In today’s hyper-connected cyber world, we’ve become “copy blind.”
People are reading so much copy… they tune out, go numb, and become blinded by the sheer number of ads they encounter day after day.
The New York Times reported that, 30 years ago, people saw up to 2,000 ad messages a day. Today, people see as many as 20,000 sales messages during a typical day online.
I’m sure you feel it too. Even though we’re obsessed with good advertising and respect its affect on our bottom line, we still instinctively reach for the fast forward button at TV commercial time. (Oh, the shame.)
Copy blindness is real, and it means your prospect is NOT READING perfectly good sales pages or watching VSL’s like they used to.
To us, it’s a small masterpiece announcing the most important message our prospects will ever consume. To them, it’s just… more copy.
The art of copywriting is not going anywhere. The need for it has never been greater. The question is… how do we get more people to TUNE IN and read our copy?
While writing a recent video sales letter for a product in the survival niche, I was feeling frustrated that traditional copy methods were just not going to cut it (it’s a sixth sense writers develop). The only part of the script I was in love with was the story. So I decided to write the entire first draft of the script as just that… one long story.
It started as just a way to get through the first draft… but, the more I wrote, the more it took on a life of its own, the more it worked… and kept on working.
Bullets became mini-stories…
Problems Into Needs were described with story…
Objection Handling was handled with story…
Until I was staring at an entire sales letter/video script all told with story.
Writers come up with all kinds of ways to fight resistance and pump out a “dirty” first draft. This was one of the most enjoyable methods I’d come up with. And the weird part was… every time I read it back, it still made sense.
Could this actually work as a video sales letter?
Could it really be this FUN to write copy from now on?
Would my client even test something so different from the proven (but increasing ignorable) traditional copy style we’re all used to?
They did!
And the results are amazing.
Six months later the script is still converting steadily at 9-10%! Now that’s success in today’s online marketing world, especially when you’re mailing to worn-out affiliate lists.
Though I did start this VSL out with a classic “Pattern Interrupt” and wrote just enough copy to correctly position it, once I set the stage, almost all of the copy that followed for the rest of the VSL was one big story – even the offer can be written as a story!
My client swears that his VSL continues to sell with such high conversions because of its relentless storytelling.
That’s why I’ve taken the time to develop this technique into a system that anyone can follow…
The system is called DreamWeaver Story Formula because it shows you how to weave “story copy” everywhere possible to take the reader to an imaginary place, like a dream.
DreamWeaver copy takes people through an experience. It helps them feel what the product is like in real-life.
Below are 3 examples of how you can write the same thing as a story to create a more engaging, life-like experience versus writing traditional sales copy with the more obvious sales pitch.
Example #1 – Bullets
Traditional Sales Copy (bullet form):
- Small size, fits in the tiniest space, inside or outside, undetected by neighbors
- Portable, take it with you if you move or in an emergency evacuation
- Integrated all-in-one self-replenishing system for a nearly-automatic, nutrient-rich “miracle” garden:
- Vermiponics (worm) system on top
- Aquaponics (fish) system underneath
- Quiet pump keeps water and nutrients flowing between the two
- DYI (Do It Yourself) with simple step-by-step instructions
- Low cost to build; continuous output of fresh, nutritious for life!
Story Copy covering the same benefits/features the bullets did above:
“I cannot believe you have this full-on food-making system right next door to my house in the middle of the neighborhood and I didn’t even know it…
“Can you have it outside too?” I asked.
“Sure, it can work just fine outside and it’s portable. You can move it inside or outside whenever you want…
“Or pick it up and take it with you if you have to leave quickly…
“…like if a disaster hit or you had to move out for whatever reason.”
“Did it cost a lot?” I asked.
“Nope. That’s the beauty of this thing…
It Costs Almost Nothing To Get It!
“It’s called a ‘Miracle Farm’ – I learned how to set it up on my own for almost nothing from the top expert who invented this system,” he said.
“What?!” I shouted. “You’re saving $100 bucks a month every month on something that costed you almost nothing!”
“Yep,” he smiled. “I made one quick run to Home Depot for a few parts and had the other parts I needed already lying around in my garage…
“All I needed was someone who knew what they were doing to tell me how to do it… and believe me, I learned from the best.”
“How long did it take to put together?” I asked.“My 10-year-old followed the instructions and put it together in less than 2 hours. It was a total no-brainer,” he said, and continued…
“A survival expert friend of mine turned me onto it, and it totally changed my life for the better since then.
“Eating more fresh food is what every doctor and nutritionist tells you to do…
“Plus I’m ready for anything… a job loss like you’re going through, the big earthquake… whatever. So I know I’ll always have all the food and clean water I need no matter what happens.”
“It’s the cheapest Peace of Mind you can buy!” he said.
“Hey… can I pick you a few bags of fresh fruit and vegetables to take back to your wife and kids for dinner? And I have plenty of fish here underneath.”
“Underneath!” I asked. “What do you mean you have fresh fish underneath?”
“LOOK here… this is how the system works…
“Worms on top in the garden tray; live fish below in a self-filtering fresh-water tank…
“It’s got this really quiet pump that keeps the water and nutrients constantly flowing between the two for better-than-organic, super-nutrient-dense food.”
And he went on to show me exactly how this little yet ingenious set-up worked almost magically to give him all the fresh food he’ll ever need.
I went home just totally blown away from this discovery…
He gave me 10 bags of fresh-picked produce and enough fish to feed my family for a week… and he STILL had enough tons of food! Talk about set for life.
END EXAMPLE
Example #2 – Problem Into Needs
Traditional Sales Copy:
The problem is… when you lose your job unexpectedly, things get uncomfortable, and then turn downright scary and life threatening.
With only so much money left in savings, and no new income, you’ll quickly dwindle down to less and less money to buy food.
You’ll be so desperate to eat, you’ll start to buy poor-quality food to feed your family, instead of the good nutritious food you used to gather the family to eat.
You won’t be able to afford fresh food, let alone organic. You’ll only be able to afford the “fake food” packaged crap… the kind that doesn’t give your growing children the proper nutrition or calories they need.
You’ll start to panic when you see there’s very little left in the refrigerator and pantry. Even if you’re a prepper, the food you stashed in your garage will soon be gone.
And BELIEVE me, it’s hard to swallow your pride and ask for handouts, so you don’t…
STORY COPY:
In the blink of an eye, my comfortable life and my family’s wellbeing drastically changed…
I lost my job just before Thanksgiving in 2012…
…and I couldn’t believe how fast we burned through our savings.
I didn’t even have time to plan…
I’ve always been an active “Prepper” – someone who prepares for the worst – so I had stockpiled a pantry full of survival food just in case there was a disaster…
I grossly miscalculated just how much food a family of four needs every day… so we ran out in almost no time.
That left me having to buy the CHEAPEST food at the grocery store –
Which Happens To Be The Unhealthiest Food With A Ton Of Fillers And Additives.
It was tough to watch my family choke down all these packaged meals and artificial snacks I knew were so bad for us, especially for my two young children who were still growing…
Gone were the big family meals with REAL wholesome food… organic fruits, vegetables, and healthy proteins like fresh-caught fish…
I didn’t have much family left… just an aunt and an uncle 1,000 miles away.
My pride kept me from asking for help.
That and thinking something would change soon and save me from this crisis…
You hear about people losing their jobs for months and months, and you see all these homeless people begging for food…
But You Never Think It’s Going To Happen To YOU!
Until it does… like it did to me outta nowhere.
Just as a natural disaster would leave all of us so hungry…
Another month passed with one failed job interview after another…
I was desperate and starting to panic…
We had gone through all the food in the refrigerator and freezer, and even the garage…
I found myself not having enough money to feed my family anymore…
I was officially… scared.
END EXAMPLE
Example #3 – Objection Handling
Traditional Sales Copy:
This little Miracle Garden is the answer to every prepper’s quest to be prepared to survive at all time, for as long as necessary.
And not just to survive… I mean you and everyone in your family will eat like a king, while everyone else around you will be eating crap packaged food or worse, starving.
Many of us will never experience a disaster where we’re scrapping for good food and clean water… and so we’re just eating every day to live well, feed our bodies for optimal health and energy.
What better way to live than to have the freshest, better-than-organic fruits, vegetables, and fish… at your fingertips. Literally down the hall in your own home.
Most people think this system can’t possibly continue to output so much fresh food year after year, but they’re wrong. It easily grows more food you can eat. Heck… You’ll have so much food you’ll have to give it away!
You don’t realize how much time it takes from your life to go to the store so many times a week… and how much it costs.
Plus, what are you REALLY eating? Our food supply has been taken over by chemically-engineered ingredients, GMO’s, and toxins that infiltrate the food chain right under the Government’s nose.
And what would actually happen to your way of life should droughts hit our farms like we’ve been hearing so much about… or “The Big One” actually happens? Do you really think the Government is going to save you… deliver food to you wherever you’re stranded?
Today, there’s no such thing as security or someone else taking care of you. You must protect yourself and your family by ENSURING you always have enough food to eat.
Story Copy:
As my eyes took in this cornucopia of a feast, my mouth started watering with delight…
It was like I was hungry in a whole NEW way…
I wasn’t just hungry because my stomach was empty…
I could actually feel my body…
Craving For All This WHOLESOME Nutrition…
…all the vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and fresh food that I didn’t eat enough of even when I had the money to buy it…
Clearly, my neighbor had built a way of life and eating that was FAR SUPERIOR…
And talk about being able to take care of your entire family no matter what chaos happened on the outside or in your personal life!
I realized my neighbor was the person that Abraham Lincoln was talking about in the story – the one I just told you – the person who achieves TRUE FREEDOM when he or she doesn’t have to rely on anyone else…
Especially for food, which I now realize is…
The #1 Thing My Family And Everyone Else MUST HAVE Every Single Day…
And oh boy if I had a little system like this right about now, I’d have far less to worry about…
He had all the fresh food and fresh water he could ever need in this weird little concoction of a self-contained eco-system…
“What is this?” I asked…
“Where did you get it?”
This here is my ‘Make sure I eat the BEST food everyday no matter what happens’ SYSTEM,” he announced with a smile.
“At first I got this because I realized it was the most important Prepper’s equipment I could own…
“You don’t have to be a Prepper to know if you run out of food and fresh water during a disaster, you’ll be in a world of hurt,” he warned.
“This assures I have both at all times.”
“It’s like my FOOD INSURANCE,” he smiled with pride. “To guarantee my family will always have enough to eat no matter what.”
“For me, I’m just glad I don’t have to rely on that expensive ‘Survival Food’ crap that could run out on you before order is restored…
“You know as well as I do that…
There’s No Government Agency Coming To Our Rescue In The Middle Of Chaos…
“Within days, all the grocery stores will be looted clean of every last scrap of food, and roads could be closed for months keeping truckers from bringing in more…
“No way am I going to be at the mercy of someone else for my personal food supply,” said my neighbor.
“In fact,” he said, “This ‘Mini Garden System’ pumping out all this endless food is my answer to a lot of things besides survival…
“Like how much money it’s saved me over the years…
“I save about $100 a month every month on my food bill and savings in gas…
“I don’t have to drive to the grocery store as much…
“And now I don’t have to pay through the nose for organic food and fresh fish…
“I don’t have to worry about pesticides, GMOs and toxins in my food.”
“Now my kids have an ongoing race every day to see who can get to the new berries first,” said my neighbor.
“They don’t even care about chips and cookies anymore.”
“They can get all the naturally sweet fruits and vegetables they want at any time and have FUN picking it themselves…
“The whole family likes to see what’s popping up fresh and new every day for us to eat.”
“WOW!” Is all I could say…
That’s Super SMART.
OK, so now that you’ve experienced the DIFFERENCE for yourself… Give Dream Weaving a try and see how it works for YOUR offers.
I welcome all comments and if you’d like to share your results or need help, you know where to find me!