Three secret copywriting formulas to make price irrelevant
As price is usually the #1 objection to overcome when composing a sales letter, so it helps to have an arsenal of time tested tools at your disposal to get your prospects fixated on something other than price! Here are 3 very powerful copywriting formulas that will help you to achieve just that. These formulas are easy to understand and they’re very adaptable to any business.
1. The Problem-Agitate-Solve formula
This is one of my favorite copywriting formulas of all time because it focuses on our extreme need as humans to move away from pain. It's also one of the copywriting formulas that I use most often and may be the most surefire one ever invented. The first step is to define your customer’s problem. You may be writing about a problem they know they have, or one they don’t know they have. Either way it doesn’t matter because a great sales letter avoids assuming knowledge on the part of their prospect. So you set forth the problem in clear, straight forward terms. E.g. if you were writing about a tax reduction course for small business owners you could write:
As a small business owner, you're already the government's #1 target. Just when you feel you're starting to get ahead the government intervenes and slams you with a new form to fill out, a new regulation to follow. It's one thing after another. And now you're going to have to pay higher taxes with their new tax reform bill. Just what you needed - unless you discover a few secrets used by some of the “big players” to escape through little known loopholes that are 100% legal.
Once the problem is clearly established then it’s time to agitate. We want to whip them into a frenzy and make the problem larger than life.
Here’s an example from a sales letter promoting a pair of shoes:
“ if you insist on wearing just any old pair of ordinary shoes, here’s what you can look forward to in your golden years…sunken arches…extraordinary backpain…terrible discomfort in golf shoes…pain lifting grandchildren…you’ll be asking your friends to slow down just so you can catch up!”
Then once your prospect has broken into a sweat, pacing the room thinking “this pain has got to stop”, you present them with the solution – your product or service!
2. Telling The Future
Everyone is fascinated with predictions of the future. Give your prospects your predictions for the future, and relate these to your product or service. It's a great distraction from price and makes your sales letter very memorable and "news worthy".
Faith Popcorn has built her entire business using this copywriting formula.
3. The Winners/Losers comparison
This basic sales pitch goes something like this (from Earl Nightingale's "the Strangest Secret"):
“take any 100 people in America today at the age of 25 and follow them until they’re 65. Here’s what you’ll find – only 1 will be rich, 4 will be financially independent and the other 95 will be broke – dependent on the government, social security, friends and relative to provide them with life’s basic necessities. That’s 5% successful, 95% unsuccessful”.
This same basic comparison has been used to sell everything from insurance to dental plans, to multi-level marketing. Whatever it is you’re selling – it’s the path that the 5% successful choose, not the 95% the unsuccessful choose!
These 3 copywriting formulas can be used or their own or combined, even in the same sales letter or presentation. They work great in print and sales copy and work equally as well in face-to-face-selling. One or all 3 of them will work great for your business - go ahead and try it!
