Just got back from Yakushima. It was so FUN! The pic above is me standing in an ancient, ANCIENT, breath-taking forest in the midst of this tiny, mysterious island.

More later! Now I’m going to unpack and hit the hay.

Hope you’re all doing well!

Regards,

Rebecca Dean

a.k.a. Miss Copy

So, I was reviewing misscopy.com stats the other day.  And I was checking where readers were coming from.  I noticed one reader came to visit my site via a link from a Wiki article called: “Media Coverage of the Arab-Israeli Conflict.”  What???  Why would my blog about copywriting and internet advertising be linked to a political article?

Turns out one of my blog posts was used as a reference in the article.  Want to know which one?  “How To Write Your First Paragraph.”  So I guess I helped one of the authors write a solid first paragraph for the article and they decided to give me credit.

Actually a lot of people find my blog through the google search “How to write the first paragraph.”  Interestingly enough, however, more people find my blog through this question “How to use a toilet!” (relating no doubt to this post.)

I never realized so many people needed toilet instructions, LOL!

Take care, everyone :o)

Rebecca Dean

a.k.a. Miss Copy

…then go to a dating forum. You’ll find crazy suggestions there, such as: taking personal ads out in the newspaper using your ex’s name and requesting some real seedy “love action” while leaving his/her work number for the contact info.

Wait, a second… Why was I reading twisted revenge stories in dating forums…?

MARKETING RESEARCH of course!

And I’m happy to report it paid off because I got some real good ideas if anybody ever tries to… just kidding!  No, what I meant to say is… My client is reporting an increased conversion rate thanks to the sales letter I wrote.

Not to mention something he said, you know, about the headline I wrote hitting the nail on the head as well as other elements I incorporated such as empathy and proof.

Okay, sorry about tooting my own horn… in “copywriting reality” I’m just the messenger. The market clued me in on what it wanted to hear and I just neatly packaged it and served it up for my client.

But, I’m so pleased that the letter is performing well, because my client initially requested that the letter be a specialized style and I had to say “NO!”

It couldn’t be helped, though (and he’s a totally nice guy and was cool with it, but still…)

You see, my client was hoping that I’d be able to use my own name in the sales copy and write from my personal perspective of the product.

That was no good, because, well, first of all the product was an ebook about dating… and my personal love life didn’t remotely fit the book’s mold… and secondly, personally endorsing a product while being the hired copywriter… that made my brain do kart-wheels.

To make matters worse… As I researched the competition I found these third party/personal endorsement sales letters everywhere. Which meant they likely were converting wonderfully.

And I could see why. The very essence of a personal recommendation oozes credibility… not to mention strong reader relatability.

Great. So there I was. Challeged to produce a sales letter that’d perform well, minus the advantage touted by most of the competition (a personal recommendation.)

But I knew how I was going to do it.

2 words: EMPATHY and PROOF!

I scoured yahoo answers and numerous dating forums. I phoned up my single girlfriends. And I did extensive research into the author’s background. I even transcribed the testimonial video (that all affiliates had rights to use) so I could separate the individual testimonials into johnson boxes. And through it all, I had enough AMMO to blow a personal recommendation out of the water! YAR!!! (Okay, maybe I’m getting a little carried away.)

But anyways, tests have revealed so far the the letter is doing well. And so I’m happy, happy, happy. And more importantly, so is my client. Wahoo!

Anyone else got a sales letter victory story??? I’d love to hear it!

Hope you’re all doing well.

Regards,

Rebecca Dean

a.k.a Miss Copy

Perhaps I’m classified as Ambidextrous… I’m not sure, but I’m definitely CROSS DOMINANT. You see, I couldn’t tell you if I’m left or right-handed.

When I was 5 years old and getting ready to join the Giants T-ball team my parents bought me a brand new left-handed glove (which fits the right hand.)

They figured I was left-handed since I write with the left. Then on my first day of T-ball practice my Dad noticed while playing catch with me that I wasn’t throwing well.

He’d seen me numerous times throwing just fine in the yard when playing with my 3 brothers. But all of the sudden I couldn’t throw the ball to save my life.

“Wait”, he said, “Take your glove off and try throwing with your right arm.”

I threw a shot right to him.

And my Dad could’ve just kicked himself. He had already written my name in permanent marker on the brand new mit. And now I wouldn’t be needing it… because just like him, despite using my left hand to write, I play sports all with my right.

I use my right hand to throw, shoot (a basketball) and also bat on the right side.  Though my best swing in tennis is my backhand.

But then, I write left handed. I eat left handed. It’s easier for me to apply my make-up or paint my finger nails with my left hand.

And then again, I play guitar right handed and the switching goes on. It can get really confusing actually. Especially when I’m new or bad at something and both hands suck.  Then I can’t tell which one to use! LOL.

I know that everybody uses their non-dominant hand for lots of activities… but the difference with me is that I can’t determine which hand is dominant.

I do so many things with my left hand that I absolutely can’t do with my right. I can’t write with my right hand, just as I can’t throw or bat using my left. Though when writing on the chalkboard or doing Japanese calligraphy (where my Sensei makes me use my right to ensure the strokes come out right) I do just fine. I think that may be because it is an arm motion rather than hand.

Anyways, this unique trait I’ve got going is known as cross-dominance. If you look it up in Wiki it’s explained as a “motor skill manifestation where a person favors one hand for some tasks and the other hand for others.

My Dad’s the only other person I personally know who is like this. But I just discovered that Leonardo da Vinci was too! That made me feel good (ha ha ha.)

It makes me wonder about my brain. I’d love to get it scanned and see if it’s organized differently than most peoples’.

What do you guys think? Are there any other cross dominant people out there? Anybody unusually “handed?” I’d love to hear from you.

Warm regards to everyone,

Rebecca Dean

a.k.a Miss Copy

Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwarts is a must read for aspiring copywriters. The picture Schwarts paints of a copywriter’s profession in comparison to a stock broker or atomic physicist is quite interesting.

Writing copy is like playing the stock market, or being an atomic physicist.

Basically, all three of these professions-copy writing, speculation and science- are exactly alike. The same keys make each of them work. And if you realize why, you can double the effectiveness of your copy overnight.

Consider these facts:

All three of them deal with immense natural forces- gargantuan forces thousands of times more powerful than the men who use them. In science, they are the fundamental energies of the universe. In speculation, they are the billion-dollar tides and currents of the market place. In copy writing, they are the hopes and fears and desires of millions upon millions of men and women all over the world.

The men who use these forces did not create them; they can neither turn them on nor shut them off; they can neither diminish them nor add to them. But they can harness them!

This is just a glimpse of his ultimate point, but it’s a reminder of how powerful a copywriter’s pen can be.

Makes you think.

Warm regards,

Rebecca Dean

a.k.a. Miss Copy

Ahhh! I’ve just got 7 minutes to complete this post! Why? Because it’s 6:53pm (Japan time) and at 7:00pm my virtual parents are going to log me off the computer. Yes, I’ve got virtual parents that help me stay on task. They make sure I only work during my work hours (10am - 7pm). They ban me from visiting websites that might distract me from working (like myspace). And they keep track of everything I do on the computer. There’s no escape.

You see, I used the Window’s vista parental control settings on my computer to help me stay on task. I created a user account called “Work”.

“Work” can only log in to the computer monday - friday, 10am -7pm and is the only user account that has access to the files I need to, well, work.

Plus, I get a report of “Work’s” activity on the computer so I can easily spot any additional applications and websites that may suck me into wasting time and therefore need to be banned from my computer’s “Work” user account.

Of course, ultimately I could go through the hassle to override the parental controls and continue on with my bad habits. But it’s a hassle to do that. And makes me think twice about what I’m trying to do (waste valuable time).

Gotta go!

See ya soon,

Rebecca Dean

a.k.a. Miss Copy

Howdy Folks,

Today I’m going to pass on 3 small tips that will increase your sales copy pull.  This bit of wisdom comes from one of America’s most famous copywriters: John Caples.

Now, a warning not to discount these tips if you’re already aware of them.  These tips are well known, especially to copywriters.  But so often overlooked that it’d probably do you good to to give them fresh consideration.  So, without further ado, here they are:

1. Short paragraphs

2. Short Sentences

 3. Short Words

In other words, make your copy easy to read. 

Sometimes clients come to me to rewrite their own sales copy.  More times than not their copy consists of large blocks of print, drawn out sentences and words that need to be simplified. Yucky Yucky. 

Big Words = HARD TO READ.
Big Sentences = HARD TO READ.
Big Paragraphs = HARD TO READ.

A “hard to read” sales letter devalues the perceived worth of your offer.  I say “perceived worth” because your reader leaves your letter before they really understand your offer. 

Hard to read copy takes the focus off your offer.  Instead the focus is placed on your letter and produces this reaction in your reader “Geez, I don’t want to read this. [CLICK]”

So if you’re planning to write a sales letter soon, or you already have one in the works, why not scan it for ways to make it simpler to read.  Break up a few long paragraphs.  Rearrange a few sentences to say the same thing with less words.  Simplify bigger words.

It’ll likely be easier than you think, and in turn your sales letter will pull that much harder for you.

Hope you’re all doing well.

Take care,

Rebecca Dean

a.k.a. Miss Copy

Konnichiwa!

If you’ve been reading the Gary Halbert Become A Copywriter In 30 Days Book List, I’m sure you have heard about the power of telling a story.

Readers love stories.  If you have a true story that relates to a benefit that your product provided for someone, or a story about why the creator made a product than you can easily incorporate a strong interest factor into your sales letter.

Plus, stories are not only interesting but they provide proof to your reader.  And as we all know PROOF IS KING!

 Here are a few sales letters I wrote in the past where the stories are interesting and provide the proof the reader needs.

http://www.learn-japanese-right-now.com/

http://www.simplecashblog.com/ 

So what’s your story?

Rebecca Dean

Miss Copy

My brother just came out with this new wordpress plugin that automates linking for you.  So from now on I never have to manually link to My brother’s blog again… I just have to type: Stephen or My brother and POOF!  The link is automatic.  Wow, this is cool.  And it’s really easy to set up on your blog.  You should check it out.  It’s called Linkomatic.  And he has it available at something like a 40% discount right now (though only for a few more hours, because it’s a 24 hour deal.) 

Let me know if you like it.

 As for me, I’m going to have so more fun with it now.  See ya!

 Warm Regards,

 Rebecca Dean

a.k.a. Miss Copy

Yes, it was an eventful morning.  In my little Japanese village there is a Buddhist temple, that happens to be next door to my house. 

In fact, here’s a shot of it outside my bedroom window:

Every morning at 7am a noise comes from this temple that I can only describe as pots and pans clanging together.  An effective alarm clock to be sure. 

Then at 8am it’s time for the monks to gong the temple bell with a hanging wooden log.  This is kind of like my snooze button. 

Here’s a pic of the temple bell and wooden log:

Until this morning I had never set foot in this temple (it’s not the type of temple you’d find in Kyoto or some other big city that regularly receives tourists.) 

I was invited by the Uendo family today to partake in prayers for a family member that had recently passed away.  It was both touching and an honor to be asked.  And they assured me it was okay to attend even though I’m not Buddhist. 

So I got a chance to personally experience a monk chanting and praying for the dead.  It was a beautiful chant that lasted about 40 minutes.  Though I have to admit the accompanying gonging made my ears tingle, but I didn’t dare move to itch them.

Afterwards a priest, the Uendo family and I enjoyed a couple cups of green tea in the temple.  And the Priest gave a theological lecture on Buddhism and Christianity.  A topic picked out because of my presence no doubt.  It was interesting.  And I was even asked to contribute a few insights about American Christianity.

Sitting there this morning… It was one of those experiences in life where time seems to stand still and a serene moment is marked in your memory.

Then I returned home and had another big event…

I joined James Brausch’s Intern Program! 

I’ve been wanting to for a while, but wanted to wait until after my spring vacation.  So today I joined and I’m eager to LEARN. 

I really like James Brausch.  And I’m excited to get an insider’s view of his business.  He’s on my blogroll if you want to check him out. 

I expect great things to come out of this internship.

I’ll keep you updated on how it goes!

Regards,

Rebecca Dean

a.k.a. Miss Copy