Think, Before You Copywrite Or Don’t Copywrite At All!

Okay, you have heard the old saying, “Think Before You Speak”? – course you have! Usually, it was said to us by Mom and Dad because of some dumb thing we said.  Anyway, copy is merely words that we think and feel and could speak, but, instead we write. The impact of them can be just as great, or not so great. In this case, too, lies the principle of THINK FIRST. Bear with me, as I indulge myself a little.

“To understand a man you have to step into his shoes, and walk around in them a little.” – Gregory Peck, To Kill A Mockingbird

In the film, To Kill A Mockingbird, Mr. Finch was explaining this concept to Scout on the front porch, when she ran out of the house, after the Cunningham boy poured syrup all over his meat at dinner. She reacted at the dinner table by saying, “Walter, what in tarnashion are you…… But, he is pouring syrup all over his…..” Of course she was stopped and told to hush. Interesting to me was how Aticus began reacting to Scout as she was watching Walter desiccate his food with the syrup. He knew she did not understand and his eye movements said it all. I wonder if those same concerning eyes hover over our posts, ads, twitters, etc.

I was listening to Tim Erway and David Garfinkle some time ago during a copywriting course and they made me understand something about words and people. To write them skillfully, you would step into the shoes of the ones you were writing to; think and feel, experience,  and understand them, before you open your mouth or in this case, write to them. This brings us to the core reason WHY people buy things online from other people.

Let’s talk about Chef Thomas Keller, from The French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, Ca. in the Napa Valley. Chef Keller said, Cooking is all about making people happy. That, striving for perfection in cooking was bringing happiness to the customer. So, the end result of what they were doing in the kitchen was in their minds all the time, satisfying the customer!  Another thing he said was,

“A chef mentor of mine, Rolan Henn, made me understand there was an emotional connection with cooking, that I was actually cooking for somebody in a way that brought them pleasure.”

So, why would someone buy from you or me? It would be and only be because we made an emotional connection with them. Do we blog, advertise, market as perfectionists? Do we labor over a blog post or article or ad, as deeply, and passionately as Chef Keller at The French Laundry? I heard Mike Dillard say he sometimes labors over an ad for hours and at times days before releasing it.

7 Reasons People Buy

• Save Money
• Make Money
• Save Time
• Save Effort
• Improve Health
• Increase Pleasure
• Eliminate Pain

Getting Started In Copywriting

The following are three must answer questions before you start blogging, texting, Twittering, Facebooking, Digging, or any other Social Media-ing. THINK FIRST!

1. Who is the prospect? – do you know your target market? Do you care?
2. What is their problem? – is it blogging, recruiting, advertising?
3. What are you offering that will solve their problem?

Here is why many of us can market  such products as Magnetic Sponsoring, Blackbelt Recruiting or the Copywriters Guild: because they solve a problem. Magnetic Sponsoring answers the psychological problem which causes most people to fail in network marketing today, my top list read. BlackBelt Recruiting answers the “Why can’t I recruit people into my primary business” problem, an invaluable must have asset. Gain all the leads in the world but if you are afraid to talk to them and don’t know what to say, what good are they.

The Copywriter’s Guild says it all. It can take all the people who have blogs with post titles like “So, this is what’s on my mind today” and revolutionize them into….”My 5 Secrets to Mastering Social Media” or “Why Most People Fail In Network Marketing”.

I am still striving for this mastery everyday. If I cannot take the time to know my prospect, understand their problem, and offer them a legitimate answer and solution to their problem, I have no business being on the web and selling anything. That’s my personal quote.

To Your Success!,

1. Gerald Gigerl says:

   August 7, 2010 at 4:47 pm

   Hy Joe,

   Congratulations for creating such a powerful post for us! All aspects that you´ve described and explained in detail, are essential for building our network marketing business.
   By focusing on the needs that people have to give them what they are seeking for, we´ll also get what we want.

   Keep up the great posts,

   Gerald
   .-= Gerald Gigerl´s last blog ..The “Predictable Path“ To Increase Your Results Up To 200 With This Mindset Secret… =-.
2. tP_fNz.@.tlKawE@ says:

   August 10, 2010 at 3:31 pm

   Hey Gerald,
   thanks for the comments. Yeah, I like writing, and see, as you do, the importance of really saying something with the writing. Solve a problem and provide a solution. If we can reach someone with what we say in writing, then we accomplished something great!

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