5 Copywriting Exercises: How To Write Better Sales Copy

Writing Great Copy: 5 Simple Exercises

In this video, Alex walks through five simple copywriting exercises that can help improve your writing skills. These exercises are valuable for both new and experienced writers.

Exercise #1: Inspiration File

• All great copywriters have an inspiration file, which is a collection of screenshots, emails, sales pages, and products from other people and brands.

• The inspiration file should be split into different subfolders to make it easier to find ideas later on.

• Sign up for email lists from related businesses and add a filter in Gmail to tag them with "Inspo" instead of clogging up your inbox.

• The point of this exercise is to find inspiration, not copy what others are doing.

Exercise #2: Thesaurus

• Use an online thesaurus to find more interesting and compelling language.

• Use power words that evoke emotion or action but avoid using complex or confusing words.

Exercise #3: Test Your Hooks

• Test your hooks with your audience before committing to any one in particular in your sales copy.

• Spend a few dollars running multiple ads with different hooks to see which one resonates best with your audience.

Exercise #4: Write Like You Talk

• Write like you talk by recording yourself speaking about the topic you want to write about.

• Transcribe the recording and use it as a starting point for your written content.

Exercise #5: Edit Ruthlessly

• Edit ruthlessly by cutting out unnecessary words and sentences.

• Use the Hemingway app to help identify areas where you can simplify your writing.

Overall, these exercises are designed to help writers improve their copywriting skills by finding inspiration, using more interesting language, testing hooks with their audience, writing like they talk, and editing ruthlessly.

Using Data to Improve Your Ads

In this section, the speaker discusses how to use data to improve your ads and make them more compelling.

Using Facebook Ads

• Facebook ads are an easy way to test which hook is most compelling for your audience.

• Use the same hook throughout your entire sales funnel and messaging.

Simplifying Your Writing with Hemingway Editor

In this section, the speaker introduces the Hemingway Editor as a tool for simplifying writing and making it more impactful.

How to Use Hemingway Editor

• Go to hemingwayapp.com and copy in any copy that you’ve written.

• The editor will immediately tell you the readability of your piece.

• The editor highlights complex sentences in red, hard-to-read sentences in yellow, words that can be replaced with simpler versions in purple, adverbs that might not add much value in blue, and passive voice in green.

• Simplify complex or hard-to-read sentences by breaking them into shorter sentences or replacing difficult words with simpler ones.

Understanding Features vs. Benefits

In this section, the speaker explains the difference between features and benefits when it comes to marketing products.

Features vs. Benefits

• A feature is something that your product has or is; it directly solves a common problem.

• Factual statements about what your product or service is are features; they do not entice customers to buy.

• Benefits are why someone is purchasing your product; they express results through desired emotions and answer "What's in it for me?"

• To turn features into benefits, ask yourself how the feature will make your customer's life better and express that in a way that resonates with them.

• Use the Feature to Benefit Converter spreadsheet to help you turn features into benefits.

Feature To Benefit Converter

In this section, Alex explains how to use the feature to benefit converter and provides examples of how to identify the core problem that a feature solves.

Using the Feature To Benefit Converter

• The feature to benefit converter helps you identify why a customer needs a particular feature.

• Ask yourself what problem does this feature solve? What is the core pain point that this problem creates?

• Consider when does this matter most? When is this problem actually a big deal?

• Think about why does the customer need this? What are their desired emotions?

• Once you have identified these elements, write down the benefit.

Examples of Using the Feature To Benefit Converter

• A one terabyte hard drive: More storage space, more backup. Solves lost files. Core pain point is loss of memories. Matters most during vacations or baby's first steps. Desired emotions include peace of mind and trust.

• Writing like a pro: Solves writer's block. Core pain point is frustration with writing. Matters most when deadlines are approaching or when writing for an important project. Desired emotions include confidence and pride in one's work.

Conclusion

In this section, Alex concludes her video by summarizing the five copywriting exercises she discussed and encouraging viewers to watch her next video on common copywriting mistakes.

Summary of Five Copywriting Exercises

• Use power words to evoke emotion in your audience.

• Write headlines that grab attention and make readers want to learn more.

• Use storytelling techniques to engage your audience.

• Focus on benefits rather than features.

• Use social proof to build credibility with your audience.

Next Steps

• Watch Alex's video on common copywriting mistakes.

• Subscribe for more videos from Alex.