Free Tool Makes Your Copy More "Velocious"
One of the principles I teach students is called copy velocity.
In other words...
How many words do you use to get your point across?
The fewer words you use, the easier it is to hold people's attention.
When you hold their attention, the more likely they are to whip out their credit cards and buy.
So how do you make your copy more velocious?
(didn't know "velocious" was actually a word hahaha!)
We'll use a free tool.
Most copywriters know about it, yet stubbornly refuse to use it...
Its name?
* drum rolls *
Don't roll your eyes.
Chances are you're also aware of this tool.
But do you use it?
If not, it's a shame.
You should always edit with Hemingway since it lets you catch one of the worst writing habits in existence...
The use of passive voice.
Dave kicks the ball - that's active voice.
The ball got kicked by Dave...Dave was able to kick the ball...The ball was able to be kicked by Dave - that's passive voice.
Active voice is powerful.
On the other hand, passive voice dilutes your copy.
Let's see a sentence from this email:
You should always edit with Hemingway since it lets you catch one of the worst writing habits in existence...
The "it lets you catch" is passive voice
If we use active voice, it becomes...
You should always edit with Hemingway because it catches one of the worst writing habits in existence...
The second version is stronger, right?
Here's another example:
Passive - My first copywriting gig will always be remembered by me.
Active - I will always remember my first copywriting gig.
Isn't the active version stronger?
Isn't it shorter?
And isn't it more likely to hold our reader's attention?
Yeap, yeap, and yeap.
In both sentences, the meaning remains the same...
But the first version has 10 words while the second one only 8.
That's a whopping 20% drop in words needed to get your point across.
Don't scoff!
Two extra words here and there quickly add up.
Imagine having an 8,000-word VSL that converts at 3.5%.
If you switch from active voice to passive...
...the VSL will balloon to up to 10,000 words...
...and conversions will almost always drop below 3.5%.
Those extra words bored some people and they stopped watching.
You just made your client less money.
All because you used passive voice and bloated your sales message.
"But Ning, the more we tell, the more we sell, right? So shouldn't we try to have more words in our copy?"
Great question.
Here's my answer:
Remember what I said about copy velocity? About getting your point across with as few words as possible?
Yes, the more you tell the more you will sell.
However, this is no excuse for bad writing.
If you can get your point across in 8 words, don't add "fat" just for the sake of it.
Write as much as needed to tackle objections, prove your point, position your offer uniquely, and do a complete selling job.
But never, never, NEVER fill your copy with air because you have to hit a certain word quota.
It's not just a disservice to your clients...
It's also a disservice to you since your copy won't convert.
Unless you make $5,000/month or more, Hemingway should be your BFF.
Most copywriters are too lazy to use it.
That's why they never become part of the upper echelons of direct response.
But you're better than that, my dear Top Gun ;-)
Speaking of the upper echelons of D.R....
I routinely help students go from clueless newbies to writing copy that crushes it to cold traffic...
Closing gigs with 7+ figure companies...
And enjoying $5,000...$10,000...$15,000+ months without working crazy hours.
The best intro to my proven blueprint is my "Zero to $5K" coaching program.
The bad news is that right now, it's closed.
But I pinky-swear we'll open again soon.
So, if you'd like to get notified when we open and also enjoy a sweet discount...
>>> Click here to add your name to the waitlist
- Ning
