The "Wise Guys" Copywriting Rule Book: How to Write Copy That'll Make You The "Boss" In All Your Marketing and Promotional Efforts.

By Anthony Policci

For anyone trying to influence other human beings, every word you write or speak has to make the right impact.

As a business person, you may have the greatest product or service in the world, but a poorly crafted message to your market means very few if any will discover your whiz-bang solution.

Even if you don't own a business, you still do something everyday that involves communication.

This book isolates the key elements, the essential points, to writing copy that sells and being a better communicator in all ways.

There are a ton of books available on the subject of writing copy and many of them do a fantastic job of explaining copy writing.

There are also plenty of courses out there, filled with nothing more than voluminous fluff, most of which is there simply to bulk the course up. If you want a book filled with fluff, do not choose this one. This book will teach you to focus in on and segregate the key things you must know to write compelling copy.

It does not confuse you with complicated techniques, instead it focuses on the key concepts that will allow you to sit down and start writing killer copy by the time you’re finished reading the book...maybe even sooner.

It's called it the “Wise Guys” Copywriting Rule Book as a play on the author's Sicilian roots. The point is this; the key to effective copy is being able to influence people. This book will show you how to do it without strong arming anyone or winding up swimming with the fishes for trying. Be the Boss in all your marketing and promotional endeavors.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anthony Policci
• Release date: May 22, 2012
• ISBN: 9781452468662

Anthony Policci

Blunt, Bold, Bright...Even Nice!That’s how clients refer to the CEO of Absolutely Brilliant Concepts Marketing and Consulting Inc. (ABC M&C), marketing aficionado Tony Policci.Prior to founding ABC M&C, Policci served as a consultant to over 3500 clients. He created and co-created strategies with his clients, helped them execute targeted marketing plans, wrote and critiqued thousands of ads, sales letters, scripts etc.Policci has been published in dozens of trade magazines, his ads have ran in Entrepreneur Magazine and he is the author of two self-published marketing books. “The response doubler. A guide to creating a killer yellow-page or print ads” and “A Wise-Guys Copywriting Rule Book”.He also wrote “Hiding in Plain Sight” – How to Protect Your Assets from the IRS, Lawyers and Other Thieves” and you’ll find a full chapter on copywriting in “The 10-Minute Marketer’s Secret Formula” by Tom Feltenstein and Entrepreneur Press.Policci specializes in providing unique, unconventional, and extremely effective approaches to his clients marketing challenges. His strategies have produced as much as a 2000% increase in response to promotions and sales. He’s a straightforward guy, who doesn't believe in telling you what you want to hear it's more important to tell you what will be beneficial.Curiously, Tony was also very successful using outrageous marketing techniques to secure work as a professional actor until 1995. His experience on stage, TV and in film has taught him about getting inside the "shoes of another" and being able to connect in a very real way.“Two things you can expect from Tony Policci- he’ll make you smile and he won't B.S. you!” -Ken Kerr Former Marketing Director Disney EpcotTony’s company site can be found at www.facebook.com/abctnt and his educational do-it-yourself information for creating "killer ad copy,” on a sister web site www.copywritingtips.com.For fast friendly answers to your marketing and copywriting questions, you can contact Tony directly at 480-809-2992 or by e-mail [e-mail]

Book preview

The Wise Guys Copywriting Rulebook

Anthony Policci

Copyright Anthony Policci 2002-2013

Published by ABC M&C Publishing at Smashwords

Formatted by eBooksMade4You

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PLEASE NOTE: We appreciate your investment in this book. Please remember, it is not to be shared, copied, distributed and no copies may be gifted to others and no part of this book may be reproduced, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, facsimile, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author. Please contact the author for help if you wish to do any of the above.

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ISBN: 9781452468662

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Disclaimer:

This publication is designed to give the reader accurate information on the art and process of writing advertising copy and/or compelling written messages in any format. It is offered with the understanding that the author and publisher do not guarantee any specific results, or any guarantees of income.

Anthony Policci is a Master Copywriter, Founder and CEO of Absolutely Brilliant Concepts, Inc. Marketing Consulting and Copywriting

To contact the author of this book email him at [e-mail] or visit him online:

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Table of Contents

Dedication

Here’s Just What This Book Will Do For You, and The Reason I Wrote It

How Has Writing Changed?

Who The Heck Am I Anyway?

The REAL Purpose of Copy

Put Your Best Font Forward

How To Start Writing

The #1 Copywriting Truism

The Goal of Good Copy

How to Maintain The What’s In It For Me Focus (WIIFM)

The Wise Guys Profiling Process

The Problem With Attention

Benefits, Features and Ugly Sea Creatures

How to Identify the Benefits In Your Product

Prevention Is Harder To Sell Than Cure

Long vs. Short Copy

The Power of Testimonials and How to Get Them

Formatting Your Testimonials For The Reader

The Power of Examples

Test, Test, Test

The Mechanics of Writing

Headlines

How do you create a headline?

1) The Direct Statement Headline

2) The Indirect Headline

3) The Command Headline

4) The How-To Headline

5) The Reason Why Headline

6) The Testimonial Headline

7) The News Headline

8) The Question Headline

Using The Right Words

A Promise Of Performance?

Using Pictures or Graphics

Mistakes to Avoid

Putting it all together

How to Write When You Don’t Want To

Perfecting Your Copy

Web Specifics

That’s All Folks

The Power of Last Word Marketing

The Appendix:

Best Headline Words

Best Headline Phrases

Tips To Smash Through Writer's Block

101 Of The Greatest Headlines Ever Written

Headline Worksheet

Magic Marketing Words

Stuff To Watch Out For In E-mail Letters

How Using Figurative Language To Write With Expression

Transitional Words and Phrases

Want Some Kick Butt Help With Your Projects?

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Dedication

This is the part of the book where authors get to acknowledge the important people in their lives and write all the sappy, sentimental things they feel are important to put into print. Well, I’m no different so here’s my stab at it.

This book is dedicated first to God for blessing me with the willingness to be teachable. That has given me a skill; it has delivered me from a faithless existence and provided all the opportunities to do good work with marketing and writing copy.

To all the marketing masters and copywriters who taught me about properly written words and the power that they hold.

A huge thanks to my younger brother and marketing genius, Joe Polish. (Joe, you have done more than any person I know to put me on my quest for marketing and copywriting mastery).

It was Joe who gave me my first copy of a Gary Halbert newsletter, (circa 1990) and Joe who provide the opportunity to learn and become what I have. Joe, you have done more from the beginning (and ever since) than I will ever be able to repay, and more than you may even know to shape my professional and personal life. (You’re still a punk though).

Terry Gibbs, my longtime confidant and trusted friend. Terry is a relentless entrepreneur who not only pushed me to write the early version of this book and literally helped make it a reality.

Special thanks must, of course, go to my family. To Lisa Policci, the girl I married. You, my dear beautiful wife have given me more than I could ever detail in this introduction.

You have amazed me, inspired me, irritated and delighted me, brought me face-to-face with my own character and helped me become more that I ever thought I’d be, you are a treasure. Thank you for making me a father four times over - first to David and Kyle, my stepsons., then, our other two precious and beautiful boys, Michael and Devon.

What a gift to have been able to see my own children be born, to be able to work from my house and almost always be there. I count your love and our family among my top three blessings.

Lisa, David, Kyle, Michael, and Devon, without you it is doubtful I would ever have become a professional copywriter, and my life would be far less meaningful. I love you all.

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Here’s Just What This Book Will Do For You

and The Reason I Wrote It

Greetings Friend,

Thank you for your investment in my book.

This book will isolate the key elements, the essential points, to writing copy that sells and help you be a better overall communicator.

There are a ton of books available on this subject, and many of them do a fantastic job of explaining copywriting.

There are also plenty of courses out there, filled with nothing more than voluminous fluff, most of which is there simply to bulk the course up. This, my dear reader, is a no fluff zone.

This book will teach you to focus in on how to segregate the key things that you must know to write compelling copy.

This book is a summary of what I’ve learned over 15 plus years of writing copy. I will share with you the most important things that have transformed into a guy who has produced over 80 million dollars in sales in a 12-month period for just one of my many clients.

I’m not going to confuse you with a bunch of complicated techniques. I’m going to focus on the key concepts that will allow you to sit down and start writing killer copy by the time you’re finished reading this book...maybe even sooner.

I called it the Wise Guys copywriting rule book as a play on my Sicilian heritage, but I’ve got no ties to the syndicate . The point is this; the key to effective copy and effective communication is being understood in a way that is able to influence people. I’m going to show you how to do that without injuring anyone or winding up in a pair of cement shoes.

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How Has Writing Changed

I decided to put this section up in the very front of the book because we no longer live in a world, ruled by print media.

Everything I talk about in this book will apply to writing copy, whether on a paper page, a web page, or a sign nailed to a stick and stuck in the ground.

A common misconception is that writing copy for the Internet is different than writing for print. This is partially true. The primary difference is that on the web, you can optimize your words for search engines and use different fonts. But style wise, great copy rules are no different from web to print.

Around 60-80 percent of my client work right now involves writing copy for the Internet, including SEO copy for web pages, copy for email marketing, sequenced email campaigns, any just about anything else you can imagine.

Whether you’re writing for the Internet or for print it’s equally as crucial to write something that grabs a person’s attention and really pulls them in immediately. But with the Internet, like TV, they have that little ‘clicker’ right in their hand, and they can delete you or move off the web page at any moment.

It’s vitally important to use the same elements when writing copy for the Internet that have been proven over and over again for hundreds of years in direct mail and print advertising, such as powerful benefit-laden headlines and what’s in it for me elements.

In style, it’s absolutely no different than writing copy for print.

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Who The Heck Am I Anyway?

I suppose a short biography of my life is warranted, so allow me to tell you a little bit about myself. I’m a performer, an actor at heart. I made a living at it in years past, and still do occasionally. Below is a shot of me in the world premiere of Bad Marriage - it’s a Crime in my role as Inspector Maxwell.

My immersion into the world of Marketing and writing copy started many years ago with my little brother, Joe. Back in the early ‘90’s, Joe became very interested in marketing his business. He was a carpet cleaner whose business was failing. Joe started reading and subscribing to all sorts of marketing newsletters, and at his suggestion, I started reading them too.

While I occasionally worked with Joe as a carpet cleaner, my focus was on other things. I was a struggling actor at that time, and my goal was simply to further my career, so I started reading all the information I could get my hands on about marketing.

Odd as it may sound, I got my start in marketing and copywriting by promoting myself (as an actor) to casting agents.

Something very exciting happened. Joe and I both started having some real success with our efforts. I secured a professional contract and had to leave the state (and my brothers company) for a full year. But I was excited, because I was beginning to live my dream!

Meanwhile, my brother had taken many of the marketing ideas he had learned and created a system that changed his business.

We were both enjoying our new successes, all because of our newfound marketing and copywriting knowledge.

Then... in 1994 my dream got cut short. Due to personal circumstances in my life I had to put my acting career on the shelf for a while.

I came back to Arizona to find that Joe had birthed a tiny little company he was calling Piranha Marketing. He was marketing informational products to other carpet cleaners.

Joe was only a few months into