Copywriting Goldmine: One of 20 Insider Secrets to Great Copywriting

Each weekday during my Red Hot Copywriting Bootcamp, attendees (or recruits) get a daily drill designed to reinforce the training I give on weekly phone calls. The drills are illuminating and fun. Plus these drills build your copy from the ground up. By the end of Bootcamp, you actually have a sales letter that would have cost you anywhere from $3,000 to $15,000 to have written professionally.

So how do you get going? Grab a kitchen timer or stopwatch, a piece of paper and a pen. Your bite-sized drill today is to separate out the features from the benefits. So let's do an exercise.

Before you write a single word of copy you must define your product or service using features and benefits if you want to really connect with your reader. (When I'm trying to get my features and benefits to poke their heads out, I like to write by hand. I think there's a connection between the brain and handwriting.)

So we're on the same page, here are the definitions of each.

• A feature is the adjective of the product. It describes what the product is.
• And the benefit is the emotional component of what the person gets out of the product.

Now schedule 15 minutes of uninterrupted time to play and let's go!

Set your timer for 10 minutes. So take a sheet of paper and fold it in half vertically. In the left hand column write the word "Features". And on the right, the word "Benefits".

Start brainstorming about what features you offer to clients. Then for every feature find a corresponding benefit. Benefits are what sell. Remember we all want to know, "What's in it for me?" That's just the way we're wired. "How is your product or service going to benefit me?" While the timer is doing its thing, let the ideas flow freely. Don't judge your answers or edit yourself. Stop on schedule. (You'll edit later).

Reset the timer for the last five minutes. Review your list. Circle the ultimate benefit ? this is the benefit your copy and headlines should focus on.

Put the other benefits in order of importance. These will become your bullets and subheads.

It's no secret. The amount of money you make with marketing comes down to how well you craft your words. It's the most valuable skill you can learn for making money online. But not everyone wants to be a copywriter. So I wanted to create a program that makes writing fun and effortless for entrepreneurs and copywriters alike. That's how the Red Hot Copywriting Bootcamp was launched. Recruits who have gone through it agree ? the Bootcamp is the roadmap to a copywriting goldmine. You learn a proven process for writing copy FAST that improves your bottom line. Sure there are other ways to get there, but we get it done in 4 weeks flat (plus 2 weeks of follow up critiques). Face it, if you're in business you're also a marketer. And all marketers know it's the words that sell.

So where do you grab this Field Guide for more copywriting exercises? Sorry. Only recruits of my Bootcamp can get it for now. So sign up today before the next session is full. It will be one of the best business decisions you've ever made. Red Hot Copywriting Bootcamp

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

International copywriting trainer, author and speaker, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero has been a freelance writer and journalist for over 25 years. Her words have made her clients hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now she focuses her vast experience on teaching others the skill of copywriting. Lorrie is the author of a highly acclaimed copywriting course, creator of the Red Hot Copywriting Bootcamp and founder of Copy Campus, a unique membership resource site designed to support copywriters and entrepreneurs on all levels. Visit her site to learn more at http://www.red-hot-copy.com.

---

13 Steps to a Slippery Slope Online Sales Letter

Many of the solo professionals whom I coach are people... Read More

Creative Copywriting?

There is a difference between creative writing and copywriting. It... Read More

3 Copywriting Tips - How To Edit For Mass Appeal!

Web copy that's intended to sell or generate leads needs... Read More

Copywriting: Drafting Rules for Professionals

As a professional contractor who wears many hats, you owe... Read More

Long Copy versus Short Copy

When I show some people my advertisements, I sometimes get... Read More

Hook Your Direct Mail Sales Letter Readers With Good Transition Sentences

Anglers in Maine catch trout using dry flies with barbless... Read More

5 Critical Mistakes Most Freelance Copywriters Make

Think you have what it takes to be a freelance... Read More

How To Write Headlines That Get Attention

No doubt, the headline is the most important part of... Read More

Professional Writing: Six Great Reasons to Hire a Writer

Most people can write. Some can even write well. But... Read More

Beyond Once Upon a Time: Fairy Tales arent the Only Thing Needing Catchy Openings

Once a upon a recent time in a galaxy not... Read More

Can Honest Copywriting Succeed?

I confess--I'm a marketing heretic! I've built my career on... Read More

How Ghost Writing Articles And Booklets Can Earn You Big Money!

Do you want to make $5000, $10,000 or more every... Read More

How to Get Instant Attention

Most of us have seen a heckler at a baseball... Read More

How to Start and Sustain a Career as a Freelance Writer

Have you wondered how you can make a career writing... Read More

10 Tips for Tech-Writers

Tech-writing is a tricky business. It's not a very high... Read More

The Second Most Important Element of Your Ad... after the Headline

Hi {FIRSTNAME Friend},Next time you're flicking through your local newspaper,... Read More

Copyright, Copyrighting, and Online Copyright Abuse - Save Yourself the Headache by Reading This!

Lets start with copyright infringement.It is easily explained as copying... Read More

Discover Your Creativity

You have a choice. Do you want to be constructive... Read More

Increase Freelance Sales With an Online Resume!

Freelancing is a competitive business, especially in today's fast-paced, e-focused... Read More

Give Me $1 And Ill Have A Powerful Marketing Weapon

One of my most powerful marketing weapons costs me less... Read More

Dissolving Buyer Scepticisim ... A Lesson In Copywriting

When making a purchasing decision, people have their "rip off... Read More

10 Things You Should Expect From Your IT Copywriter

Anyone who's ever tried marketing IT products or... Read More

No-Holds-Barred Conversation with Dan Lok - Part 1

Question: If you were starting out and had no references... Read More

Getting Over Copy Shock

A few weeks ago I wrote some copy for a... Read More

How To Find Freelance Copywriting Jobs

Your goal is to land a few nice, secure freelance... Read More

Five Tips for Writing Eyeball-Grabbing Headlines

If you made it this far, the headline for this... Read More

How Not to Write a Press Release

Several years ago, when I was working for an agency,... Read More

Headline Writing Can Lead To Fortunes: Here Are The Basics Of Writing Headlines

Headlines attract attention. Headlines generate interest. The time spent writing... Read More

8 Reasons to Outsource Your Copywriting

Thinking of hiring a staff writer? Think again. Below, I... Read More

Welcome Informed Criticism of Your Work

When you come to 'know' something, there is a temptation... Read More

Online Promotion Beats Traditional Ten-One

While traditional marketing can work for the book author or... Read More

Quotations as Expressions in Life

Quotations are expressions, usually in the spoken form or in... Read More

Web Copy ? How Much is Enough?

These days, there's widespread acceptance that a website is an... Read More