Here's a fast... easy... "no-brainer" way, to make more money by improving the selling power of your sales copy... "pulling" your prospects closer to you... and upping your credibility.
Many years ago, I was riding the subway downtown to work one morning, and I overheard a woman saying she felt "naked" because she forgot to wear her earrings that day.
Since then, I've heard that expression used on other occasions, if someone's forgotten to wear their wedding band... their watch... or even their pantyhose.
Now of course, when you say you're feeling "naked", what you really mean, is... you feel "incomplete".
And whether you know it or not, you may be leaving your prospects feeling "incomplete" in your sales copy.
Here's why: Listen to each of these very familiar phrases, and tell me what they all have in common, O.K.?
Here you go:
"A B C"
"on your mark... get set... go" (in the UK, that would be "ready... steady... go")
"first, second, third"
"3 blind mice"
"3 wise men"
"The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"
O.K., that's enough.
You see what each of these expressions has in common, right?
They each contain a sequence
of three items, stated back-to-back.
Why is this important to know, and how can you use this to improve your sales copy?
The answer is simple: Because of all these common references you've heard over-and-over again throughout your life, your brain's been programmed to accept and understand things, when they're given to you in "threes".
You just feel more "at ease" processing information that's given to you in blocks of "three".
So make sure to use this
“power” of three... in your sales copy!
Because if you want to make some money using your sales copy, you must get your prospects feeling as relaxed and comfortable as a grizzly bear, all snuggled up and hibernating in his nice warm cave.
Think about it: Whenever someone starts giving you a list of things, once you hear the second item on that list, don't you automatically anticipate, there's going to be a third?
Here's an example of what I mean: Let's say you own a hotel, and you're listing some of the benefits of staying at your hotel, and you present them in bullets.
If you say this...
75 over-sized comfy rooms that each face the ocean! You'll want to make sure you've got your video camera handy as you're unwinding on your private balcony watching the daily sunset, listening to the waves roll up against the shore right outside your window!
3, 5-Star restaurants! And each one of them offers you a minimum of 27 tasty meals and 11 local desserts, all prepared fresh, daily. (Plus, you get our "If you don't like it -- you don't pay for it, guarantee!")
If you stop here... and then you move on with some other copy... it somehow leaves you with that "incomplete" feeling we just talked about, right?
However, if you said this:
75 over-sized comfy rooms that each face the ocean! You'll want to make sure you've got your video camera handy as you're unwinding on your private balcony watching the daily sunset, listening to the waves roll up against the shore right outside your window!
3, 5-Star restaurants! And each one of them offers you a minimum of 27 tasty meals and 11 local desserts, all prepared fresh, daily. (Plus, you get our "If you don't like it -- you don't pay for it, guarantee!") And lastly...
2, sun-drenched swimming pools! Both complete with waterfalls... heated jacuzzis... and an in-pool tropical bar, and each landscaped with their own beach and tropical theme. Also, with a snack-bar and grill located within a half-minute walk, you won't ever have to worry about going hungry (or thirsty) while you're enjoying all your outdoor activities!
See, when you use 2 examples, you're not able to process what you heard, as quickly and naturally as when you're using 3 examples.
What happens is, inside your head, things just aren't computing right.
Instead of focusing on the information, in the back of your mind, you're expecting that third item to come tumbling out, and you're left wondering, "Did you not get your third item delivered to you because the person couldn't think of one... they didn't know what it was... or maybe they just forgot to tell it to you?
Who Knows?
You just can't figure it out, but the bottom line is, you didn't leave feeling confident, "at ease" and satisfied. Instead,
You Left... Feeling Incomplete And... “Naked”!
So make sure, whenever you're talking about a list of items, you deliver that third item -- don't just stop after 2.
This "power of three" holds true even if you're saying something in a sentence.
For instance, saying "If you've ever experienced any kind of severe back pain or soreness in your shoulders, our intense 7-minute executive massage, is guaranteed to give you complete and thorough relief, throughout the rest of your day"...
Leaves people feeling less complete than saying...
"If you've ever experienced any kind of severe back pain... stiffness in your neck... or soreness in your shoulders, our intense 7-minute Executive Massage, is guaranteed to give you complete and thorough relief, throughout the rest of your day."
See what I mean?
Use this curious power of three to make your sales copy read smoother.
You may be interested to know, this "power of three" also applies to the total number of fonts you use in your sales copy as well.
You see, testing shows, once you have more than 3 different kinds of fonts on your page, you start scrambling your prospects minds a bit and you begin to lose them.
And as you know...
That's the last thing you ever want to do!
And by the way, an italicized font, is considered to be a separate font for these purposes.
About the Author
Craig Garber is one of America's Top Direct-Response Copywriters and Direct-Marketing Consultants. For more copywriting tips, go to www.kingofcopy.com
Copyright 2005 www.kingofcopy.com