

Copywriting tips to drive up sales - Hsoub
http://blog.hsoub.com/copywriting-tips-to-drive-up-sales

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nhebb
Don't always believe that bit about sell the benefits, not the features. It
depends on your target market. Robert Bly, author of _The Copywriter's
Handbook_ et al., has written several good pieces on marketing to technical
people. In one, he described how he fell flat "selling the benefits" in
marketing high performance cars. It's an audience that craves features and
doesn't give a rat's ass about glib benefit-speak. I don't have a link for
that one, but here's a great piece about marketing to engineers:

<http://www.bly.com/Pages/documents/STIKFS.html>

~~~
tptacek
The majority of the market for high-performance cars does not (and cannot)
appreciate the major features of those cars. How many BMW buyers really
understood the difference between the US and the Euro manifold, or understand
the different kinds of variable valve timing systems?

My point here is, it may not be that the tech market wants to be sold based on
features and not benefits; instead, it may be just that he was selling the
_wrong benefits_.

It is a benefit (albeit one we tend to be derisive about) to have the most
feature-packed, cutting-edge, sophisticated variant of something. To make the
case for that benefit, you probably have to name lots of features.

But that's not the same thing as marketing _based on features_. For instance,
the specific features you market may not matter, so long as you exceed the bar
for "enough awesome sounding features to be the feature-leader in your
category".

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dorian-graph
What are some good, popular books on learning effective copywriting?

~~~
ankeshk
1\. Brain Audit - Sean D'Souza

2\. Advertising Secrets of the Written Word - Joe Sugarman

~~~
ankeshk
However, the best thing to do to learn copywriting is follow the advice of the
late copywriting ace Gary Halbert.

Buy a book of control salesletters. ("Control" is an industry jargon which
means that its a salesletter that has won in split tests with other versions
of salesletters selling the same product.)

Then copy and write the salesletters down by hand. Because copywriting is
essentially writing. You can read everything about it and yet be a so-so
copywriter. Or you can just copy 30 or so control salesletters and learn more
than you would by reading voraciously on the topic.

My swipe file book of control salesletters of choice is World's Greatest
Direct Mail Sales Letters by Herschell Gordon Lewis. But its out of print. And
second hand copies sell for $200-300 or so.

Another good and more affordable book of control salesletters is: Million
Dollar Mailings by Denny Hatch

