10x the value of your writing (and your paid subs)
Pro copywriting strategies for getting more traction.
Even if you feel like writing is easy…
Writing to sell is hard.
And I know how many of you feel about this word: selling. Blah!
It’s so encouraging to see how Substack creates paid subscribers out of thin air. You write your usual things, go about your usual day, and boom, a paid subscriber out of nowhere.
Nice!
Easy!
So why are you reading this?
Substack is about to become highly competitive.
It’s already happening. Michael Simmons (blockbuster.thoughtleader.school) called it “Subscription shock.”
Growth Rate: At first, readers subscribe to many publications. But as they build up a base of people they subscribe to, they get more discerning.
Churn: Once readers realize how much they’re spending and that they’re not actually reading what they are paying for, they unsubscribe from lots of publications.
Survival Of The Favorite: People stay subscribed to a handful of their favorite newsletters.
And how do we become people’s favourite Substack?
Enter copywriting.
Copywriting is a highly undervalued marketing skill.
Here’s something I want you to remember:
Copywriters are the most expensive people in the room.
They can sell fridges at the North Pole.
Copywriting is about WAY more than just writing.
It’s about:
Buyers psychology
Positioning
Market research
Testing (so knowing how to read the numbers)
Understanding the different marketing channels
And then there’s some writing involved
More Substackers need to learn & use copywriting principles.
You should, too, if you want to:
Get more paid subscribers
Keep more paid subscribers
Boost your credibility and be perceived as a thought leader in your field
Make people pay attention & subscribe in the first place (hard to get paid subscribers without free subscribers)
The one copywriting principle to rule them all.
Credibility.
If I have to choose one thing that will 10x your results online, it’s credibility.
And here’s where your strategy & the strategy of the big guys differs.
is fucking brilliant. I’m a little bit in love with that guy’s brain.But Tim can write whatever and it works. He brings his credibility in his back pocket. We all know him. You see bazillion followers, 150K+ subscribers, 7-figures: we’re sold.
He still builds on it, by the way. Have you noticed the stories he shares in his content: examples from other successful people; quotes from top media.
So even though we already trust him, he still goes out of his way to bring in more credibility.
And then people see you: someone who’s probably brilliant, but an unfamiliar face with 200 subscribers.
They’ll give you a chance. They’ll look around for credibility. Their eyes will slide down your post’s headlines, and when they see “4 ways to become happier,” do you think they’ll click on that? Do you think they’ll pay for that?
No. They probably won’t.
So HOW do you infuse your writing with SO MUCH credibility that suddenly you become unignorable and turn your newsletter into readers’ favourite Substack?
And how do you do it as an absolute beginner?
Glad you asked. Here are 5 pro copywriting strategies that are easy to implement and will instantly make your content something worth paying for.
Overview VS Deep Dive
“4 ways to become happier,” is an overview.
Pro writers write deep dives.
They present new ideas. So if it’s “4 ways…” it’ll be 4 ways I have NEVER EVER heard of before, never even considered. That’s a bit harder to do; you must be a pro and/or do a lot of research to give us advanced ideas we haven’t heard of.
They focus on one idea and reshape the crap out of it so it changes your life. Not 4 ideas. One idea. That happens when you sit with that idea, break it down into its components, and put it back together in a totally new way. If you’re a beginner online but love thinking and writing, I suggest you do that.
Look at Ava Bear’s take on uselessness. Look at Tim Denning’s take on intensity.
Overviews are the bird-eye view of things. We all know them already.
Zoom in. Don’t give me 10 ways to write great headlines, give me one way. Give me the core, the essence, the bare fucking bones of a headline so I can dress it up as I see fit and it makes sense.
Now, you have “One way to become happier.”
Doesn’t it somehow already sound more credible? As if you’ll read something intriguing. You’ll read the one way. Curious, right?
Ways VS Strategies
Let’s dissect your wording.
You can’t sell ways. Ways are free and basic. The Internet is full of them.
It’s also difficult to sell “tips”, “tricks”, “advice” and “secrets.” These are the essence of free content.
If you want to sell anything, you need depth (as we already discussed). You can sell strategies, principles, tactics, guides.
It’s also difficult to sell “happiness.” It’s too vague. Sell what happiness is made of. Sell understanding, clarity, decision-making, inspiration. Sell energy.
Sell, “One advanced strategy to re-energize your days.”
Now, we start to create something that deserves money.
Opinion VS Research
It’s cool to have opinions. Having opinions is crucial for a writer.
But unless you have the 7 figures and bazillion followers to support that opinion, no one will buy it. I mean that literally.
If you want to sell opinions, research the crap out of them.
Did you notice how many successful people I’ve used as examples here?
If you’re teaching something with your Substack, you need research.
So now we have, “One advanced strategy to re-energize your days (used by millionaires)”
Sounds more pay-worthy, yes? Now, imagine seeing an entire wall of headlines that sound like that.
I’d hit subscribe for sure, and I’d expect these to be somewhat locked and require payment.
Structure VS Flow
Flow state is a beautiful thing but there’s one BIG difference between free and paid content and that’s structure.
Paid information is well-structured and easy to implement.
All writers should know structures.
Read that again (as Tim would say).
Journalists use the Inverted Pyramid. Novelists use the 3-Act Structure. Copywriters use PAS.
Yet, so many online writers ignore structures and think they can get away with it. They think of their writing as a headline + a blob of text.
Sure, write when you’re in flow, but then edit to fit this into a structure. That’s when you’ll notice maybe you skipped a step, or you made a step too long.
Structures take the reader through a process that will result in a new, slightly better version of themselves. If you don’t build that process, you’re writing chaos. No one buys chaos.
Paid subscribers will get the writing structure that’s saving me hours and making me $$$ at the end of this post. ❤️
Write less, read more.
There are two types of reading I want you to do: reading things in your area of expertise; and reading things around it.
If you want to write about gardening, you must know all the big gardening gurus, and all the smaller gurus that are growing fast. You need to see how they do things, and how you’re different (or the same).
Then, also read interior design. Read building. Read parks & recreation. Read landscape design. Read colour theory.
Read marketing, sales, personal development, money mindset.
I see people all the time, writing and writing. Publishing a post a day and getting nowhere.
Well, obviously something isn’t working, right? So step back, stop typing and fill your head with new ideas.
If you want to help others become smarter, you must work on becoming smarter non-stop.
Then, of course, write.
You only have 1 day…
If you’re a paid subscriber, get my highly-optimized structure for writing killer content below.
If you’re not a paid subscriber, you still have a day to become one & grab a 1-1 business coaching session with me.
You’ll probably want to become a paid sub at some point (knowing what I have in store), so my sincere advice is you do it now and take advantage of our session.
See you soon, awesome solos ❤️
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