philcoleman
06-15-2009, 11:23 AM
One of the quickest ways to write great copy is to use a swipe file. A swipe file is simply a collection of ads, sales-pages and the like, which you collect and keep on your hard drive.
If you think a sales-page or ad looks effective or it really appeals to you just save it. It doesn’t have to be in your niche, in fact it doesn’t actually have to be online. Tear them out of magazines etc and keep them in a folder.
If you are sent some direct mail that you think is effective, save it. Found a great ad in a magazine? Save it.
When you come to write your copy, just refer to your swipe file of saved pieces and draw inspiration from them. You can mix and match too. Take the headline from one piece, opening paragraph from another, bullet points from another etc etc.
Don’t use them exactly as they are but fiddle with them a bit and make them your own. It’s incredible how you can get inspiration for your copy just from reading other copy.
Swipe files are not new. The most successful sales letter ever written was apparently based on a swiped idea. The Wall Street Journal subscription, “Two Young Men...” letter, written by a freelance copywriter called Martin Conroy, was first sent out in 1974 and mailed continuously for over 25 years. Other copywriters tried to write letters that were more successful but it was only beaten very recently.
You may have come across swiped headlines that are used over and over again.
“Who else wants to . . . “ followed by something related to your product ie; “ . . . lose 10 pounds this month” “ . . . add 50 yards to their golf drive.”
The “Who else wants to” headline has been used for years in every imaginable niche. Yet it still works as a good all round headline. If you haven’t come across it yet I’m sure you will.
There are countless other famous headline examples like:
“How to . . . “
“Little-Known Secrets…”
“The Shocking Truth About…”
“What You Should Know About…”
That’s the great thing about copywriting swipe-files. It’s not that difficult to come up with professional looking copy when you have a great collection of examples in front of you.
Mix and match until you get what you need.
Till next time.
Phil
If you think a sales-page or ad looks effective or it really appeals to you just save it. It doesn’t have to be in your niche, in fact it doesn’t actually have to be online. Tear them out of magazines etc and keep them in a folder.
If you are sent some direct mail that you think is effective, save it. Found a great ad in a magazine? Save it.
When you come to write your copy, just refer to your swipe file of saved pieces and draw inspiration from them. You can mix and match too. Take the headline from one piece, opening paragraph from another, bullet points from another etc etc.
Don’t use them exactly as they are but fiddle with them a bit and make them your own. It’s incredible how you can get inspiration for your copy just from reading other copy.
Swipe files are not new. The most successful sales letter ever written was apparently based on a swiped idea. The Wall Street Journal subscription, “Two Young Men...” letter, written by a freelance copywriter called Martin Conroy, was first sent out in 1974 and mailed continuously for over 25 years. Other copywriters tried to write letters that were more successful but it was only beaten very recently.
You may have come across swiped headlines that are used over and over again.
“Who else wants to . . . “ followed by something related to your product ie; “ . . . lose 10 pounds this month” “ . . . add 50 yards to their golf drive.”
The “Who else wants to” headline has been used for years in every imaginable niche. Yet it still works as a good all round headline. If you haven’t come across it yet I’m sure you will.
There are countless other famous headline examples like:
“How to . . . “
“Little-Known Secrets…”
“The Shocking Truth About…”
“What You Should Know About…”
That’s the great thing about copywriting swipe-files. It’s not that difficult to come up with professional looking copy when you have a great collection of examples in front of you.
Mix and match until you get what you need.
Till next time.
Phil