Netwriting Masters 404

[Ken Evoy]

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The Netwriting Masters... an intensive 5-Day e-mail 
course on how to write sales-clinching copy on the Net.
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If you have a friend who would benefit from taking this
course, please pass this on.  Or tell that person to receive
the 5-day course by sending a blank e-mail to...

proventwms at sitesell.net
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Refer to this course over and over again as you refine your
NETwriting skills and become an effective e-persuader. Print
each e-mail out, pour yourself a beverage of choice, bring
along a pen to jot down some ideas, and take it all to your
favorite sofa. This is serious -- your online words must
SELL. So for best learning results -- get comfortable. :-)  
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Fri Jun 06 01:16:00 2003 
Netwriting Masters 404
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Hi!  No absent checkmark by your name.  ;-)

Got your USP finished?  Super!  That means, in just 3 days,
you have accomplished the following...

o  figured out your Most Wanted Response (MWR)

o  developed your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

o  built a detailed thumbnail sketch of your ideal customer

and you have...

o a good sense of the key parts of an effective sales site.

And *THAT* means that you know...

o  how to end your site (MWR)

o  how to start your site (USP)

o  what to add in between.

And you know to apply all this for your customer who is
firmly sketched in your mind.

Like anything else, preparation is 90% of any job.  And 
that goes double for Netwriting... 180%!

-----

Let's continue...

Back on Day 1, I said that this course goes beyond writing
copy for your Web site.  It's for *all* of your online
communications ...

E-mails, newsletters, free offers, advertisements, contests,
theme-focused sites for PREselling (if you belong to an
affiliate program), online stores, etc., etc.

However, no matter which approach(es) you use to begin the
relationship, you can only cement it once you have grabbed
your reader's attention first, in a direct one-on-one
interaction.

For example, what good is creating an e-mail signature file
(sig file) based on your great USP, if the recipient deletes 
your message right away?

-----SIDEBAR-----
A sig file is a powerful and free advertisement.  With an
appealing signature file, every single person you
communicate with will read about your business.

Its job is to persuade your reader to click through to your
Web site.  Make it visible with just the right amount of
words that are subtle and persuasive.

MYWS! covers it all, right down to showing you how to
develop and use a sig file most effectively...

http://proven.sitesell.com/myws/
-----SIDEBAR-----

Joe Robson, a professional copywriter who co-authored Make
Your Words Sell! (MYWS!) describes the Net as a bustling
crowded street, full of a million shouting, honking, blaring
distractions.

Somehow, as a vendor, you have to find a way to flag your 
surfing visitor so that she will slow down long enough
to read what you are saying.

Notice that I wrote "slow down" not "stop."  That's part two
of the Net challenge.

Once you catch her eye, your words have to increase
interest enough that the visitor stays to learn more info.  
At that point you take possession of the screen... 

... temporarily.  

So what type of flag do you need?  Something extravagant,
something noisy, something colorful, something cutting-edge?

No to all four.  That's just more of the same.

Pretend, for a second, you are on Joe's crowded street. 
What could I say that would make you turn around and stop?
"Nothing," you think?

What if I said your name, just loud enough for you to hear?
Of course you'd turn around!  Why?

Because I just said something that was important to you!
Something that connected.

Your Opening Headline, pure and simple, *IS* that flag.  It
must open with the same attention-getting power as calling
your name on a crowded street.

Only one way to do that... with your USP.

Oh-oh.  Look sharp.  Here comes your ideal customer now,
hitting your site.  Look at her...

She doesn't automatically stop to read... she scans, looking
for "relevance" clues.  She quickly breezes your Opening
Headline -- if it does not click, her mouse does!...

CLICK!  G'bye!

If your Opening Headline does get her attention, a-h-h-h.
She'll slow down enough to read the Subheadings and your
Opening Paragraph.

And if there's enough there,  she'll continue on and read
the whole accompanying message... as long as *YOU* keep
delivering benefits that help her.

--

Whoops!  I got a bit ahead of myself.  Back to the Opening
Headline...

Your headline will grab eyeballs only if it has emotional
appeal and offers your #1 specific benefit.  No logic is
involved.

It has to answer this question in the reader's mind...

"What's in it for me?"

(I can't repeat this often enough.  It's so critical.)

So pull out that benefits list, your USP and your thumbnail
sketch of your ideal customer.

This is where your foundation work pays off. 

Create a headline that contains a benefit and shows that you
understand your ideal customer's mindset.  That's the only
way your message will get "heard" on the busy Net street and
shift those speeding, scanning eyes into lower gear.

--

Any ideas what to use for your Opening Headline?  Come on, 
I "gave it away" just above...

You're right!  Use your USP as your all-important Opening
Headline and write your sales message around it.  Good start.

Now, turn more of your benefits into "lower level headlines"
that Joe and I call Subheadings.  You don't have to be fancy
or clever. Just write benefit-laden headlines that are aimed
at your ideal customer.

Put lots of effort into this.  Don't be satisfied with a
pair.  Write ten.

Take a look at your Opening Headline and ten Subheadings.
Order them so that they "tell the story" that you want to
tell.  If you need one or two more Subheadings to fill in
the blanks, add them.

Your Opening Headline and Subheadings accomplish several
important functions...

1) They pull the reader deeper and deeper into your site.

2) They divide your page into small, digestible chunks.

3) They create the structure, "the story," around which
you'll add your Body Copy.

4) The final Subheading acts as a joint, leading to the next
page, which is often your Order Page.

As you see, you'll die or fly according to how your Opening
Headline and Subheadings perform.  So they must be perfect.
If you spend 80% of your time crafting them and only 20% on
the Body Copy, that's about right.

No, I'm not exaggerating.  They are *THAT* important...

Create.  Refine.  Polish.

Then do it again.  :-)

-----SIDEBAR-----
In MYWS!, Joe lays out the seven most successful types of
headlines based on his thirty years of copywriting
experience, and how to use them on your site.

He then goes on to give seven "pro tips."  I follow that
with my own top dozen techniques for writing headlines.

There's so much more about headlines -- I should probably do
a 5-day course just on them.  But even that could not cover
headlines the way that MYWS! does.  Do as reader Sydney
Freeman (mom at homemoneymax.com) did.  Here's what she says
about MYWS!...

-------------------------------------------
MYWS! is masterful!  I love it!  Last week I
bought a bunch of "how-to" books on
copywriting, just because I want to get
better and better.  I'm going to take all of
them back.

(And then she sent a second e-mail...)

I have been trying for days to write this
wretched article/webpage on ebooks.  I just
couldn't make it right - until SWAT came
long.  In an hour, it was thousands of
percents better than anything I could create
before.

-- Sydney Freeman (mom at homemoneymax.com)
-------------------------------------------

http://proven.sitesell.com/myws/
-----SIDEBAR-----

Make your Opening Headline the best "flag" possible.  A
positive start makes all the difference when you interact
with your reader.  A negative one is almost impossible to
overcome.

Write your Opening Headline now. Come back to the course
when you're finished.  I'll wait.

...

...

...
 

OK!  From here on, your challenge is twofold...

o  build your reader's interest as you flesh out your
"subheadings site" with copy

o  get your MWR (Most Wanted Response)

For example, let's say your MWR is to get the reader to
place an order.

Everything you write on your Web site must pull your reader
to your Order Page.  Smoothly.  Carefully.

Be constantly aware of that twitching mouse-finger.

How do you become an e-persuader?  By BECOMING your
customer.  Let your passion and excitement about your
product or service fuel your creative energy as you write
the copy.

Remember, use a minimum of hype-laden adjectives and
adverbs.  Stick with solid benefit-laden copy.

Every word must contribute to persuading your visitor to
buy.  That includes your...

o guarantee

o privacy statement

o testimonials

o order form

-----SIDEBAR-----
Especially your order form.  So many copywriters ease up at
this point, just as they should be restating the USP and
closing the sale.
-----SIDEBAR-----

Eliminate objections.  Build confidence.  Make your reader
*WANT* to take action, to

... order your product or service (your MWR,in this example.)

Your sales message is like an orchestra.  All parts of it
must be playing the same tune beautifully to keep the
patrons in their seat.

So step on the podium, conductor.  Use your MWR as the
baton.  Let your sales message flow.

Make each paragraph, each section, each page fit together.
Make each joint magnetic.

Compel the reader to continue on with enthusiasm and
excitement.  Present your information in short, tight
bursts.  Make every line snap.

Time to leave before you generate serious heat.  :-)

See you tomorrow, our final day together.

- Ken

P.S. Homework assignment?  Make your Opening Headline and
Subheadings perfect.  Review the list above of what these
should accomplish.  Don't stop perfecting them!

Then start writing the copy that will follow... the Opening
Paragraph is especially important and must build upon your
USP.

You don't have to complete all the copy.  You can do that
after we finish this course.  But do start jotting down
thoughts for each section, as they come to you.

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Contact info: E-mail us at support at sitesell.com
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Written by Ken Evoy, M.D.
President, SiteSell.com 
(c) copyright 2003 SiteSell.com 
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"Make Your Words Sell!" TM SiteSell.com 
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