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Last updated: Tuesday, June 5, 2007

How do you know what you can trust in copywriting ideas?

The answer is simple: anything that has been tested on a large enough sample

So what then is copywriters heaven?

The answer has to be a targetted list of millions on which to test web copywriting ideas.

And that is where Maria Veloso Is coming from!
Her initial experience was with Aesop Publications as a mentee of Mark Joyner.
All of her web copywriting ideas have been tested on samples of 20000 from a list of millions
And here are some of her conclusions:

The first rule of Web Copywriting: Web copywriting and mail copywriting are NOT the same

Maria Veloso had a unique opportunity to test copy for the same offers delivered by web and mail
and came to the conclusion that what works is not the same.

The old format of sales letter “dear reader” screams “I am an ad”: so the first rule of web copy is to make it
look like an editorial.

So use the form of editorials
“headline
by Authors Name”
Drop capital first name

The second rule of Web Copywriting: The power of a headline

Headlines as always are crucial - but ask a question that invites the reader to use their imagination!
“What if i could show you……..”

And in keeping with the editorial, dont make the pitch in the headline!

The third rule of Web Copywriting: A simple formula for copy that works

Ask these questions and the answers make up your copy:

Identify the readers problem
Explain why the problem hasnt been solved yet
Give pictures of what is possible
Show what is different now
And finally what the customer should do now

The fourth rule of Web Copywriting: Mastering Psychology

In common with mail marketing Psychology is everything:

Sell with emotion - people buy on emotion, and justify with fact
Replace logical words with emotional words
The power of the “reason why” - the existence of a reason, matters more than the validity
The zeigarnik effect - and the need to follow a linear path through copy
Cliffhanger endings to make people click next!
Presuppositions - “everybody knows that” to tell people what to think
Linguistic binds, a truism to which people say yes - linked to something you want the readers to think.

The fourth rule of Web Copywriting:Involve the customer!

Maria stresses the use of involving the customer in questions and polls massively increases response.
This is an advantage of web copy over any mail.
At its simplest, this is the checkbox on an order form!

The copywriters university

I urge everyone to read Maria Veloso s book: “Web copy that sells” A true masterpiece!

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