Today, a great copywriting tip in Part 3 in this series:

I was very fortunate, early in my career, to read a book that’s often overlooked with respect to selling in print, or writing copy.

It’s called “How To Write A Good Advertisement,” by Victor O. Schwab.

Schwab was mentored by the great Maxwell Sackheim, and ultimately… he wound up taking over Sackheim’s agency when Max was ready to retire. It became the Schwab and Beatty ad agency, during the 1950s.

The agency was responsible for creating comic book styled ads for Dale Carnegie’s “How To Win Friends & Influence People,” and also for Charles Atlas’ “Dynamic Tension System.”

Schwab opens up his book with the following:

There are five fundamentals in the writing of a good advertisement:

1. Get Attention (which we covered in the last tip)

2. Show People an Advantage

3. Prove It

4. Persuade People to Grasp This Advantage

5. Ask for Action

Today we’ll talk about #3, how to prove your claims.

To begin with, let me assure you… with rare exception, your claims MUST be proven.

Yes, this means… all those wild and outrageous claims you see online… really aren’t working. With rare exception (and in one or two marketplaces only), people DON’T believe things, just because they see it on a web page.

Sure, there may be “some” sales going on… but no one’s getting rich with nonsense like this, I assure you.

And that’s because there are two parts to a decision. Sure, you have to engage people on an emotional level, to get them to buy. BUT… more often than not, you also have to give your buyers a logical reason why they should buy, as well.

One that supports their emotional desires.

For example…

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Here are three ways you can prove your claims:

1. Scientific Proof, or results of “valid” testing

I say valid, because the person performing the test… or the conditions under which the test was performed, have to be credible.

So for instance, if you’re selling a new fishing lure, you’re much better off talking about how your friend is a captain and runs fishing charters. And, how all summer long, the people who used this lure, in over 50 fishing trips… caught at LEAST twice as many fish, day in and day out.

As opposed to… “I gave this to my friend Zachary and he loved it. He said it was really good.”

These are lame, vague comments… and they simply don’t have any credibility. Especially when compared to a fishing captain with multiple experiences.

2. Social proof

What other people have experienced using your products and services, goes a long way towards proving your claims.

Again, you want to be specific and credible here.

“I slept one hour longer and I fell alseep much easier, every day last week,” is far more credible than “Great product.”

3. Lastly… the developer’s experience

It’s an unspoken source of proof and credibility, but… if the person speaking has a solid track record of experience, this means something — as long as it’s communicated correctly.

For example, “I’ve been a property manager for 13 years, in New York City, Miami, and Washington. And during this time, I’ve dealt with some of the most difficult and demanding tenants you could ever imagine. And not just one tenant — but over the last 13 years, we’ve worked with over 3,500 tenants of all shapes and sizes.

And I can tell you from my experience, NO ONE provides better residential electrical services, than XYZ Company…”

The truth is, more often than not, you’re actually better off toning your claims down and being conservative. This way, when you prove your claims, they exceed expectations.

And at this point… buying is an easy decision.

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

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How To Make Maximum Money With Minimum Customers – Amazon.com

listening to: she’s the devil in hy head – ufesas (2011)