The Persuasion Toolkit

5 Simple Copy Tweaks To Skyrocket Your Sales,

Increase Conversions & Boost Your Bottom Line

By Matthew James OConnor

www.deliciouscopywriting.com 2010

You MAY give this report away if you wish .

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Hey,
In this short report I want to open your eyes to a few little tweaks
you can add to your sales copy right now to almost instantly increase
sales and pour fatter profits into your back pocket.
But I dont do sales copy I hear you cry.
Listen, if you have an online business, your copy is right at the heart
of it.
Copy is the foundation of everything you do online.
Its in your sales letters, your emails, your Adwords ads, your presells, your review pages the list goes on.
I know a lot of folks get confused on the difference between content
and copy (basically copy persuades, content informs) but add some
of these tools of persuasion to any content and youll get your reader
to do whatever you want them to do.
Whether its click on a certain link, sign up for your newsletter or buy
your product, effective sales copy can gently coax and push your
prospects towards the desired action.
So this stuff is important, ok?

I Dont Have Time For This!

I get it.
You dont have the time to learn how to become a great copywr iter.
Hell, it took me 2 years to get good, even longer to become really
persuasive.
Thats why Im giving you some of my favorite techniques in bite size
form.
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Little tweaks to spice up your existing or future copy to make it more

readable, more emotional and a whole lot more persuasive.
Ready?
Then we shall begin

Tool 1: The Power Of Storytelling

Weve told stories to each other ever since we sat around campfires
as cavemen regaling others with tall tales on how we slayed a sabretooth tiger that day. And it was thiiiiiis big! Perhaps.
Stories we cant get enough of them.
Do you know why the movie Star Wars is so effective? B ecause it
contains all the elements of a perfect storyline.
George Lucas is quite open about his Joseph Campbell influence.
Campbell came up with The Heros Journey a template pulling
together all the elements of a compelling story.
Its the same with the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies all
heroes coming from humble backgrounds and facing adversity on
their way to personal triumph.
How could you add The Heros Journey to your sales messages?
This is something done to death by folks like Frank Kern and Eben
Pagan.
Take Pagans alter-ego David DeAngelo and his progress from shy
loser to dating guru. Telling this type of transformation story is a
great way to make the shift to guru in your prospects eyes.
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Maybe your product or service grew from a similar tale of hardships

and triumphs?
Go check out Campbells book The Hero With A Thousand Faces for
a more in-depth analysis..
Stories engage the reader and once youve got him in a trance, you
can persuade him to take any kind of action. And the longer he stays
engaged, the more likely he is to take that action.
Thats worth rephrasing
The longer your prospect stays engaged with your message, the
more suggestible he becomes.
How can YOU use these storytelling fundamentals to sell your
product?
How can you implement the power of story into your copy?
Now Im not suggesting you write an epic Beowulf style poem or the
next blockbuster. Instead, take note of Campbells summarization of
the heros journey
A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region
of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a
decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious
adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.
Now in your copy all you have to do is pick a central character, either
you or another character in your story.
Describe them going through some kind of journey or rite of passage
and watch as their lives are transformed (perhaps because of using
your product nudge, nudge).
For example
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You might tell a story of how Jack was flat broke and down on his
luck. Suffering through many hardships and struggles (which we can
all relate to) he stumbles upon an amazing money-getting widget
transforming his income in one fell swoop.
Now Jack lives in total peace and harmony not to mention financial
freedom and it was all thanks to the widget which by the way is
available for the first time today but only if you buy now etc.
Ok little bit simplified.
But you get the idea
Whenever you tell someone a story they picture themselves as
the main protagonist.
So if youre relaying a story of how you went through some hard
times and uncovered an amazing technique which turned your life
around making you richer, happier and healthier
Your prospect is going to imagine him/herself going through those
motions.
And when he comes out of it at the end, hes going to have a serious
hunger to buy your product.
Check out Therapeutic Metaphors by David Gordon for more in -depth
info on storytelling and persuasion.
Weave a story into your copy and it pulls the reader through your
sales message. Think about it, if a story has an intriguing set -up we
have to find out how its going to finish.
Its in our nature.
Advanced Tip: Make sure you split the story into 3 or 4 sections
throughout the copy.
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Get to a cliffhanger with the line but Ill get to what happened
next in just a second. First
This works a treat to keep your reader hanging on and glued to your
sales message.
Stories can form the backbone of your copy, but they must have a
point. Dont get so involved in the story that you begin writing a
novel.
Make it brief yet involving enough that the reader is t ransported,
coming away from the story desperate to get his hands on your
product.
Easier said than done, but look over some great sales letters and see
if you can find the selling story within.
Ok, now onto some techniques to add to your sales messages wh ich
up the persuasion factor

Tool 2: Future Pacing (or the imagine if part)

I love writing this part of the sales letter .

The idea with future pacing is to get your prospect imagining what
its like to experience your product directly or and this is more
common the results of your product.
I find the best way to write these is to simply imagine that Im the
prospect and how each of my senses would react to the use of the
product.
So for example

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Say youre selling chocolate cake (nice work if you can get it.) Heres
how youd future pace your prospect
Imagine for a second
You slice into the prime piece of deliciously rich cake, the knife
gliding through the soft sponge. Squeezing it ever so slightly with
your fingers as you lift the slice to your mouth, the pungent aroma of
cocoa makes you salivate.
Biting into the light sponge sets off all kinds of taste sensations and
your mind drifts back to the chocolate cake your mom used to make
as a child Except this is even more delicious
Anyway, you see what Im doing there.
Its what Gary Halbert called painting pretty pictures in the
prospects mind.
Make them see, feel and even smell what your pr oduct (or the
benefits of your product) is like.
In fact, the more of the senses you can engage the longer your
sales message stays lodged in their mind and - yes - the more likely
they are to buy your product.

Tool 3: Hidden Scarcity Tactics

Read any general copywriting manual and theres guaranteed to be a

section on how you must include scarcity.
Sure, if you have a limited number of products to sell then the
inherent scarcity will urge your prospect to buy more quickly.

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Likewise, an imminent price increase is a great scarcity weapon to

wield and always gets people to snap up products for fear of missing
out.
So far so obvious.
If you have any chance of instilling genuine scarcity into your sales
message do so.
But what if there is none?
In these days of selling eBooks and other digital goods, the price is
fixed and quantity unlimited so how do you tip the prospect over
the fence so that he has to buy right then and there?
You can do it with bonus items. Pile them one on top of the other
and say only the first 50 get this bonus package.
Then for the next 50 buyers they get a slightly smaller bonus pack.
This works really well and youll see it used by top copywriters like
Makepeace and Carlton.
But if you dont want to mess around with bonuses, just give them a
little psychological shove toward the buy button.
Heres a little tactic I use to just push them in the right direction ;)
Picture the scene
Youve revealed the price and the guarantee after a long, persuasive
argument revealing your product to be the best thing since sliced
bread but your prospect still has that nagging feeling
Ah, If I come back tomorrow, thisll still be here
This is not what you want to happen.

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So instead, gently remind them if they leave right now they might
forget to come back and miss out on this opportunity altogether.
Or even better
Remind them that unless they grab your product right now they
face a future stumbling along the exact same path theyve always
been.
Unless you get hold of it this very second youre doomed to wander
aimlessly through life without having enjoyed the majesty of this
product.
Or maybe you want to play some real mind games
Write something like listen, I know youre on the fence right now
but its times like this when youve had the chance to make a re al
change in your life that its easy to walk away not having dared take
the chance
I urge you right now to grab this opportunit y with both hands and
not let go. Turn your back on this and you risk missing out on the
chance to change your life in ways you cant imagine
And of course theres absolutely no risk because of the iron -clad
guarantee
This all depends on your product bu t you see what Im doing there
Its the two roads argument. Either they grab the chance by the
scruff of the neck or live to regret it further down the line.
This is where a lot of would-be copywriters fall down, they get
nervous when it comes to pushing the prospect over the edge.
Likewise when it comes to asking for the sale.

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When you want them to buy ask them. Tell them what to do, what
steps to take.
Make it clear and simple and the right thing for them to do at that
moment.
Because lets face it, weve all thought about buying stuff and then
left it, maybe even regretted not buying it later.
So tap into that.
On top of this, paint a picture of how their life will continue to be
unfulfilling or dull (depending on your product ) unless they buy right
now.
These are the tactics I use very successfully when having to create
some non-existent scarcity.
Just promise me one thing
Dont try and fake it. Its obvious. Those countdown tickers just
falsify your entire product and ruin your image.
So dont do it, ok?

Tool 4: Both Sides Of The Story

No matter what you sell youre going to face competition, b ut this

isnt anything to be scared of.
In fact, when writing copy, having some healthy competition
provides an extra weapon for your arsenal. A fall guy you can use to
make YOUR product look like the preferred choice.

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All you have to do is compare your product with theirs and point out
why yours is far superior.
Easier said than done perhaps? Not when youre subtle in your
approach.
One tactic which most copywriters use is to SLAM the other guy(s).
Youve probably seen this happen most often in Internet Marketing
products where the anti-guru angle is used time and again.
For example
Listen, I know how you feel youve been ripped off and lied to more
times than you count. Youve bought junk systems again and again
because they promised you fast and easy riches but theres only one
person getting rich out of all of this the guy youre handing over
your hard-earned cash to.
Ive been there. I bought a ton of systems, methods and so -called
strategies but none of them worked. So I got to work on developing
my own method. And thats what Im revealing to you today
So we lay into the competition without getting s pecific. And, in the
IM field particularly, this is extremely effective because
1) Theres a lot of junk out there which makes them easy targets
2) The nature of the average IM consumer is to jump from one thing
to another, never giving anything a chance and thus never making
any money.
Cmon, weve all been there ;)
So slamming your competitors is effective but theres an even more
powerful way.

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What if you BIG UP your rivals?

Eh? I hear you say why would I want to do that?
Because it makes you seem more trustworthy and open while you
can still, covertly, maintain that YOURS is the superior product.
So say were selling a dating system
Youve probably heard of, or even tried, the Venus Flytrap Girl
Catching Method and theres no doubt that it works. Absolutely no
doubt whatsoever. For a long time, this was the most effective
system out there.
I mean I had some huge successes with this and if youre starting
out in the dating game its worth a look, it gets my full thumbs up.
But
It does have a few flaws, and, through no fault of its own, women
have wised up lowering its effectiveness.
These days you need to get more intelligent with your approaches
and thats why I developed the Egg Head Dating System to achieve
just that
See how Im being positive about the competition while still
positioning our product as being the best?
Sneaky and super effective.
Give it a try in your promotions.

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Tool 5: Join The Club!

It took me a while to realize how powerful this tactic can be but,

when used subtly, it can have your prospects hammering the order
button.
One of our primal needs is to belong.
We want to be a part of something, a movement, a club, a group of
people.
Otherwise we face isolation and thats just not pretty so
In your copy be sure to reveal (through description or maybe even
photographs) the kind of group your prospect will be joining when
they purchase your product.
But heres the thing make sure th e group contains aspirational
figures wed all like to rub shoulders with.
Point out that buying your product makes the prospect part of an
exclusive club of like -minded yet super successful people.
The urge will gradually build within our unassuming prospect to
become a member, to join this club, to jump on your bandwagon.
On the flipside
You can be just as persuasive by helping your prospect avoid
becoming a member of a club.
You may be selling an acne product and you could warn how unless
they act fast and apply your solution, theyre doomed to spend their
days in the company of taunted and bullied kids with acne -ridden
faces unless they grab your product NOW.

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With a money-making product you could urge them to see that

theyll continue to belong to a low -income bracket unless they take
the chance to put your whizz-bang system to work this moment.
The chance to belong to a group of like-minded or aspirational
people and the ability to avoid groups that drag us down is
motivating in the extreme.
Use it in your copy and watch the effect on your sales.
--------------------------------

In closing
Of course there are many more ultra-persuasive tricks and
techniques in a top copywriters bag of tricks.
Ill save some for next time but for now using any of these will add
a sprinkling of persuasion to your sales machine.
In fact, you may be surprised by the results and ever-increasing
profits.
But youll never know unless you apply them.
And remember test, test, test!
Until next time

www.deliciouscopywriting.com | www.matthew-oconnor.com

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"Man this guy is GOOD and FAST!

He turned around 2 kick-ass letters and they were so good I just sent my deposit for a 3rd
letter :)
And then I will take him up on a 4th letter.
Basically I'm going to book him SOLID for work..."
Howie Schwartz
This dude is my secret weapon. Matt's copy alone pulled in hundreds of thousands of dollars
for me this year.
Eric Rockefeller
Matt, we hit $100,000 in the first 24 hours...I' m stunned. It's only 4 days into the launch and
we're at $300,000 in sales and counting.
Tom Strignano
If you're looking for a copywriter and marketing consultant who truly 'gets it'... one
who delivers killer cash -generating copy and is still wildly underpriced, give Matt a call.
Vin Montello

Matt OConnors uniquely persuasive copy is fast becoming the

number 1 choice of online marketers the world over.
If youd like to be the next in line for a six figure (and beyond) launch,
head over to the site and lay down some b rief details about your project.
I look forward to working with you

www.deliciouscopywriting.com

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