The 4 P’s of Effective Copywriting
Promise, Picture, Proof and Push.
Recite them out loud a few times and you will have them commited to memory in no time. The order is important too, so just keep repeating PROMISE….PICTURE…PROOF….PUSH. Some of the world’s most successful sales promotions have used this underlying structure for their construction.
Have a look at a few promotions and see if you can see the 4 P’s construction. It will be there almost certainly.
So, how can you harness the power of the 4 P’s and use it in your own sales copy.
PROMISE
To see how we might use the four P’s in our own copy, let’s take an idea and work it up. Suppose I have invented a new gadget that I think the world cannot do without and I want to advertise it on my website. It is an ink pen that you can use that has an eraser built in that allows you to erase your writing if required within one hour. You simply remove the cap and gently rub the eraser over your ink content and it disappears. OK, not the greatest idea, but it will illustrate the point.
Someone visits your website and reads about the super ink pen with eraser option. The article simply says "Would you like to buy my Super Ink Pen with Eraser for £29.99". Well, probably not! What is it and how might it help me and I have loads more questions and I am bored so goodbye. You get the picture. This is where the PROMISE comes in…
"I promise you will never have to throw away your important letters and documents again. Use the Super Ink Pen and any mistakes can be gone in an instant."
That’s better, I am showing some interest now and this thing sounds quite useful.
By starting with a promise, the reader is interested and they will want to read on and find out more. And that is when you move on to the next P - picture.
PICTURE
With the picture you need to reaffirm the fulfillment of the promise and show the benefit of the item. Creating an ideal picture allows our reader to literally picture the benefit in their mind. Describe how it works fully and show the benefits. If you can picture it yourself then so can the potential customer. The picture needs to resonate with the reader so it must include loads of concrete details so that the reader is now considering how your Super Ink Pen will help them in their everyday life.
So, is it time to ask them if they want to buy one? No, because at this time the reader will be thinking "How does the Super Ink Pen do this?" Without the proof that your item actually works, your promise will be worthless.
PROOF
You now need to qualify the promise that you made. You need to fully explain the features of the item. Whatever they are, you need to explain them here. However, throughout the proof section, you need to go one stage further. For every feature that you mention explain a benefit of that feature. To turn a feature into a benefit, after the feature prompt yourself by asking the question ‘which means’. But you can go EVEN further..
You can turn a benefit into a deeper benefit. Just remember, Feature, which means benefit, which means deeper benefit. By this point,if you have followed this process, your reader will be ready to purchase the product. And then we come to the last of the four P’s.
PUSH
Or often known as a ‘call to action ‘. This is where you are asking the reader to buy your product. But, they will only do this if the offer is right. If your offer is reasonable, your call to action can be swiftly done. You can sweeten your offer with a little bonus or discount, however, the key element to the call to action is that it is short enough that the buyer remains excited about the purchase. Oh, and don’t forget that all important guarantee which should be a 100% guarantee replacement whatever the circumstance in the future.
Now, that will give you ONE KILLER sales copy…
Just one more thing before you try this. The ratio of the respective elements should be 10-10-70-10 which will lead to a strong promise, a familiar picture, substantial benefit-driven proof and a clear call to action. So, get out there and try it.
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