How I Create Killer Copy to Sell Your “How To” Instructional Book

by Kelvin R. Parker

1. Preparation Stage: Research!, Research!, Research!

a) I get to know your product or service inside and out. I will have you send to me all previous marketing material published on the product.

b) I will ask a lot of questions… of anybody and everybody associated with the product. Questions such as:

· Who buys your product?

· Why do they buy it?

· What is the biggest benefit one will receive from your product?

· Why is it better than the competition?

· Is there a money back guarantee?

· How did your product come into existence, what motivation and occurrence?

· What do previous customers have to say? Can you provide these testimonials for review?

c) I will get to know your client and customer intimately…

· What is an accurate profile of the type of client or customer you are most likely to attract?

· What are your target clients' "hidden agenda" of goals and desires?

· What is your buyer’s character? What motivates him/her?

· What is the customer's main concern? (Price, delivery, benefits obtained, performance, reliability, service maintenance, quality efficiency)

· How many different buying influences must the copy appeal to?

· Where will I find your target audience? If they read magazines… You can be sure I read the same ones!

· If they buy through mail order… I’ll find the mailing lists they reside on and understand the psychological profile behind the list…

d) I will determine your precise objective for the copy…

Do you want to generate immediate sales or build a large list of prospects to which you can communicate about future products?

e) I will intensively interview the “top sales person” for the product…

That may be the company owner, a top sales person, or the product creator – such as the author of a book. Essentially, the person that knows the product better than anybody else in the world!

This process always scores a direct hit identifying the precise desires and hot buttons of the target audience!

2. Work the Project Stage: More Research…

The next step is to go even deeper… I will:

a) Use the product or service myself

In the case of a book… read it thoroughly at least three times.

b) Check out the competition

c) Draw on personal experience…

And then:

d) Create a massive Benefits List and Fact Sheet

e) Create a Deal Sheet… being the strongest proposition that can be offered to the prospective client or customer.

3. Write Killer Copy: Sell the Damn Thing!

At this stage I write the initial draft… and then edit it, rework it, polish it… and perfect it until the benefits-intensive copy just overwhelms the reader with compelling reasons to ORDER NOW!

This is the same technique the late copywriter, publisher, author and entrepreneur Eugene Schwartz used to sell $50 million dollars worth of one book…

The copy I create for your product will grab your prospective client or customer’s attention, tell them why they should be interested, tell them the reasons why they should believe what you’re saying and prove it…

List all the benefits they will obtain from use of your product, make them an offer they cannot refuse and finally… compel them to action and direct them on how to ORDER NOW!

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