People don’t give a damn about you.

As you are talking, they are hearing just enough to decide how to talk about themselves. They are listening for their name. They are evaluating if you are a “cool”  based on the attention you shower on them.

That’s harsh. But once you cozy up to this notion you will instantly start to write great copy.

The best copy is obsessed with the reader.  A salesletter should read like a BFF who never talks about themselves and is hopelessly loyal (read devoted to the other person). Every sentence should start and end with the reader’s problem and how you can help.

Do this and your prospect will immediately believe that you get it.

Take a you focus and watch your commenters describe you as “plugged in”, “insightful”, and “on-the-mark”.  We all love the “great listeners”

Pull out your copy and go through it line-by-line.  Ask yourself – “What in this for the reader?”.  If there’s nothing but jargon-filled, schmutz, then revise or yank the sentence.

There is one small tweak to this rule:

It’s ok to include a brief bio about your history…as long as you explicitly let your reader know that your experience will help them.

Now let’s take a step back.  I understand why this hard for so many copywriters.  You’re human.  It’s darn near impossible to focus on the other person in the room. Resist the urge to rationalize your way back into discussion. Believe me, it won’t work.  Readers call it B.S. when you try to cleverly “butt yourself into the conversation”.

Afterall, you can show off your intelligence, wisdom, and street smarts by writing copy that sells.

Kind ‘of a strange title here…this is where I’m going.

Ever see a 4 year old girl get into her mom’s make-up?  Lipstick smeared, mascara streaked, and patches of blush.  It’s cute on a little girl.  It’s scandalous on a website.  Stay with me here…

Most salesletters today are a psychedelic smattering of highlighting, bold lettering, red headlines, italics, drop shadows, and other unfortunate “copy makeup”

The copywriter desperately want to call your attention to well…everything.

And the reader spends more time navigating the makeup than reading the copy.  Being cute has drowned out being persuasive.  A mortal sin.

Avoid this mistake by taking a cue from the old school masters – only use bold and underline. Let the tempo of your sentences.  The length of your paragraphs. Inspired word choice and grab you by your eyeballs headlines to get your reader’s attention.

Seduce your prospect into reading your words.

Here’s a few other tips – just in case you find your “highlighting” addiction too hard to kick.

1. Write your copy in the notepad application.  Notepad comes with the Microsoft OS, and it’s utilitarian features will stop you from getting to fancy-smancy.

2. Do the “font-free” drill.  Open word and start typing.  Keep your fingers on the keys – don’t go for the mouse. You’ll be surprised how tough it is to resist the makeup.

3. Write fast.  Push yourself to write quickly.  This will prevent you from stopping to beautify your work.

The idea is to actually sell and not impress. Lost the copy makeup – show the copy’s natural beauty and watch your results improve.