These are the 10 things

that every highly skilled, highly paid copywriter does, for every single piece of copy they write. (upbeat music) Ever wonder how much of fcopywriting is actually, well writing, the answer
might surprise you. The truth is, crafting messaging is only a tiny-tiny itty-bitty part of actually copywriting. Because in order to be a successful copywriter, you first need to know how to do customer analysis and market research. You need to understand strategy and positioning. You must conceptualize a killer hook, and craft an irresistible offer. And all of that needs to be done before a single word gets written. And this is why mark my words, copywriters never charge per word, because writing words, is only a tiny fraction of what they do. That six word headline
could have taken hours or maybe even days and weeks to craft, based on the steps I'm
sharing in today's video. So, copywriters, if you
wanna level up your skills so that you can charge more for your work, and get clients literally knocking on your door every single week. And business owners,
if you wanna know what to look for when hiring copywriters so that you can find the right person for your brand and business, and get copy that actually converts, you'll wanna pay close attention because this video is for you. This is my complete 10
step copywriting tutorial, and surprise, surprise, it
is not all about writing. And because I know you guys love examples and actionable advice, in each and every step on this list, I'll give you a pro
tip, example or formula that you can use to really
help understand each concept. Hey guys, what's up it's Alex. If you're excited about this complete copywriting tutorial, let me know by giving
me a thumbs up below. And if you're new to the crew, welcome. I put on a new copywriting
and marketing tutorial every single week. So if you want more tactical
and practical advice go ahead and subscribe below. And don't forget to ring
that bell to be notified when my next video goes live. Today, I'm gonna reveal the
10 crazy important things you must do for any copy you write. These 10 steps are the marketing basics that copywriting is crafted around. So all of these steps apply
no matter what you're writing, whether it be a sales page,
emails, ads or a landing page. Now I want you to pay special
attention to number six, because it is arguably the
hardest part of copywriting, yet the most important step to really getting your copy right. And I have a special gift for those of you who
stick around to the end, so keep watching. All right, so let's dive in. Step one on my list, get to know your customer avatar. First things first, before you can sit down to
actually write anything, you need to get crystal clear
on who you're selling to, and what their pains,
desires, and fears are. Yes I am talking about
your customer avatar. You need to write your
copy as if you're speaking to one specific person. And the more specific
you can be in describing the real life emotions this
person experiences, the better. So go out there and research
your little booty off, so you can fully understand everything about your customer avatar. Now the best way to do
this, hit up Reddit forums and Facebook groups, read Amazon reviews and dig into research
tools like AnswerThePublic. This is how you learn
exactly what your ideal customer wants to know. So for example, I recently
looked up dream recall on Reddit and look at all these
awesome threads that pop up. You can see the actual
questions that people are asking about this topic. So say you're writing copy for a client that teaches people how
to recall their dreams. Yes, it is a real thing. This forum would give you a great idea on how to speak directly
to your customer avatar. Now do not underestimate
the power of this. Truly understanding your customer avatar, will put you miles ahead
of your competition. Now, if you need a little help with this, let me know in the comments section below, and I will send you a worksheet that will help you get
really clear on this. All right moving on to step
number two, uncover your USP. The USP or unique selling proposition, is what makes your brand or product stand apart from the competition that's out there fighting
for the same spot in your customer's hearts,
minds, and wallets. So in other words, why
should they choose you? Are you cheaper, better, faster, quicker, higher quality or more sustainable. Your USP should be super
short, clear and concise. You should be able to affectively
communicate who you are, what you do and how you can help, in just a few short sentences. So here's a great example
from Mast chocolate, made the right way. We start with ethically sourced cacao, from Tanzania's
groundbreaking organization, Kokoa Kamili, paying farmers far beyond even fair trade premiums. Our chocolate is certified organic, kosher and made from bean to bar in house. Now here's a pro tip, this is not a place to
get fancy with language or use rhymes or cute
and clever statements, unless they work. Never sacrifice clarity for
cuteness, cute doesn't sell. So here's my super simple
fill in the blank formula, for an effective USP statement, I help audience, with
problem, achieve benefit, through unique solution. So go ahead and give it a try. Step three, empathize with their pain. Yep, it's a fact, we as humans are weird
complex little creatures that are innately hardwired
to avoid pain at all costs, before ever seeking pleasure. And this is why it is so important for you to not only identify
your avatar's pain points, but to empathize with them in your copy. Now, of course you don't want to do this in a sleazy cringey or
douche baggy kind of way. Your customer avatar should
never feel attacked or shamed. What they should feel is
seen, heard, and understood. So this is where you lean in
with empathy and understanding. You need to let them
know that you hear them, because you have been there. So for example on my sales page, for The Copy Posse Launch Files, I talk about that dreaded
copywriter catch 22. How you can't get hired
without a portfolio, and you can't get a portfolio
without getting hired. It's a common and relatable problem that I have seen time and time again, in my decade long journey, in this world of copywriting. Empathizing the pain is not
about putting salt in the wound. It's about identifying the discomfort, distress or frustrations
your audience has, in a real and relatable way. All right, step number
four, offer a solution. Only after you've created
trust and rapport in your copy through empathy, do you pivot
to the solution you have to help them overcome their problem. So whether it be a product or service, remember that your solution
needs to be believable. Simply having a great offer is not enough to get a conversion. Your audience needs to believe
it can actually help them. So here's another pro tip, remember your audience is always looking for a reason to not buy from you. It is human nature to be skeptical. So rather than using hype and hyperbole to try and convince them
to buy your product, share stories, address their
objections and write copy in a conversational tone. Include as much evidence and
demonstration as possible in your copy because it adds credibility and it delays your prospects doubts. Like my friend Emily Lark does for her Back To Life Healthy Back
System sales page here. She shares her own story with back pain and what led her to overcome it, before she presents the offer. Step number five, identify
benefits, not only features. So you just presented what you're selling and now you need to identify
why someone would buy it. You should of course include the features of your product in your copy. That's anything your product has or is. But no one is gonna buy your product based on the features alone, which is why it is super important to include those juicy bennies. The benefits are the big
promise behind your offer. They should paint a clear picture of what your prospect's
life could look like, after purchasing your product. So here's an example from
my own sales page for The Copy Posse Launch Files. As you can see I have a few benefits at the top of my offer recap. And then the features are listed below. So think of it this way, features speak to the logical reasoning of a person's buying decision whereas the benefits speak
to the emotional reasoning behind a person's buying decision. And you need to include both
to make an irresistible offer. So this is where a lot of
copywriters can get hung up. Often mistaking features as
benefits and as a result, they don't include any real
benefits on their sales page, which means they're missing a
huge conversion opportunity. So that's why I created my, "Feature to benefit
converter cheat sheet," to really help nail this concept. All right, now onto the most
important part of copywriting, step number six, craft a killer hook. As marketers and copywriters, we are in the business of
attention and retention. So the highest goal in any
single marketing campaign, is to capture and keep
your audience's attention, how? With a killer hook of course. A hook is an attention grabbing
idea, concept or statement, that piques the readers
or viewers curiosity, and makes them want to learn more. So arguably, conceptualizing hooks and crafting showstopping headlines, is something all great
copywriters should master ASAP. It is the highest paid skill, a copywriter can learn in my opinion. So pro tip, scroll through
content sites like, BuzzFeed, Bored Panda, and Cosmopolitan, for mad hook and headline inspiration. And then head on over to my Instagram, to take part in my next edition of, "Make this headline even hotter." The comment section on these posts, is absolute fire and it's a great way to start practicing your
hooks and headlines. Step number seven, use
user generated content. So sometimes the best copywriting, doesn't come from copywriters, but from customers. Social proof is an absolute
game changer in marketing and makes our jobs as
copywriters a whole lot easier. In fact, 72% of people say that positive testimonials and reviews, increase their trust in a business. And a whopping 88% of people say that reviews directly influence
their purchasing decisions, which is exactly why it is super important to feature testimonials in your copy. Now in my opinion, the
best kind of testimonials, are the 100% candid, organic and relatable user generated
posts, videos and reviews that people leave online. It all comes down to the core fact that people trust other people. But we don't always
trust the brand itself, well at least not at first. We all expect a brand to self promote and talk about how amazing they are. But when we hear somebody else, a customer talk about their experience, we are all ears and are
way more likely to buy. So here's some examples
of user generated content from my five day, "Write
& ignite challenge." This is a message to Alex
Cattoni and The Copy Posse. Alex, thank you for making
me feel so proud of my skill, and my work ethic and
everything that I do. Because, every time I complete the module, I feel like a rockstar. Thank you. This was all submitted
organically through my Instagram, and is the best social
proof a business can get. Now here's a pro tip, encourage your customers
to share their experiences on their social channel. And use a third-party
review tool like boast.io, to easily collect and display
testimonials on your website, in real time. Then use these reviews to
identify common objections, benefits and desires that you
can use to improve your copy. All right, step number eight,
give them a reason to act now. So another funny little
quirk about us humans, is that if we can do something later and get the exact same result and benefit as doing it right now, we will wait. We are inherent procrastinators. So if you want someone to act now, you gotta give them a
good reason to do it. Using scarcity in your
marketing and copywriting, is a really powerful
motivator, when done well. Though scarcity refers to the idea, of making products or
services limited in some way, and therefore harder to obtain. This can be done in the
form of price scarcity, so a limited time discount, quantity scarcity, a limited amount left, premium scarcity, exclusive
bonuses and gifts added for a limited time or offer scarcity, the cart is closing. You likely see scarcity every single day and a lot of the times
it's that final push you need to purchase something that you've been on the fence about. Like when you find a great hotel online, and they always let you know
how many rooms are left, which creates serious FOMO
making you wanna buy right away. But here's a pro tip,
just because scarcity can get your prospect to
buy now instead of later, that doesn't mean it's okay
to be hypey or misleading. That is a surefire way to lose
the trust of your customers and completely tarnish the
reputation of your business. So only include scarcity when it's legit. If scarcity doesn't apply in a particular marketing
campaign, that is okay. You can still create a sense of urgency by sharing the benefits your customers will not wanna wait for. Because that is the other
great thing about us humans, is that we want immediate gratification. So convince them why
it's better to act fast and overcome any lingering
objections and doubts by making the purchase process seem easy, safe, and risk free. Step number nine, have a clear
and concise call to action. You have heard me say it before, confusion is the biggest
conversion killer of all time. So your call to action or CTA
must pack a serious punch. It should only take one hot second for your prospects to know
what you want them to do next. Your CTA is the second most
important part of your copy after the headline. According to Unbounce,
more than 90% of visitors who read your headline, will
also read your CTA copy. So your CTA should be clear
and straight to the point, like book my free spot now, or click to get instant access
or click here to enroll now. Now the most important rule of copywriting is to only have one clear
and concise call to action. You should only be asking
your prospect to do one thing. And that's to click, sign up or buy, not to share, comment, watch, like, subscribe, sign up and buy. Now pro tip, make your CTA personal, by using first person. Content verb actually saw a 90% increase in click-through rate, by
using first person phrasing, like start my free trial now, as opposed to start your free trial now. All right, and step number 10, is to keep it simple. The final and most important thing to remember when writing anything, is to keep it simple. In copywriting, less is more. You want every sentence to
be strategic and necessary to the customer's buying journey. So, as you're crafting your copy, be critical of any fluff or filler. Look for any unnecessary ideas, verbose sentences, or
long lists of adjectives that just don't add any power or punch. Most people read at the
seventh to eighth grade level. So you wanna make sure your copy is simple and easy to read, yet effective. Remember that just because you understand everything you write doesn't mean your customer avatar will. So I like to use Hemingway Editor, which is @hemingwayapp.com, to double check the
readability of my copy. You also wanna go through
and double, triple and quadruple check your work, for grammatical errors run on sentences or large walls of text. And here's one last pro tip, make sure to read your copy out loud, from your mobile phone. Remember the majority of online readers, are consuming content
on their mobile devices, so you wanna make sure your copy is easy to read on all platforms. All right guys that's it. Thanks for sticking around. I have a special gift for you, "My feature to benefit cheat sheet," which you can grab right
here in just a few seconds. Comment below, give it a try. Let me know how it goes. Until next week, I'm Alex, ciao for now. All right guys if you
enjoyed that video make sure to check out the next
one from me right here. And you can click right
here, to get a free gift. One of the biggest mistakes
a copywriter can make, is using the exact same hook and headline, for every single audience. Think about it, the way
you capture the attention of a random scroller by on Facebook, is very different from how
you capture the attention of your most loyal subscribers. So today I'm talking about how to write headlines the right
way based on the five levels of customer awareness.
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