Beyond the “Big Promise” … Beyond Reason-Why Copy … Beyond a Snappy USP …

For good writers
who want to become
rich ones …

By Clayton Makepeace
Publisher & Editor,
THE TOTAL PACKAGE

If you’ve read anything about how to write more effective copy, you already know the basics …

• Develop a benefit-oriented headline with a great hook …
• Create a strong lead that focuses on the benefits your prospect wants most …
• Load your body copy with additional benefits and all the reasons why the prospect should buy your product or service …
• Show how your product is different and better with a great Unique Selling Proposition (USP) …
• Prove that everything you’ve said is true with facts, figures, features, and testimonials …
• Make a strong offer … guarantee everything … and ask for the order.

Good advice, all of it. But most of that advice first published decades ago – in books by Lasker, Hopkins, Caples, Schwab, Collier, Ogilvy, Reeves and others: At a time when your prospects respected businesses … believed the ads in their newspapers … and trusted the sales letters in their mailboxes.

The plain truth is, our prospects are far busier … far more distracted … and far more skeptical than anyone The Masters ever wrote for.

Getting their attention is harder.

Keeping their attention is harder.

Convincing them that your product really will deliver the promised benefits is harder.

And that means closing the sale has never been more difficult.

That’s why the world’s greatest writers have developed new tools that break through the clutter in prospects’ lives and compel them to order your product from you, today.

How to stop, engage, persuade
and compel prospects to order
in the real world

Think about it for a moment, and I’m sure you’ll agree: If consumers bought only practical things – the things they need for physical survival – the world would be a very different place.

There would be no TV, radio or movies. There’d be no designer fashions or expensive watches or jewelry. There’d be no need for luxury homes, jet skis, snowmobiles or toys of any kind. Instead of buying cars, we’d all be walking, riding bicycles or riding the bus.

All we’d really need would be a pup tent, a canteen,
a recently deceased squirrel and a way to cook it.

So why are all these amusements, conveniences and luxuries of modern life indispensible to us? And why do we spend the lion’s share of every dollar we earn and then borrow until we’re blue in the face to buy them?

Because while mankind was evolving a brain, we were also developing a soul: A whole range of emotions about ourselves and everything in our world. And our need to fulfill those desires – and assuage those fears and frustrations – is every bit as compelling to us as our hunger, our thirst and our desire to be sheltered from the elements.

We need to love and be loved … to be respected or even admired … to be proud of our accomplishments. And we crave relief from the things that we fear and the things that frustrate us.

And so, if 99 percent of the things humans spend money on today are bought to fill an emotional need …

… Writing sales copy that focuses only on rational “reasons why” a prospect should buy falls short.

It’s like going to a gunfight and leaving 99 percent of your bullets at home.

My proprietary Dominant Emotion writing technique helps you recognize and validate the most compelling emotions your prospects already have about the benefits your product provides and the current lack of those benefits in his or her life.

And it helps you acknowledge and resolve emotions your prospects already have about his or her past experiences with marketers in general … with products like yours … with companies like yours … and with offers like yours.

That one simple change in how you think about your prospects …

How you approach the copywriting process …

How you talk to prospects …

What you say about your product …

How you present your offer …

And how you ask for the sale …

… Has done more to grow my clients’ companies and pump up my royalty checks than anything else I’ve learned in nearly four decades as a copywriter.

That’s why I’ve written about Dominant Emotion copywriting so often in The Total Package.

It’s why I’ve organized the best of those articles in a way that takes you through my complete copywriting process into a 276-page paperback volume – Two Hours to More Profitable Sales Copy.

Now, I’d like to tell you that the ONLY way to learn these proven response-boosting strategies and tactics is to buy my new book. But that wouldn’t be true, and it wouldn’t be right.

You could simply scroll to the top of this page, click the link to our archives and begin wading through over 300 articles we’ve published. But that would take days. And by the time you were finished, you would have probably already forgotten some of the most powerful secrets you’ve learned.

I want you to have a reference that takes you through the entire process in a logical order from beginning to end – a step-by-step guide to infusing your copy with new power while shortening your writing time on each project by hours; even days.

Plus, I wanted to update many of those articles with new insights – and even give you an entirely new chapter to ignite a fire in your belly to keep your eyes on the prize.

And I also want you to have a permanent, physical reference on your desk to use whenever you’re strategizing, researching, organizing, writing and editing your sales copy: Something you can mark up and return to time and time again throughout your writing career.

The result – Two Hours to More Profitable Sales Copy – is more than a 276-page book. It’s a tool designed from the ground up to add dollars to your bottom line.

Now, if what I’ve told you about Two Hours to More Profitable Sales Copy so far has your finger itching to click an “order now” button on this page, PLEASE DON’T. Not yet, anyway.

Because to live up to my reputation – “underpromise and overdeliver Makepeace” – I’ve added much, much more to this volume. And when you order, you’re going to get more than a book.

You’re going to get a complete history of direct response copywriting to help you see how these techniques have evolved over the years and how they’re likely to evolve from here.

You’re going to get a bonus report designed to pour even more power into your sales promotions.

And you’re going to get a 120-minute CD that will challenge everything you think you know about copywriting today.

More on all of that in a moment; first, let’s take a look at just a few of the money-making gems awaiting you in your copy of Two-Hours to More Profitable Sales Copy …

You’ll discover, for example …

• How to tap into the power of your subconscious mind to organize your thoughts, get off to a fast start, and create better copy. A simple process …
  
• How to turn a leisurely visit to your local bookstore into the most profitable three hours of your entire year: A treasure trove of response boosting ideas at your fingertips …
• The truth nobody tells you about focus groups: Why relying on them to learn about your prospects could cost you a small fortune …
• 12 steps to writing million-dollar sales copy: My easy-to-follow process for creating bigger winners more often …
• Four crucial requirements of great writing: And why paying attention to them can send your results soaring …
• How to write better sales copy faster: My secret for cranking out compelling ad copy in less time than most writers take to plan their strategy …
• The single most important quality all great copywriters share: Hint: We weren’t born with it; we developed it – and you can, too …
• Three “inconvenient facts” self-appointed copy gurus never tell you: Forget even one of these shockers and it’ll cost you – big time!

• How to write headlines that make reading the rest of your message mandatory: Drives readership and response through the roof …

• Six common copy mistakes that make prospects stampeding for the exits: And why most copywriters spend their entire careers making them …
• How organizational tangles and fuzzy logic kill great sales copy: A simple solution you’ll love …
• What it takes to go from zero to hero in the direct response industry today: You’ll be stunned at how little it takes …
• Eight preliminary sales you must make in every ad and sales letter you write: Why your response will only be as strong as the weakest link in this chain …
• Six powerful persuasion strategies and how to use each one to rocket your response: Simple secrets for structuring sales arguments that instantly make even skeptical prospects ready, willing, and eager to buy …
• The astonishing power of the “scientific demonstration:” How I recently used this simple technique to sell more than $50 million in health products in a single direct mail package …
• Eight perfectly legal ways to turn a dull, boring testimonial into a credibility bonanza for your product: A step-by-step, “do-this-then-do-that” guide …
• Beyond testimonials: How to create “proof elements” that instantly convince your prospects of every sales argument in your promotion …
• Common opening copy mistake that sends your ad or sales letter right to the trash. Makes your reader think you’re pulling some kind of a bait and switch scam designed to trick him into reading your copy …
• Navigate the body copy minefield without getting blown to smithereens. How to keep your prospects hanging on every word you say – no matter how long your copy is …
• How to make your product benefits sparkle. Five simple steps …
• Are “faux benefits” killing your sales copy? The single most common mistake rookie copywriters make – and how to avoid it …
• Product features aren’t that important, right? Wrong! Yes, benefits are key, but features are critical to higher response, too — here’s how to use them right …
• The simple secret to maximizing the power of benefits: How to explode your sales results in five easy steps …
• How to mine the invisible benefits in every product: Your product brings far more value to your prospects’ lives that you ever dreamed – here’s how to find them fast …
• Two cardinal sins even seasoned copywriters make when extolling product benefits: Avoid these blunders and you’ll automatically pump up the selling power of every promotion you write …

• How to polish every product benefit until it sparkles: How dimensionalizing your benefits can make your copy more compelling than you ever thought possible …
• Three unforgivable sins ad writers commit when crafting body copy. And seven “Golden Rules” to help you avoid them …
• Three powerful ways to create a sense of momentum in your sales copy. Just do this – and prospects will breeze through even the longest sales copy with ease …
• The art of the irresistible offer: Eight essential components every great offer shares – the techniques I use to boost response by 20%, 30% or even more …
• Solving “The Choice Paradox”: Consumers want choices – but how many ordering options are too many … or too few? Helpful guidance from actual tests …
• How to name your price without inducing sticker shock. Two techniques I use to make a $5,000, $10,000, even a $25,000 price feel like the bargain of the century …
• Eight steps to a compelling close. Secrets that make “not ordering” unthinkable in prospects’ minds …
• The amazing power of the “Crossroads Close”: Do this, and your prospect sells himself on ordering now …
• Pack more selling power into your P.S. The four most effective techniques I’ve ever used …
• Are your order forms killing sales? The #1 blunder marketers make with their response devices …
• Response Device 101: The four types of order forms and when to use each one …
• 12 qualities all great order forms have in common. And why you can’t afford to miss even one of them …
• My proprietary “37-Point Acid Test for Direct Response Copy:” One of the most powerful response-boosting tools I’ve ever shared with anyone …
• The secrets to polishing your copy until it sings. 12 crucial things to look for …
• When your copy must be cut. Four steps for deciding what stays and what goes …
• How to choose the most powerful format for your next direct mail promotion …
• And much, MUCH MORE.

Plus, I want you to have a printed and bound copy
of my complete “Great Moments in Advertising” series

I’m constantly amazed that so few people have read what The Masters – the men who created the direct response industry and who defined the principles of great copywriting.

And so, to give you a quick reference guide – and hopefully to whet your appetite to read The Masters (or to read them again – like I do, every year), I also want you to have Great Moments in Advertising.

This printed and bound volume contains all six of the highly acclaimed articles I created to give our readers a solid foundation in the persuasive principles that got my copywriting and marketing career off to a fast start.

Chapters include …

Chapter #1 – “Thank you Mr. Ward!” Did you know today’s massive, global direct response industry was created by one, idealistic young man?

It’s true: The year was 1872. The young man was a 28-year-old traveling dry goods salesman named Aaron Ward. And he was apalled at how greedy shopkeepers were robbing people blind with their obscenely high prices.

And so, more than 135 years ago, the Montgomery Ward catalog – and direct marketing itself was born.

In this fascinating chapter, you’ll discover …

• The first known usage of dominant emotion marketing – and how Mr. Ward harnessed its power to skyrocket sales …
• How Mr. Ward transformed advertising into an exact science – and how you, too, can know exactly how well your advertising is working …
• Mr. Ward’s breakthrough innovation that allows you to get the greatest response, revenues and profits out of your advertising …
• How the Internet has changed marketing as we know it – and what you need to do to compete effectively on the World Wide Web …
• And MORE!

Chapter #2 – The Powers Principles: If you don’t know John Powers, you definitely should. He was America’s first great ad man.

Powers made his name by doubling sales at Wannamaker’s Department Stores from $4 million to $8 million a year ($158 million in today’s dollars) in the 1980s. He was also America’s first six-figure freelance copywriter, earning more than $200,000 a year.

In this eye-opening mini-volume, you’ll discover …

• John Powers’ 126-year-old secret for exploding your response and revenues. And why it works better than ever today …
• Three ultra-powerful sales techniques to make a part of every ad and sales letter you write …
• What all great copywriters have in common …
• What it really takes to excel in the direct response business (and a somewhat startling admission of a petty crime on my part) …
• Four crucial things the get-rich-quick quacks will never tell you …
• And much more.

Chapter #3 – John and Albert’s Excellent Adventure: Fast forward to the early 20th Century … when a mountain of a man walked into a bar, scrawled a few words on a scrap of paper and changed copywriting forever.

His name was John E. Kennedy and the note was meant for a hotshot adman named Albert Lasker, whose offices were upstairs.

The rest is history. That note made both men rich. Albert Lasker alone raked in a cool $627 million (in today’s dollars) over the course of his career.

Want to know what was on that note? I’ll tell you in Great Moments in Advertising – and I’ll also show you many more breakthroughs John and Albert pioneered for us – including …

• The EIGHT things your ad copy must do to make the sale …
• Why image advertising is always second best …
• How to ensure your best prospect reads and responds to your promotion …
• The single most profitable way to spend one hour this week …
• Why the “Long Copy vs. Short Copy” argument is specious …
• Priceless excerpts from John E. Kennedy’s books on copywriting …
• And MORE!

Chapter #4 – Claude C. Hopkins Ramps It Up Another Notch: In 1908, Albert Lasker made one of the most brilliant moves of his career: He hired the legendary Claude Hopkins to come work for his agency at the mind boggling sum of $3.7 million a year – and he was worth every penny.

In this chapter, I share some of Hopkins’ wisdom with you – including …

• The enormous, yet almost completely overlooked benefits of “boots-on-the-ground research …
• How to position any product as unique and head-and-shoulders above the competition …
• How long sales copy should be …
• Priceless excerpts from Hopkins two great books …
• And MORE.

Chapter #5 – John Caples Explains it All: You know his most famous 1926 ad – “They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano … But When I Started to Play … ”

But can you recite his …

• Three-step approach to creativity …
• Three types of successful headlines — and which one works best …
• Five rules for writing great headlines …

• The three kinds of copy to avoid …

• The 14 most effective sales appeals …
• Nine ways to increase the selling power of your copy, or …
• Mr Caples’ 34 ways to write a headline?

This chapter gives you all that and much more.

Chapter #6 – USP? … or OOPS?: In this chapter, it’s time to meet Mr. Rosser Reeves; the legendary 1950s adman who gave us the notion of the Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

Reeves’ used USPs to achieve massive breakthroughs for his clients and though Reeves wasn’t a direct response marketer, we direct response marketers have taken his ideas and made them our own.

You’ll discover …

• How Reeves’ Unique Selling Proposition installed a bald-headed general in the White House …
• Four reasons why USPs sometimes fail direct marketers …
• Four unorthodox ways to make USPs work for you – by breaking Rosser Reeves’ sacred rules …
• And much MORE.

Plus, to help you add even more fire to your copy,
I also want you to have a printed and bound copy of
7 Most Powerful Characteristics of All Great Sales Copy

A couple of months back, Natalie Judd of the Internet Masters Series crawled inside my head and mined my brain for more ways to create big winners for my clients.

Frankly, I thought I’d said it all in The Total Package. But you know what? I was wrong.

In this printed transcript of that interview, you’ll discover …

• The seven things your copy MUST do to kill the control and become a huge winner …
• How to find the best emotional tone for your next premium …
• Secrets of web design that generate maximum readership …
• How to use punctuation to ramp up readership and response …
• How to beat blank page paralysis every time …
• And much, Much MORE.

And then, there’s my most controversial revelation ever
– on two audio CDs …

In this landmark teleseminar, I joined master copywriter and best-selling author Bob Bly, Web Marketing Advisor editor Daniel Levis and our Web Media Goddess Julie McManus to give you direct response tips and techniques that will work wonders in boosting your response and revenues.

More great secrets revealed here …

• The seven syndromes that bring changes to our market every day and create huge challenges for direct response marketers …
• How to get people to pay for information online – when there’s so much available for free …
• What you can do to harness your prospect’s natural buying impulse to light a rocket under your sales …
• Why humor is no longer taboo in your promotion piece – and how you can use it to increase response …
• 2 reasons why benefits headlines are no longer as effective as they used to be – and what you can do instead to grab your prospect’s attention …
• 8 lead approaches that work like a dream in today’s challenging environment …
• How “bribing” your prospect to read your promotion can actually position you in his mind as a champion and advocate – and not just another salesman …
• The easiest way I know to turn your guarantee into a selling device and boost response …
• And much, Much MORE!

Just CLICK HERE and it’s all yours for just $294
… And if you’re not blown away, I’ll cut YOU a check.

Please remember …

• You get the 276-page Two Hours to More Profitable Sales Copy – a step-by-step guide detailing my entire process for writing killer promotions …
• You get Great Moments in Advertising – a complete history of direct response copywriting to give you a solid foundation in the persuasive principles that got my copywriting and marketing career off to a fast start …
• You get 7 Characteristics of All Great Sales Copy – the transcript of the interview where Natalie Judd of the Internet Masters Series picked my brain for more powerful ways to create bigger winners more often …
• And you get New Recipes for Maximum Response – a two hours long audio recording on CD of my groundbreaking direct response seminar.

If you don’t agree these response-boosting power tools are worth many times the $294 you paid … if you can’t see how it’s added a mountain of money to your bottom line … just return it all any time in the next 12 months and I’ll promptly refund your money.

Fair enough?

Yours for Bigger Winners, More Often,

Clayton Makepeace
Publisher & Editor,
THE TOTAL PACKAGE