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Secrets of Writing
for the Health
Market
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SECRETS OF WRITING FOR THE HEALTH MARKET

Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

CHAPTER 1: Elements of a Direct-Response Promotion . . . . . . . . . . . 7

CHAPTER 2: Health-Speak and Other Basics …

Your Shortcut to Success as a Health Market Specialist . . . . . . . . . . .13

CHAPTER 3: The Importance of Developing a

Unique Selling Proposition (USP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

CHAPTER 4: Targeting The Right Emotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

CHAPTER 5: Planning Your Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

CHAPTER 6: Create A Healthy Headline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

CHAPTER 7: Choosing a Voice For Instant Credibility . . . . . . . . . . . .72

CHAPTER 8: Developing Body Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

CHAPTER 9: Creating Your Offer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

CHAPTER 10: Piecing It Alltogether . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

CHAPTER 11: What You Need To Know About Online Marketing . . . . . . 166

CHAPTER 12: You’re Ready For Your First Client! Now What? . . . . . . . 199
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SECRETS OF WRITING FOR THE HEALTH MARKET

Introduction

Congratulations on taking a new step forward in your career! By focusing on a

particular niche, you are taking charge of your career and boosting your income
potential to the next level. And you won’t be disappointed, because the health
market offers unlimited possibilities for you as a copywriter.

The health industry is a field that’s hotter than ever – and will only grow for
decades to come! What’s more, new medical discoveries are constantly leading
to consumer demand for more and better products. Healthcare providers,
health publishers, and pharmaceutical and supplement manufacturers are ready
to act quickly on new opportunities. And these opportunities are everywhere.

For example, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) conducted a recent
survey on the supplement usage habits of Americans. The survey found 76
percent of U.S. adults report taking dietary supplements. And according to a
survey by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), consumers
spent over $34 billion in one year on everything from heartburn and
homeopathic remedies to sleeping aids and eye care in the U.S. alone. Plus,
demand for healthcare products is exploding in Europe, Australia, Canada, and
other parts of the world.

Just think about all of the products you and your family buy in an effort to
restore and maintain your health. Vitamins, supplements, skin creams, diet
shakes, pharmaceutical products, and more, right?

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But the health market doesn’t stop there. If you’re like most people, you also
buy health-related books, magazines, and newsletters. You might even have a
few videos on hand to help with cardio workouts, yoga, exercise, or dieting.

Maybe you’ve never really thought about it, but this opens up an entirely new
arena for you to utilize your persuasive writing skills!

To help you excel in writing for the Health Market and overcome common
pitfalls associated with health marketing, this program will…

…guide you through potential minefields that are unique to the health
industry…

…familiarize you with the emotional hot buttons associated almost

exclusively with health products, and…

…prepare you to handle challenges that typically aren’t seen outside of

the health arena. Plus, you’ll discover numerous tips and techniques to
make your health promotions, both on and offline, sizzle – so both you
and your clients can make a lot of money!

The Health Industry is BIG Business

When you consider the health market, one of the first things you probably think
about is prescription drugs. The worldwide market for prescription drugs is
forecast to reach $987 billion by 2020, according to The Wall Street Journal.

22.9% of the Population Is Responsible for the Boom in the Health Market –
and the Boom in Your Copywriting Opportunities

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 74.1 million
Americans – or 22.9% of the population – who were born between 1946 and
1964. These are the Baby Boomers. Not only do they make up a sizeable
portion of the population, though. They also control 70% of disposable income
in the U.S.

The Boomers have seen a lot of changes in their lifetimes. One of the biggest
changes has to do with the way people view old age.

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Today, the Boomers are between about 53 and 72 years old – some remain
right in the middle of their peak earning years, while others have already
retired. At the same time, they’re watching their parents grow older. Once
robust and active, Mom and Dad are now frail and in increasingly poor health.
They’re worn out. They hurt. And they need help taking care of themselves.

Most Boomers will tell you they refuse to take old age lying down. They plan
to be agile, pain-free, and in fine form well into retirement. And thanks to
advances in medical science, they can expect to live a very long time. By 2030,
an estimated 20% of the population will be over 65.

What does this mean for you as a copywriter? As the Boomers get older,
demand for health-related merchandise will continue to grow. As demand
grows, the number of products in the marketplace will multiply. This means that
the amount of work available to you will increase as well.

It’s big business and you can certainly profit from it. I’m sure you’ve seen
the number of commercials and space ads being used by the pharmaceutical
industry. But what you may not know is that prescription drugs are also sold
through mail-order pharmacies. That gives copywriters like you plenty of
opportunity to write sales letters.

But pharmaceuticals are just the beginning.

Keep in mind that America has become a lot more health-oriented in recent
years. All those Baby Boomers out there have watched their parents develop
heart problems, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases. They were there
when their folks came out of open-heart surgery and chemotherapy treatments.
And they’ve stood helplessly aside while watching Mom and Dad took a bunch
of prescription medication two or three times a day.

Instead of waiting for disease to strike, people these days are making the effort
to never reach that point. They realize they’re getting older and they don’t
want to end up like their parents. So right now, millions of Baby Boomers are
doing anything and everything to stave off aging. They’re buying nutritional
supplements to improve their health, fight disease, and shed weight. They’re
reading books and newsletters to learn about the most effective ways to stay
young and improve their health. They’re exercising, watching their weight,
and eating more natural foods. They’re investigating alternative treatments for
heart disease, cancer, and many other ailments.

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Other interesting facts to know about the Boomers:

• They are healthier and live longer than previous generations. In fact,
Boomer life expectancies increase 2.5 years each decade.

• In addition to having the most expendable cash, they also stand to inherit
a whopping 15 trillion dollars over the next twenty years.

• Baby Boomers have the largest percentage of the home ownership pie.
Nearly 80 percent of the over 55’s own their own home.

• They’re educated. Approximately 87.5 percent have a high school

education and almost 30 percent have an undergraduate degree.

All of this information funnels down to one key idea: the Baby Boomers are
interested in products and services beyond the scope of retirement homes and
medical alert devices. So why aren’t more companies tailoring their marketing
to baby boomers?

Slowly but surely, marketers are focusing more on this group, and so the
already huge health market is growing in leaps and bounds both online and
offline. In fact, according to Nutrition Business Journal, the Global Nutrition
Industry, which includes dietary supplements (vitamins, minerals, herbs/
botanicals, sports nutrition, meal replacement and specialty), natural/organic
foods, functional foods, and natural personal care and household goods, is a
$300 billion market.

The companies that produce and sell these products need good copywriters to
promote them. So it is definitely a place where your marketing skills can be put
to good use.

The Shift to Online Health Marketing

Like most industries, the health industry has shifted its focus to online
marketing. And understandably so! These days, a record 77% of consumers
own a smartphone, bringing the internet and all the information it can provide
right to their pockets. It shouldn’t come to any surprise, then, that a recent
Pew study found that 72% of internet users have researched health information
on the web.

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And, it’s important to note that over 1/3 of the Baby Boomer generation say
that they would download a mobile coupon to redeem in a brick and mortar
store. A similar percentage does online research before buying a product.

The rise of internet usage means that marketers now have more tools to
entice prospects. A survey of 130 marketing companies found that 2/3 use at
least 60 percent of their budgets on digital campaigns. Using social media can
increase brand awareness, particularly for small companies that can’t afford
television spots or other traditional modes of advertising. And companies can
easily collect personal, demographic, social, and behavioral data to personalize
messages to their target audience. As a result, companies can aim their
message at people who are most interested in what they have to say.

Of course, the rise of digital marketing doesn’t mean it’s replacing the
traditional methods discussed above. For one thing, online and offline marketing
campaigns tend to hit different types of prospects. Print campaigns can help
spread information, then direct interested prospects to social media or websites
where they can actively participate.

Still, it’s wise to consider how online marketing will affect your work. Not only
do you need your old copywriting tricks, but you’ll need to…

… Create content that’s share-worthy.

… Write copy that caters to smaller screens.

… Develop scripts for infographics or videos (which are four times as

popular as regular text).

… Consider Search Engine Optimization (SEO), since 93% of consumers

start their research with Google, Bing, or other search engines.

But don’t worry! We’ll cover all this, too. You’ll be able to stay ahead of the
changing needs required by the digital era.

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What to Watch for in Health Marketing

Writing copy for the health industry can be quite a challenge compared to, say,
writing fundraising copy or marketing financial products.

Why? There are several reasons.

First, health is complicated. To write about health issues, you have to

understand them. Let’s say you’re writing copy for a high blood pressure
remedy. Do you know what causes high blood pressure? How various
pharmaceuticals and supplements affect it?

Probably not, so a lot of research and questioning is required. And once

you’ve completed the research, it’s your job to turn it into uncomplicated and
compelling copy.

Second, health can be a very emotional topic. Certain health products may
give hope to people who have survived a heart attack and don’t want another
one. Or they might offer a potential lifeline to someone who is diagnosed with
cancer. It’s a long list – and believe me when I tell you that emotions such as
greed and fear can sometimes be completely different animals when applied to
health products.

Third, the FDA and FTC have rules and regulations that must be adhered to.
The company that hires you to write copy should have someone who reviews all
marketing material to make sure it is compliant. But it’s always best that you
don’t rely on someone else to fix your work.

It may sound a little intimidating, but don’t worry. As you move through this
program, you’ll get complete details on how to handle the hurdles that are
prominent when writing health copy.

In the meantime, let’s review some of the basic concepts of persuasive writing
and integrate them into writing copy for the health marketplace.

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CHAPTER 1

Elements of a
Direct-Response Promotion

Before we delve into the specifics of the health market, here’s an overview
of the elements of a direct-response sales letter. As with most industries,
direct-response promotions drive the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry’s
marketing – 65% of companies in the industry use it in some capacity. The
direct-response sales letter is the heart of any direct-response promotion,
whether it’s printed and mailed to someone or used online.

In a classic direct mail package, for example, the sales letter is a standalone
component. The length can be as long as 12 or 16 pages, or as short as 1 or
2. It can be folded to fit into a standard #10 envelope, a 6x9 envelope, or an
oversized format such as a 9x12 envelope. Other components may include a
short lift note, a brochure, an order form, and a return envelope.

Many direct mail packages for supplements, health publications, and skin-care
products can also be presented in a format known as a “magalog.” A magalog
is an 8 ½ x 11 magazine-style promotion that mails flat (or folded in two to
save on postage). Popular variations on this “self-mailer” (meaning without
an outside envelope) format include a “slim jim” (a tall, narrow booklet), a
“bookalog” or “digest” (similar in size to the old “Reader’s Digest” magazines,
although shorter in length), or a tabloid (similar to the “magalog” but closer
to an 11x17 oversized format). In these formats, the sales letter is often the
“running” copy that continues throughout the package, although it may be
broken up into chapters or sections.

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For health products that are marketed online, a long-form sales page or video
sales letter (VSL) is often used. A long-form sales page has the same elements
as a sales letter and includes other copy and graphics that you often see in
magalogs or other direct mail packages. A video sales letter is similar to a long
sales letter, but it is read aloud while displaying the words (and sometimes
accompanying graphics) on the screen.

As you can see, the “star” of the show in any of these direct-response
promotions is the sales letter. It has a big job to do, so let’s make sure you
understand all the essential elements:

The Headline

David Ogilvy, one of the legends of advertising, says that the headline is the
most important part of an ad. On average, five times as many people read the
headline as read the body copy. So, with your headline, your client essentially
spends 83 cents of his advertising dollar.

Using the same logic, you could spend 83% of your time writing the headline.
This is a secret used by many master copywriters.

Use your headline to grab the attention of your reader and make sure to apply
the “Four U’s” – make it urgent, ultra-specific, unique, and useful.

In a direct mail package, the headline is typically centered at the top of the
sales letter. If you are writing for a self-mailer format, the headline appears on
the front cover of the promotion. It may also appear on other pages throughout
the promotion.

In an online long-form sales page, the headline is centered at the top of the
page. In a VSL, a headline often appears above the video presentation and
remains there throughout the video. And the email you use to drive traffic to
your sales page or VSL has a subject line – which serves as its “headline.”

No matter how the headline appears, its job remains the same: to attract your
prospect’s attention to your advertising message.

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The Lead

Your headline copy should be compelling enough to draw your prospect into the
lead. The lead is where you connect with him… where you show him that you
understand how he feels about his problems and that you have a solution.

A good lead has two basic elements: the picture and the promise. Many health-
related promotions use stories to create the picture. Stories of desperate
patients coming to the “guru” for help are especially effective.

The promise is your catapult. Typically placed at the end of the lead, the
promise should be big enough to “catapult” your prospect into the body copy.
Make as big a promise as your USP will allow. As long as the promise is both
true and believable, the stronger you can make it, the better.

And remember to keep your reader connected to your copy by using the secret
of the “Golden Thread” – reminding him of the promise throughout the piece.

When you are writing an online long-form sales page or VSL, you may actually
have two “leads.” The first lead will appear in the email that your prospect
reads before deciding to click on a link and be taken to the sales page or VSL.
The second lead is at the beginning of your sales page or VSL, where you
motivate him to keep reading or listening.

The Proof

The body of your letter is often called the proof section. It’s where you show
your readers how the promise can be delivered. How will the product work?
How will it improve the reader’s life? Make it easy to understand by taking the
reader by the hand and leading him through it.

Be sure to prove each major claim. A good technique for building trust with
proof is to start out by proving something the prospect probably already knows.
If your prospect sees that your first claim – which he already knows is true – is
backed up with a solid proof element, he’ll be less skeptical in general.

This body is also where you display credentials – where you show the reader
that your sources are reliable and believable. You can cite studies, insert

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testimonials from customers, or even include endorsements from celebrities or

experts. The more credibility you have, the more likely your reader is to buy
the product.

If you are writing a direct mail package, keep in mind your prospect is on a
mailing list because he’s bought through the mail in the past. So, he likely
receives a lot of promotional mailings in his mailbox. The same is true for your
online prospect. He or she has shown interest in or bought other products
online and is likely bombarded with other emails.

In either case, your prospect is more skeptical than ever. That’s why having
proof – whether it’s studies to back up claims or real-life user testimonials – is
so crucial to getting him or her to buy.

The False Close

You know how powerful a false close is. Just when your prospect thinks you’re
going to ask for money, you throw a curve ball by introducing a new benefit
or offering another premium. This makes the reader forget his objections to
buying your product. Then you lead him through the close… all the way to the
sale.

You won’t find a false close in most health promotions. That means it can give
you an edge when using one in yours.

One way to use a “false close” is in a sidebar. A sidebar can appear in a direct
mail promotion (typically a magalog or tabloid format) or in a long-form sales
page. You can highlight a particular ingredient in a supplement or introduce
a new premium. You’ll have a mini “call to action” at the end of the sidebar
directing the prospect to call, click, or otherwise take the desired action.

The Close

This is where you summarize the strongest points you have made in your letter.
Remind your prospect of how your product will improve his life. Use a technique
called “future pacing” to paint a picture of how much better off your prospect
will be without the problem your product solves.

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Future pacing is comprised of three simple parts: First, you show your prospect
where he is right now. Next, you take him forward in time, to a moment in the
future when he’s used what you’ve shared to reach a fabulous outcome. Finally,
you acknowledge this future accomplishment. For example, you might say, “You
work hard on your diet and exercise, but sometimes aches and pains get the
best of you. Now, you want to find healthy, natural ways to keep you moving
forward towards your goals… and to keep you from getting sidelined along the
way. Imagine, a month from now you go for a hike with your kids and end the
day feeling as great as when you started. Wouldn’t that be satisfying?”

Next, tell your prospect exactly what he will receive for his money. If he’ll be
getting one or more premiums, you can mention them here… or wait until the P.S.

Be sure to state your guarantee very carefully and explicitly. You want it to be
very clear to your prospect that he’s taking no risk by placing an order.

Finally, write a clear call to action. Avoid fuzzy language such as “When you
place an order…” Don’t be afraid to be definite. The clearer your call to action,
the better your chances of closing the sale. Be very clear so your prospect
knows exactly what to do next.

• If you’re writing a direct mail package, refer the prospect to the enclosed
order form, reply envelope, and toll-free number.

• If it’s a self-mailer format, refer him to the page the order form is on and
the toll-free number. You can also provide the website address.

• For an online sales page or VSL, you’ll direct him to a link or “buy now”
button, which often takes the prospect to another part of the page (or a
separate page or cart) to enter his order information. A toll-free number
is often offered as an option as well.

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The P.S.

You can’t send out a direct-response offer without a P.S. Not a good direct-
response offer, anyway. Use the P.S. to introduce a surprise benefit or a new
premium. Emphasize the guarantee or substitute one that is even stronger.
Remind your prospect how important it is to take action NOW.

You can use a P.S. on an email or an online sales letter, too. It’s not just for
direct mail sales letters and self-mailers.

The Premiums

Premiums sweeten the deal… make your offer irresistible… and help your reader
rationalize the purchase. Special reports are good premiums for health buyers.
Also good are free or extra-fast shipping and discounts for buyers of multiple
products.

Premiums are used in direct mail packages, long-form sales letters, and VSLs.
It doesn’t really matter which format or sales channel it is… everyone loves to
get something for nothing!

Health Market Opportunities

Now that we’ve completed our overview of the elements of direct response,
let’s dive into the specifics of writing for the health market. This industry is
constantly growing because people of all ages are interested in looking and
feeling better. They spend money on weight loss products, supplements,
yoga, homeopathic remedies, and information products. The opportunities for
copywriters are huge.

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CHAPTER 2

Health-Speak and Other Basics

… Your Shortcut to Success as
a Health Market Specialist

A vital part of writing good, persuasive sales copy means knowing your product
inside and out.

As you pursue your career as a copywriter, you’re probably getting pretty good
at asking all the right questions, reading old promos, and studying anything
and everything you can about the product. That’s a given.

But what you may not have realized is that by the time you’re prepared to write
a marketing piece, you know more than just the product. For instance, if you’re
writing a promotion for a multivitamin product, you know a lot more than just
the ingredients. You’ve also learned about how the ingredients work and how
those vitamins and minerals contribute to good health. You can incorporate that
information into your piece to make it more effective.

Likewise, when you prepare a sales letter for a workout system, you don’t simply
tell the reader how to do the exercises. First, you develop an understanding of
how exercise benefits the reader... and then weave it into the copy.

You may not realize how much information you actually absorb when you’re
working on the project, but it’s a lot!

Let’s say your last package was for a doctor’s newsletter. You met with the
doctor and learned all about his philosophy and recommendations, right? Maybe
you didn’t understand some of the language – terms like “integrative medicine”

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or “immunosuppression” may have come up. But it was easy enough to learn
about him and how he played into the strategy behind the newsletter.

After that, you read back issues until the doctor’s philosophy was ingrained in
your soul… and then you proceeded to read old promo copy until you had a
complete handle on the subject.

Or let’s say you are marketing a nasal spray. To do this, you need to understand
not only how the product works, but also what causes nasal and sinus problems
to begin with.

Let’s say you ask a nutritionist this question: “How come the nose gets
clogged in the first place?” Now, even though a nutritionist is not a doctor
(and, therefore, not typically an expert on nasal problems), here’s how he may
answer you:

“The sinuses, nose, and lungs are lined with respiratory epithelium. The
air flows in along the outside portion of the epithelium, which is a mucous
membrane. On the surface of the membrane are tiny filaments called cilia. The
cilia are constantly in motion, so we can get rid of the water discharge from the
mucous membrane. Typically, sinus problems happen after one has a bad cold.
The nasal passages swell and the cold virus stuns the cilia, leaving the mucous
membrane unable to clear itself of mucus and particulates.”

Did you understand that? Do you think your reader will? Not a chance!

Your job is to turn this type of lingo into clean and concise language that your
reader will understand.

There’s no time like the present to start learning how to interpret health-speak.
So take out a piece of paper or open a Word doc and try it right now.

Review the nutritionist’s information provided above, and then write a two- or
three-sentence explanation that will help your readers understand how the nose
gets clogged.

Now, after you’ve completed your version, take a look at this simplified
explanation:

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“Typically, sinus problems happen after you’ve had a bad cold. When you
have a common cold, the nasal passages swell and the cold virus stuns
the tiny filaments (cilia) that usually sweep mucus out of your nose.”

The key to getting around health-speak is to ask a lot of questions and don’t
give up until you understand the answer. Because if you don’t understand the
answer, you won’t be able to tell your readers about it.

Let’s say you’re working on a promotion for a memory supplement. It wouldn’t

be unusual to spend about an hour on the phone interviewing a specialist to
find out how thoughts and memories work, so you can turn them into “English”
for your readers.

You may spend even more time speaking with the person who formulated the
supplement to find out why each ingredient was selected, what each one does,
and what (if anything) is unique or special about that particular ingredient. It’s
time-consuming, but well worth the effort, since it results in putting together a
compelling promotion in language your prospect can understand.

Research – Where to Find Credible Information

When you picture yourself as a copywriter, do you see yourself sitting on a

tropical beach, sipping a cool drink, and listening to the sound of the ocean as
you work? Or are you on your patio, knocking out a few pages on your laptop
before you head over to the country club for your daily round of golf?

The one thing you probably don’t see yourself doing is research. Research
certainly isn’t the most glamorous part of writing a promotion. But as you
know, research is a powerful secret used by the masters to write winning copy.
And thanks to the internet, it’s easy to do your research from anywhere!

Research greatly strengthens a promotion by enhancing its overall credibility. As

Bob Bly, author of The Copywriter’s Handbook and a member of AWAI’s board,
advises, “Digging for the facts will pay off, because specifics sell.”

It also gives your promotion more credibility or “proof” to back up the promises
and claims you make. Thus, your product or service becomes more believable
and trustworthy, and inspires the prospect to take action.

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By doing the research, you can educate yourself on treatments for different
conditions. You can keep up with the leading edge of medical technology. And
through the knowledge you gain by writing health promotions, you may decide
to make some different choices for yourself.

So how do you get started researching for a health promotion? And how do you
find what you need in all those long-winded medical studies?

Build Your Own Reference Library

In Secrets of a Freelance Writer, Bob Bly, long-time A-level copywriter and

author, tells copywriters to develop a reference library for the subjects they
most frequently write about. Since you’re planning to specialize in health, your
library should include manuals on health, conventional medicine, and natural/
alternative therapies, as well as the Merck Index of drugs and maybe even a
biology or anatomy book. (Refer to Bob’s book for tips on how to build and
maintain your library.)

The websites we’ve provided in this program can also serve as part of your
reference library. Take the time to explore each of them to see which are best
suited to your style and the needs of your clients.

Having these general references at your fingertips will allow you to access a
lot of information very quickly as soon as you receive an assignment. You will
develop a working knowledge of the problem your product will solve. You will
better understand and evaluate background material you receive from your
client. And you’ll have a sense of where the gaps in your knowledge are, so you
can more efficiently target your research efforts.

Having plenty of promotions and other materials from the health industry
is essential to building your library. These items let you know exactly what
the competition is doing. And depending on the number of times you receive
specific promotions, you will know whether it is working or not.

If you have not seeded your name throughout the health industry, now would
be a good time to do it. Sign up for the free e-letters from some of the largest
health websites. If you can afford it, buy a few paid subscriptions for health

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newsletters and/or a nutritional supplement. (Another bonus: In addition to

building up your research resources, this is also an easy way to build a great
“swipe file” since your email inbox and regular mailbox will become deluged
with promotions.)

However, one of the important aspects of writing for the health market is having
research materials on hand in order to investigate specific drugs, health issues,
supplements, and current news. You really can’t do that by simply reviewing
materials from the competition.

Clipping articles and ads from trade magazines and newsletters, and filing them
away for future use, is one of the best ways to develop an extensive personal
library of background information. You can also save emails and links to online
articles in a swipe file on your computer.

The internet has made this process easier than ever. Services such as Medpage
Today (www.medpagetoday.com) and Science Daily (www.sciencedaily.com)
gather the latest health and medical news from many sources. Each day, they’ll
send you an email with a brief description of the day’s articles. All you have to
do is scan the news and decide which articles to read and/or download.

Set up your filing system as you see fit – just be sure you can access the
information you need when you need it. So it’s a good idea to spend a little
time on organization… and then you won’t have to waste a lot of time later on
looking through files when you could be writing copy (and making money!).

Here’s a tip from Bob Bly on organizing your research:

When you rip out an article, write the source information directly on
the page before you file it. That way, when your client asks you for a
list of references (very important when marketing health products),
you can quickly and easily put it together. Or, better yet, write the
information down and then scan the article into your computer. Then
you’ll have all your clippings together in one system.

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Here’s another tip from A-level copywriter Kim Krause Schwalm, who’s written
dozens of supplement and health product controls:

Make sure you keep all of your online research sources you use to
develop a new promotion in a file on your computer. You may even
want to use footnotes as you are writing the copy and put links to
the studies or articles you referenced right in the word processing
document. That way when you need to go back later to either
change the copy or provide a source to your client, it’s right there
and you don’t have to hunt for it.

Conduct Targeted Research Online… or in the Library

You’ve searched your files of articles and past promotions. You’ve studied
the background material you received from your client. You’ve interviewed a
few experts.

But you still have a few questions that need to be answered before you begin
your letter. What do you do next?

That’s easy. You conduct research – just as you used to do when you had to
write a report in school. The internet and your local library both contain a
tremendous amount of useful information for you as a copywriter… if you know
how to find it.

In the “old days” – before the mid-1990’s – health copywriters needed a

library of books on drugs and health conditions. Most writers also subscribed to
numerous newsletters to stay abreast of the latest news in alternative health
and medicine.

Online, you can search study sites such as the National Library of Medicine’s
PubMed (www.ncb.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) by topic. PubMed even suggests
variations of search terms to help you narrow your focus.

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Another great resource is Google Scholar (www.scholar.google.com). A search

here will return broader results but often finds material not included in searches
on specific sites.

Medical magazines (journals) are also excellent sources of information for you.
They publish the most current scientific research in the form of “papers.” You’ll
find many of them – such as The New England Journal of Medicine (www.nejm.
org) and The British Medical Journal (www.bmj.com) – now have a strong
online presence. Some include archives of articles that date back several years.

Whenever possible it’s best to get the “full study” text instead of simply looking
at a study abstract. Some of the full text studies are available for free online.
Others you may have to pay for (see if your client will reimburse you). There
are often more details on specific study results you can use to add specificity to
your copy or to strengthen your claims.

When you’re gathering information on the internet, remember you have to

document where it came from. So you want to be very careful here. As Bob
Bly stresses, most of the information on the internet cannot be attributed to a
particular – or credible – source.

Dr. Al Sears, a practicing physician and one of America’s top experts in

alternative medicine, agrees with Bob. “Ninety percent of what is on the
internet is junk,” he says. “A lot of what you’ll find is written for the self-interest
of the person or group writing it. What you learn from it is much like what you
learn about politics from watching television commercials during a campaign.
And it doesn’t take anything to put that information on a website – no degree,
no proof, no review, no specialized knowledge, nothing.”

That’s why it’s best to only use research from credible sources—the NIH
database, respected journals and publications, or well-known media. Stay
away from people’s blog posts, and be wary of promotional articles on websites
(although sometimes it’s interesting and useful to see how other people are
marketing similar products.)

However, Dr. Sears does encourage you to use the internet for the bulk of your
research… as long as you take into account the following two important tips
that he shared with us:

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LIMIT YOUR SITE SEARCH. Stick with sites from any government-
supported organization or other credible source of independent
information. Some good ones are sponsored by the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), the Surgeon General, and the American
Heart Association (AHA). By limiting your searches in this manner,
you won’t get a lot of bad information.

CONSIDER THE SOURCE. When you find information that you want
to use (and this applies to information you find in journals as well
as on the internet), carefully consider where it’s coming from. “You
can’t take it all at face value,” explains Dr. Sears. “You must be
aware of who is saying it, what they’re saying, and why.”

And, don’t ignore your local library, either. Many will have copies of medical and
health resource volumes that aren’t available online. You may also find the calm
and quiet atmosphere of the library a pleasant place to do a little research.

These days, public libraries often have a large online presence. Your local or
county library may have a great deal of research material available online. And
all you need to access this treasure trove of information is a library card.

So, even if you never set foot in your local library – except to get your library
card – you may find it’s an invaluable resource for online research. There’s an
abundance of information online. You can find almost any information you need
with just a few clicks of your mouse. The following are a few of these invaluable
resources – some already mentioned.

• Medical Library Association www.mlanet.org/p/cm/ld/fid=398

This is the Health Consumer and Patient Health Information Section of

the Medical Library Association (MLA). Here, you’ll find links to PDF lists
to top medical information websites, along with much other up-to-date

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health statistics and information. A copy of the most current list of top
health websites is included in this program.

• MedlinePlus www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus

This is the consumer-oriented site of the National Library of Medicine.

You’ll find links here to information on diseases, herbs and drugs, and
practically any other health-related topic you can imagine.

• PubMed www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

If Uncle Sam put money into a study, it’s listed here. This is a terrific
resource for articles and studies about health and science related topics.

• Europe PubMed Central www.europepmc.org

Nearly 40 million articles, abstracts, patent abstracts, and other

documents with a wider reach than PubMed.

• Prescriber’s Digital Reference www.pdr.net

• A handy reference for reviewing and understanding various

pharmaceutical medications and their side effects.

One note of caution here: There are tens of thousands of “health” websites
out there. Many of them contain inaccurate – or blatantly false – information.
Choose your resources carefully.

Conduct Interviews

Since the health field is constantly changing, you’re going to have to make
sure that the information you’re working with is absolutely up-to-date. One of
the best ways to do this is to interview knowledgeable people (doctors, other
medical professionals, university faculty, health marketers, etc.) to get their
input. To help you get your foot in the door, your client might be able to provide
an introduction to several experts he knows or knows of.

You must remember that the person you’re interviewing is doing you a favor. He
has a busy schedule, so you’ll need to do some planning to make sure you get

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the information you need. Determine what questions you’d like to ask ahead of
time and write them down. (Some interviewees will even request a list before
your meeting.)

Follow the rules of interview “etiquette”: Arrive on time, prepared with your list
of questions, as well as a pen or pencil and notepad. Honor the time limit you
agreed to – don’t run over unless the interviewee says it’s OK. And always write
a thank-you note shortly afterward.

Normally you’ll conduct these interviews by telephone. Ask if the interviewee is

okay with you recording the call. You may want to still take notes by hand just
in case the recording doesn’t come out well.

You can also use a service such as www.freeconferencecall.com or

www.google.com/voice. These services allow multiple participants to dial into
one line and provide a free recording option.

After the call, you can log on to the website and simply download the
conversation.

You may also want to get the call transcribed so you can refer to the content later.

Do this, and most people will be happy to share their expertise with you again
and again.

Jen Stevens, Executive Editor of International Living and author of

The Ultimate Travel Writer’s Program, is an expert at interviewing.
She gave us some of her interviewing secrets for you to use.

SECRET NO. 1:

Ask questions that require more than a “yes” or “no” answer.

Though a “yes” or “no” from an interview subject can confirm or discount

a statement you’ve made, such a perfunctory answer won’t get you the
kind of meaty, quotable information you need.

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SECRET NO. 2:

Decide what it is you really need from your interviewee.

Ask yourself: “What do I want this guy to give me?” Then write down your
answer. It may be more than one thing, and that’s fine. But you must have
this need-to-know list in front of you before preparing your questions… or
you’ll find yourself asking everything under the sun and wasting not only
your own time, but also that of your interviewee.

Once you’ve got it straight in your mind why it is you need to talk to a
particular person, you can prepare your questions accordingly. You’ll find
yourself more focused and your interview more effective.

SECRET NO. 3:

Don’t hesitate to ask for interviews.

People like to talk about themselves and their own experiences, and
they are flattered that you’re interested in their opinions. If you want
to interview a “bigwig” like a CEO of a pharmaceutical company, you’ll
most likely have to go through his or her secretary, media-relations
office, or public relations firm. Again, don’t be deterred – you simply
need to go through the proper channels.

SECRET NO. 4:

Set up your interviews in advance.

You can usually set up a formal interview over the phone or via email.
At that time, it’s smart to give folks an idea of what you’re interested in
learning and how long your interview will likely be.

I’ve found it makes sense to schedule at least half an hour. Even if you
have only four or five questions, if your subject gets to talking (and you
hope they will!), you’ll need at least that much time.

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Once you’ve scheduled a timeslot, stick to it. People have busy

schedules; and as much as they may be enjoying the conversation with
you, they likely have other things to do. So watch your clock. At half an
hour, say, “Thank you, I don’t want to take up any more of your time.”

If you’ve run through your half-hour and still haven’t finished with your
list of questions, you can either jump ahead to the most important
question you have and make sure you at least get that one answered.
Or you might suggest finishing up by phone in the next day or so. Or
even better, say, “We’ve already been talking for half an hour, and I still
have a few more questions I’d like to ask you. I don’t want to eat up
your time. I know you’re busy. Do you have 15 more minutes now – or can
we arrange a time when I might call you back?”

Obviously, it’s best to schedule more time than half an hour if you
know you’ll need it. And that sense for how long things take will come
with practice. So when you start out as a rookie interviewer, pay close
attention to how long the interviews take, and you’ll be better able to
plan in the future.

If you’re conducting your interview by email, you can simply send along
your questions. And always tell your interviewee who your audience is
so he can keep that person in mind when answering your questions.

SECRET NO. 5:

Approach your interview like a conversation.

Pay attention to the person you’re speaking with and react to his
statements as you would in a normal conversation. You can comment
here or there and indicate you understand. One caution on this subject:
Don’t get so “friendly” that you find you’re telling as many stories as
your interviewee. After all, you’re there to hear what he has to say.

Ask follow-up questions. Don’t simply jot down the answers you’re given
and feel that that’s all you’re going to get on the subject.

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SECRET NO. 6:

Establish, immediately, what’s “on the record” and what’s

“off the record.”

If you’re interviewing a corporate executive, for example, it’s possible that

he might tell you things “as background” or to give you “a heads up” as to
what’s coming down the pike but ask that you not print that information.
This means it’s “off the record.”

If you’re conducting an interview and suspect you might learn some

things your interviewee won’t want printed, start the interview by
saying, “I’ll assume everything we talk about is ‘on the record’ unless
you tell me otherwise.” That way, you don’t risk gathering a lot of great
information only to have your interviewee tell you as you walk out of the
room, “Oh, by the way, all that I said about X... that’s off the record.”

SECRET NO. 7:

Ask if you may follow up should you think of anything else.

It’s not unusual, especially when you’re just starting out, to find that
when you sit down to write, you’re missing some information. Don’t
worry. Just remember to ask, before the end of the interview, if it’s
OK to call back should you think of any additional questions. Most
interviewees have no problem with this.

The point is that the research and interviews involved in learning about
products and diseases in the health industry are going to be much more
detailed than you may be accustomed to.

The great thing about writing for the health market is that you’re not
only helping others when you do this research and write it up in your
promo. You also get the benefit of learning a lot about good health and
can apply most of what you learn to your own lifestyle.

That means you get to make money by learning to be healthy!

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Why is research important?

Look at the following excerpt from a Nature’s Aide Vitamins offer. It’s from a
promotion for an oral chelation product. (Don’t worry if you don’t know what
oral chelation is. It’s not important here.) This passage is almost as hard to
read and understand as the fine print on a legal document.

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Compare the confusing, high-level language with the following excerpt from
Health Resources’ “23¢ Life-Saver” promotion.

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The type of language used in the first example, though impressive and possibly
understood by doctors and academics, isn’t going to make a buyer out of your
prospect. It’s simply not something your average reader will understand.

The second example, though, is clear… and scary. You may not know what
homocysteine is, but you know you don’t want it. And, of course, the third
paragraph in Health Resources’ promo tells you exactly how to get rid of it.

Now, here’s the amazing thing: Both these examples are from promos for
similar products that deal with the same health concerns.

It’s possible that the individual who prepared the first example didn’t
understand the product or the disease and didn’t take enough time for his
research.

But they did you a favor. Because they’ve provided an excellent example of why
you – as a health copywriter – need to know your product and your subject
inside and out.

When you write for the health market, you’re more than a writer. You’re also a
translator. You have to learn how to navigate “health-speak” so you can put it in
simple terms for your prospects.

At first, you’ll have to look up a lot of terms. But, like any skilled translator,
you’ll soon develop a working knowledge of medical terms and concepts. That
skill will set you apart from ordinary copywriters. And greatly increase your
earning power.

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CHAPTER 3

The Importance of Developing a

Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

A lot of the companies you work with may already have an established USP
for their product. However, if they don’t – or if it’s weak – that gives you the
opportunity to have a part in developing one. This is the heart and soul of any
offer. (You are, after all, offering something for sale…)

A Unique Selling Proposition is what makes a particular product or service

different or fundamentally better than the competition. And it’s up to you to tell
your prospect why your product is the best and only answer to his needs. In
other words, tell him why it’s unique.

Here are three components of a strong USP:

• It has to have a direct or implied benefit. It must say, “Buy this product
and you will get this particular benefit.”

• It has to have an important benefit – important enough to “move the

masses” (or at least your prospect).

• The benefit must be unique – one that the competition cannot or

does not offer.

When considering the USP, the best thing to do is start a list… and start thinking
outside the box. Every product has three facets: Features, benefits, and deep
benefits. Features are what a product is. For example, a joint pain formula may
come in an easy-to-swallow gel cap. Benefits are what a product does. Our joint
formula, for instance, may promote flexibility. Finally, deep benefits are what

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the benefits mean to the prospect. In the case of our joint formula, flexibility
means finally getting your freedom of movement back so you can enjoy your
favorite activities again. Analyze the product you’re working with and list all of
its features and benefits.

Keep digging and analyzing until you find that special “something” that makes
your product unique and provides a benefit to the prospect. The better you
know the product, the easier it will be for you to work with.

Health Newsletters

Health newsletters are a great place to work with USPs, because they can be
so surprising.

Don’t settle on accepting a USP for a newsletter that is “the number one women’s
letter” or “the best heart letter.” Superlatives – like “the best” and “number one”
– are such common claims that they have very little impact. You can always
take your USP beyond these tired claims. In fact, it’s your job to do so.

Talk to the people who put the newsletter together. Interview the “guru,” the
editor, the publisher, and the sales staff. Read the publication… and then read it
some more.

Find that one single angle that makes it truly stand out from the rest of
the crowd!

Supplements and Other Products

What about supplements? You look at one bottle of multivitamins and you’ve
seen them all, right?

WRONG!

Remember: There must be a USP. It’s your job to find it.

The question is: How can you find a USP for something like multivitamins,
especially if you tend to think of them as being pretty much all the same?

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Compare the ingredients, pricing, and other elements to other top-selling

multivitamins. Outline your benefits and features. Then ask these questions:

• Does this one contain more of every ingredient?

• Does it contain an ingredient none of the others have?

• Is there anything special about the ingredients (quality, imported, etc.)?

• How many pills equate to a dose? Can you take fewer pills and get more
kicking power?

• Is it the lowest cost high-quality multivitamin?

• Is it manufactured by a company that follows Good Manufacturing

Practices as defined by the FDA?

• Is it endorsed by a doctor, herbalist, or nutritionist?

• Is there something special about the person who created the formula?

Whether the product is a multivitamin formula, a newsletter, or another product

in the health industry, the key is to keep digging until you find a benefit that
makes this product unique and better than competing products.

What’s Your Product’s USP?

In his 1961 classic book Reality in Advertising, Rosser Reeves introduced the
concept of the Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

Most marketers today are aware of the USP but do not remember the three
elements Reeves said every USP must contain. Briefly, he said:

#1. Each advertisement must make a proposition to the

consumer. Each advertisement must say to the reader: “Buy this
product, and you will get this specific benefit.”

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#2. The proposition must be one that the competition either

cannot, or does not, offer. It must be unique — either a uniqueness of
brand or a claim not otherwise made in that particular field.

#3. The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass
millions, i.e., pull over new customers to your product.

Why do you need a USP? Well, in almost every field, from accounting to online
marketing, competitors are plentiful.

If your product is not differentiated from your competition’s in a way that is

unique, better, and useful to the buyer, why should they call you instead of your
competitor? The USP is the compelling reason why people should prefer you to
other marketers or service providers in your market or industry.

Dr. Al Sears on creating an effective USP in today’s health market:

My concept of uniqueness has evolved now to be even more specifically

unique to me and my knowledge and my contact with my customers.
You’ve got to think of a way of connecting with them that only you can
do. Whatever your product is, whatever your expertise is, you’ve got
to get that through as something that’s ultra-specific to you. You’re the
only person who could tell them this. You are the only person who could
say that. You are the only source that they can use for this particular
information...

And it’s changed from being just unique, because too many people out there
are already doing that. Now you should take it a step beyond making the
benefits of your product seem unique. You must make it unique to you, connect
it to something that only you can provide.

Unique has a new connotation. In the age of internet marketing, you’ve got
to think of how you can differentiate your unique claim from everyone else’s
attempts to make their claims unique. In this case, it’s “Dr. Sears’ [product
name]” or “Dr. Sears discovers …” It’s something that’s unique to your story,
your travels, your experience, your knowledge that has to be brought forward
immediately in the headline and in the lead.

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EXERCISE #1

Review the following Promotion, Dr. Al Sears’ Ultra Primal Lean direct mail
promotion (#21 in your Health Market Swipe File), and identify the USP of the
supplement offered:

The USP:
Now, check our USP in the answers at the end of this chapter.

on the
Answers
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EXERCISE #1 ANSWER:

Dr. Sears is uniquely qualified to provide you with an effective “Paleo”

solution for weight loss since he is one of the country’s only Paleo M.D.s.
He also follows a Paleo diet and lifestyle himself and has traveled around
the world to research other cultures that still follow a traditional Paleo
diet. In addition, he is an M.D. and widely acclaimed expert on nutrition.

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CHAPTER 4

Targeting The Right Emotions

One of the key elements in any direct-response offer is targeting the right
emotions. People may think they buy for rational reasons, but in truth, they’re
driven by emotion. Because of that, it’s very important for you to understand
how specific emotions work when used in different ways. And it’s your job to
tap into the right emotions in just the right way.

Once you have figured out what makes your product unique and how its
benefits will improve your prospect’s life, you can decide which emotions will
be most useful for selling your product. As you know, there are any number
of emotions you can use when writing copy. But this program will address
only the ones most commonly used when writing for the health industry. Of
course, this doesn’t mean you can’t use other emotions. There have been
excellent packages written in the health area that use additional emotions quite
effectively.

Let’s start with an emotion that’s a little tricky when it comes to health.

The Pitfalls of Fear

One of the minefields you must circumvent in the health markets is the issue
of fear.

Consider this: A person’s health is the basis for a good life. When someone’s
health fails, he suffers. And sometimes, no matter how much hope a person
has, the disease is not going to go away. The best he can do is control it.

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Imagine being the person who discovers he is…

• Sprouting cancer cells at a deadly rate

• A likely candidate for heart surgery

• Destined to life in a wheelchair because of multiple sclerosis

These are serious, life-threatening diseases. The CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/

nchs/index.htm) reports that 21.1 million adults in the US have been diagnosed
with cancer and another 28.4 million with heart disease, which is the #1 cause
of death in the US.

Do you want to address these people with fear?

That probably wouldn’t be a good idea, would it? After all, they’re probably
frightened enough as it is.

Instead, when dealing with terminal or devastating illnesses, address them very
carefully. Forget the fear factor and be sure to include a good dose of hope.

But don’t think that fear is taboo when marketing health products. It certainly
isn’t. Just be careful of when and how you use it.

Combining Fear with Other Emotions

When you use fear in health packages, it should never be the sole emotion you
evoke. In other marketplaces, you can use fear throughout an entire package…
with the promise that the solution to that fear will be obtained with the
purchase of the product.

That doesn’t work in the health industry. If you’re going to bring up fear, it must
immediately be followed with a solution. This Fear/Hope relationship works very
effectively when used properly.

You can see how this works by taking a look at Promotion #3 in your Health
Market Swipe File.

In this promotion, you’re told there is a “health disaster brewing in your

bowels.” The “BOOM!” headline and graphic with the stopwatch grabs attention
and creates urgency. It’s an effective use of fear. However, at the bottom of the
front cover the copy teases about “The Digestion Miracle Pill” revealed inside,
promising a solution or hope. The solution is an herbal digestive supplement
called Dyflogest.
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The magalog promotion continues on page 2 with more fear and urgency… with
a somewhat grotesque photo of toxins leaking out of an intestine.

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After several pages of fear, the tone of the copy moves to hope — with the
promise of salvation on page 8 of the magalog.

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Another fear tactic that’s often used in marketing health products is the Fear/
Distrust/Hope combination. This is typically used in direct-mail packages
with an anti-establishment tone. These packages tap into the reader’s negative
experiences with mainstream medicine.

Many individuals have been to the doctor over and over again, but never get
better. They just get more prescription medications and surgeries. They fear
that their condition will continue to deteriorate, and they have reached a point
where they aren’t as trusting in their doctor’s decisions.

These packages address that fear, sympathize with the distrust, and ultimately
offer hope.

For example, this VSL promotion has been The Institute for Natural Healing’s most
successful offer to date. It’s an offer for a newsletter subscription, but it reads
like a health expose and is a good example of addressing fear, sympathizing with
distrust, and then offering hope. The transcript is Promotion #4 in your Swipe File.

https://pro.inhresearch.com/p/THC-CANDIDA-THL-PRO-LIFE-0416A/ETHCU229

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The Power of Hope

Hope is clearly one of the best emotions to evoke when working on health-
related packages, especially those that deal with serious illnesses and the
degeneration of our health that occurs as we age.

But keep in mind that everyone fears getting older and developing serious
health problems.

Think of all the “what ifs” that occur to people across the United States every
day. They pop into your mind, too, so it should be very easy for you, as a
copywriter, to tap into the mindset of your target audience.

What if you…

• Get a life-threatening disease?

• Can’t maintain sexual performance?

• Lose your eyesight?

• Become forgetful?

If you could avoid any and all of those problems as you age, wouldn’t you? Of
course you would!

When you sit down to write a health package, look at the product from all
angles and tap into your (and your family’s) health concerns. That will help you
relate to the product.

And by the way, if you don’t believe in the product, you probably shouldn’t
be writing a promo for it, because you won’t be able to connect with your
audience.

Greed: It’s Not All Bad

Besides fear, greed is one of the emotions commonly invoked in marketing

campaigns. Much of the time, greed is the emotion used in financial offers,
but it’s a core emotion that plays a role universally. You’ll see it most clearly in
action when offering a premium or limited-time offer. Everybody loves to get
something extra, particularly if its value far outweighs the time or work they
need to invest to get it. These additions to a marketing campaign tickle the
prospect’s greed.

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You can also cater to greed when explaining the benefits of a product, though.
How many times have you read an ad for a weight-loss supplement or diet plan
that promised extreme weight loss in minimal time? These claims entice the
reader, making them greedy for results. Greed can be used for many types of
healthcare products besides those related to diet and exercise, including ones
that increase performance or counteract aging.

Like fear, greed can also be combined with hope. For instance, when a testimonial
for a weight-loss supplement includes before and after photos, the reader might
think, “Well, if it worked for that person, then it can work for me!” In fact, while
greed alone may leave the prospect wondering whether the offer is too good to
be true, that disbelief can be counteracted by a small infusion of hope.

If your product can truly offer above and beyond what the prospect is used to
expecting, consider implementing greed as part of your copy.

The Secret of Using Vanity and Envy Effectively

The emotions of vanity and envy work exceptionally well when dealing with
products that slow or reverse the aging process and improve performance or
appearance. This covers a wide range of items, including anti-aging or energy
supplements, libido enhancers, exercise and weight- loss programs, and skin
creams that reduce wrinkles or age spots.

Many people buy these products because they desire to be more attractive and
fit. They long to have the figure they had or perform like they did as a young
adult. They want to be attractive to the opposite sex and feel desirable again.
And among the emotions these desires stir are vanity and envy.

Let’s take hair loss as an example. Many men over the age of 40 lust for a full
head of hair. And they are envious of the 50-year-old co-worker who still has a
crown of black curls.

What about a well-toned, muscular body? Men and women alike start fighting
the battle of the bulge at a certain age. They want the hot body they had 10 or
20 years ago. When they go to the beach, they envy the people who still look
great in their bikinis and swim trunks.

And let’s not forget wrinkles, sexual performance, and all those other annoying
problems that catch up with us as we grow older.

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Take a look at Promotion #5 in your Health Market Swipe File. This “slim jim”
direct mail package is promoting an anti-aging and energy supplement called
“Juvenon Energy Formula”. The headline on the front cover asks, “Searching
for your youthful do-over?” Other copy promises: “Enjoy a better sex life,” and
“Feel & look fabulous.” The idea of a transformation or way to turn back the
hands of time is a big part of the front cover’s appeal.

It’s not just the copy that’s used, either. When studying promotions that
successfully target emotions like vanity and envy, look at the graphics used.
In this example, a youthful-looking couple is dancing, appearing energized
and happy.

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I’m sure you’ve noticed how the pictures portrayed in the advertising of
these products almost always include people who have a great body, clear
complexion, and fantastic hair. The marketers are playing the envy card.

But sometimes it’s hard to wrap your mind around various aspects of vanity
and envy because they aren’t as widely used as other emotional buttons. And
sometimes they can be considered negative emotions.

If you can’t seem to get a handle on these two emotions and find yourself
struggling with them, here’s a nice little secret:

Whenever you get stuck, think of vanity and envy in the same way you
think of greed and fear. In other words …
• Vanity – People are greedy for great looks.

• Envy – People fear they do not look as good as others.

Hopefully this little trick will help you get through any roadblocks you might
encounter when working with these two emotions.

Now, let’s take a look at Promotion #6 in your Health Market Swipe File. This
online promotion makes use of both vanity and envy... two emotions that
resonate with prospects seeking younger-looking skin.

NOTE: Visit: http://www.trymakana.com to see the promotion.

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In this example, Makana is promoted as the “Hawaiian secret” to help you fall
in love with your skin again. It shows a close-up of a woman with a smooth,
beautiful complexion.

Further down the sales page there is another large photo of a beautiful, young-
looking woman with the headline “The Hawaiian Beauty Miracle Revealed Here.”
After the headline and photo is the following copy:

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This copy plays on envy of Hawaiian women’s natural beauty and romances
the solution the company is offering as their “secret” or “beauty miracle.”

Several testimonials and “before” and “after” photos provide substantiation to

overcome disbelief. Copy that targets emotions is usually most effective when
rational proof is provided to move the prospect towards a purchase decision.

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Identifying Your Prospect’s “Core Desire”

As a direct-response copywriter, you already know how important it is to

understand what your audience’s beliefs are, what they fear, and what they
desire. And how important it is to develop a clear mental picture of your reader.

After you pinpoint exactly who you’re writing to and what his concerns are,
you’ll be able to identify your prospect’s core desire – the one thing he wants
very deeply. Only then will you be able to come up with the strong promise that
will form the basis of your promotion.

How do you use this secret when you’re writing to the health market? Let’s
say you have an assignment to promote a men’s nutritional supplement that
improves prostate health. What would drive a man to take this supplement?

Well, doesn’t he want to prevent prostate cancer?

Sure, he does. But prevention doesn’t sell. Even though your prospect wants to
prevent cancer, this desire isn’t strong enough to move him to action. So, the
idea of preventing prostate cancer isn’t a core desire.

Let’s see… He also wants to be able to do the things he used to be able to do.
Like urinate without pain. Enjoy sex. Even have sex.

That’s good! The desire to do things he was once able to do is a deeper desire
– one that can move your prospect to action. If your product can fulfill that
desire, this, then, can become the “big idea” of your promotion – your promise
to the reader.

Al Serin, past President of VitalMax Vitamins, sums up the importance of

identifying the core desire of your audience this way:

“To develop a solid promotion, you need to know the symptoms of the
health problem you are writing about – but you also need to dig deeper.
Hang out with your audience. Get close to them. Talk to them and figure
out what makes them tick. Then you can find out what is really bothering
them. Is it because the pain hurts – or because it keeps them from doing
what they used to do? For example, I know a person with dementia. The
doctor took away this person’s right to drive. It’s the loss of independence
that is the most important thing to this person. A good copywriter has to
give a lot of thought to this.”

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You know your prospect inside and out – and you’ve come up with a promise
based on his core desire. Now you’re ready to figure out which emotions
you’re going to tap into in your promotion… which of his “hot buttons” you’re
going to push.

EXERCISE #2

To refresh your skills at identifying specific emotions, it’s time to do a little

research. In this exercise, we want to focus on an herbal supplement called
milk thistle. Check the internet, your personal resources, or visit your local
library or bookstore to find out how milk thistle affects the body, which health
concerns it is most beneficial in treating, and the key emotions you could use to
market the product (i.e., fear/hope, vanity/envy).

Keep in mind that all the information online isn’t accurate. Anyone can post
anything online. Just because it’s out there doesn’t make it true. This is
especially true in the alternative health market.

In the 19th century, quacks and snake oil salesmen sold phony cures from the
backs of horse-drawn wagons. Today, they use the internet. So, choose your
sources carefully. Credible sources reference studies and clinical trials that
prove their claims. And it’s advisable to get into the habit of making note of
your sources. Once you begin to write copy for the health industry, you need to
be sure that your information is rock solid, can be backed up, and won’t present
potential problems for the marketer.

When you’re finished, check your answers against our answers at the end of
this chapter.

on the
Answers
page
following

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EXERCISE #2 ANSWERS:

If you did your research, you should have come up with some of the
following key emotions that can be used with milk thistle, which is
typically used to maintain a healthy liver…

• Fear: 30 million people are affected by liver disease, with

3.9 million diagnosed each year.

• Fear: Type II diabetes is common in people with fatty liver.

• Fear: Liver disease can cause depression, mood swings,

and poor concentration.

• Fear: Poor nutrition – the liver stores copper, iron, and

vitamins B12, A, D, E and K; liver disease can result in
deficiency of these nutrients.

• Fear: Increased risk of heart disease and strokes.

• Vanity: A healthy liver can be seen in healthy skin tone.

• Vanity: Poor liver health can lead to a buildup of fat (obesity)

and inability to lose weight.

• Hope: Milk thistle protects the liver from toxins.

• Hope: Milk thistle acts as an antioxidant.

• Hope: Milk thistle contains cholesterol-lowering properties.

• Hope: A healthy liver protects against cancer.

• Hope: Promising research shows that milk thistle may protect

against breast, ovarian, prostate, and skin cancers.

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CHAPTER 5

Planning Your Strategy

Before you write the headline copy for any product, you need to have a clear
idea of the strategy you are going use to gain – and keep – your reader’s
attention. Sometimes it will tie directly to the USP, but many times it will not.
Quite often, the USP is only brought out inside the package with internal copy.

So, what approach are you going to use to pull the reader in… and keep him
there? How is it going to tie in with your headline and the “big promise”?

It’s important that you consider these questions in advance, no matter what
type of product you are writing for. But it sometimes requires a bit more work
in the health industry. That’s because there are so many similar products being
marketed – and many of the marketing pieces sound the same.

Our goal is to make sure you do not fall into the habit of writing copy that
sounds like everyone else’s. Since the health industry is so cluttered with the
“same old-same old,” you want to make sure your copy sounds different from
the others’.

First, you need to remember who your audience is. At the outset, we mentioned
that Baby Boomers are largely responsible for the explosive growth of the
health market. Unless a product is specifically age-geared otherwise, consider
the Boomers your target audience.

Second, remember that the emotions we talked about earlier in this program
will also come into play when determining your strategy.

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Third, recognize that there are numerous approaches you can use to grab your
reader’s attention. The following are simply examples of tactics that have been
successful when marketing health products.

Three Strategies to Grab Your Reader’s Attention

STRATEGY #1: New Discoveries

If the product you are marketing contains a new ingredient, is based on the
results of a new study, or is groundbreaking news, you will clearly want to use
that to your advantage.

The problem is you probably aren’t on top of the latest and greatest, right?

If you plan to pursue the health market, you should start accumulating a
library of health promos, research, reference manuals, and other health-related
materials. These will help you keep up with health news.

Sometimes, however, information on new breakthroughs is most easily obtained

from someone closely related to the product. It may be the formulator, a
nutritionist, a doctor, or the owner of the company.

If you plan on using the “new discovery” strategy

(see Promotion #7 in the Health Market Swipe
File), meet with all of the people on the team
who are familiar with it. Discuss why it is a
new discovery, how they heard about it, what
studies are available regarding it, and any other
information you can dig out of them.

The most successful new discoveries solve a

pressing problem for your target audience and
offer a better solution than what they may
have tried in the past. For example, Promotion
#7 promises, “The Greatest Blood Sugar
Breakthrough of Our Time.” The promotion goes
on to prove why this new solution can help the
prospect control his blood sugar levels naturally,
even when other approaches he’s tried have
failed. It also differentiates the product that’s
being offered as superior, unique, and exclusive.

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This helps convince the prospect to take the desired action and order the
product, rather than try to find it somewhere else.

STRATEGY #2: Re-Discoveries – New Life for Known Cures

There are only so many breakthroughs each year, and you may not be able to
get in on the forefront of one of them when your promotion is being written. Or
there may be none that apply to the product you are marketing.

In these cases, you can sometimes “reinvent” old cures.

One way is to make something old seem new again. As some health solutions
become more mainstream, there’s an opportunity to present your product as
superior. You can also put a new twist on it by offering a unique form or source
(if it’s a supplement) or combining it with other nutrients, so it’s not the same
as what your prospect may find in a store or a discount catalog or website.

Promotion #8 in your Health Market Swipe File is a perfect example. In this

piece, a leading cardiologist’s “60 second a day secret” lets him (and his
patients) cover all of their cardiovascular bases while taking one “all-in-one”
supplement. It doesn’t tell the reader that it’s not a new discovery. It tells the
reader it’s an easier, better solution.

This particular supplement contains fish oil, CoQ10, resveratrol, and other
nutrients. They’ve been widely known and promoted for more than a decade.
But now you can get them — in their superior, more effective forms — in one,
doctor-recommended supplement.

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STRATEGY #3: Playing the Anti-Establishment Card

We briefly touched on the anti-establishment strategy earlier when we

discussed emotions. Anti-establishment pieces can be focused against the FDA
or the pharmaceutical industry. They can be directed at HMOs or hospitals. And
in other instances, they are used to target medical doctors. (See Promotion
#9 in your Health Market Swipe File. Note: this promotion may be more than a
decade old, but it’s truly a classic. It was so successful, it mailed strongly as a
control for years — so it’s well worth studying.)

IMPORTANT: When playing the anti-establishment card, never make the

reader’s doctor one of the “bad guys.” People still respect their family doctor. If
you attack their trusted friend, they’ll side with the doctor against you and flatly
reject your sales copy.

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Remember when proton-pump inhibitors, common treatment for acid reflux or

gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), were found to increase risk for kidney
disease? That was a marketing heyday for natural acid reflux treatments. And
newsletter marketers also took advantage of it. Suddenly, alternative health
doctors with newsletters had a lot to say about the FDA… and a lot more to say
about natural alternatives for GERD.

So it’s a good idea to keep up on the real news that occurs in the industry.

The folks you are working with – doctors, nutritionists, formulators – will be
invaluable as sources of information. They usually catch wind of controversy
before it happens. They also have long memories and numerous stories to tell
about things like…

• Supplements getting blocked by the pharmaceutical industry

• Natural ingredients found in our food sources that have been banned from
supplementation by the FDA

• Deadly pharmaceuticals that are available to anyone who asks their

doctor for them

• Prescription and over-the-counter drugs that haven’t had rigorous testing

• Botched surgeries

• HMO’s mishandling cases for the sake of profits

Doctors and nutritionists typically have many stories about misdiagnosed cases
or cases where changing food sources or supplementation had phenomenal
results. So, keep reading – and keep asking questions.

Other Strategies

Of course, there are several strategies for approaching your reader. However,
we went into detail on the three above because each requires a great deal of
research… and because we want to be sure you understand how to get the
information you’ll need.

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Other strategies that you can use to approach your target include:

STRATEGY #4: Make pain disappear.

This is particularly good when used with topics such as joint pain, arthritis,
migraines, and other painful ailments. There’s an ongoing Spec Challenge for
The Healthy Back Institute.

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STRATEGY #5: Revitalization.

Many supplements, natural food products, and products that affect appearance
use this strategy. The basic underlying concept is to revitalize, energize, and
maximize your life. (See Promotion #11.)

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STRATEGY #6: Beat disease.

You’ll see a lot of direct-response material in the health arena that

implies or suggests disease can be beaten with specific products or advice.
Included with this program is a copy of the FTC guidelines, which can also
be found at https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/
advertising-marketing-internet-rules-road. They contain specific rules related
to what may and may not be said. Before writing, especially if your promo
is for supplements, make sure you familiarize yourself with these rules.

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STRATEGY #7: Live longer.

Who doesn’t want to live longer, right? There are a lot of offers that play off of
everyone’s desire to remain healthy and reach a ripe old age. (See Promotion
#13.) This particular promotion for an alternative health newsletter was a huge
success and mailed to millions of names.

EXERCISE #3

Examine the headlines on the next several pages and identify the strategy, or
overriding theme, of each package.

Headline #1

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Headline #2

Hi, my name is Joe Barton, and today, what if I told you, you’d never have
to pop a Prevacid, Prolsec, Zegrid, or Nexium again? Sound good? Excellent,
because that’s just what I’m going to talk to you about. See, I’ve discovered
a remedy that that has cured acid reflux, GERD, heartburn, and many other
digestive problems. Best part is this remedy is 100% natural, no drugs.

But before I tell you about it, I need to let you know what inspired me to share
this important information with you today.

Those acid reflux drugs I mentioned earlier are known as Proton-Pump Inhibitors,
or PPIs. Now, I’ve been saying those are dangerous for years. And finally, the
FDA agrees with me. It’s true. The big guys at the Food and Drug Administration
admitted the drugs they approved are dangerous and even deadly.

Now the FDA never admits guilt about anything. So not only does this come as
a surprise, you know it must be really bad if they say it is. So, on February 8th,

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2012, they issued a stern warning that using these medicines can give you a
condition called C. Diff. What’s C. Diff?

Well, this is where I scare the living daylights out of you, so pay close attention,
because this is absolutely true, and really frightening. The skinny about C. Diff,
or Clostridium Difficile, is that it causes diarrhea that never stops. Your stool
gets watery at first, then you may break into fever, suffer intense abdominal
pain, and the trouble doesn’t stop there!

You’ll also experience life-threatening ulcers, perforations, or complete paralysis

of your colon.

And here’s the bottom line on C. Diff ... it kills about 10% of the folks that get it.

Some of the most common drugs that are taken today are PPIs. Why? Because
they do a terrific job of hiding your problem. They may take away the pain
temporarily, but they do nothing at all to treat the root cause of the problem.

See, when you have heartburn or acid reflux, your body is trying to tell you
that there’s a problem. Like the “Check Engine” light in your car. If that light
comes on, would you put a piece of masking tape over it so you didn’t see it?
Of course you wouldn’t.

But that’s just what you’re doing when you mask the problem and ignore it.

Which brings me back to the reason I’m telling you all this. Get ready to
discover the 100% natural remedy that has no dangerous, life-threatening
side effects.

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Headline #3:

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Headline #4:

Be sure to check your answers against ours at the end of this chapter.

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ANSWER EXERCISE #3:

1. Pain

2. New discovery

3. Anti-establishment

4. Live longer

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CHAPTER 6

Create A Healthy Headline

Once you have determined your strategy, it’s time to start working on your
headline. By far, the headline is the most important element of your package.
Without a decent headline, your package will end up in the trash.

Just think about it. Even though all of your copy is important, your headline
copy is what will make people decide whether to read further or not.

No matter how much blood, sweat, and tears you put into page after page of
copy, just a handful of words — your headline — will determine if it gets read.
So if you don’t have an absolutely fantastic headline, all of your hard work and
creative genius inside the package will go to waste.

Headline length is hotly debated... and not everyone agrees on what constitutes
a headline. Some prefer short headlines... and they seem to work best for
those writers. But some pretty long headline/subhead combinations across all
niches have been phenomenally successful, too. Master copywriter Ted Nicholas
limits his to 17 words. He says he’s only gone longer twice... and both promos
bombed.

When developing the headline, consider everything you know about the
product, USP, and target audience. Think about the emotions you wish to target
and give careful thought to the strategy you have decided to use.

Once you feel that you have reconciled all of the above, it’s time to sit down
and write your headline copy.

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Your headline should be urgent, useful, unique, and ultra-specific (the Four
U’s™) — the four critical parts that can supercharge any direct response bullet,
any subhead — and any headline.

What are the “Four U’s™”?

URGENCY

The headline should give the prospect a reason to desire the benefit sooner
rather than later.

USEFULNESS

The headline should communicate something of value to the prospect.

UNIQUENESS

The headline should suggest that what it’s offering is in some way different
from everything else of its type. All claims should be uniquely associated with a
certain product or service.

ULTRA-SPECIFICITY

Vagueness should be avoided at all costs. The prospect must know what specific
benefits are in store for him.

The secret of the Four U’s™ is deceptively simple. When put together, they hook
your prospect’s interest, entice him with a benefit, establish credibility, and
urge him to read on.

Because the health market is crowded with many similar products, uniqueness
and ultra-specificity are hugely important when writing your headline. You don’t
want to sound the same as another package… and vagueness certainly won’t
play well. If you can’t create a headline using all four of the U’s, be sure to hit
no less than three. And in the health field, uniqueness and ultra-specificity are
particularly important.

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How Long is Long Enough?

The intense competition in the health market may explain why some health
headlines have grown rather long. Take, for example the following headline
from a long-running control from Boardroom:

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The main headline promises a cure for cancer that works better than
conventional medicine. The bullets that follow highlight additional cures the
reader can discover inside the promotion.

This promotion is aimed at an aging population — one that’s beginning to

experience (or may be well into experiencing) the effects of age. Living without
pain, sickness, etc. and keeping their heart healthy are key motivators for
them.

Are all effective health headlines long? No. This headline takes a very different
approach, focusing on revitalization. As people age, they don’t just want to
stay healthy. They want to look and feel as young as they can for as long as
possible.

One of the most successful health headlines ever was targeted at a very specific
audience. This simple ad ran in classified sections all over the country, and the
headline was a single word.

A successful one-word headline? Absolutely. The headline read, in bold type…

CORNS?

That one-word headline sold countless packages of corn remedy. And anyone
who’s suffered with the discomfort of corns will know why.

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The point here is that your headline must get your prospect’s attention. But
that doesn’t mean you have to write a novel. You simply must write enough to
get the job done. If you do, and your headline has at least three of the Four
U’s™, you have an excellent chance of success.

Sometimes, They Won’t See Your Headline…

As of last year, around 4.9 billion email accounts existed worldwide, making
it the channel with the widest reach for online marketing campaigns. In fact,
it’s estimated that internet users are almost twice as likely to purchase from a
email campaign than from a simple Google search.

This means you’ll probably be writing a lot of emails for your clients. And if you
do, your headline suddenly becomes secondary.

Secondary to the “headline” of the email world: the subject line.

Subject lines are a lot like headlines. Very, very short headlines. You see, your
prospect can only see about the first 48 characters of your subject line before
the email is opened.

And those 48 characters are all the real estate you have to convince him to
open the email. Just to make it more of a challenge, that includes spaces.

So what can you say to get your email opened instead of sent straight into
the trash? There are a few rules of thumb for emails in general, and some for
promotional emails in particular.

Creating Powerful Subject Lines

The folks at MailChimp, an email newsletter service, suggest avoiding certain

negative trigger words. Most marketers know to avoid the word “free” in their
subject lines. But in a large survey, MailChimp also found “reminder,” “percent
off,” and “help” pushed open rates down.

They also found that exclamation points (!) and CAPITALS lowered open rates.

The Mequoda Group – a company that helps publishers transition to the digital
world – has also identified certain subject line features that get email opened.
Their list includes:

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• Personalization – Nancy, you deserve a good night’s rest

• How to – How to reverse diabetes without drugs

• News – Doctor finds $2 heart cure

• List – 5 secrets that prevent cancer

• Teasers – 2 healthy foods that make joint pain worse

• Commands – Stop taking this mineral or risk death

• Questions – Is your multivitamin worth the money?

Marketers have experimented with practically everything you can imagine. Here
are a few other subject line tips that may boost open rates:

• Borrow credibility – Drop the name of a famous person, but only if it

truly relates to your message

• Use “Re:” – Some marketers find starting with Re: boosts open rates
regardless of the rest of the subject line

• Scarcity/Exclusivity – If it’s rare or hard to get, people will want it

• Odd numbers – Even numbers in the subject line can depress response…
Go figure!

• Local reference – People will open an email that refers to their town/
county/state

• Social proof – If everybody else is doing it, then your reader will

Of course, every marketer’s experience will be a little different, depending on

their audience. But that’s no problem.

To help you get started with honing the perfect subject line, MailChimp now offers
a Subject Line Researcher. You can compare your subject line to their database

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of millions of emails. It’s available with a free account at www.MailChimp.com.

Just go to “Create a Campaign,” add a subject line, click “How do I write a good
subject line?” and follow the link to the Subject Line Researcher. The website
will then rate the words in your subject line with one to five stars.

According to Return Path, most email subject lines are between 41 and 50
characters, and they suggest that the “sweet spot” is 65. In the past few
years, more than half of the emails sent were opened on mobile devices. This
is an important factor to keep in mind, considering the range of characters that
display on each of these devices:

Email is easy to test. Unlike letters, there are no printing costs. So encourage
your clients to test different types of subject lines till they find what works best
for them.

EXERCISE #4

Pick any health market product you use or interests you. Do some research
and determine what makes the product unique and useful. Then write headlines
and subject lines that are ultra-specific and create urgency. Start by writing
10 headlines. Follow that with 10 subject lines.

Be sure to take as much time as you need. Creative genius doesn’t always
come at your beck and call.

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CHAPTER 7

Choosing a Voice For

Instant Credibility

At this stage of the program, you’re well on your way to understanding the key
concepts of direct-response writing. You know your market. You know your
product’s USP. You know which emotions you’re going to tap into. And you know
what theme, or strategy, you’re going to use. Plus, you’ve already written your
headline.

The next question you need to ask yourself is what voice you should use to
address your prospect.

Voicing Your Approach

Because health is a very personal topic, it’s best to develop a personal

approach to writing your sales letter. Bring a live personality into the piece
whenever possible.

Let’s take a look at some of the different voices you can adopt.

CREDIBILITY VOICE #1: The Doctor’s Voice

One of the best things you can do if a product is associated with a doctor is to
bring the doctor to life in the sales letter. It should be clear to the reader that
he is a professional – it gives your letter instant credibility – but also give him a
personal and friendly nature. Your doctor should have a great bedside manner!

One key to doing this is to get to know the doctor personally. Call him up and
talk with him for a while. Let him share stories of his youth… his family life…

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medical emergencies he has had to face… why he became a doctor. Then weave
these stories into your copy.

If he’s taking supplements or endorses supplements, find out what kind – and
which ones he personally takes. If he has specific beliefs about prescription
medications, alternative therapies, whatever… make note of them.

Later, when you start writing, find one of his personal beliefs that is unique,
believable, beneficial, and actionable – and make it a key theme in your
package. You may even find a winning USP here.

The execution of the doctor’s voice in Promotion #14 in your Health Market
Swipe File is done exceedingly well. Inside this Bottom Line Books (Boardroom)
self-mailer is a lift note where Dr. Mark Stengler introduces himself. Throughout
the “bookalog,” which is organized into chapters, Dr. Stengler provides example
after example of real-life patients he has treated with the same natural cures
he writes about. On page 16 he provides a personal story about how he avoids
catching colds and flu. Almost all of the promotion is written in the doctor’s
voice, in a conversational tone that develops trust with the reader.

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CREDIBILITY VOICE #2: The Nutritionist

Although you don’t see many newsletters with a nutrition guru, nutritionists can
be very effective as spokespeople for supplements, health books, weight loss
programs, and food products. JJ Virgin, a nutritionist and fitness expert, has
parlayed her expertise into a wildly successful and fast-growing business. Her
empire includes four New York Times best-selling books, online programs, and
her own line of shakes, supplements, and bars.

As you can see, there are no absolutes, and if you have a credible guru, a
unique product or service, and write compelling copy, you’re bound to be
successful. In JJ Virgin’s case, she also makes good use of video to project her
personality and bond with her prospects and customers.

Just as with doctors, it’s a good idea to bring out the personal side of the
nutritionist. There is usually a good story associated with his being in the
industry or the driving force behind his passion to help others. Dig it out and, if
it works, use it. Apply his experience and knowledge to the product at hand.

In JJ Virgin’s case, the “About” page on her website tells her gripping personal
story about a turning point in her life involving the near-death of her teenage son.

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If you’re writing a promotion about a supplement endorsed by a nutritionist,

find out if he is using it. If it’s a food product, does he eat it? Does he use it in
his practice? Does he have success stories he can share to add credibility to the
package?

The more you find out about him and his practice, expertise, and what
motivates him to serve others, the more credible and compelling you will be
able to make your piece.

Visit JJ Virgin’s website to view her complete promotional style and program.
The medium-length sales page makes effective use of video as well as copy,
graphics, and testimonials. The entire program is delivered online and includes
workbooks, a journal, audio presentations, transcripts, and other resources.

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CREDIBILITY VOICE #3: The Spokesperson

Writing in the voice of a spokesperson uses many of the same techniques as

the nutritionist. The difference, however, is that the spokesperson usually has a
good reason for recommending the product.

There is typically some type of crisis associated with the spokesperson turning
to alternative health. Exercise and diet products are markets where the
spokesperson’s voice is used a great deal, usually because that person lost
weight or pumped up his body using that particular product.

The key is to get his personal story. Think of Oprah Winfrey ( spokesperson
for Weight Watchers) and her weight issues. If you were writing a promo for
Weight Watchers, you would certainly use as much of Oprah’s personal story as
possible, right?

You don’t have to stick with one spokesperson, either. Weight Watchers recently
added record producer DJ Khaled as their social media ambassador, giving their
program yet another celebrity voice in their long list of endorsers.

Be sure to write the story in a way that sympathizes with the reader and puts
the reader in the spokesperson’s shoes. Then integrate the reader into the story.

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CREDIBILITY VOICE #4: The Concerned Person

Copywriters have also successfully used the voice of someone like the president
of a company or a scientist – someone who cares about the product and the
reader.

When writing a letter in this voice, the credibility may not be as strong. But if
you really know your audience, you can build in the right emotional buttons.
Just be sure to make the voice honest and sincere, and use testimonials and
cite studies to add further credibility.

In Promotion #15 from your Health Market Swipe File, the copywriter managed
to make it work in a very believable way. Throughout the 16-page letter, the
Director of Natural Health Solutions mentions specific studies and research. And
there are multiple testimonials scattered throughout the promotion. The overall
tone is newsy, authoritative, and that of a concerned person. In other words,
the copywriter pulled out all the stops to create a sense of credibility.

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CREDIBILITY VOICE #5: The Happy Customer

A testimonial-driven letter written by a satisfied customer (or multiple satisfied

customers) can be very powerful. Be sure it’s sincere, conversational, and
honest. But remember: You can’t just “make up” a customer. If you write this
type of letter, you must have a customer who is willing to put his name and
signature on the letter.

Promotion #19 in your Health Market Swipe File is a good example of using
the voice of multiple happy customers. The front cover shows a list of satisfied

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customer testimonials about the anti-aging supplement that’s being promoted

inside. The theme of “Thousands of Real-Life Stories” continues on page 2, and
several more testimonials appear within the main letter as well as sidebars
throughout the promotion.

With health products, it can be a challenge to write a magalog or other long

promo in one “Happy Customer’s” voice. That’s because you wouldn’t expect
an average customer to know the science behind the benefits... and presenting
that science is an important part of your proof. In Promotion #19, the Institute
for Vibrant Living went with multiple testimonials stories that are being shared
by a narrator who seems knowledgeable and authoritative. The real-life
customer quotes and stories throughout provide “social proof” and are engaging
enough to keep prospects reading.

The challenge of presenting the proof credibly may be one reason you don’t
see the “Happy Customer” voice used frequently in health promotions. But it is
used, and it’s a viable option to have in your toolbox.

More often, you’ll see health promos make heavy use of customer testimonials
— often providing pages or sidebars loaded with short testimonials. Promotion
#19 does this on the front and back covers, in sidebars, and throughout the
running copy.

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Testimonials

Besides using the voice of the happy customer to personalize your copy, you
can include him in another way: a testimonial. We all know we’re more likely
to try a product or service if we hear great things about it from a friend.
Testimonials act like this referral: your reader sees how well the product has
worked for someone else, which in turn makes him willing to try it for himself.

To go back to our discussion of emotions earlier, testimonials help enhance the

feeling of hope a reader experiences – maybe this product will work for him,
too! Maybe he’ll look younger, have more energy, or feel less pain! The right
testimonial can be the turning point in convincing a prospect to buy instead of
continuing to research options.

Not having testimonials in your sales letter

will hijack responses
By Sandy Franks
I’m seeded on dozens of e-letters, which means I get to read not only
that publisher’s editorial content but also see their sales promotions. I’ll
be honest; I’m a little alarmed. I often see sales letters without a single
testimonial.

I don’t know why this is happening. I think it’s a mistake because not
having testimonials is the easiest way to hijack sales.

Here’s a perfect example… WikiJob, the UK’s largest graduate jobs

website did an A/B split case study test using testimonials.

Sales Page A had no testimonials. Sales Page B had three lines of

customer testimonials. The results? Sales Page B increased sales by 34%.

After seeing the results, Chris Muktar, an owner of WikiJob said, “I did not
think that testimonials would make such a difference (and indeed put off
testing them, thinking they were irrelevant). The increase in revenue was
very substantial.”

I’m not surprised by these results. I mentored under the steel thumb of
master marketers and copywriters Bill Bonner and Mark Ford. Those two

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can break copy down better than anyone I’ve ever worked with. And they
would tell you that having testimonials is part of building credibility.

Testimonials in their truest form are word-of-mouth marketing. But

instead of focusing on what they are, let’s take a few minutes to talk
about the importance of having the right testimonial.

You see it’s not enough to include any ol’ testimonial. Nope. Your job,
dear copywriter, is to find the ones that:

• Overcome buyer skepticism

• Act as a great selling tool

• Persuade and prove to the prospect the benefits are true

Here’s what most typical testimonials look like: “I love this product! I
can’t get enough! I’m so glad I bought your stuff, and I’ll definitely be
back to get more!” — John Doe, customer

Now, what could be wrong with that? After all, it sure sounds like a happy
customer.

But what does this testimonial really tell your prospect? Does it prove
the product works, or explain exactly how your customer benefited from
using it?

The truth is this type of testimonial can backfire on you because it doesn’t
provide enough detail to have any real impact on prospects. You have to
dig deeper to find powerful testimonials.

How exactly do you do that? Luckily, we can turn to “A-list” copywriter,

Bob Bly, who offers a few ideas for getting testimonials that are easy
to do.

For starters, Bob Bly says whenever a customer sends a letter with
positive comments about the company or product, immediately seek
permission to use this testimonial in ads, brochures, direct mail, and
other promotions.

The easiest way to do this is to send a “release letter” to the client (along
with a photocopy of the testimonial letter, with the passages you want to
reprint highlighted in yellow).

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The second way Bob suggests getting testimonials is to get the names
and contact information of key customers. Your client can supply this
information to you.

Then, call and talk with that customer. During the conversation, you’ll
want to uncover interesting, real-life stories your prospect can relate to.
So be prepared to ask plenty of questions.

You can also look through letters received from customers that the
company has on file. Don’t ask your client to cull through them for you.
That’s the work you should do. Look for letters that tell an engaging
story of how the product changed the customer’s life. In essence, you are
looking for a “before-and-after” story.

Many of the testimonials you’ll have access to aren’t as good as they

could be. They might be too vague or just plain boring. If that’s the case,
don’t think you have to use them. Instead, do the extra work necessary
to get more engaging testimonials.

And please, never write a sales letter without including testimonials.

Real-Life Customer Testimonials from

Winning Promotions

“I have had acid reflux for years. Alkaline Body Balance™ helped me get my
body back in balance by neutralizing acid, therefore helping my acid reflux.
I now sleep at night with no problem.

“Feeling 99.9% better… I wish I would have known about [your program
earlier]. It may have prevented many years of pain and surgeries. Thank
you, Dr. Whitaker!”
– S. Powell, MaComb, MI

“By following your advice, I lost 50 lbs. It took about one year and did not
cost me one cent. Thank you!”
– B.J. Donahue, Ephrata, PA

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“There are times due to long working hours, stress, and my age (probably),
that I had, in the past, experienced bouts of ‘lack-luster performance.’

“Now, no matter how tired I may feel, there is a much faster response time.
It makes me feel like my body is reacting more as it did in my youth.

“I used the Oral Chelation first and after about a month, I noticed I was
waking up in the morning more like a teenager would. (Apparently, my
circulation has already improved.)

“I know I probably should have, but I didn’t tell the little woman. She is
probably wondering how I have managed to perform so much better lately
when I am only getting four or five hours of sleep a night.

“The reason I tried this was mostly for her. I am so happy that it is working.
Your products are WONDERFUL!”
– M.R.D., Covington, Kentucky

Just remember, as the late, great freelance copywriter Joan Throckmorton

always advised her clients, get permission from testimonial givers if you plan to
edit their words, or you could end up in legal hot water.

NOTE: Most companies have a testimonial release letter that

allows testimonials to be put into writing. Be sure to ask a client
if they have permission to use a testimonial before you feature it
prominently in your promotion.

Using a Lift Letter to Boost Response

Sometimes, a spokesperson or happy customer may not be willing to have

an entire package written in his voice. In these cases, you can utilize what is
known as a lift letter, lift note, or email lift.

When in print, it’s often a small 7” x 10” note that is “From the desk of Dr. X” or
“A message from Dr. X” with a quick endorsement of the product.

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Lift emails, also known as sales emails, are generally short teaser emails,
typically sent to a client’s in-house list of customers. They do the important
job of getting the reader interested enough in the product or service to click on
a link that takes him to the full sales letter. They’re a crucial part of any sales
campaign, both online and print.

Take a look at this lift note from Bob Livingston from a classic Health
Resources offer:

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Or this one from the Harvard Medical School’s Harvard Health Letter

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EXERCISE #5

If you have not previously tried out the following different voices, take this
opportunity to practice. Write a lift letter or email lift for the health product
you selected earlier in each of the voices described above. Once you are
comfortable switching between them, choose the voice you feel will work best
with the strategy you would use.

VOICE #1: The doctor

VOICE # 2: The nutritionist

VOICE #3: The spokesperson

VOICE #4: The concerned person

VOICE #5: The happy customer

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CHAPTER 8

Developing Body Copy

You’re already familiar with the basic elements of a direct-response package.

Here are a few additional considerations to keep in mind when we discuss body
copy, the bulk of your letter.

Body Copy Essentials

First, the entire time you’re writing, you should continually tug at your reader’s
core emotions. Remember that people don’t buy for rational reasons; they buy
based on emotion. And there are a lot of emotions at play in the health market.

Second, remember the Golden Thread. It’s a promise — a central theme that
runs through your promotion that reminds your prospect of what the product or
service will do for him. And it keeps your offer from wandering off in the wrong
direction.

If your copy doesn’t hold the reader’s interest, it’s going into the trash. So don’t
forget to constantly stimulate your reader by hitting upon core beliefs, feelings,
and desires.

Third, balance out the elements that give your copy strength. These elements are:

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BENEFITS:

Every product has three facets: Features, benefits, and deep benefits. If you
recall, a feature is simply a fact about the product or service, benefits are the
specific advantages a product or service can offer, and deep benefits are what
the benefits mean to the prospect.

IDEAS:

Ideas are what make your promotions interesting. The strongest promotions
usually have one “Big Idea” that guides the entire package. For example,
Eugene Schwartz sold 13 million copies of a book on offbeat healing with
the big idea “Burn Disease Out of Your Body.” Boardroom has perfected the
opposite approach — multiple small ideas. Their promotions often have a dozen
or more intriguing “fascinations” — compelling bullet points on the cover. For
example, “Chocolate sundaes that won’t make you fat! Recipe, page 85.”

CREDIBILITY:

You can promise your prospects anything. But they won’t buy unless they
believe your claims. That’s what credibility is all about. It’s proof your claims/
promises are true. Endorsements, testimonials, studies, clinical trials, journal
articles... these are all strong proof items that build credibility. For example,
you’d be more likely to buy our joint pain formula if you knew the main
ingredient had been successfully tested at the Mayo Clinic and the Surgeon
General of the U.S. used it for joint pain.

TRACK RECORD:

You’ll probably bet on a horse that’s won every race it’s entered, right? The
same goes for health products. Track record is simply showing that something
has a record of success. If many of the 10,000 people who’ve tried our joint
formula have written to say they love it — or even placed a 2nd order — you
have a track record. You can establish a track record for the product... the

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company that makes it... another of the company’s products... or even the
“guru,” if the company has one. All of these approaches make the buying
decision easier.

There’s one more thing you should consider as you develop your copy. People
who buy health products may have more objections to overcome than people
who purchase other types of products. Their thinking often goes like this: “Gee,
I tried the other stuff and it didn’t work.” “Why should I believe you?” “How
could you possibly understand my problem?” “But my doctor says…”

You get the point. There is a lot of disbelief out there. So make sure you don’t
ignore objections when writing your copy. Identify them clearly, make a sincere
effort to sympathize (but be careful of false empathy), then effectively negate
them with studies, testimonials, and professional wisdom. In fact, you might
want to make a list of objections before you start writing. That way, you’ll be
prepared to address them and help the reader overcome them as you develop
your copy.

EXERCISE #6

Take a look at the excerpt on the following pages about a new type of pain
relief. Highlight each area where an objection was raised and/or overcome.

(Note: This is an example of a less “slick” direct-mail component package. Many

marketers still find it effective today, but from a sales and cost perspective.)

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Now, check your answers against ours at the end of this chapter. How did you
do? If you didn’t do well, study this section again and redo the exercise.

With all of this in mind, let’s address specific techniques used in putting
together certain types of marketing pieces. There are fewer variations online –
although videos are becoming very popular. But we’ll touch on these, too.

What to Put in a Magalog or Tabloid

The most common marketing pieces used in promoting health products through
the mail are magalogs. If you aren’t familiar with magalogs, they are basically
magazine-style promotions. Typically, magalogs are 8 1/2” x 11” in size.

Tabloids are oversized magalogs. The typical size is 10 1/4” x 13”. Both
contain numerous sidebars that include large amounts of teaser copy
throughout the piece.

When developing your copy, we suggest you include a minimum of two or three
good, useable secrets right up front. The newsletter Second Opinion did this
very nicely in Promotion #18 from your Health Market Swipe File. This former
long-running control is a classic example of a newsletter magalog and was
written by a top copywriter. When you hit page 5, a supplement called EPL is
introduced, so the reader already feels as though he is getting something.

But the copywriter has been clever about it. He introduced the supplement, but
will only reveal specific dosages, brand names, and name inferior products if
you subscribe.

Some magalogs and tabloids carry the teasing too far. They never give away
any solid information, and that can be a turn-off for the reader. But if you give
something of value – even information – your prospect will feel an obligation to
give you something in return.

This is a clever sales technique based on Robert Cialdini’s “reciprocity rule.”

Cialdini, a psychology professor, found that offering even a very small favor
created a sense of obligation in the recipient. So when you give away the answer
– or a partial answer – in some of your teasers, you’re advancing the sale.

When structuring copy for a magalog or tabloid, there is usually a main

storyline that runs throughout the piece. This is your sales letter. Don’t let this
copy meander. Stay on course and move smoothly from one topic to another,

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leading the reader in a specific direction… the order! Remember the secret of
the Golden Thread. You’ll want to keep your sales copy tight.

Sidebars can be used in several ways. Most frequently, we see each free bonus
report (premium) highlighted in a sidebar. This, in itself, is a “sale” – an effort
to create a need for the reader to have the free reports.

Other times, when the premiums are addressed in the main article, sidebars
are used to add information or build proof and establish credibility that might
be awkward in the main letter. Let’s say a copywriter writes a lot of copy in the
sales letter for a health bulletin regarding cures for aging. The writer wants it
to be straight and clean… cure, cure, cure… and feels it would be cluttered if he
addressed why people age in the sales letter.

In this instance, the copywriter can write sidebars addressing specific issues he
believes the reader will want to know about. The sidebars will then be placed
near the related cure when the piece goes to graphics.

Finally, sidebars are a great way to present testimonials prominently for all to
see. Take a look at the following samples and notice their different uses.

You don’t have to use the sidebar for a single purpose. Any of the methods of
using sidebars can be combined.

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Personal Letters

Over the past several years, the popularity of #10 packages or personal letters
in the health field is down. Self-mailers – especially magalogs – are much more
common.

That doesn’t mean letters won’t work. It simply means they aren’t being tested
all that much right now.

If you decide to include a personal letter in your testing, make absolutely sure it
has a great headline and that the content is sincere and honest. Build credibility
and trust… and be personable.

Sidebars can be used in personal letters, but they should be used to bring out
major points only.

Brochure Copy

Writing brochure copy for supplements, workout videos, and various other
health products can be excruciating. Why? Because, as a copywriter, you
probably aren’t used to writing in a manner that many of these companies will
expect. Brochure copy is often drier and more feature-driven than the copy
you’d write for sales letters, landing pages, or space ads.

Writing for clients that are particularly careful about wording is especially
challenging. Some companies are even more restrictive than the FDA guidelines
in what they’ll allow in their copy. It always pays to review this up front. So be
sure to clarify with your client if they have any special requirements.

A lot of companies you work with will want standardized brochure copy. This
is copy that shies well away from violating any FDA rules and is generally very
bland. It’s the only thing these companies know, and they’ll pay you well for it.

In many cases, when you work with supplement brochures, the client will only
allow you to state the name of the product, a description of the ingredients, and
the role they may play in a person’s health. So be prepared for days when you
might find yourself writing something like, “Zinc. This essential trace mineral
provides valuable antioxidant nourishment.”

Other companies may allow you to become more creative. Instead of starting
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headlines like “Dieter’s Miracle,” “Banish Wrinkles,” or “Boost Your IQ,” followed
by some nice copy. But remember, substantiation is vitally important.

The point is, if you have a client who will give you room to be creative, and you
can provide back-up materials for what you write, writing brochure copy can
actually be fun.

Online – Video Content

The use of video in direct marketing is hot, and it’s only going to get hotter.
Just take a look at these current trends in consumer attitudes and behavior:

• A whopping 75% of people now share video content and usually do so

using social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

• YouTube has over a billion users – almost a third of all people on the
Internet – and every day, people watch hundreds of millions of hours of
YouTube videos and generate billions of views.

• 7 in 10 people said their perception of a brand was positively altered after

seeing interesting video content.

• Companies that use video marketing grow revenue 49% faster than those
that don’t use videos.

• Viewing videos about a product makes consumers almost twice as likely

to purchase.

• 68% of brand marketers (300 surveyed in total) are moving budget away
from television and into online video.

It’s no wonder computer networking giant Cisco projects that of all global
consumer internet traffic next year, 80% of it will be video. This number is
substantially higher than the 64% of internet video traffic over the last several
years. In other words, consumers are continuing to seek out and respond to
video content and marketing, and growth will continue to be substantial.

Before video hit online advertising, marketers often adapted mail pieces for use
online. This usually required layout changes… but not changes to the copy.

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The story’s different with video. Video adds a new dimension to online
marketing. It makes a promotion come alive and engages the prospect at a
whole new level.

And reaching that new level means a need for more copy.

“Talking head” videos arrived on the scene first. These are simply small
YouTube-style videos – usually placed in the upper right of the sales page.

These videos may contain a personal message from a company’s “guru,” a well-
known personality who endorses the product, or simply a company official who
summarizes the sales message.

Whatever the purpose, you may be called on to write new copy for the video
presentation. If so, it’s important to match the tone and overall direction of the
page where the video appears.

Many health marketers are now using slideshow-style videos in video sales
letters (VSLs). These videos present the text of a promo onscreen as a voice-
over speaks it aloud. They’re remarkably popular with older prospects and can
be as long as 30 to 45 minutes or more.

Creating or adapting copy for these videos takes a little finesse. You can only
fit a relatively small amount of copy on each panel. This means writing or
adjusting your copy to fit.

The copy flows best if sentences and paragraphs don’t run across multiple
panels. (Although you may want to use that tactic from time to time to build
suspense.) So your copy has to be very well planned.

This is one place where the copywriter should be acutely aware of the layout.
Other than that, classic copywriting formulas make up the foundation of your
video sales letter, just as they do for a long-form sales page or magalog.

Animated videos are currently seeing a great deal of success. These videos
involve filming an artist drawing on a whiteboard. The video is played back at
high speed – with a voiceover. The drawings reflect what’s being spoken.

The high-speed playback creates the impression of the drawings being done
very quickly. The whole effect is amusing, and these videos are very effective at
holding your prospect’s attention.

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Writing a script for these videos can be challenging. Your copy should lend itself
to illustration, so it should be visually oriented.

And, finally, the financial market has begun selling with full-blown studio
videos. Similar to the slideshow VSLs, these use voice-over narration, but also
include images and scenes that amplify the intention of the copy. For instance,
you may watch someone dance with ease while the narrator promises moving
without joint pain. These videos can also contain expert or customer interviews
or borrow clips from the news for credibility.

These videos are far more complex than the simple “talking head” variety. They
may feature multiple actors, a fancy set, green screen projections, and graphics
of all types. Writing scripts for these productions is more complex than other
types of sales video... but they also demand higher fees.

As video marketing becomes more popular, some general rules of thumb apply:

• In general, short videos (around a minute) are more successful

than long ones.

• As with other copy, spend a short amount of time discussing your

prospect’s problem, then the rest on the solution.

• Leave a bit of mystery — tell what the product does, but not how.

• Don’t forget basic information, like contact information or links to the

product site that can be embedded in the video.

Transitioning from written to video copy takes some adjustments, but the
strategy is overall very similar. Opening yourself up to these projects can you
give a new source of revenue, with only a little effort.

The Importance of Following Federal Guidelines

One of the issues that arises when writing heath copy – for supplements, in
particular – is that the copy must adhere to FTC Guidelines. Don’t count on a
company’s internal compliance department to check on this for you, because

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if a complaint is lodged, you could become involved. That means you need to
understand the issues before you start writing.

Although some writers see the FTC Guidelines as a drawback, the guidelines are
simply a measure to ensure advertising that is truthful and not misleading in
any way. It’s hard to lodge a valid complaint against that because — let’s face
it — we’ve seen how unscrupulous people dupe the unsuspecting public when
they have the chance. Still, the guidelines can be annoying and difficult to work
with.

Briefly, the key issue lies in claims that are made when writing the copy.

Every claim that is made absolutely must have backup documentation. If

there is no documentation and the FTC wants you and your client to produce
some, it can be very problematic.

Not only are they looking at specific phrases or statements, they are looking at
the potential interpretation of the entirety of the copy. That means if the entire
package implies something specific, that “something” must be substantiated.

Additionally, they want to make sure you don’t leave anything out. If you are
writing something where the clinical studies point in a specific direction, but
aren’t absolute, you need to include that in the copy.

Because we want to make sure you fully understand the FTC Guidelines, we’ve
included a full copy of Dietary Supplements: An Advertising Guide for
Industry with this program. Please read it carefully and take notes.

The Federal Trade Commission isn’t the only agency health writers must please.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has its own set of rules. And the FDA’s
rules are much stricter than the FTC’s.

The easiest way to understand the FDA rules is to divide the health industry
into two segments: books and newsletters… and everything else.

When you write a promotion for a health book or newsletter, you have a much
freer hand. You can make pretty much any health claim that you can back up.

But when you’re promoting “everything else” – such as medical devices or

supplements – you are very restricted in what you can say in your promotions.

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In a book or newsletter promo, for example, you can say that vitamin C cures
the common cold. However, in a promo for a vitamin C product, you can’t. Even
if you can cite 10,000 studies that show vitamin C cures the common cold.

You’ve probably seen the disclaimers on packages and at the bottom of

promotions that say something like, “This product is not intended to diagnose,
treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”

You can thank the FDA for that. FDA rules forbid any claims of prevention,
treatment, or cure by any product – unless that product has been approved
by the FDA for that specific purpose. And FDA approval requires lengthy and
expensive testing.

So what kind of claims can you make? Structure and function claims.

For example, you can say that glucosamine “supports joint flexibility.” Or that
beta-carotene “promotes eye health.”

And if you do make structure or function claims for a supplement or device,

don’t forget to use another disclaimer: “These statements have not been
evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.”

EXERCISE #7

Review the elements of a direct-response package in Chapter 1. Then, take a

look at the following promotion. It was a long-running control for a supplement
years ago, but it’s a classic example of effective approaches you see in
successful supplement promotions today. Use your knowledge of the elements
of a direct-response package to identify each element in the piece on the
following pages.

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for
Answers n
#6 & 7 o
Exercise s.
ing page
the follow

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When you’re finished, check your answers against ours at the end of this
chapter.

How did you do? If you need to, study this section again and redo the exercise.

EXERCISE #6

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EXERCISE #7

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CHAPTER 9

Creating Your Offer

Once you have completed your sales letter, you need to close it off. That’s where
the offer comes in. There are several elements to the offer – and the way you
structure it can have an impact on the number of orders your copy generates.

Soft Offer vs. Hard Offer

One of the first decisions that needs to be made is whether the offer will require
payment up front. If not, it’s considered a “soft” offer.

A soft offer for a stand-alone product usually includes a free trial examination
of the product. After a specified period of time, the buyer either pays or returns
the product.

If the offer is for a newsletter or magazine, it may allow “3 free issues” or

“3 months free.” Then a billing cycle begins, and the customer must either
cancel or pay the invoice.

Take a look at the following soft offer…

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Side 1

Side 2

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Continuity Offers (also known as “auto-ship”)

Getting your prospect to order a product once is good. Getting them to order
more than once is even better. But the “Holy Grail” of the health market is
continuity… getting your prospect to buy your product over and over again.

When it comes to supplements, the best way to do this is with “auto-ship.”

Here’s how it works:

Your offer may include more typical options to buy one, two, three, or six
packages. But it also offers the buyer the option to have the product shipped
automatically. This provides him with several advantages:

· The convenience of never running out of the product.

· An end to the hassle of placing orders.

· The freshest possible product.

· And, usually, some sort of discount or other incentive (such as free

shipping) over other options.

For the marketer, this offer provides an ongoing source of income – well worth
a slight reduction in price.

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Continuity is such a big money maker, retailing giant Amazon.com now offers
an auto-ship service for many supplements. They call it a “subscription” and
offer a discount.

Premiums vs. Discounts

Competition being what it is these days, premiums and discounts are major
direct-mail incentives. You may have noticed that a lot of direct marketers even
develop package themes around the premiums… basically building a need for
the free report(s), so that the reader buys the product just to get the freebies.

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Along with premiums, it’s advisable to offer some type of a discount. One
method that can increase your upsell percentage is to offer larger discounts for
longer-term or higher-priced products. A lot of mailers only give a dollar figure.
That works, too. But if you are offering a larger discount on, say, a three-year
subscription, you can use that as a benefit by turning it into a “percent saved:’

An unfortunate side effect of historical direct-response tactics is that now we

have to live with them. Because premiums and discounts have been used so
often in the past, if you don’t offer them now, it will be hard to secure the order
— unless you have developed a fantastic USP.

Take a look at this offer. Do you think it’s structured well?

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Now, take a look at this offer…

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Can you see the difference?

To begin with the Vision Clear offer starts with the simplest, least expensive
option, then moves up to the higher priced (and higher profit) options. But
the Prostanol offer leads with the “best deal” — which offers the company the
biggest profit. It also highlights the savings up front for each option. So the
reader gets hit with how much he’ll save rather than how much he’ll pay.

The Vision Clear offer also cuts into the “savings” by offering free product in
place of a larger discount. The most you’ll save on Vision Clear is $60.00 on 6
bottles. But you’ll save more than twice that much — $125.70 — with 6 bottles
of Prostanol.

The structure of the second offer is much stronger. That brings us to…

Guarantees

There’s one thing to keep in mind when it comes to guarantees: If you cannot
offer a decent guarantee, then don’t offer one at all. It will only serve to
weaken your offer.

But if you can make a solid guarantee that offers a nice benefit to the customer,
then – by all means – go for it.

Here are two sample guarantees:

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Just what is a Value Proposition?

In direct marketing terms, a value proposition is a simple device to show the

prospect he’s getting more than he’s paying for.

There are many ways to express value propositions, but here are four common
techniques for creating irresistible value propositions...

1) The Same-Product Comparison: “Thousands have paid $149.00 to

$179.00 for the AbMonster. But through this special offer, you’ll pay a
mere $99.00. Plus, we’ll send you the $29.00 AbMonster exercise book
absolutely FREE! That’s a $208.00 value for just $99.00.”

2) The Like-Product Comparison: “Similar abdominal machines sell for

$149.00 to $179.00. But the AbMonster gives you the same results for
just $99.00. And you’ll need the $50.00 - $80.00 AbMonster will save
you. Because when the ladies see your six-pack, you may have more
dates than you can handle!”

3) The Breakdown: “Over the course of a year, the AbMonster costs just
27¢ a day. Just 27¢ a day for killer abs... a healthy core... and a six-pack
that will practically make the ladies swoon. You can’t even buy a pack of
gum for 27¢. But you can get the AbMasterAbMonster.”

4) The Apples-to-Oranges Correlation: “A gym membership can cost

$200.00 - $300.00 a year. And you’ll have to get up every day and
compete with all those buff gym rats for use of the equipment. Or, you
can build the same sexy, powerful core in the privacy of your own home
with the AbMonster. No commute... no disapproving gym rats... and at
just half the cost. All you get are real results and real savings.”

EXERCISE #8

Go back to the product research you did for Exercise #4. Combine your product
research with the information provided in this section to create an offer that
utilizes premiums, discounts, and a solid guarantee.

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CHAPTER 10

Piecing It Alltogether

Let’s review the key elements of any sales letter and examine how they fit
together to construct a convincing promotion, one brick at a time.

Building Your Sales Copy One Step at a Time

1. Navigate health-speak when getting to know specific products and

ailments. Be sure that all your copy is clear and written for “the common
man (or woman).” Did you remember to avoid using technical terms where
you could? And where you had to use the technical terms, did you provide a
clear – and brief – definition?

Here’s a simple trick to make your copy run more smoothly. When you must
use a technical term – such as “conjugated linoleic acid” – use the full term
(with a brief definition) the first time. Then abbreviate the term in following
references.

So your first use might look like this: “Kiwi is a good source of conjugated
linoleic acid (CLA) – a fatty acid your body can convert into healthy Omega-
3’s.” All your other references can simply say “CLA” – it’s much easier to
read, but your prospect will know exactly what you’re talking about.

2. Review features and benefits to assist in finding a USP for the

product. If your prospect doesn’t believe that the product you’re offering is
the best and only answer to his needs, chances are he’ll likely stop reading
your promotion and surely not purchase your product or service.

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Remember: Your USP should do more than set your product apart.
To be effective, it should provide the prospect with a clear and desirable
benefit. A multivitamin in an aerosol spray may be unique… but if putting
it in a spray can doesn’t offer the reader a clear advantage, your USP
won’t work.

3. Which emotions play well in the health market? Well, once you’ve
figured out who your target audience is, what makes your product unique,
and how it will help your prospect solve a problem, consider which
emotion(s) to use to make the sales argument. People don’t buy for rational
reasons… most buying decisions are driven by emotion. Deciding on the
right emotion can make or break your product sales.

4. Various strategies work effectively in marketing health products.

After considering your target audience, the USP, and the emotions you want
to evoke, determine the best strategy to pull the reader into your copy and
keep him there.

One key aspect that never changes – regardless of your market – is

benefit. Make sure you’ve focused on the prospect and the big benefit(s)
your product will deliver throughout the copy. As you review your copy,
continually ask yourself, “How does this section benefit my prospect?”

5. Develop great headline copy to get your package opened. Consider

everything you’ve established about the product and create a headline that
should be urgent, useful, unique, and ultra-specific.

• Urgent – Why should the reader act now, rather than later? This usually
means he/she gains something through quick action… or loses something
by delaying.

• Useful – Think “benefit.” Your headline should promise some advantage

to the reader. This often links directly to your USP.

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• Unique – The toughest of the 4 U’s. The strongest headlines present

something the reader hasn’t seen before. It can be a new promise
(solution) or a new presentation. Uniqueness spurs interest.

• Ultra-specific – As the old saying goes, “Specificity sells.” Name names;

use exact numbers. And avoid vague superlatives such as “best” and
“finest.” They’re so over-used, they have almost no impact on readers
at all.

6. Work with different voices to add credibility. In the health market,

sometimes a doctor – or another health professional – is the best choice as
a spokesperson. But not always. A celebrity endorser (who uses the product)
can be very effective. A consumer – a fellow sufferer – with a compelling
story can also work well. Weigh both your product and your target audience
carefully when choosing a voice.

7. Overcome objections. Unless you also face the same problem your product
is intended to solve, identifying objections can be tough. How do you know
what your reader’s concerns and objections will be? How do you know
what’s on his mind? And, consequently, how can you develop a strategy to
overcome them?

Jenny Thompson, former president of Agora’s NewMarket Health, uses a

very clever technique to help her team understand how — and exactly what
— their best prospects think. Jenny’s staff writers spend time on Internet
forums devoted to problems related to their products. This gives them
tremendous insight most marketers don’t have — but would kill for.

You can “lurk” on these forums, too. When you do, you’ll quickly discover
what’s on your audience’s minds. Using that information, you can anticipate
– and answer – their biggest objections.

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8. Develop content for a variety of packages. Putting together all of the

previous elements you learned, you’re ready to write the body copy for any
product.

• You stimulated the reader by hitting upon core beliefs, feelings, and
desires.

• You continually tugged at your prospect’s core emotions and balanced

out the elements (the four-legged stool) that lend strength to your piece:
benefits, ideas, credibility, and track record.

• As you developed the copy, you were sure to overcome potential

objections in a positive manner.

• And, throughout, you’ve focused on how your prospect will enjoy the
benefits your product delivers.

9. The various elements of the offer. You understand the different types of
offers, the importance of premiums and discounts, and to make sure your
guarantee has meat behind it.

You’ve considered each aspect of the offer…

• Price. Do you need a “value proposition” to minimize the price?

• Shipping. Should it be free? Would an auto-ship option increase sales?

• Bonuses. Will a bonus increase sales? What will work best?

• Guarantee. The stronger the guarantee, the less risk for your buyer.

But don’t stop reading here! Now that you’ve mastered the elements of a
direct-response package, there are a few other marketing concepts you must
understand.

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CHAPTER 11

What You Need To Know About

Online Marketing

Today, internet-based marketing is a big part of any company’s marketing plan.

For a growing number of companies, it’s become the core of their marketing
plan, while direct mail is the adjunct or not used at all. Direct mail may still
be going strong, but digital advertising (including internet, email, and social
media) is growing much faster.

Direct Mail vs. Digital Advertising

According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the amount of money

spent on digital advertising has doubled over the past five years, from $43
billion to more than $84 billion. As of last year, paid search (which generates
traffic to websites) makes up nearly 41.5% of digital advertising expenditures,
while display advertising (online and social media) accounts for 45%.

Although spending on digital advertising is increasing faster, direct mail

continues to command substantial — and growing — budgets. That’s because
companies still find direct mail an effective way to sell products. What’s more,
companies are looking to integrate their marketing messages with direct mail,
email, and online marketing. In fact, the DMA has found that companies using
this integrated strategy have achieved a 190% increase in customer response
rates over the past two years.

Direct mail volumes have been declining steadily since 2007. But total spending
on direct mail continues to rise — most likely due to postal increases. In spite of
the higher costs and lower volumes, direct mail remains an essential marketing
channel for many companies.

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Online or digital advertising is generally low-cost, but with low impact —

meaning response rates and sales generated are not as high. Meanwhile, direct
mail is higher-cost, yet higher-impact. Where online marketing is passive, direct
mail is active.

Direct mailings are proactive and tactile – demanding that the recipient DO
something with it. The better response rates make the return on the investment
worthwhile for both retention and acquisition. Direct mail is also one of the
most measurable of all media. These are all reasons why direct mail isn’t dead
— and isn’t going away anytime soon.

Email has also been declared dead and dying many times over. Yet it remains
one of the most effective ways to generate sales and leads. When executed well
and delivered with relevance to engaged customers, email provides the highest
ROI (return on investment) compared to other direct marketing activities.
According to last year’s RAPP Social Media Benchmark Guide, email offered four
times the ROI of social media, the second most profitable digital marketing
channel.

The bottom line for you? You can still make a good living writing direct mail
and emails. But there are also big opportunities — and explosive growth — in
other areas of online advertising. So let’s look at some of the ways you can take
advantage of this wide-open field in the Health Market.

Sales Pages

A sales page is a web page that’s dedicated to selling a specific product or

service. In the health market, long-form sales pages are typically used. A long-
form sales page is the online equivalent of a direct-mail magalog or sales letter.
In fact, sometimes the same headline, copy, and graphics from a successful
direct-mail promotion are adapted into an online sales page.

The elements and strategy are generally the same as a direct-mail promotion.
However, instead of directing the prospect to call a toll-free number or mail
back an order certificate, you want to direct them to click on a button and order
online.

Take a look at this example.

This email went out to people who had bought from Barton Publishing
previously or opted into their mailing list. In this example, there is a brief
introduction from Joe Barton, who is the spokesperson for the company and
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with whom the recipient is likely familiar. He is introducing Lee Euler from
Green Valley Natural Solutions and encouraging the prospect to read what Lee
has to say. This is a very effective approach for a company to mail another
company’s list and engage with prospects who don’t know the company, as it
provides a direct endorsement.

FROM: JB <[email protected]>

TO: RECIPIENT’S NAME

SUBJECT: Restore razor-sharp vision with this “missing link” eye miracle

Hey there [RECIPIENT FIRST NAME],

Ultra Violet light from the sun is very bad for your vision as well as your skin.

But there’s something even worse… something that’s slowly destroying your vision, killing the
cells in your retinas, and shutting off the photoreceptors that help you see.

And this damage is happening right now… at this very second.

My friend and partner Lee Euler from Green Valley Natural Solutions has identified this problem
for you.

Best of all, he’s giving you the solution too.

Scroll down now to find out what this vision killer is and which 3 critical vision “superchargers”
you need to stop and reverse damage.

Talk soon…

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You Take an Eye Supplement...

But Your Vision

Keeps Getting Worse!
Read ON for the surprising reasons why...

When you hit a certain age, it’s almost like someone flips on a self-destruct switch
in your eyes.

Suddenly, reading anything up close – like your favorite books or ingredient labels
– becomes difficult (if not impossible).

As for driving at night… forget about it!

The blinding glare of oncoming headlights can make navigating the roads at night a
frustrating (and at times, even hair-raising) experience.

But here’s what’s really bothering you…

The eye supplement you’ve been taking – the one that was supposed to give you
back your sharp 20/20 vision?

It doesn’t seem to be working at all.

If you’ve tried everything, but your eyes are still sore and tired at the end of the
day … it’s still hard to focus … and the bright lights and glare still make driving a
nightmare …

You need to click here to learn the whole story on why nothing you do, try, or take
seems to fix things …

And how 3 missing ingredients may be the key to solving age-related vision
problems once and for all!

Click here to discover why nearly ALL vision supplements are missing the mark …

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When the recipient clicks through on one of the links in the email, he is taken to
a sales page:

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When you hit a certain age, it’s almost like someone flips on a self-
destruct switch in your eyes.

Suddenly, reading anything up close – like your favorite books or

ingredient labels – becomes difficult (if not impossible).

As for driving at night… forget about it! The blinding glare of oncoming
headlights can make navigating the roads at night a frustrating (and at
times, hair-raising) experience.

But here’s what’s really bothering you…

The eye supplement you’ve been taking – the one that was supposed to
give you back your sharp 20/20 vision?

It doesn’t seem to be working at all.

Your eyes are still sore and tired at the end of the day… it’s still hard to
focus… and bright lights and glare still give you trouble.

The problem is… most “better vision” formulas do NOT contain the three
powerful nutrients you need for sharp, clear, healthy eyes!

Many contain one or two of them. But the most important nutrient – the
carotenoid responsible for protecting and preserving your precious central
vision – is missing from nearly all eye supplements.

If your body does not get enough of all three vision-protecting nutrients,
your eyes are more vulnerable to the effects of aging. And that should be
a huge concern because…

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Video Sales Letters (VSLs)

Video sales letters (VSLs) are widely used to promote health newsletters,
supplements, and other health products and services. They typically don’t have
a lot of fancy graphics or video shots. Usually they are a simple PowerPoint-
type presentation, with a few sentences on each slide.

A voice narrates what’s on each slide as it appears. There may be a main

headline and other copy above the slides that stays visible throughout the
presentation. If the prospect exits the video before it is over, typically he is
asked if he wants to stay on the page; if he doesn’t, the HTML version of the
VSL pops up. This allows the prospect to read the promo instead of watching it
and still provides an opportunity to order.

In most cases, VSLs are structured in a similar way to a long-form sales page
or even a direct-mail promotion. It’s important to tease a bit at the beginning
about what the prospect will gain by watching the video presentation in order to
keep him watching.

Take a look at this email example in your Health Market Swipe File.

This email went out to people on the email list for the Institute for Natural
Healing (INH). The email itself is from a spokesperson for New Summit
Nutritionals:

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FROM: INH—Angela Salerno

TO: RECIPIENT’S NAME

SUBJECT: Urgent: Attention Required

Dear Reader,

We recently unveiled the most advanced natural prostate care solution ever made.

Immediately, the response was greater than we ever could’ve expected. Orders
flooding in — one right after another—like a ticker tape machine gone haywire.

Then we started to hear from men everywhere, like Rich Sanders of Boise, ID, who
wrote in to tell us:

“In only 3 or 4 days I saw a noticeable improvement in having to get up to go pee at

night.”

As I write you today, we’re running through inventory like wildfire. But because you’re
a loyal reader, I wanted to give you a chance to SAVE BIG and secure your supply
now — during our invitation-only Father’s Day Event.

This video reveals the full story of this breakthrough. Click here now to get all of the
details.

To Your Health,

Director of Research & Development

New Summit Nutritionals

P.S. I’m getting hourly updates on inventory. We’ve already sold-out once before, so
the second we get too low, we’ll have to stop fulfilling orders. So please don’t wait.

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See how the P.S. above is adding urgency on top of the opportunity to save
money? When the recipient clicks through on one of the links where indicated,
he is taken to a VSL.

Here is the main headline and subhead above the slide presentation that is
shown throughout:

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Human study uncovers a natural breakthrough that could deliver…

Ultimate prostate relief in

30 MINUTES
So you can…

CLIMAX at FULL SURGING POWER

SLEEP through the night
and PEE like a STALLION

If the user tries to click away, he has an option to view the transcript of the
VSL as well:

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Landing Pages

There are a wide variety of landing pages you may be asked to write. It’s
always a good idea to get clarity on how the page will be used and the desired
length before you provide a copywriting quote.

Typically, opt-in landing pages are only a page or two in length. They are
used for getting a prospect to provide an email address in exchange for a free
report, webinar, or other lead-generation tool. You may also be asked to write
an advertorial or article landing page. This is an informational or newsworthy
article with a link at the bottom that sends the prospect to a sales page or VSL.

E-letters – AKA Online Newsletters

An e-letter is basically a newsletter sent by email. The concept behind free

e-letters is not to make a sale. Instead, it is to bond with the readers and build
loyalty in them through name recognition. Basically, an e-letter builds a loyal
database that can later be used to market to via e-promotions. And these
newsletters are commonly written by copywriters…

Have you ever signed up for a free e-letter that sounds great, only to find –
when you start receiving the letter – that the majority of the content in each
issue is sales copy?

Bad news, right? Nobody likes to be tricked, and it immediately builds ill will.

So store this in your memory file: The bulk of the content of an e-letter should
be editorial. Each issue should contain information or alerts that keep the target
audience up-to-date on the specific topic. The content should be timely and
relevant… or the audience will quit opening them. And you want them to get
used to opening these emails.

You can include a sales pitch… but keep it short, sweet, and simple. For
example, Bob Bly includes a sales pitch in every edition of his email newsletter.
But it comes at the end and starts with this disarming title: “Our 60-second
commercial.”

In reality, Bob’s pitch only takes about 30 seconds to read. And coming after
some four or five pages of useful information, it doesn’t seem bothersome at all.

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If your client is insistent about placing promotional material in his e-letter,

persuade him to do it through links or a soft sell – like Bob’s – and make sure
the issue is jammed full of useful and relevant editorial content.

Companies don’t just promote their own products in their e-letters. They also
generate revenue by allowing other companies with products they feel could be
relevant to their audience to promote those products in their e-letters. It’s done
in a similar way to Bob Bly’s “60-second commercial” above.

These ads are typically called “sponsorship ads.” A company may hire you to
simply write a brief, 80-100 word ad, with links to a sales or landing page.
Sometimes the e-letter will contain a banner ad as well. See the example
below:

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The sponsorship or text ad has the headline “Breakthrough Research Allows

You to Experience the Amazing Power of Natural Essential Oils!” At the bottom
of the page there is a banner ad with the copy, “How Essential Oils Can Help
Improve Your Life.” If you click on the links within the sponsorship ad or on the
banner ad, you are taken to a sales page. You’ll find these items in your Swipe
File.

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BUILDING THE EMAIL LIST

Your client’s newsletter is essentially a list-building tool. Every name that is

added is a potential prospect for the company’s products as well as for other
companies who advertise within the e-letter. So, it should be promoted actively.
Here are three simple ways to do that:

1. Encourage sharing.

Suggest to readers that they forward the newsletter to friends and

colleagues who may find it useful. This just takes a couple of lines near
the end of each issue.

2. Allow reprints.

Allow posting of newsletter articles freely on other websites… provided

those sites include a blurb (which your client provides) identifying them
as the source, noting their services, and including a live link to their
website.

3. Promote it on your client’s site.

There are two easy ways to do this…

Pop-up window.

When visitors arrive at your client’s site, a pop-up window offering their
free newsletter – perhaps with a free report incentive – opens.

Sign-up box.

Include a box on the home page – and any other page where it’s
appropriate – where visitors can sign up for the free newsletter. The
upper right corner of the screen is an effective spot for this box.

To send the newsletter, you’ll obviously have to ask for the prospect’s name and
email address (this is called “opting in”).

Understand that people are wary of giving out their email address because so
many companies then sell their list to other companies… and an avalanche of
spam soon buries the prospect’s email inbox.

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The best way to overcome this objection is for your client to offer what’s often
called a “lead magnet.” This is something offered for free with a perceived value
high enough for the prospect to overcome any objection to providing his email
address and, in some cases, personal information such as his name, age, or the
like.

Be aware that the more information you ask for, the less likely someone will
provide his email address. It’s usually best to keep it to email address only and,
at most, first name (if you are using it to personalize subsequent emails.)

Effective lead magnets that are widely used in the Health Market include free
downloadable reports, webinars, or the e-letter itself (assuming the content is
editorial and relevant to the prospect). It can also simply be a discount on an
initial order.

Here is an example from Dr. Daniel Amen’s supplement website,

brainmdhealth.com:

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You also want to promise never to sell (or share) your prospect’s email address
– or any other personal information. Sometimes, a statement of not sharing
personal information is prominent on the sign-up page and sometimes not.
Urge your client to make this policy clear in the sign-up box and pop-up
window(s) on his site.

To avoid being marked as a spammer, your client should use a “double opt-in”
method when collecting names for his newsletter.

Here’s how double opt-in works:

The prospect signs up to receive your client’s email. Your client’s system
automatically sends an email to the prospect with a link to the client’s site.
Clicking on the link takes the prospect to a webpage where he confirms he did
indeed request the newsletter. Then his name and email address is added to the
client’s newsletter list.

Using a double opt-in system, your client runs a much lower risk of being
marked as a spammer. Because people may not remember signing up for a
newsletter if they just gave out their email address. But they almost always do
with a double opt-in.

Finally, your client may find it easier to use an email service to manage
their mailings. One of the oldest and most reputable is Constant Contact
(www.constantcontact.com). This type of service can handle everything from
maintaining an email list to sending out newsletters.

Creating an e-letter for a client and keeping it constantly updated is a good

ongoing project that may allow you to create a retainer arrangement. A
monthly retainer is an agreed-upon fee usually paid at the beginning of the
month for a consistent amount of work to be performed on a regular basis,
for a predetermined number of months. It’s a good way to get steady income
similar to what you would get in a job, but with the freedom of freelancing.

As more companies begin incorporating social media into their strategies,

they are using content marketing strategies that are similar to e-letters.
This involves providing intriguing headlines and article links on social media
to encourage prospects to click through to sales or landing pages. In many
cases, the content that you create for an e-letter can also be used for content
marketing on social media.

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Emails (or E-promotions)

An e-promotion is exactly what it says it is: A marketing promotion sent by

email. The best way to utilize an e-promotion is not by “renting” email names,
but by using the company’s own email list. (Now you see why a newsletter can
be so useful.)

In most cases, the company’s email list will contain the addresses of buyers.
They’re good names to sell more of the company’s products to. But this is
also where the email addresses of their e-letter readers can come in handy.
If people are interested in the company’s free information… they may also be
interested in their products.

But this involves a balancing act. Your client doesn’t want to abuse the names
by bombarding his readers with promotions. So, advise your client to send
information more often than he sends promotions.

In the early days of e-letters, marketers often shied away from contacting
customers more than once a week. They feared too much contact would drive
readers away.

What they’ve found is exactly the opposite. Most readers will tolerate daily
email from a company they know and trust. And this is fast becoming the norm
with many companies. Typically, they’ll make their Sunday “send” a week-
in-review email, with links to the six sends from the week. This gives all the
week’s emails a second lease on life.

There isn’t any hard-and-fast formula for information vs. promos, but a
two-to-one ratio in favor of information is common.

Email is also an inexpensive way for marketers to test various package

concepts. They can split their email list up easily and test variations for
practically nothing. If a test offer shows good response rates via email, it can
easily be turned into a direct-response printed mail package.

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Three Tips from Bob Bly for Writing Email Copy

#1: When your email copy makes reference to what’s going on in the
news the same week – or even better, the same day you distribute it,
your response rates soar.

The idea of including news in your copy is not new. But email marketing
makes it easier to more precisely coordinate and time your email
messages with current events and developments. Any time your
email can reflect news or trends, readership and response are likely
to soar.

#2: Giving away content in the email itself, contrary to what you might
expect, is a way to strengthen copy and results.

I say “contrary to what you might expect” because you might reason,
“If I give the information away in the email, the reader’s curiosity is
satisfied, and he doesn’t have to click through to find the answers
he’s looking for.”

The trick is to give “partial content” – as a sample of the kind of help

your product, service, or firm offers.

Ideally, this could be something as quick as a simple how-to tip

embedded in the email copy. Then, you promise many more useful
tips and advice when the reader clicks through.

#3: Open rates and click-through rates both increase when your email
marketing messages match – in look, content, tone, and style – the
other emails prospects get from you on a regular basis.

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For instance, if your email is going to a list of subscribers to a text e-newsletter,

your response will be better if you send a text email rather than an HTML
version. If people on the list are used to extremely short email messages, a
long-copy email blast probably won’t work as well as a short teaser email linked
to a landing page where they can read the rest of your message.

Why? People on a given list are “trained” to accept emails with a similar look and
feel to the ones they get regularly. When your email matches their expectations,
they believe it’s something they read regularly and open it. When your email
looks wildly different, they likely view it as spam and hit the delete key.

Structuring an E-promotion

An e-promotion should be structured so that it does not look like junk mail.
People have too much junk in their inboxes to start with. To get yours opened,
you need to make sure they don’t look like spam. Here are some tips…

SUBJECT LINE:

The subject line is the most important aspect of your e-promotion. This is
derived from your headline copy. It’s what the reader is going to glance at
to decide whether or not to open your email.

Therefore, your subject line should be created with the same intensive
thought you would give a headline. One effective approach is to make
it relevant and timely. Using the Four U’s© (urgency, usefulness,
uniqueness, and ultra-specificity) helps when you take this approach.

But the Four U’s© can only take you so far in the quirky world of email.
You may need a few other tricks to help boost email open rates. Here are
a few proven strategies…

• Scarcity (“Last chance,” “Final notice,” etc.)

• Personal pronouns – in the 2nd person (You, yours)

• “Re:” almost anything

• Question marks (?), brackets ([]) and percentages (%)

• Odd/unique numbers (5, 227, 826)

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• Borrowed credibility (“Amazon.com’s secret formula”)

• News and current events (see what’s trending on Facebook or

Twitter for ideas)

Here’s one more tip: According to the market research firm eMarketer, the click-
through rate (CTR) of emails is higher when using the recipient’s first name
in the subject line over no use of the first name. Assuming it’s available, you
should test using it! At the very least, you can personalize the email in the
salutation: “Dear [first name],”.

FROM:

When determining the sender, think about the emails you open. They’re
mostly the ones from people you know, right? So don’t try to play games
here. Send the email from a name the reader will know – the company
name, the newsletter title, or the name of the spokesperson or guru
associated with product. Make it recognizable and trustworthy.

BODY COPY:

With a print direct-response package, there are specific voices you can
use for your body copy. Don’t change that tactic for email. Choose a voice
that lends credibility and make sure you sound personable in the copy. Be
sure the voice doesn’t conflict with the sender.

The actual sales copy can be created in one of several ways.

1. Use the e-promo as a lift letter or teaser. Create a desire for or

curiosity about the product or solution in the email, with a link
to a long-form sales page. Some advertisers require your online
ad to lead the prospect to an “advertorial” or article landing page
instead. This is a shorter landing page with an article on it. The
article has the look and tone of a news or informational piece, but
is designed to “send” your reader to your sales page.

2. Use the promo as a lift letter or teaser as above. But instead of

linking to a landing page, the email links to an online video or
video sales letter (VSL). The video copy is similar to traditional
landing page copy, but “plays” the copy – with a voiceover. In

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many cases if the prospect leaves the video before it is over,

a transcript or long-form sales page comes up, allowing the
prospect to read the copy instead of hearing it.

3. Use the email as the entire sales letter, with links scattered
throughout to allow the prospect to click through to the checkout
at various points in the letter.

An important consideration when creating these emails is to place the first link
“above the fold.” That is, the first link to the checkout page should be visible in
a typical email window.

Search Engine Optimization — SEO

Writing for the web entails a key consideration that’s not an issue with
traditional direct mail: SEO – or Search Engine Optimization. SEO is a complex
topic about which whole books have been written, but here are some basics
you’ll need to get started.

When you write a traditional letter, your main concern is convincing the
prospect to buy your product. But when you write copy for the web, you have
another group of “readers” to please: search engines.

Your online promos don’t exist in a vacuum the way “snail mail” does. What’s in
your envelope is strictly between you and the reader. But what’s in your online
promo is searchable – it can be discovered, read – and responded to – by
millions of readers. Even if you’ve never contacted them directly.

What this means is that failing to make your online copy search-engine friendly
is leaving potential sales on the table.

Let’s say your client wants a sales page for a prostate product. He plans to send
out an email to his list directing them to this page.

With over 3.58 billion internet users worldwide, there are many millions online
who aren’t on your client’s email list. If you can draw even a fraction of these
people to the landing page, and get them to buy, your client will see sales
increase dramatically. (And you’ll be a hero.)

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This is where SEO comes in. People perform billions of online searches daily.
And most search engines return results based on “relevance” – how closely a
page appears to match the person’s intent.

For example, a recent Google search for “prostate supplement” returned 11.5
million results. That’s an awful lot! But only a handful of those 11.5 million
really count. Why? Because the vast majority of people only click on the first
page of links a search engine returns.

The secret of showing up on the first page is relevance. And a big part of
relevance is including the right keywords in your copy. (Keyword choice isn’t
even close to the only consideration… but it’s a big one.)

What are keywords? They’re the words and phrases people use to search for
things on the Web. Phrases like “prostate supplement.” And how do you know
which keywords to use?

SEO experts use keyword tracker tools. Google’s keyword tracker tool is by far
the most popular of the free options. You can use it for free, but you have to
open a Google AdWords account to access this tool.

There are other free tools you can use without setting up an account. Here are
some suggestions from online marketing guru Robbie Richards:

Best Tools for Keyword Research

(As Voted by 105 Online Marketing Experts):

#1: SEMrush (61 votes)

#2: Google Keyword Planner (54 votes)

#3: Keyword Tool.io (18 votes)

#4: Ahrefs (15 votes)

#5: Search Console (sign-in required) and Longtail PRO (12 votes each)

#6: Buzzsumo (11 votes)

#7: Moz (10 votes)

#8: GoogleTrends, AnswerThePublic, and Ubersuggest (8 votes each)

#9: Google Analytics (7 votes)

#10: KWFinder (6 votes)

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Two other popular keyword search tools among copywriters are:

• Wordtracker

• Trellian

According to Contentbird, these days it’s not enough to just research exact-
match keywords. It is also necessary to look at search intent, bounce rates,
and “dwelling time” — or the time it takes the user to return back to the search
results after spending time on a web page. This is thought to more accurately
reflect user behavior and satisfaction.

Take a look at how SEO has changed just in recent years:

Then:

• Google analyzes frequency of keyword inclusion

• SEO strategy consists of researching and analyzing around keywords

• Find keywords with high search volume and low competition

• Select a target phrase and optimize your content for it

• Over-optimize for specific keywords

Now:

• Google analyzes search inquiries based on perceived user intent

• Keyword research provides valuable, in-depth information about your

target group

• Identify trends to engage in and leverage “predictive SEO”

• Address specific questions and answer your users’ problems

• Focus on user experience, build an authoritative brand, and proactively

create awareness for keyword-relevant content

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Here’s an example of a keyword search using Wordtracker’s free tool. As you

can see, some of the results are blurred out – until you buy their service. But it
gives you an idea of what people are searching for.

Limited results are available until you sign up for a free trial.

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As you can see, Trellian’s free keyword tool – Keyword Discovery – returns
somewhat different results. Other free keyword tools will also deliver slightly
different results. But they’ll all give you a rough idea of what people are looking
for.

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Making about 2% - 5% of your copy match these keywords will increase your
client’s chances of picking up some of the business from online searches. But
there are a few caveats…

1. Copy quality comes first. Keywords can get prospects to your client’s
website. But if the copy isn’t clear, smooth, and enticing, you’ll lose the
sale anyway.

2. Don’t practice “keyword stuffing.” Search engine algorithms are

designed to penalize websites that sacrifice quality for visibility. If
you pack your pages with tons of keywords, you’ll actually hurt your
client’s chances of being found on a web search. Don’t use more than
5% keywords.

3. Search multiple terms. The results of our searches show that people
search for many words/phrases. Do keyword searches for all the
relevant terms.

Finally, beware of when a client says, “Just worry about the copy. We’ll have our
SEO expert add the keywords later.” This is usually a recipe for disaster. The
copy that results from this doctoring is often stilted and unnatural.

If you can do so tactfully, get your client to provide you with a list of keywords
from their expert and work them into your copy as you write. Very few SEO
experts are also expert copywriters.

(But some are. If you can to add “SEO Expert” to your list of services, you’ll
increase your marketability exponentially.)

The Continuous Growth of Online Marketing

Online marketing continues to be the fastest-growing segment of today’s

marketplace, and must be a part of your overall marketing strategy. But, as
with any new tool, controversy has grown around how to best take advantage
of email opportunities. One of the most hotly debated aspects of email
marketing is which approach to take: long copy or short copy?

Master copywriter Bob Bly cut his teeth on direct mail. But he was an early
adopter of email marketing. And Bob not only writes emails for clients, he also
sells products to his own huge email list. Few people can match Bob’s expertise
and experience when it comes to the long-or-short debate.

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Here’s what Bob says about the best length for email copy...

What Works Best in Email Marketing: Long Copy

or Short Copy?
By Bob Bly
“What works best in email marketing?” I got asked for the umpteenth
time the other day. “Long copy or short copy?”

It’s a quandary for direct marketers much more so than general

marketers. Here’s why:

There’s a widely held viewpoint that, on the internet, the less copy the
better. Web marketing experts tell us that the internet is faster-paced
than the “snail-mail” world, that attention spans are shorter, and that
long messages get zapped into oblivion with the click of the mouse. “Keep
it short!” they extol in countless advisory e-zines.

General advertisers, for the most part, also believe that when it comes to
copy, the shorter the better. Often their print ads have large pictures and
only a handful of words. So they have no trouble embracing the “people
don’t read” mentality the web marketing gurus say works best.

But traditional direct marketers whose products are typically sold with
long-copy direct-mail packages and self-mailers — newsletter publishers,
seminar promoters, magazines, book clubs, insurance, audio cassettes —
have a problem. It goes something like this:

“In print, I have to use long copy to make the sale ... or I just don’t get
the order. We’ve tested short copy many times — who doesn’t want a
cheaper mailing piece with less ink and paper? But it has never worked
for our product. Now my web marketing consultant says the email should
be just a few paragraphs. If a few paragraphs won’t convince people to
buy offline, why should things be any different online?”

And they are right: Just because a person buys online doesn’t change the
persuasion process. If he needs the facts to make a decision, he needs
them regardless of whether he is ordering from a paper mailing or a
website.

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Yet we also have a sense that the web marketing gurus have at least a
clue as to what they are talking about. We sense that our four-page sales
letter, if sent word for word as a lengthy email, wouldn’t work. People
would click away long before they got to the end.

I think I have some sensible guidelines to answer this puzzle. First, we

need to quantify what we mean by “short” vs. “long.”

When a web marketing guru talks about “short” emails, he probably

means only three or four paragraphs. So, when he says long copy doesn’t
work, he is against emails of more than a few paragraphs.

If I say, “long copy does work,” I mean long compared to the typical email
— not compared to the typical direct-mail letter on paper. A “long” email,
which may fill several screens, is closer in length to a two-page letter —
short by direct-mail standards — than to a four-page letter. And it doesn’t
even come close to an eight-page letter.

Second, we need to quantify how much shorter online copy is than offline.
Should you translate your entire package, word for word? Should you
compress it to half its length? Less?

Kathy Henning, who writes extensively about online communication,

says, “In general, online text should be half as long as printed text,
maybe even shorter.” Not a precise formula, but a good starting point for
estimation.

Third, and most important, we need to remember that the copy for email
marketing campaigns is not wholly contained within the email itself. It is
really in two parts.

The first half of the message is in the actual email. The email contains
a link to a page on a website or server. When you click on that link, you
jump to the page, where the remainder of the message is presented,
along with the online order mechanism.

In a traditional direct-mail package, the message is unevenly split.

Consistently, 98 percent of the copy is in the letter and brochure, with the
remaining 2 percent on the order form.

In email marketing campaigns, the division is less balanced and more

varied.

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Fig. 1 shows the various ways the total copy can be divided between the
email and the response page.

There are four options as shown in the box at the center of the diagram:

A. Short email, landing page (left upper quadrant) — Many

marketers with simple lead-generating offers use short emails (the
traditional three to four paragraphs) with a link to a “landing page.”
A landing page is a short web-based form, usually with a headline, a
couple of paragraphs explaining the offer, and a mechanism for the
recipient to fill in his information and submit his response. This format
is similar in length and style to the traditional one-page sales letter
and business reply card used in lead-generating paper direct mail.

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B. Long email, landing page (lower left quadrant) — This is similar

to B except the email, by internet marketing standards, is “long.” For
convenience, I define a short email as any email that, when printed
out, takes half a page or less. By comparison, any email that takes
more than a page when printed out is “long.” This format is similar in
length and style to a direct-mail package with a four-page letter and a
simple 4 X 9-inch order card.

C. Long email, micro site (lower right quadrant) — This format has
a long email and a long landing page, known as a “micro site.” The
micro site is a custom URL designed specifically for the offer. Unlike
a landing page, which is usually a single screen, the micro site’s
lengthier copy requires many screens. The micro site can be broken
into distinct pages or it can be one continuous document through
which the reader must scroll. This long email/micro site format allows
for maximum copy, and is ideal for translating lengthy mailings, such a
magalogs, to the web.

D. Short email, micro site (upper right quadrant) — This format

combines a short email up front with a long-copy micro site on the
back end. It is ideal for offers that require a lot of copy but are being
transmitted to prospects who might not read a lengthy email.

Notice in Fig. 1 that your lists can come from one of three sources:

1. House files. As with traditional direct mail, email marketing works

best when sent to your house list of customers and prospects. If your
house files don’t have email addresses, there are several ways to
obtain them. You can run your file through an email address appending
service and expect to find email addresses for between 10 and 30
percent of the records. You can also make email address collection part
of your ongoing marketing and customer service records. For instance,
one of my vendors that awards gifts based on bonus points offered
to add 300 bonus points to my account in exchange for my email
address.

2. E-zine subscribers. Theoretically you will get high response rates

mailing to people who have signed up for your free e-zine. However,
these folks are often freebie seekers, and may not be qualified
prospects. Therefore, results vary. Some e-zine lists are pure gold.
Others generate less sterling results.

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3. Rented opt-in e-lists. You can rent e-lists for email marketing
campaigns at costs ranging from $100 to $300 per thousand. As with
traditional direct mail, test lists in small quantities before rolling out to
any.

Another option, also shown in Fig. 1, is to run classified ads in other

people’s e-zines with a link to your landing page or micro site. This lets
you get your message to people at a far lower cost per thousand than
solo emails. However, the circulations of many e-zines are unqualified
and unaudited; therefore, the quality of the audience you reach can be
questionable. Again, you must test.

The bottom line: Email marketing can work without having emails
competing with War and Peace in word count. By strategically splitting
your copy between the front-end email and back-end response page,
you can get your message across without having time-pressured web
surfers fleeing in terror.

As you can see, many of the techniques and tips that have helped you become
a successful copywriter with direct-mail packages will give you a solid footing
when creating digital advertising copy: having a solid USP, a clear strategy, and
a strong emotional pull are what make all of the above promotions work.

And becoming familiar with both mediums will set you ahead of your
competitors when wooing clients. Which, perhaps, you may be wondering about
at this point… Now that you’re an expert both on- and offline, how do you
actually get your foot in the door? Don’t worry — we’ve got you covered!

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CHAPTER 12

You’re Ready For Your First

Client! Now What?

Congratulations! You have mastered the secrets of writing for the health
market. Having completed this program, you can now be confident that you
know how to handle the ins and outs associated with this marketplace.

Now it’s time to get your first assignment.

Before you start approaching potential clients, consider which area of

health marketing you feel you would work best in. Remember, there are a
lot of products out there. For instance, companies that market newsletters,
supplements, organic foods, anti-aging products, exercise programs, diet
programs, and other consumer health products need to stay competitive and
are constantly launching new products to stay ahead of the game.

Within several of those arenas, you’ll find products specifically focused on

cancer, heart disease, arthritis, or other ailments.

You might be keen on working with companies that slam the FDA… you might
enjoy just making people feel better… or you may have a specific concern within
the industry.

Think long and hard before you start making contact, so you can be sure you
select prospective clients that appeal to your inner drive and beliefs.

Also, before searching out your first client, it’s a good idea to seed your name
into as many health lists as you can. Once you start receiving promotions from
them, you’ll…

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a) find out who is preaching what you like to preach, and…

b) who the largest mailers are. These are your best potential clients.

It’s easy to get on mailing lists and email lists. Just sign up for free newsletters,
request catalogs and/or order a few products. Pretty soon your mailboxes –
both real and electronic – will be loaded with promotions. A simple web search
for “top health websites (including year)” will produce a strong, current list for
both subscribing and research.

Expand Your Network

While reaching out to consumer health companies directly is your best bet for
reaching clients, many copywriters have found other strategies to expand their
networks. Better yet, you can pick and choose your strategies based off your
own personality: if, like many writers, you’re a bit of an introvert, you can find
new clients without a lot of face-to-face time or idle chit-chat. If you’re more
outgoing, though, you might find attending health conferences and similar
events helpful.

And all those strategies we discussed earlier about helping your client find
prospects? They’ll work for you, too.

One theme you’ll notice in many of the strategies below is the idea of making
yourself an expert in the field of health marketing. Whether blogging, speaking
in front of business associations, answering questions in Facebook groups, or
going to tradeshows, you’ll find clients most easily if they see you as a source
of knowledge.

Let’s go over some strategies you can use to get your first clients.

Email Prospecting

One of the simplest ways to find clients is through email prospecting… which
is just a fancy way of saying, “emailing folks who might be interested in your
services.” Think of it as the email equivalent of introducing yourself to another
businessperson at a conference or networking event: You’re trying to make
a genuine connection and let them know a bit about you. When done right,
it won’t even seem to the person you’re emailing like you’re trying to market
yourself. At the same time, though, you put yourself at the front of their mind
for the next time they or a colleague need a copywriter.

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Master copywriter and author of The Everything Guide to Writing Copy, Steve
Slaunwhite, has used email prospecting to great success… and he’s even had
it used on him. See what he has to say about making the most out of your
prospecting emails.

Getting Clients: 5 Email Prospecting Tips

By Steve Slaunwhite

Tip #1

This isn’t email marketing. That’s an important distinction. Let me explain

the difference.

Email marketing is when you have a list of people who have signed up to
receive emails from you.

They sign up for a special report and perhaps you’re sending them a
series of pre-written follow-up emails. Or they’re on your list and you’re
sending them a regular newsletter or some regular tips.

You’re writing one email and sending it to everybody on your list.

As a copywriter, you can expect to write these types of mass emails for
your clients.

That is email marketing.

But that’s not what I’m talking about here. That’s not email prospecting.

I can’t emphasize this enough.

You are not writing one prospecting email and then sending that same
email out to everybody. Or just lightly customizing, and sending the same
email out to people who have not signed up to receive emails from you
because that’s spam.

And it doesn’t work when it comes to email prospecting.

Remember what you’re doing here. When you are properly email
prospecting, you are introducing yourself and your services to someone
in the marketplace who may have an interest in working with you as a
copywriter or a business writer. So, you want to make sure you have a
very personal, customized email to send to them.

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Tip #2

Know your country’s email laws. There are very different rules in Canada,
the United States, and elsewhere in the world when it comes to sending
emails.

Make sure you’re not getting yourself into trouble by sending an email to
a prospect — especially a prospect you don’t know and who hasn’t signed
up for your email list. You want to make sure you do this right.

So, familiarize yourself with the rules in your country and follow them.

Tip #3

Don’t sell. Email prospecting is not a sales email.

I know that may sound strange. I know you want to sell your services to
potential clients. You want to motivate them and convince them you’re
the best choice for their copywriting or B2B writing needs. That’s natural.

But the initial prospecting email is not the place for that. The purpose of a
prospecting email is to introduce yourself.

Of course, you can be very clear about what you do. You can tell them
you’re a copywriter specializing in start-up software companies.

But don’t get into a list of features and benefits and try to sell them on
your services. You’ll just turn them off and your email will feel like spam.

That may come later. If they contact you or inquire about your services,
then you might start to sell yourself, which would be fine.

But the initial email you send to a new prospect isn’t the time to sell.
Focus on making an introduction.

Tip #4

Keep it short.

I find more and more that when it comes to email prospecting, short
emails are the best. And by short, I mean no more than half a page.

If you were to meet someone at a networking event, for example, you

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wouldn’t walk up to them and start jabbering on for five minutes without
giving them a chance to speak.

No, you would give them a short introduction first to try to get the
conversation started. The same is true with email prospecting.

Tip #5

This is a very important tip. Drop all attempts to create some kind of a
template or a form email that you can cut and paste and send over and
over and over again.

That just doesn’t work. Remember, this isn’t email marketing. This isn’t
writing a carefully composed email and then blasting it out to a bunch of
people. That’s not what email prospecting is.

Each email you send to a prospect should be highly customized and

personal. Each email should be different because the prospects are
different.

Have you ever received one of those emails that faked customization? I
receive those all the time, usually from some SEO firm saying, “Hi, Steve.
I went to your website and your website is so great. You have a lot of
wonderful information. By the way, we’re an SEO firm. We can help you
get to the top of Google.”

And you know darn well that they didn’t go to my website and read about
me. They’re sending the same email to everybody and pretending to
make it customized to me.

Each email should be specifically written to that one prospect. Focus on

writing a unique message to each one of your prospects. Believe me, it
works much better.

So those are five guidelines to help you be more successful with your
email prospecting.

Remember that prospecting is an introduction. It’s not a sale. You want to

keep your emails short, authentic, and friendly. And your email should be
personalized for each prospect.

And if you do that, you’ll find that your email prospecting efforts will pay
off. In fact, they may pay off big!

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Blogging

If you haven’t set up a personal blog or website already, then do. Sites like
WordPress (http://www.wordpress.com) and Blogger (http://www.blogger.com)
make it easy to create an online presence for yourself in a couple of hours.

The main benefit of a blog is that it puts your writing in front of potential clients
before they decide to work with you. In fact, because they’ve had a chance to
see your writing — your product — up front, if someone DOES contact you from
your blog, he’s probably already decided to work with you. You don’t have to
focus on selling yourself, because your blog already did!

The trick with creating your blog is choosing a topic that is useful to your
prospective clients. To attract people in the consumer health industry, then, you
might focus on topics like creating trust with prospective customers, choosing
direct mail versus online marketing, or the benefits of offering premiums with a
product.

Don’t worry about giving out too much information for free. The individuals who
take your information and implement it themselves weren’t likely to hire you in
the first place. Instead, you want to find the clients who are busy enough that
they don’t have time to do the work themselves… but they do have the money
to hire you.

And remember earlier when we talked about finding prospects via Search
Engine Optimization (SEO)? The same advice holds true for your blog. Your
immediate network, particularly when starting off, may only include a few
dozen — maybe a few hundred — people. Compare that to the billions of people
who have access to the internet every day. With the right choice of keywords
in your blog title, description, and content, you can get your writing in front of
more eyes than you ever could through normal networking.

E-Newsletters

Most likely, not every person who surfs onto your website for the first time
will hire you then and there. Once your prospective client closes that browser
window, though, he may never return.

Unless you find a way to keep in touch with him.

That’s where email lists and newsletters come into play. Having a regular
newsletter that you send to people in your network allows you to foster a

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relationship with your audience. They get to know you, and eventually they
grow to like and trust you. Then, because they like and trust you, they will
come to you for help. Once again, instead of reaching out to prospective clients
to find work, they come to you.

Regularly scheduled e-newsletters offer the added bonus of acting as consistent

marketing. Freelancers often find themselves falling into a feast-famine cycle:
When they’re initially looking for clients, they spend all their time marketing
themselves, and then take every job offered. As a result, they have no time
or energy to focus on finding more clients while they work on their current
projects… So once this round of projects end, they’re back to square one,
throwing themselves into marketing, getting too many projects, and having no
time to think about the future. Sound familiar?

By creating an ongoing relationship with your audience, you’ll always have

something coming down the pipeline, so you can create a more consistent work
schedule for yourself.

One other tip regarding e-newsletters: Make sure to use a 3rd party email
service provider like Constant Contact (http://www.constantcontact.com),
AWeber (www.aweber.com), or MailChimp (www.mailchimp.com). These
programs help you keep your emails compliant with spam regulations and offer
options for double opt-in, so you know everybody getting your e-newsletter
wants and appreciates it.

LinkedIn

One other way to create a strong online presence for yourself is using your
LinkedIn profile to its fullest potential. LinkedIn is the largest business
network on the internet today, with millions of users. Many businesses look for
freelancers on the site — or, at the very least, use it as a way to research a
potential hire.

Thus, you want your profile to be as prospect-focused as possible. While

LinkedIn profiles have many ways to show off your credentials, including spaces
to list education, experience, skills, and endorsements, there are four parts that
are much more important than the rest:

• Your photo – This can be professionally taken or not, but it acts as

your first impression. You want it to be clean, clear, and free of any
unnecessary or distracting elements.

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• Headline – Your headline will function much like the headlines for any
other copy you write. This is how users search for you, so you want it to
clearly explain who you are. It should also have keywords and phrases
near the front, because these can be cut off if the headline is truncated.

• Summary – In this section, you talk to your prospective client. You

don’t want it to be just a laundry list of services, though. Speak
conversationally, and let them know what you do, who you do it for, and
why it’s important to them. Use lots of white space to keep this section
accessible (nobody wants to read a huge block of text!). As with the
headline, include your keywords at the front of the section, as LinkedIn
typically only shows the first few lines of text in its preview. Finally,
include your contact information at the end, so your reader doesn’t have
to go searching for it elsewhere.

• Header image – The header image at the top of your profile can provide
a lot of information in a small space. Use it as an additional place to
show your headline, main message, website, and/or contact information.
Because it’s front and center, your visitors won’t miss it.

These four parts stand out above the rest because they’re immediately visible
to your profile’s viewers — particularly if your reader is one of the 60% of
LinkedIn users who view the site on their smartphone or tablet. Everything else
requires the reader to click on a link to read more. You need to make these first
parts so enticing, your potential client will want to see the rest.

Social Media

Creating a profile for yourself on LinkedIn or other social media sites isn’t
enough, though. To most effectively use social media to build your network,
think of it as another way to highlight your expertise with potential clients.

First, find online communities where they might belong, like professional
groups for nutrition or fitness professionals, industry groups about how to build
consumer health businesses, or other professional associations or societies.
Then get involved in those communities, answering questions, providing advice,
etc. Members of those sites will come to see you as an expert in the field and
reach out to you when they’re looking to hire.

Or you can go one step further and actually take part in your desired client’s
site or social media pages. Leave smart comments on the company’s blog. Go

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to where the clients service their customers, like their help forums, and answer
your fellow customer’s questions. (Notice how we say, “your fellow customers”?
Try to get clients who you’re already a customer for. Who better to write
about a product than someone who’s used it?) Companies take notice of the
individuals who stay involved in their community, and those are the people they
contact first when hiring.

Public Speaking

Perhaps you do better with people face-to-face. One option to showcase your
skills is public speaking. In the simplest form, you find a professional group
or organization and set up a time to talk to their members about marketing
strategies for health businesses. Besides expanding your contact list, you may
also find that there are potential clients in the audience who are ready to hire
you.

What if you can’t find a meeting or conference to speak at, or the thought of
getting up in front of a group of people makes you nervous? Try a joint event
with another marketing professional to start, or even just take part in a Q&A
session. Then you don’t have to plan a whole talk by yourself, but you can still
show off your knowledge.

You can also try online variations of public speaking: specifically, webinars or
podcasts. With a webinar, you can set up a talk and film it, and then offer it
on your website, social media, or elsewhere. Podcasts can include interviews,
questions and answers, or reports on topics of interest to your audience; if you
find a show with a regular followership, appearing on a podcast can be just as
effective as presenting at a meeting.

Trade Shows

If you want to become familiar with a lot of consumer health businesses at

once, try going to a trade show. Some options include IDEA Fitness Nutrition
and Fitness Expo, the Natural Products Expos (west and east coasts), or
SupplySide West International, all of which bring together hundreds of
companies in the health and wellness field.

When attending a tradeshow, you know two things about the companies you’ll
approach:

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1) they have money to spend and

2) they’re expecting to make connections.

The entire purpose of a trade show is to help a company generate leads. While
you can’t really sell yourself during a trade show (other people are paying to
do that), you can still ask who hires writers for the companies you see and
familiarize yourself with their current marketing materials. (And you’ll get some
more material for your swipe file!)

Plus, the fact that you’re at the expo proves you’re en expert in the field —
otherwise you wouldn’t have known to go. Thus, you can spend your time
demonstrating your value and start conversations that set you up as a problem
solver. You’ll leave the show with plenty of companies to reach out to for the
next step of the client-generation process.

Job Boards

Finally, never underestimate the power of a simple job board. They’re a great
way to find jobs that will build your portfolio and your network. You know the
clients posting on these boards are looking to hire, and they want you to show
off your abilities.

While you can find dozens of job boards on the internet, sometimes it’s hard
to know which are worth your time and effort to look through. As an AWAI
member, though, you have a few job boards available to you. Many of our
members have found these sites invaluable to building their businesses, earning
thousands of dollars from applying to postings.

• Direct Response Jobs (www.DirectResponseJobs.com)

• B2B Writing Success (www.b2bwritingsuccess.com)

• Wealthy Web Writer (www.wealthywebwriter.com)

When deciding which postings you want to respond to, choose ones that
interest you. Don’t just apply to jobs that you qualify for! You may find jobs
that are a bit of a reach, but they may be willing to take a risk on you. (We’ll
get into ways to convince clients to hire you later in this chapter.)

Once you select a posting to respond to, make sure to investigate the client so
you know how they’ve been marketing until now. Then you’ll be able to decide
how best to approach your proposal for them.

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Remember, though, not all job boards are created equal. Make sure you focus
on boards that don’t set limitations about what you can charge or expected fees
for projects; these boards are generally bad news. Also, when you research the
client, keep a lookout for companies that ask writers to produce projects on spec
and never follow through with payment. While writing on spec is incredibly useful
for getting your foot in the door with a new company, you don’t want to waste
time and energy on someone who never intended to pay you for your work.

Your Self-Promotion Package and Beyond

Once you know who to approach, you must make a decision about how to
approach them. To make the most of your efforts, you’ll want to set up a
self-promotion strategy that will reap you the most benefits from the work you
put in.

Step one is initial contact. Job boards make reaching out to companies you’d
like to work with fairly straightforward, but what about those companies you
found from mailing lists you’ve joined or your other networking efforts?

Sometimes a quick, personalized email to one of your contacts is enough to get

a lead on an assignment. Other times, you might want to develop a full sales
letter for yourself. Don’t just write this letter… agonize over it. Because this
letter will tell your potential clients how good a writer you are. If you can’t get
their attention, then they won’t believe you can get their prospects’ attention.

Once you’ve mailed your sales letter, wait seven to 10 days. Then start making
follow-up calls. This is the hard part, because you are used to selling on paper,
not on the phone.

So create a script for yourself and start practicing. Test it out on some friends.
Have them be tough on you so you can learn how to overcome objections easily
and without stuttering or hesitating. Record the conversations to make sure you
sound honest, sincere, and enthusiastic about your work.

When you start calling your potential clients, make sure you are familiar with
their company and the promotions they are currently mailing. Keep excellent
notes of each call so you can speak intelligently the next time you talk with
them.

If you have a nibble, be sure you schedule the next call before you hang up –
and be sure to follow-up with a quick note thanking them for their time.

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These calls don’t have to be long or complicated. In fact, it’s a pretty simple
process. Since you’re following up on the letter you sent, you should already
know who to contact at the company.

You may have to go through a “gatekeeper” to get to them. This may be

a receptionist, an administrative assistant, or a marketing assistant. If so,
remember this person is a potential ally. Be brief, polite, and to the point.

Once you have your prospect on the line, be respectful of her time. Introduce
yourself, explain (briefly!) why you’re calling and ask if this is a convenient time
to speak for just a couple of minutes. If not, ask when it would be convenient to
call back.

If your prospect can take your call, thank her and ask if she’s had a chance to
review the materials you sent. If not, you can offer to send them again or to
briefly review your services.

In either event – yes or no – determine if she works with freelancers. If she

does, ask what it would take to get an assignment. (Early on, be prepared to
work on speculation. That is, to write material that the prospect will pay for
only if it’s used.)

If she doesn’t work with freelancers, thank her for her time… and ask if she
knows of anyone else in the industry that might need freelance help from time
to time.

This is important! You see, people don’t like to disappoint other people. So
you’re offering the prospect a chance to feel good about her interaction with
you. Maybe she can’t hire you, but at least she’s done something good for you.

And it is very good. Because when you call the reference, you can say, “Ms.
Jones over at XYZ Health Products suggested I give you a call.” You’re likely
to get a warmer reception than usual… because all the good feelings your new
prospect has for the referrer get transferred to you!

If you can’t get through to someone, or if she’s shown no interest, you can still
send self-promotion mailings or items that may interest her at regular intervals.

It’s a good idea to have an information packet you can send as a follow-up.
(It also gives you additional material to offer during your calls.) Your packet
can include writing samples, a brief biography, a testimonials page, a list of
services, and even a free report as a “bait piece.”

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The free report makes it more likely people will request your information
package.

A Little Effort Up Front for a Big Payday Later

Whether you find clients through job boards or more traditional prospecting,
like the method outlined in the previous section, you’ll often find clients who
want to see your work before they commit to hiring you. They can do this in a
couple ways:

• Spec assignments – With these, a client will ask you to do a project “on
spec” — which is short for “on speculation.” They’ll offer you a small task
to complete, with no guarantee that they’ll use it. If they do, they’ll pay
you and hire you for future work. If not, then you at least have something
to add to your portfolio to show future clients. A spec assignment shows
the client more than just how well you write — it also gives the client the
opportunity to see how you are to work with, what your communication is
like, and how well you mesh with their team.

• Editorial copy - Another great way to get work in the health market is
to write editorial copy. Most prospects need a lot more than promotions.
Many supplement and health newsletter companies send out daily,
weekly, or monthly e-zines. They may also use content on their website
and as part of their social media strategy. Someone has to write that
content… it might as well be you. Catalogs, brochures, and web copy
are other assignments you can use to prove your abilities. Once the
client is happy with your work, you may not have to wait long for a sales
promotion or an online email campaign.

A couple of other notes: First, even if someone turns you down for a job
initially, if he shows any interest, be sure to follow-up later. Now may not be
the time, but later you could be exactly what he’s looking for. (Obviously don’t
reach out to a company that does all their copywriting in-house, though.)
Don’t forget about past clients, too. They may need help updating old copy or
developing material for new products somewhere down the line.

Second, once you have clients, develop a process that involves plenty of clear
communication. From the moment you start a new project, let your client
know your plans and general timeline. Then give him regular updates as
you progress. Open communication will build your client’s confidence in your

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work, so he’s more likely to hire you in the future… and recommend you to
colleagues.

Ready, Set, Write!

There you have it! Everything you need to make a career for yourself in the
health-marketing niche. By now, you should feel comfortable with…

… researching products and translating health jargon into easy-to-

understand copy,

… developing a unique selling proposition that sets your product apart

from the other supplements, newsletters, or workout equipment currently
available,

… targeting the emotions that drive your prospect’s quest to better his
health,

… planning a strategy that grab your prospect’s attention and convince him
your product stands out above the rest,

… creating a headline that uses the Four U’s™ to entice the reader to learn
more about your product,

… choosing a voice that gives personality to your writing and conveys

credibility,

… developing copy that effectively conveys the features, benefits, and deep
benefits, with any form of marketing package your client desires,

… creating an offer that makes purchasing the product a no-brainer,

… and translating all these techniques to the current online market.

If you haven’t already figured it out, writing for the health market is a great
way to push your persuasive writing skills. You’ll expand your knowledge of how
the body works while gaining experience writing in a variety of different forms
and voices. You’ll get to push yourself outside of your comfort zone… and boost
your earning potential.

With so many people looking to live longer, healthier lives, there’s plenty of
room for you in this growing field… And now you should feel prepared to jump
right in!

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