Copywriting Tips – How to Write the MOST Difficult Part of Your Ad, and Make it Easy Instead

I’ve been self-employed for over 11 years now, and I think at this point, it would be impossible for me to work for someone. I didn’t like most of the jobs I held, but the few jobs I had that were enjoyable, were good because I was working for an enthusiastic boss.

Enthusiasm really is, as they say, “contagious.” And it’s especially important when you’re selling. If your prospects sense you are enthusiastic about your goods or services, then they’re far more likely to become buyers. Because if YOU believe in what you’re doing, it’s easy to inspire others to do the same.

Now if you’re boring and just not too interested in what you’re selling… than no one else will be, either.

This is why the toughest part of any sales letter or ad, to write, is the opening. It’s simply hard to get started — to open up with a high level of enthusiasm and energy, without sounding crazy, and while managing to be compelling at the same time.

It’s also tough to get started for the same reason it’s tough to lift your heaviest set of weights first. You need time to warm up.

And yet, if you don’t engage your buyer right away, they simply aren’t going to stick around very long.

So what are you supposed to do in this situation?

Well, there are a couple of ways you can handle this.

For starters, you can just start writing, knowing that the first few paragraphs — or even the first page, is going to be fodder for you, until you can “warm up.” And that your real sales letter isn’t going to start until you get to this point.

In fact, of all the copy I critique, probably 25% of the time, my recommendation is to cut out a good bit of the beginning. Once you get to the place where the writer actually started warming up and hitting his stride, that’s where you typically get your best material to start your ad.

Sometimes though, you really need to get out of your own way. You need to do something different. Yet it can’t be too difficult because you’re at the point where your mind is going to explode if you have to think too much.

In this case, don’t write to sell. Write to share an idea. Write the ad to your friend or your brother, or even to your wife. Like this:

“Honey,

I want to tell you about something I recently discovered, that’s going to make our lives a LOT easier. Remember how many problems we were having last year, getting the kids to do their homework properly?

Well, apparently we aren’t alone. You see, some educational whiz-bang professor from Iowa recently did a study on kids and homework. And what he discovered was nothing shy of astounding.

Our kids aren’t the only ones procrastinating! In fact…”

See how much easier it is to talk to someone you’re not trying to sell them something?

Things just flow easier, when you don’t have to worry about impressing anyone, or about selling them anything.

All you do is tell your story about your situation, and the natural conclusion to fixing this problem, will be to get whatever gizmo you’re selling. And the enthusiasm you have over what you have to say, comes across organically, not phony.

Of course, if you’re not being sincere about this, then the story (and the enthusiasm) you need… won’t be effective. But…

That’s another problem for another day. Have a great weekend.

Now go sell something, Craig Garber