89 Copywriting Checklist

If you think your sales page is “selling”, think back again. Checkout the checklists below. Make sure, you didn’t miss any.

Pre-Approach:

1. Verify you’re using the proper medium before investing tons of money

2. Create targeted message – communicate to niche/vertical/’ideal’ client

3. Verify if advertising is justified at all. If not, don’t advertise

4. Verify this is a product or service people actually want

5. Appeal to existing market, not attempt to create a need or new market

6. Avoid trying to create desires. Use desires they already have!

7. Test everything: offers, headlines, layout, guarantees, pricing, etc

Format:

1. Create non-ad layouts: advertorial/editorial layout, magalogs, etc

2. Test AIDA formula

3. Problem/agitate/solve format i.e. define the problem. Why has it not been solved (use

emotions to paint a ‘painful’ picture). What WIIFM benefits are available that your
reader doesn’t know about or has overlooked, or has been hidden from him? Paint an

emotionally attractive ‘after’ picture of your reader benefiting from your solution exists?

What’s the next step that should be taken to see this ‘after’ situation made a reality?

4. Test different ad sizes and shapes to see which pulls best

5. Use subheads to break up long messages and keep ‘skimmers’ interested

6. Positive language outsells negative language for most industries

7. Be low key and helpful, not overtly salesy

8. Use an us-against-them viewpoint

9. Place border around ads

10. Place dashes around official looking coupons

11. Verify your contact information is present (so often forgotten)

12. Use plain and sincere language

13. Avoid clever or entertaining message simply for sake of being clever

14. Seek sales, not applause

15. Speak one-on-one, not to people as a group

16. Talk about the prospect and to the prospect

17. Be service oriented, altruistic

18. Use curiosity where appropriate

19. Use emotional not passive voice

Headlines:

1. Write benefit-oriented headlines

2. Use “hurt and rescue” headlines

3. Tell what you are going to do to help get the benefits

4. If possible, mention your offer in your headline and/or subhead

5. Structure headlines and offers based on pre-existing needs, desires, fears, and wants

6. Expose and relate to specific situations, feelings, problems, beliefs, fears, desires, etc

they are now faced with

Body Copy:

1. Open message with a short word or phrase or a question to draw target market in. Not a

questions they can mentally say “no” to. But something they agree with or don’t know

the answer to.

2. Relate to specific situations, feelings, problems, beliefs, fears, desires, etc they are now

faced with

3. Focus on overt benefits, not features

4. Benefits/WIIFM – appeal to clients wants, needs, values, and interests

5. Demonstrate how you will accomplish the promised benefits

6. Paint emotional word pictures: before/after situations, negative circumstances they are

now faced with, reaping benefits

7. Demonstrate specifically how you have the solution to their problems

8. Bullet points – innumerate if appropriate

9. Place logos & company name at end of message, not at top (except web pages)

10. Quantify claims, be specific not general

11. Urgency

12. USP – explain why your solution is the only realistic solution

13. Complete sales message in every ad, i.e. mini-sales letter

14. Use as much copy as needed to tell a complete story

15. “Hook” in question & statement form [unusual, interesting, dramatic, humorous]

16. Create celebrity, personality

17. Keyed/traced

18. Professionally designed, not amateurish looking

19. Assure pictures help sell, not distract or turn off? Verify pictures outsell print in same

space

20. Be first. Preempt market.

21. Avoid successive, multi-part ads

22. Test different messages in different towns. Track which is most effective.

23. Signature in blue ink on sales letters

24. Replace unnecessary commas with ellipses or eliminate altogether. Commas cause

people to stop reading.

25. Remove excessive exclamation points. They look amateurish and turn people off.

26. Verifiable track record

27. Include newsworthy info

28. Sprinkle your message with info they say ‘Gee, I didn’t know that’. Must be info that

triggers a desire for your product/service.

29. Use personable, charismatic approach i.e. identify the writer as a real live human being,

refer to self

30. Photo of communicator

31. Reveal an Achilles’ Heal: a moment of weakness, a time when things turned out poorly,

a rags-to-riches account, etc

32. Reveal a damaging omission: a fault in your product or service, a market you’re not

appropriate for, a use that is all wrong for your product or service, etc. (D.O. is not the

same as an Achilles’ Heal)

33. Direct response mechanism (800#, specific name literature offer, ext #, etc )

34. Human-free method of getting info (fax-back, email, voice msg, etc)

35. Lead generation marketing/magnet (report, cassette, video, fax, sample, etc)

36. Increase frequency of communication, multi-step process

37. use a ‘velvet cord’ to draw people closer

38. Connect different thoughts with ‘bucket brigade’ words and phrases

39. Resolve objections

40. Use a false close to keep people off guard and from predicting your direction

41. Spring message with direct calls to action and hints

42. Close: summarize benefits, guarantees, bonuses, ask for the order

43. Use a PS (postscript) to offer additional benefit, urgency, bonuses, incentives

Offers:

1. Use multiple coupon offers instead of single coupons. Single coupons are not as

effective
2. Specific irresistible offer (widget)

3. test 100% free offer

4. test “puppy dog” free trials

5. create custom “Widget” that no one else is offering (combine base product/service with

own or complimentary ancillary product or service). Example, bicycle shop includes

free tune-ups

6. Appeal to pride by offering to customizing product with client’s name

7. test ‘send no money’ trials or provide product with payment in arrears, like book clubs

Bonuses:

1. Offer initial segment of bonus item free. Remaining portions delivered when client buys

“x”

2. Offer “x” product or service free if client agrees to purchase “y”

3. Offer incentives for action

4. Change your competitor’s USP or offer into a free bonus item

Guarantees:

1. Prominent official looking guarantee certificate

2. BTRF guarantee

3. Extended guarantee

Proof:

1. Credibility statements (x years in businesses, x served, x countries, etc)

2. Use proof statements and credibility statements: studies, testimonials, independent

evidence, articles, etc.

3. Testimonials or case studies citing specific benefits provided by your product or service.

Use full names if possible. Avoid superlatives

I wrote down this checklist long time ago. But I forgot, where was it source. If any of the readers, find out who this checklist belong to, please tell me as I should credit the owner for this good checklist.

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