Glenn Fisher - The Art of the Click: How to Harness the Power of Direct-Response Copywriting and Make More Sales

The Art of the Click: How to harness the power of direct-response copywriting and make more sales

Glenn Fisher

HARRIMAN HOUSE LTD

18 College Street

Petersfield

Hampshire

GU31 4AD

GREAT BRITAIN

Tel: +44 (0)1730 233870

Email: enquiries@harriman-house.com

Website: www.harriman-house.com

First published in Great Britain in 2018

Copyright Glenn Fisher

The right of Glenn Fisher to be identified as the Author has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-85719-694-1

eBook ISBN: 978-0-85719-695-8

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library.

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publisher. This book may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without the prior written consent of the Publisher.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that information in this book is accurate, no liability can be accepted for any loss incurred in any way whatsoever by any person relying solely on the information contained herein.

No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person or corporate body acting or refraining to act as a result of reading material in this book can be accepted by the Publisher, by the Author, or by the employers of the Author.

For Ruth Wilde who makes me laugh every day

With thanks to Wendy Fisher who bankrolled my Dick Whittington moment

Contents

Praise for The Art of the Click

About the author

Preface

Introduction: Direct-Response Copywriting in the Internet Age

Part One: Before You Write A Word

Chapter One: All Great Copywriters Start Here

Chapter Two: The Importance of Rote Learning

Chapter Three: Understanding Your Audience

Chapter Four: Doing Your Research

Chapter Five: The Importance of Good Ideas

Part Two: Writing Copy

Chapter Six: Features Versus Benefits

Chapter Seven: Promise, Picture, Proof and Push

Chapter Eight: Urgent, Useful, Unique and Ultra-Specific

Chapter Nine: Writing Headlines

Chapter Ten: Grabbing and Holding the Readers Attention

Chapter Eleven: Salutations, Fellow Copywriter

Chapter Twelve: The Importance of Narrative

Chapter Thirteen: The Paradox of Testimonials

Chapter Fourteen: Making An Offer

Chapter Fifteen: If In Doubt, Cut It Out

Chapter Sixteen: Time Management Tips for Writing Copy

Chapter Seventeen: Sell, or Share?

Part Three: The Interviews

Chapter Eighteen: The King of Research

Chapter Nineteen: The Million Dollar Man

Chapter Twenty: A Friend from Down Under

Chapter Twenty One: Psst One More Thing

Acknowledgements

Praise for The Art of the Click

Glenn Fisher knows an incredibly valuable secret. How to write to complete strangers and get them to part with their hard-earned cash. Now he seems to have taken leave of his senses and published his secret in this book. Any copywriter, hell, any marketeer or business owner, who wants to make serious money should buy a copy.

Andy Maslen, Author of Write to Sell and Persuasive Copywriting

Glenn leaps away from meaningless jargon and does what all great copywriters do he writes directly to the reader and as he or she speaks, so you glide through The Art of the Click easily. And you learn along the way with memorable techniques, fun explanations and entertaining anecdotes in what feels like an effortless but brilliant one-to-one masterclass.

Vikki Ross, Copy Chief

Whenever you pick up a book on copywriting you expect it to be a bit like a science textbook without the genital graffiti. You know youll learn from it, but reading is going to be hard work. Thats not the case with The Art of the Click . Glenn has made the book light and enjoyable. Its funny, engaging and easy to read even for people like me that struggle to compute anything even remotely technical. Glenn is a master of the craft and this is as good a book as youll find on selling things with words. Youll be a better writer for reading it. Well played, Sir. Well played, indeed.

Gareth Hancock, That. Content. Shed.

The Art of Click is a compelling collection of practical ideas and tips that will help any aspiring direct-response copywriter improve their skills and sell more for their clients.

Richard Shotton, author of The Choice Factory

The Art of the Click is a passionate, in-depth and incredibly readable masterclass in direct-response copywriting. Glenn Fisher will show you the winning techniques that have made him one of the UKs top writers of direct marketing, from in-depth research to holding your readers attention and turning it into action. And he tops it all off with three fascinating interviews with masters of the craft. If you want to write copy with real persuasive power, buy this book.

Tom Albrighton, author of Copywriting Made Simple

Glenn is a master of direct-response copywriting. His book is a highly practical guide to making sales with your words. Its loaded with techniques that you can start using immediately. Whether you write for traditional direct-response or digital media, there are plenty of ideas to take away from Glenns book. If youre a copywriter or a business owner you should get Glenns book now and start putting his ideas to work for you.

Leif Kendall, Director, ProCopywriters

The Art of the Click is a masterful modern interpretation of the time-honoured techniques of direct-response copywriting. Written in the engaging manner you would expect from a copywriter of Glenns calibre, it eschews the fluff of most online marketing advice and shows you how to get results. If you want to sell, buy it.

Ryan Wallman, Associate Creative Director, Wellmark

About the author

Glenn Fisher was born in Grimsby in 1981. After a number of years working in the local council, he left to become a copywriter and founded AllGoodCopy.com, a free online resource for direct response copywriters and marketers. For over a decade he worked with The Agora, a huge international financial publisher. In 2018, having helped launch and grow Agora Financial in the UK, he began to write copy on a freelance basis and focus on coaching aspiring copywriters. He now lives happily with his partner Ruth and dog Pablo on the east coast of England.

Preface

What this book is about

The Art of the Click is about using language to persuade people. Its about identifying ideas and expressing them in a way that will engage more people to click on your advert, read your blog or buy your product. It aims to teach you how to do this by exploring the fundamentals of direct-response copywriting.

Direct-response copywriting is something of a forgotten skill, associated largely with the old fashioned concept of direct mail. The association is wrong. The fact is that commerce today increasingly takes place online and sales can be made with the click of a button, yet surprisingly few businesses realise they are working in a direct-response environment. Instead they choose to run-up wild costs focusing on more indirect, abstract and less-measurable concepts such as brand identity, product placement and social influencers.

There is a place for these techniques in marketing your business and such things can have a positive effect on sales. However, this book is not concerned with logos, celebrity or sponsorship. It is concerned with more tangible and, more importantly, testable variables any business can influence to make more sales. Specifically it considers the ideas you wish to communicate about your products, it studies the audience receiving them and it shares actionable advice on how to craft messages in a way that increases the likelihood they will be acted upon.