Copywriting tools

1. Copywriting
By Laurel Anderson
Marie Forleo and Laura Belgray
THE COPY CURE

2. Know Your Customer
• Choose one customer avatar. The one person you will be talking to in
your copy. It doesn’t matter if you have more than one. When you
speak from the heart with your personal voice anyone who needs to,
will listen.
• If you have a person who is already a c good customer ask if you can
interview them. Here are some questions you can ask. Their answers
are your copy.
• Sample Customer Research Questions

3. Who do you currently use for ?
Or what do you currently use for ?
What’s working for you now? What do you like about
[insert competitive service, product, approach, current
situation]?
What’s not working? What are 3 things you feel that could be
improved?
What are your main frustrations?
What would you like to change about how things are?
What’s the biggest pain for you around
[problem, frustration, issue]?
Would you pay over $100 to have it taken care of? [$100 is
arbitrary. Swap out that number based on your product or
service.]
What does this [problem, frustration, issue] cost
you in terms of lost time, money or aggravation?

4. How important is this for you to handle right now?
What else would get better in your life if this was a non-issue?
Have you ever paid for a product or service like this before?
If so, what did you pay for products or services like this?
What did you like best about it?
What frustrates you about this kind of product or service?
What’s a dream solution for you in this area?

5. Sample Questions That Work Well For Coaches, Consultants, Trainers And Software Solution Providers
Tell me, where would you like to go next?
Whether it’s in their business, career, relationships or health, the intention of this question is to get them to
describe their future vision. What are they working towards? Why is that goal important to them? What will
their life look like and feel like once they reach their goal?
Emotions matter, so help them get in touch with what these goals mean
What’s frustrating or painful?
What do you wish you could change or make different and
why?
What is this problem, frustration or issue costing you in terms
of love, connection, money, time or health?

6. This will help you and your potential client see the gap between where they are and where they
want to be.
In that gap lies enormous opportunity for you to provide value through your products or
services and help them reach their goals.
Afterwards, MIRROR their answers back. They have given you tons of copy to write from.
Write like you talk.
1) Use contractions. I’ve not I have.
2) Use idioms. Play it by ear. Out of the woods.
3) Use phrases. Got milk?
4) Use short words.

7. We all speak in sentence fragments. They sound natural and relatable, exactly how you want
your copy to sound.
Examples:
“You’ll be glad you put on your deodorant. And so will your friends.”
“Come find us. Or we’ll find you.”
Don’t use a long word when a short one will do. Long words don’t make you sound smarter and they often create
distance between you and your readers.
Some of the Biggest Offenders: Utilize vs. Use
Tools you can utilize right now! vs. Tools you can use right now!
Read your final copy out loud. Do any phrases trip you up?
Read your copy to a friend. Do any parts make them say, “Huh?
You’d never say that.”
Remove those unnatural phrases and words and replace them
with ones you’d actually say!

8. A Birthday Wish
• Imagine you are making a birthday wish.
• Would you say “ I wish I were more financially wise.”
• Or, would you say, I wish I had my credit cards paid off and $10,000 in
the bank!
• Would you say, “ I wish I were more emotionally expressive?”
• Or would you say “ I wish I could say hey to the new guy in the office
without having a nervous breakdown.”

9. Real Estate
Real Estate- the first few words in the first line of your copy has to be
super clear on what your are offering. You have seconds before they’ve
swiped, scrolled, and passed you by.
• I’m passionate about creating beautiful art for your home that will
make life simpler by making hand painted canvas rugs.
• Vs
• Canvas Rugs, Make Life Simple

10. Clarity over Cleverness
• Be super clear on what you are offering.
• We’re having a party and everyone is welcome.
• Vs Hey 60 somethings , like your barbecue hot, your beer cold, good rock and roll at a rockin
sunset on the beach?
• Paint a picture
• On what you want your reader to do. Call To Action
• Make a comment below. Click here for 3 things to make your life simple. Sign up for My
Newsletter.
What is on your Website.
Contact Page vs Let’s party together!
Free Samples vs Whimsical Jewels!
•

11. Headlines
• 7 Curiosity Based Headline Formulas
• 1. The “This/These” Specific Allusion Headline
• Examples: Are You Making This 1 Deadly Mistake At The Grocery
• 2. Do These 3 Things Every Day, And You’ll Live To Be A Hundred
• 2. The “How To” Headline
• Examples: How To Apologize Gracefully
• How To Choose The Right Naturopathic Doctor

12. 3. The Command, or “Bossy” Headline
Examples: Stop Oversleeping And Missing The Morning
Stop Overpaying Your Taxes
4. The Contrarian Headline
Examples: Why Procrastination Is A Good Thing
Why Silence ISN’T Golden
5. The List Headline
Examples: 33 Totally Underrated Places to Shop for Home Decor
Online 21 Weird Natural Cleaning Tricks that Actually Work
6. All About You Headlines
Examples: Are You Making These 5 Grammar Mistakes?
By This Time Tomorrow, You Won’t Be A Procrastinator Anymore
7. “Modern Viral” Headline
Examples: I Can’t Stop Watching This Cat Eat Cheese
They Bullied Him. What He Did Next Made My Hair Stand On End

13. 5 Benefit-Driven Headline Formulas
1. The Gain Without Pain
Structure: Get [almost too-good to be true benefit] without
[thing your prospect objects to]
Examples: Get A Show-Stopping Website...Without Paying
Through The Nose (And Without Knowing A Lick Of Code)
Get a Week’s Worth of Healthy Dinners -- Without Having to
Shop, Schlep, Prep
What’s an almost too-good to be true benefit of reading your
content or buying your product? Brainstorm 5 different
benefits
2. Gain Without Pain -- In A Time Frame
Structure: Get [almost too-good to be true benefit] in/by [X
amount of time] without [thing your prospect objects to]
Examples: Get Rid Of Your Crow’s Feet by Next Weekend —
Without Surgery, Botox, Or Pricey Creams

14. 3. Exciting/Shocking or Newsy Statement, and How it Impacts You
38% of homes in your neighborhood will get robbed this year. Here’s how to make sure yours
isn’t one of them.
4. Who it’s For, What They Want
Structure: For [kind of people] who want [benefit]
Examples: For Dog Owners Who Love Fido But Hate Picking Up
His Poop For Beer Fanatics Who Want To Brew Their Own
5. What if [Sweet Benefit] Happened?
Examples: What If Your Work Started Making Piles of Money to
Match the Passion You Put In?
What If You Could Motivate Employees with ONE Word?
What if you could understand exactly what your dog’s trying to
tell you when he barks?

15. 3 Benefit-Driven Headline Formulas
1. Questions are Usually Better than Statements
EXAMPLE:
Are you ready to fit back into your skinny jeans?
VS.
Fit back into your skinny jeans.
2. Problems Beat Solutions
EXAMPLE:
Do you have BO by the time you get to work?
Try this weird trick that works like a charm.
VS.
How to smell great all day.
3. Specifics Always Top Generalizations
EXAMPLE:
4 Ridiculously Charming Cottages We Want
To Move Into -- Yesterday
VS.
4 Homes We Love

16. 5 Email Subject Line Formats To Inspire Your Creativity
1. Be Tease-y, Personal, and Intimate
Examples: Well, this sucks
Awkward
The secret I’ve been keeping for 5 months
2. Use Story Starters
Examples: And then I split my pants
I can’t believe what I just heard
I might get in trouble for this
3. Be About The Reader
Examples: “Do you do this, too?”
Why you leave everything to the last minute
4. Be Urgent
Examples: Only 2 rooms left at this rate!
Tomorrow, the price doubles
5. Newsy Pop Culture
Examples: Justin Timberlake’s big mistake
One thing you won’t see on the Oscars tonight

17. Online Copywriting Tools
Idioms for natural writing.
http://www.englishdaily626.com/idioms.php
Use Simple Phrases
https://plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/words/use-simple-words-phrases/
Headline Templates
http://harrisonamy.com/41-classic-copywriting-headline-templates/
Writing and editing tool Hemingway App
http://www.hemingwayapp.com/
Emotional Marketing Headline Analyzer
https://www.aminstitute.com/headline/
Some Great Headline Examples and Why
https://neilpatel.com/blog/copywriting-headline-examples/
Online Thesaurus
https://www.thesaurus.com/

18. Find rhymes, synonyms, adjectives, and more!
https://www.rhymezone.com/
Dictionary, Idioms, Thesaurus, and so much more.
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/