Welcome to the first news letter from my alter ego…the maverick copywriter.

In a few minutes I’m going to dive right in and teach you a concept called…

“How to write sentences that sell”

But first I want to share a little bit about the idea behind this newsletter.

The primary goal here is to do 2 different things.

1. I’ll teach you about different copywriting/marketing concepts that I’ve used, learned and are currently applying so that you can use these exact same concepts to write sales generating copy for yourself or for your clients.

2. I’ll show you how the concept is being used. Think of it like a behind the scenes look at how it’s being used in the real world.

So now that part of the intro is out of the way let’s dive in to today’s topic.

The Technique

One of the first things you can do to learn how to write sentences that sell is to first strengthen your sentences.

And how do you do that?

Here’s how.

When writing sentences that are designed for sales copy, you want to spell out the benefits.

Here are some examples of how copywriters have used this technique.

For a set of luggage.

Example 1.

Compare these two sentences:

Sentence 1: The big two suiter has dome shaped construction.

Sentence 2: The big two suiter has dome shaped construction that provides plenty of wrinkle free space for your suits

Sentence one merely mentions dome shaped construction.

The user must use their imagination to visualize the advantage of this type of construction.

However, sentence two spells out the advantage with the words provides plenty of wrinkle free space for your suits.

Now read a third sentence that spells out still more advantages.

Sentence 3: The big two suiter has dome shaped construction that provides plenty of wrinkle free space for your suits…plus skirts, slacks, underwear, shoes and toilet kit.

You see, a skillful copywriter does not depend on the reader’s imagination to visualize all the possible benefits of various product features.

Instead, the writer elaborates.

He creates a word picture that makes crystal clear the specific advantages of every feature.

How about another example for the same piece of luggage.

Sentence 1: The two suiter has handy side pockets.

Sentence 2: The two suiter has handy side pockets that keep your socks and other small items at your fingertips.

Now I gotta say this about this technique real quick.

By expanding your sentences and applying this idea to your entire ad may triple the length of your copy.

Will this make your copy too long?

Not at all.

It increases your chances of making a sale.

It’s been said that people will not read long copy.

This applies only to non prospects in my experience.

A non-traveler may not bother to read a luggage ad. But that does not matter. A person who does not travel is not going to buy luggage anyway.

On the other hand, the prime prospect, a traveler, who needs new luggage, will read every word of your luggage copy, as long as the copy keeps on telling him things he wants to know.

DOUBLE BARRELED SENTENCES

Sentences such as the previous examples, which name a product feature and then tell the advantages of that feature, can be imply called “double barreled sentences”.

Here’s why: These sentences are like a double barreled shotgun that fires not once, but twice, and thus doubles the chances of hitting the target.

When you first decide to write an ad for a product.

Your first step should be to study the product’s features as follows:

1. What are the dimensions of the product?

2. What materials is it made of?

3. What features does it have that make it new, different or better than competitive products?

In writing your copy, your job is to translate these features into benefits.

AN EXERCISE IN WRITING SENTENCES THAT SELL

Listed below are a number of sentences that describe a product feature.

Immediately following each sentence is a longer one that not only describes the feature, but also elaborates on the advantages of that feature.

Read the first sentence.

Then pause and visualize in your mind how you would expand that sentence to to make into a sales sentence.

The read the second sentence to see how the copywriter did it.

Ad for stainless steel cookware:

Sentence 1: The covers fits snugly

Sentence 2: The covers fit snugly to seal the moisture and health building vitamins and minerals

Sentence 1: These utensils have a hard surface of stainless steel

Sentence 2: These utensils have a hard surface of stainless steel for easy cleaning and lasting beauty.

Sentence 1: These utensils have molded, heat resistance handles.

Sentence 2: These utensils have molded heat resistance handles that won’t turn or loosen or burn the hands of the user.

Ad for a folding cot:

Sentence 1: This cot has a rigidly braced, tubular aluminum frame

Sentence 2: This cot has a rigidly braced, tubular aluminum frame that provides strength without weight…can’t rust

Ad for traveling bag:

Sentence 1: This bag has a cover of grained vinyl laminated to cotton

Sentence 2: This bag has a cover of grained vinyl laminated to cotton that is easy to care for…just wipe clean

Ad for a book on memory training:

Sentence 1: This magic key opens up the memory storage cells of your mind

Sentence 2: This magic key opens up the memory storage cells of your mind and enables you to perform amazing feats of memory

Ad for a car loan plan:

Sentence 1: Now you can get a 48 month car loan

Sentence 2: Now you can get a 48 month car loan that gives you more months to pay, so you can pay less each month

Ad for a set of books:

Sentence 1: The first volume is yours free

Sentence 2: The first volume is yours free, with no obligation to buy anything

Ad for a book on how to win friends:

Sentence 1: This book tells you nine ways to influence people

Sentence 2: This book tells you nine ways to influence people without giving offense or arousing resentment

And there you have it.

I’ve just given you an easy way to not only write double barreled benefit loaded sentences, but also a new tool for your copywriting arsenal.

The next part is up to you.

If you want to get really good at this, then you need to practice everyday.

That’s all for now.

See ya in the next issue.