Under the copywriting bridge, there lies a secret... And it has purple hair.

[Cherilyn Woodhouse]

Do you remember those little dolls from "way back when"? Many considered them good luck charms, for some unknown reason. They often had neon purple or green hair, were about 3 inches tall, and had little wrinkly faces. What were they called?

Oh yes, they were trolls.

It appears we have a few of them popping up here in the copywriting forum, and instead of getting involved at all (because as well all know, that always ends badly - see Urban Dictionary: feeding the trolls), this may be a fantastic time to take stock of the copywriting lessons we can learn from those among us with the purple hair.

Here are a few copywriting lessons that you can see in action by reading some of the threads from the last few days...

1. If you're going to use an attention grabbing headline, make sure it is actually useful and pertinent to the content of your post / letter / etc. For example, "<insert A - random celebrity - here> does <insert B - random thing they would never do - here>" has absolutely no correlation to most content, unless you're selling a product that prevents or helps people do B, and it is currently endorsed by A.

You see, headlines are intended not just to grab attention (a common copywriting blunder) but also to qualify your customers. It is fantastic that 10,000 people are going to read your headline, but how many of those are going to be left reading when they figure out you're selling manure? Not many. BUT, if you start out your headline by getting attention with something clearly related to your subject matter, you have a higher likelihood of getting qualified eyeballs to your offer.

Lesson : All attention is not created equal.

2. Knocking the competition isn't always the best strategy. Yes, your product may do A, B, C, or even all of the above better than your competition. But is it wise to come out and bash them in your sales materials? Most likely not.

While it is not always possible to put a positive spin on everything, and a little bit of comparison is helpful, focusing on the positive aspects of your product instead of the negative aspects of your competition will not only help you sell more product, but you'll sleep better at night.

For example, "My widget, ABC Wrench, has one of the longest handles on the market for better grip and torque!" will probably sell more tools than "XYZ Wrench has one of the worst handles ever!"

Lesson : You don't just catch more flies with honey, you catch more dollars, too.

What other lessons can be demonstrated by the events of the last few days?

C'mon, copywriters - we're all spin doctors, lets turn this into an opportunity to help fellow Warriors!

- Cherilyn

[Collette]

Originally Posted by Paul McQuillan

...Some got mad skillz. Don't be haten

SPLORT!

Cherilyn - MOST useful post.

3) Hype, by itself, will not sell. The bigger your claims, the more verifiable proof you need to provide. For example: If you say your roof sealer lasts 90 years or more, get video of some 99 year-old guy leaning on his walking stick recounting the tale of how, back when he was a young'un, he watched his Pappy apply that very same roof sealer to that there roof.

4a) Never use humor in your copy UNLESS you are absolutely sure it will be understood AND appreciated by your audience. Stand up comics usually learn this the hard way. What has 'em rolling in the aisles in Dubuque can empty a room in L.A.

4b) Humor is good for a laugh, but rarely moves product. Super Bowl advertisers pay millions to discover this fact every year.

[Cherilyn Woodhouse]

Great points Collette! See? As a group, we can turn anything into a positive. Now, just to apply those lessons to copy (among other things!)

- Cherilyn