Hi, I'm Brandi.
I've been a copywriter for 3 years, and in that short period of time, I've learned a lot of things about salesmanship and communication. I've made thousands of dollars in affiliate sales, made a lot of people a lot of money, and learned a lot of valuable lessons, both from experience and from various books and courses and yaddah yaddah yahhhhhhhh.
You don't care about any of that.
If I'd kept going on like that for another sentence or two, I probably would've lost you. The title is probably what grabbed your attention, but as soon as I started droning on and on about myself, you would've said "To hell with this," left this thread, and found something on the forum that gave you some VALUE instead of boring you to death with information you don't care about.
Let's be honest here. I'm a cool kid, I've got a great personality and a kick-a$$ sense of humor, and I've probably made my mommy real proud with all the things I've done, but you didn't click on this thread to read about my career, my accomplishments, my skills, or any of that.
You don't give a frog's fat a$$ about how many sales I've done, you want to up your own sales!
This is the PERFECT illustration of the "golden rule" of salesmanship. The ONE thing that every great marketer, copywriter, and salesman knows, and probably the most powerful lesson I've learned in my whole career.
Drop everything and FOCUS on what I'm about to say.
Ready?
The #1 Rule Of Salesmanship, Marketing, Copywriting, And Business In General:
No One Cares About You.
Write that down. Write it in BIG BOLD RED letters... And underline the SHIT out of the word "you."
NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOU.
It's a cold, hard, cynical pill, but you'll be a better salesman as soon as you swallow it.
No one gives a flying F*ck about you, especially when you're trying to sell them something... They care about THEMSELVES.
If you don't speak to THEM, THEIR issues, THEIR desires and THEIR needs, or give a solution to THEIR problems within the first 20 seconds of them hearing/reading what you have to say (or seeing what you have to offer), you're pretty much dead to them.
It's a proven scientific fact. Check THIS article out if you don't believe me, and if you do believe me, read it anyway (that article is great).
Too blunt? Don't quite get it? Allow me to soften things and break it down with some examples.
When I was first starting out as a copywriter, I'd apply for jobs with a cover letter that looked like this:
Dear Hiring Manager,
My name is Brandi, and I'm a copywriter from Suitland, MD. I've been copywriting for about a year, and my skills are wide-ranging and high quality. I've written copy for companies and individuals such as Blah Blah Enterprises, Jane Doe, and XYZ & Co. My average click-through rate is about 3%, and I have some basic SEO knowledge to further expedite your progress. Blah blah blah, yaddah yaddah yah, etc etc.
You get it.
I was professional. I highlighted all of my skills. My grammar and punctuation were excellent. I gave lots of links to my work so they could see what I was capable of. I remembered everything I learned in English/Language Arts class (Ms. Lipkowitz would've been proud of me).
I thought these cover letters were great... so you can imagine how confused I was when I was only getting one or two inquiries a month.
I was SURE that if I talked enough about how awesome my copywriting skills were, hiring managers would see my worth and hire me based on how great I was. I couldn't have been more wrong.
What I didn't understand was that hiring managers don't care about you, your skills, your experience, or your portfolio... They care about what you can do for them and how you can resolve their issues.
After I learned this and started using it, things started to change immediately.
Now, my cover letters look more like this:
How do 100% click-through rates sound to you?
Pretty great, right?
My copy can make it happen for you.
Shoot me an email and I'll write you a sample, free of charge, and have it in your inbox within 24 hours.
We can take things from there.
I'll have your audience eating out of the palm of your hand faster than you can say "conversion rates."
-Brandi S.
Sometimes, I'd give them a headline idea or two (or four) right in the cover letter. Most of the time, I'd attach the copy sample without them even asking for it. The results were always the same though. The inquiries started flowing in like water... Before i knew it, I was getting more work than I could handle.
Why?
Because now, I address THEIR problems (click-through rates and making their audience buy from them) and offer them a solution (by giving a free sample).
Not my skills, not my past jobs, not how awesome I am, not my pet gerbil.
I spoke to their needs, and they loved- and paid -me for it.
Here's an even better example...
Have you ever been on a company's website and read a company description like this:
With more than 8 years experience in the internet marketing business, XYZ Marketing Group is one of the nation's largest and most valued internet marketing companies. With our nationwide network of SEO and SEM specialists, social media experts, copywriters, and advertisers, we know what it takes to create and execute an internet marketing campaign that works, and we'll get you results in as little as 2 months. With clients ranging from small mom-and-pop businesses to large corporations like McDonalds and Starbucks, we can work with businesses of all sizes. With packages starting from as low as $280 a month, we can work with any budget, large or small, and our money-back guarantee ensures you that we'll get the job done.
What's wrong with this description? Everything.
XYZ Marketing is the "you" in this situation. Instead of speaking to your needs and wants, they're on a horn-tooting spree... Going on and on about their staff, their experience, their skills, how awesome they are, their pet gerbils.
Nobody cares.
Here's how I would've wrote it:
Dominate the search engines. Be a Twitter celebrity. Crush your competition.
Build your web presence in just 60 days.
Take over the net for as little as $15 a day - and pay us nothing until you see results.
XYZ Marketing Group - Make your presence known.
Short, sweet, and to the point.
I focused on the needs and desires of my prospects (i.e. crushing the competition and building a web presence for $15 a day).
No yakking on about how awesome we are, not how large and skilled our network is, not how many years of experience we have... Save all of that for the "About Us" section and give the people what they care about.
It never fails.
SO... to sum all of this up:
In business, no one cares about you, your company, or your product... They care about themselves and what you can do for them.
Speak to THEM, THEIR issues, THEIR desires and THEIR needs, and give solutions to THEIR problems.
(I call it the NOCAY rule
)
Know it. Accept it. USE it.
I've been a copywriter for 3 years, and in that short period of time, I've learned a lot of things about salesmanship and communication. I've made thousands of dollars in affiliate sales, made a lot of people a lot of money, and learned a lot of valuable lessons, both from experience and from various books and courses and yaddah yaddah yahhhhhhhh.
You don't care about any of that.
If I'd kept going on like that for another sentence or two, I probably would've lost you. The title is probably what grabbed your attention, but as soon as I started droning on and on about myself, you would've said "To hell with this," left this thread, and found something on the forum that gave you some VALUE instead of boring you to death with information you don't care about.
Let's be honest here. I'm a cool kid, I've got a great personality and a kick-a$$ sense of humor, and I've probably made my mommy real proud with all the things I've done, but you didn't click on this thread to read about my career, my accomplishments, my skills, or any of that.
You don't give a frog's fat a$$ about how many sales I've done, you want to up your own sales!
This is the PERFECT illustration of the "golden rule" of salesmanship. The ONE thing that every great marketer, copywriter, and salesman knows, and probably the most powerful lesson I've learned in my whole career.
Drop everything and FOCUS on what I'm about to say.
Ready?
The #1 Rule Of Salesmanship, Marketing, Copywriting, And Business In General:
No One Cares About You.
Write that down. Write it in BIG BOLD RED letters... And underline the SHIT out of the word "you."
NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOU.
It's a cold, hard, cynical pill, but you'll be a better salesman as soon as you swallow it.
No one gives a flying F*ck about you, especially when you're trying to sell them something... They care about THEMSELVES.
If you don't speak to THEM, THEIR issues, THEIR desires and THEIR needs, or give a solution to THEIR problems within the first 20 seconds of them hearing/reading what you have to say (or seeing what you have to offer), you're pretty much dead to them.
It's a proven scientific fact. Check THIS article out if you don't believe me, and if you do believe me, read it anyway (that article is great).
Too blunt? Don't quite get it? Allow me to soften things and break it down with some examples.
When I was first starting out as a copywriter, I'd apply for jobs with a cover letter that looked like this:
Dear Hiring Manager,
My name is Brandi, and I'm a copywriter from Suitland, MD. I've been copywriting for about a year, and my skills are wide-ranging and high quality. I've written copy for companies and individuals such as Blah Blah Enterprises, Jane Doe, and XYZ & Co. My average click-through rate is about 3%, and I have some basic SEO knowledge to further expedite your progress. Blah blah blah, yaddah yaddah yah, etc etc.
You get it.
I was professional. I highlighted all of my skills. My grammar and punctuation were excellent. I gave lots of links to my work so they could see what I was capable of. I remembered everything I learned in English/Language Arts class (Ms. Lipkowitz would've been proud of me).
I thought these cover letters were great... so you can imagine how confused I was when I was only getting one or two inquiries a month.
I was SURE that if I talked enough about how awesome my copywriting skills were, hiring managers would see my worth and hire me based on how great I was. I couldn't have been more wrong.
What I didn't understand was that hiring managers don't care about you, your skills, your experience, or your portfolio... They care about what you can do for them and how you can resolve their issues.
After I learned this and started using it, things started to change immediately.
Now, my cover letters look more like this:
How do 100% click-through rates sound to you?
Pretty great, right?
My copy can make it happen for you.
Shoot me an email and I'll write you a sample, free of charge, and have it in your inbox within 24 hours.
We can take things from there.
I'll have your audience eating out of the palm of your hand faster than you can say "conversion rates."
-Brandi S.
Sometimes, I'd give them a headline idea or two (or four) right in the cover letter. Most of the time, I'd attach the copy sample without them even asking for it. The results were always the same though. The inquiries started flowing in like water... Before i knew it, I was getting more work than I could handle.
Why?
Because now, I address THEIR problems (click-through rates and making their audience buy from them) and offer them a solution (by giving a free sample).
Not my skills, not my past jobs, not how awesome I am, not my pet gerbil.
I spoke to their needs, and they loved- and paid -me for it.
Here's an even better example...
Have you ever been on a company's website and read a company description like this:
With more than 8 years experience in the internet marketing business, XYZ Marketing Group is one of the nation's largest and most valued internet marketing companies. With our nationwide network of SEO and SEM specialists, social media experts, copywriters, and advertisers, we know what it takes to create and execute an internet marketing campaign that works, and we'll get you results in as little as 2 months. With clients ranging from small mom-and-pop businesses to large corporations like McDonalds and Starbucks, we can work with businesses of all sizes. With packages starting from as low as $280 a month, we can work with any budget, large or small, and our money-back guarantee ensures you that we'll get the job done.
What's wrong with this description? Everything.
XYZ Marketing is the "you" in this situation. Instead of speaking to your needs and wants, they're on a horn-tooting spree... Going on and on about their staff, their experience, their skills, how awesome they are, their pet gerbils.
Nobody cares.
Here's how I would've wrote it:
Dominate the search engines. Be a Twitter celebrity. Crush your competition.
Build your web presence in just 60 days.
Take over the net for as little as $15 a day - and pay us nothing until you see results.
XYZ Marketing Group - Make your presence known.
Short, sweet, and to the point.
I focused on the needs and desires of my prospects (i.e. crushing the competition and building a web presence for $15 a day).
No yakking on about how awesome we are, not how large and skilled our network is, not how many years of experience we have... Save all of that for the "About Us" section and give the people what they care about.
It never fails.
SO... to sum all of this up:
In business, no one cares about you, your company, or your product... They care about themselves and what you can do for them.
Speak to THEM, THEIR issues, THEIR desires and THEIR needs, and give solutions to THEIR problems.
(I call it the NOCAY rule
)Know it. Accept it. USE it.
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