2,222 words on my copywriting process

Author

Harry Beadle
July 01, 2024

Last week I got 37 responses to a 1,600 word email.

Despite all the fact the idiots who say “people don’t read long emails!” (yeah - if you’re emails suck and aren’t useful, I’m sure that’s true…)

The email in question?

A full breakdown of how I position offers uniquely in the market (from a copywriting perspective).

And I’m glad you loved it.

But what you don’t know is that I typed that email up on Notes on my phone while 6-7 rum and cokes deep into a pre-drinks (and so the fact it wasn’t a complete disaster truly is a miracle).

This morning?

I’m back to normality.

I’m sat in my local coffee shop. I’ve done my summer debauchery. And I’m now excited to lock in for the next 2-3 months and go ham on improving my (copy)writing as much as physically possible.

So… hopefully today’s email should be even better, right?

Well, let’s see shall we…

Because today, instead of talking about the high-level way I position offers in the market, I want to give you…

A full insight into my copywriting process (nose-to-tail).

Will this help you?

Well…

Do you have an offer document? Yes, it will help you.

Do you write sales emails? Yes, it will help you.

Do you have (or plan to have) a sales page where you sell a digital product or community? Then, yes, it will help you.

Right.

We have a fuck ton to cover today.

I’m going to go into much depth as my 2 hour slot allows me to.

Let’s dive in…

Step #1: Nailing down your ICP

Before you start to sell, you need to know who you are selling to.

This is copywriting 101.

Here’s the 3 key questions you need to get crystal clear on:

  1. Who are you selling to?

  2. What is their burning problem?

  3. How does your product or service solve this (i.e. what are you selling?)

If you’re selling to your brand audience, you should already know these like the back of your hand.

If you’re selling cold or to a new audience, you’re probably going to have to do some more thinking.

And that’s where the next section comes in…

Step #2: Determine your market awareness level

How well does your target know you and your offer?

That’s what you need to answer next.

Why?

Because you want to “meet your audience where they’re at”.

For example, if someone is not aware of the (hidden) pains their 9-5 is causing them, it’s pointless to start pitching them on the creator economy as a solution. (You need to first make them aware of their depressing commute and the fact they have little-to-no control over their income before you start pitching a solution).

If, on the other hand, you’re talking to someone who is already acutely aware of how much their 9-5 sucks and knows the creator economy is a potential remedy, you can start pitching your offer (almost) immediately.

Note: Look up Eugene Schwarz’ 5 levels of awareness if you don’t know what these are. I cba to go into them now.

Now, I know what you’re thinking…

How do you know your target’s awareness level?

Well… it depends.

If you’re selling to people in your brand audience who read your content every day, their awareness level is obviously high AF.

If, on the other hand, you’re selling to cold traffic, you’ll need to do a bit more thinking.

In this case, here’s what I recommend (learned this from 8-Figure copywriter George Ten).

Here’s what you do:

  1. Find 5+ competitors selling the same product or service (and making bank)

  2. Read through their offer document or sales page. Look at their headline. Is it direct or indirect?

  3. If it’s direct, it tells you the market sophistication level / awareness is low. If it’s indirect, it tells you the market sophistication is high.

And if you don’t know the difference between direct and indirect copy…

Direct copy: “Lose 20lbs in the next 90 days with our Summer Shred Fest progam!”

Indirect copy: “Do I Need to See a Doctor to Help Me Lose Weight?”

See how the latter feels more like the intro to an article than a sales page? Indirect.

Got it?

Nice.

Next, you need to nail down your 5 key marketing pillars…

Step #3: Compile your 5 Copywriting Pillars

I like to group all of my copywriting “firepower” into 5 key pillars. I learned this from 7-Figure Copywriter Tej Dosa (although I’m not sure if he invented it or not tbh).

  1. Big Idea: What is the one idea which will give your audience a reason to act?


    This is the “why” behind your offer.

    I like to find external factors outside of my target’s control (changing market landscape, “the algo” etc.) and then use these to trigger my target’s “fuck, I need to act now” response.

    How do you find this?

    Study your niche. Study proven offers. Identify one which will resonate with your target.

  2. Big Promise: What is the ONE big benefit your reader will get?

    There are 7 angles here:

    1. Feel healthier

    2. Use less effort

    3. Get results faster

    4. Save more money

    5. Make more money

    6. Feel less (emotional) pain

    7. Experience more pleasure

    Pro tip: Beginners value speed. Experts value outcomes. Target your big promise accordingly.

  3. Big Problem: What is the ONE obstacle stopping your target from achieving your big promise on your own?

    Your goal is to:

    • Highlight the big problem

    • Show the reader they cannot overcome it alone

    • Present your solution as the ONLY way to solve it

  4. Unique Mechanism: How are you different from your competitors? What unique system or service can you offer that they cannot?

    There’s no “one way” to find this, but…

    …your best bet is to study what others are doing and find flaws in their approach.

  5. Proof: How can you prove you will deliver on your promise?

    Slam as many personal or client results down your target’s throat throughout your copy. Proof is 80% of the game (not joking).

Right…

Once we’ve dialled in our 5 Marketing Pillars, it’s time to start writing the copy…

Step #4: Write your headline

We’ll cover how to write a killer headline another day.

But, for now, just know…

If you’re using a direct approach, you want to mention your:

  • Offer

  • Big promise

  • Proof

  • Unique mechanism

Your target audience know you and your offer well enough, so you’ll be meeting them where they’re at.

If you’re using an indirect approach, you want to mention your:

  • Big idea

  • Big problem

Your target audience don’t know you or your offer very well, so if you dive straight into talking about your offer, it will go over their heads.

Next, we’ll write the lead…

Step #5: Write your lead

Your lead is the bit of text immediately following on from the headline.

Your goal?

To bridge the gap between the headline and your offer.

Again - how to write a good lead is a subject for another email.

But to get you on the right tracks…

There are 6 types of leads:

  • Offer lead

  • Promise lead

  • Problem-solution lead

  • Big secret lead

  • Proclamation lead

  • Story lead

Don’t know what these are? I hear there’s this new thing called “Google” that’s doing the rounds recently. Supposed to be pretty decent…

But, in a nutshell…

High awareness: Offer, promise and problem-solution leads.
Low awareness: Secret, proclamation and story leads.

Once you’ve written your lead, it’s time to move into the flow of the copy.

Here’s how I like to do this…

Step #6: Identify all RISKS and OBJECTIONS your reader will face (and rank order these)

Your goal when writing copy is simple:

To squash all the possible objections your reader could have before you ask them to act (i.e. BUY).

So that’s where we start…

List out all your target’s possible objections and risks.

For example…

Let’s say you’re offering Ghostwriting.

Well… here’s a few key objections your prospect might have:

  • How will you capture my unique brand voice?

  • How will I review your content (so you don’t post stuff that could damage my reputation)?

  • How much content will you write?

  • What results can I expect?

  • How long will it take to see results?

  • How much will this cost?

  • Will you also handle my engagement?

  • How do I know you can deliver on your promise?

These are just ones I whipped up in 30 seconds. But you get the idea.

Next, you want to rank-order these so you handle the most burning questions first.

For example, your target will obviously ask “what results can I expect?” before “how much content will you write?”. (I hope I don’t have to explain why this is the case…)

Pro Tip: Keep a spreadsheet or notebook where you “tally up” each objection or problem you hear from your audience (on calls, in the comments etc). Address the ones with the highest tally first in your copy. (Learned this from $6M/ARR marketer Daniel Fazio).

Get it?

Good.

Next…

Step #7: Use your 5 Marketing Pillars to answer all of these objections in order….

You’ve listed out all your objections (in order).

You know your 5 Copywriting Pillars (your marketing “firepower”).

So it’s time to pair these off against one another.

Starting with the first objection, address this with the relevant marketing element.

For example…

  1. “How do I know you can deliver on your promise?”

    Solve this with your Proof element.

    Example: “Here’s [name]. She gained [number] followers and generated [$amount] in MRR directly from the content I wrote for her.”

  2. “How will you capture my brand voice?”

    Solve this with your Unique Mechanism element.

    Example: “Here’s how my research process works, and how I’ll use it to write in a way which sounds completely indistinguishable from you… [plus how this is different to most Ghostwriters]”

  3. “What results can I expect?”

    Solve this with your Big Promise element.

    Example: “I’ll get you [outcome] in the next [timeframe]”

See how that works?

Copywriting becomes soooo much simpler when you think of it in terms of Objection ↔ Copywriting Pillar pairing.

Note: How you structure all this is up to you and will depend on your product / offer.

Right.

That’s the main body of your copy done.

Let’s sum everything up…

Step #8: Summarise the benefits and reveal price

Just before we reveal the price, we want everything to be top-of-mind for the reader.

So we’ll create a quick “summary” of everything they’re getting and, crucially, how this benefits them.

Once that’s done, we’ll tell ‘em the price.

Then slap your first CTA in.

Pro tip: Before you reveal the price, reframe it to make it seem like a “steal”. For example, you could anchor the price point to one of your more expensive offers to make it look comparatively cheap, or reference the time cost of them trying to do this alone. Just examples. Get creative.

Now we’re gonna destroy every last bit of doubt…

Step #9: Extinguish doubt with a risk reversal

There’s a bunch of different types of risk reversal you can use.

Satisfaction-based guarantee. Results-based guarantee. Performance-based guarantee. Whatever.

Pick the one that’s most relevant to your offer to push people on the fence over the edge.

Then include a second CTA to spark these people into action.

Nearly there now…

Step #10: Write the FAQs

Fuck tons of people are simply gonna skim your copy.

So summarise all the main objections / benefits of your offer at the end in one “neat” section.

Again, rank order these and address the most “probable” ones first.

List out (and answer) all of the doubts and questions your customers will likely have.

For example…

  • What happens after I pay?

  • I'm not an expert. Will this still work for me?

  • What makes this different to all the other courses / programs out there?

Just examples. Again - use your brain and select the ones relevant to your offer.

This is your chance to resolve any lingering objections your customers might have.

Because, remember:

They won’t buy until you’ve resolved ALL their objections.

Finalllllllllly….

Step #11: Write the close

I’m a big fan of “empathetic” closes.

A “personalised” note from you which explains why you genuinely believe in your product (which, hopefully you do).

IMO, the marketing world is full of so much crap and bullshit that if you can show even a shred of humanity in your copy, it’ll make you stand out a fucking mile.

Oh, and don’t forget - one final CTA after the close (please and thank u).

And with that…

We’re done.

All that’s left to do?

Run it through your editing process. Tighten up the details. Hack out everything that isn’t 100% relevant. And ensure you’ve covered all possible objections.

Congratulations.

You just wrote some high-converting copy.

Go grab yourself a beer (or a nice Diet Coke if you’ve just spent the last 6 days in Croatia at a festival and are currently repulsed at the thought of alcohol…)

Talk soon,

Harry

PS. I enjoy writing these copywriting breakdowns.

Want me to keep pumping them out?

Reply “Copy” and I’ll keep going (again - takes you 2 seconds, but gives me a lot of insight into how I can best help you).

And please feel free to tell me anything YOU would like me to write about specifically.