OK, my little pumpkins, copywriting tips for beginners.

They’re something I get asked about all the time and to my shame I sometimes want to jump down people’s throats and pull out their innards, because it’s really not that difficult.

I’ll level with you. Not that I ever dissemble but sometimes you don’t have to go all the way and tell people everything because they can get upset about things.

But, hell, I’m past caring about their sensitivities to that extent.

You see… while probably anyone who can string words together to make an actual sentence and breathe at the same time can learn enough of the basic copywriting skills they need to write what I’ll call an “80% letter”… I think the last 20%, the 20% taking 80% of the skill really belongs to those who are wired up a certain way.

I could be wrong, but I rather suspect that ability goes beyond being a learnable skill (as we commonly understand them). Don’t be upset if you’re not a “natural”. It won’t matter unless you want to be a pro copywriter.

So, given this… just how far can we go with a few simple copywriting tips for beginners?

Well, a very long way.

Because it’s the good-old 80/20 principle working for you: you’ll get 80% of your results for just 20% of the effort and with just 20% of the tricks of the trade, so to).

So… here are…

5 Copywriting Tips for Beginners to Spank the Bottom of What You’re Writing Now

Copywriting Tips for Beginners #1: Learn to Write Headlines.

This is the single-most important part of anything you do – because if that doesn’t stop them and get them reading the rest, then the rest won’t get read. So… your headline has got to get their attention, appeal to the “ideal buyer” in your target market and quite clearly and unambiguously promise them your biggest benefit.

Copywriting Tips for Beginners #2: Don’t Try to be Cute, Funny, or “Clever”.

Your reader isn’t reading your ad or sales letter for entertainment (even though ultimately that’s what you’ll end up doing in many cases – entertaining them). They don’t want to work at this. They just want to know how you’re going to solve the problem you just said you were going to solve.

Copywriting Tips for Beginners #3: Write Like You Speak.

This is the biggie, the one to make all the difference. I’ll explain why this is so important if you’re really curious and someone asks me nicely, but for now, just take it from me: it works best. That means forgetting most of what the idiot teachers told you at school about writing prose.

Copywriting Tips for Beginners #4: Ask for the Sale.

Don’t pussyfoot around – ask for the money. Tell them what they’ve got to do, when they’ve got to do it (NOW!), and what’ll happen if they don’t. If you don’t have a strong and clear call to action, you’re going to lose sales.

Copywriting Tips for Beginners #5: Don’t Reinvent the Wheel.

There’s always someone who thinks they know a cool new way to do things. Maybe they do. But first, do what we know tends to work best in most situations, most of the time. Try your funky new ideas when you’ve made some money and you have a profitable position to fall back to.

Seriously, while you might think these copywriting tips for beginners have made it all seem easier than it really is… it’s as easy as I say it is. The first 80% of your results really will come from just 20% of all the stuff people are trying to sell you.

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