Use this copywriting checklist for copywriting – or to evaluate copywriting. It is based on what works best from over 1,200 copywriting projects we have done since 1978. It will lead to significantly more response from all copywriting used in advertising and marketing.
Before writing:
1. Study the company and the product/service being sold thoroughly to understand what is being sold.
2. Research the prospects and the market to determine what benefits the prospect wants most, secondary benefits wanted, objections, and what would get him to buy now. Key: Don’t guess; research.
3. Develop the main emotions that can be touched with the copywriting for this project. The strongest emotions are love, fear, greed, acceptance, survival, anger, and health.
4. Think like the prospect; and not like the marketer.
5. Develop the best offer(s) that can be made to the prospect. The offer includes pricing, terms, bonuses and guarantee.
At this point, the copywriter knows the company and product, what the target prospect wants most, his objections, the main emotions that can be used, and has developed a terrific offer.
Headline and start of copy:
6. Write at least 20 different headlines before choosing the best one.
Headline winners include a big, bold promise of the benefits the prospect wants most, specific figures, a guarantee, credibility enhancers, and a special offer.
Legendary marketers John Caples and Claude Hopkins proved that one headline can pull ten times the response as another headline … with no other changes in the copywriting.
7. Start of copy should reinforce the main benefit(s) of the headline, elaborate, and incorporate the secondary benefits the prospect wants most.
Body of copy:
8. Develop the prospect problem and pain points. Reinforce how these problems will remain or even get worse unless he takes action, and why the product/service is the best solution.
9. Copywriting should be first person, one-to-one, conversational.
10. List the prospect’s likely objections to buying, and overcome those objections.
11. Sincerely flatter the prospect if you can.
12. Get the prospect to mentally “picture and enjoy” the end-result benefits of buying.
13. Use testimonials, specifics, tests, clients, studies, success stories and memberships to add credibility and believability.
14. Be sure the copywriting is easy to read and “scan.” Use sub headlines with prospect benefits, short sentences, and short paragraphs.
15. If any copy is dull or boring, cut it or revise it.
16. If the flow gets slowed or stopped at any point in the copy, fix it.
17. Copywriting must be passionate, enthusiastic.
18. Create urgency to get a response as soon as possible.
19. Tell the prospect what he will lose if he does not respond.
20. Tell the prospect exactly what to do to order.
