s that worth?
This isn’t about simply giving away what you offer. Instead, it’s positioning what you offer as money-at-a-discount. They’re investing some today to get more back tomorrow.
Think beyond my examples…
Consider how YOUR product or offer could be positioned as fast, easy, and free.
You don’t have to nail every one 100%.
But the closer you get, the more appealing it will be to the majority of buyers.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
