Copy for a physical book (questions)

by 7 replies
8
Hi,

I've put back up the sales/squeeze page for one of my better selling books.

I don't consider myself any kind of expert on copywriting, and was wondering if there are things that are typical for selling a hard copy book or physical product that aren't typical for info products.

I've only written the bare minimum, and am trying to rely on the strength of my testimonials, as well as a review from a famous magazine (Success Magazine) and an example of the "technique" from history.

The page is at Thick Black Theory . . .

I'm just wondering:
  1. Should I add all of the typical elements of a long copy sales letter, in the normal kind of overt way?
  2. Are there elements of copy unique to a physical book or product?
  3. Any suggestions about something that I might change or add

As I said, I'm not a copywriter and don't consider myself one, although I've written quite a bit for my own material which seems to have done ok.

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks
#copywriting #book #copy #physical #questions
  • Hi there,

    Have you thought about maybe changing the title? "Thick Black Theory" just seems off-putting. The video also relays nothing of value to make you want to read more.

    All the best.

    Sasha.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Sasha is right you really do need to change the title.

    Also you have to give the end benefits.

    You talk about "Victory" and "Win Every Time" - and what the good people will be asking at the very beginning is -

    Victory in what? and Win at what?

    Answer this for them at the start. They really do want to know.

    Sadly, they are very unlikely to scroll down the copy to find out.


    Steve
    • [1] reply
    • The format for sales copy is more or less the same regardless
      of what you're selling (a book, a digital download, a service,
      a physical product).

      What it's more important to focus in on is who your prospects
      are and what's important to them.

      And knowing the benefits of your book to your prospect.

      Eugene Schwartz was legendary for writing copy for books that
      got results.

      He would read a book multiple times, taking notes and writing bullets
      for the sales copy before he wrote the ad for the book.

      There are some great examples of his ads here...
      Eugene Schwartz Copywriting Swipe File

      Kindest regards,
      Andrew Cavanagh
  • I'd simplify the message. The stories are cool but seem a little convoluted. Look how Matt Furey breaks it down here:
    Matt Furey Exercises

    Can you structure it more simply and make the stories more direct?
    • [1] reply
    • For selling How-to books by mail, read:

      Eugene Schwartz
      Jeffery Lant
      Christian Godefroy

      I understand why the book is titled the way it is,
      but you should understand that the title is unattractive
      to Western readers unfamiliar with thick/black.
  • Hi Zhao An Xin,

    Long time - no talk. Good to see you are here.

    On your sales page, when I got to the parts that say, "All Masterpieces Were Once Works In Progress" and "The first step towards Thick and Black is completely discarding your “face,” I found myself stopped while I tried to figure out what you meant by face. At first I was thinking of a physical face, then I remembered another book: "Thick Face, Black Heart."

    Anyone who is familiar with that other book, "Thick Face, Black Heart" will understand your title, but it took a few minutes to figure out what you meant by "face." In other words, it stopped my reading for a few moments.

    I found the history lesson about Wu Zetian fascinating, but it may not be so to others. Only testing will tell, as you already know.

    I liked that the "buy" link took me to Amazon, and gave me several purchase options.

    There is a typo here, "developed in to an expert of Thick Black Theory." "into."

    "...there were 3,000 other concubines." OMG, he must have been tired. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

    :-Don
    • [1] reply
    • I've read somewhere that 1 in 30 living people are descendants of Genghis Khan's bloodline. I'd love to do something similar.

      Although, aside from raping and pillaging whole Asian cities, I can't see how I'll accomplish the same feat in this lifetime. Sad, really.
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