The first rule in writing copy that works involves your frame of mind or perspective:  take on the perspective of the person you are writing for. 

It doesn't matter what you think about your product or service, or the thing you're selling.  What matters is the perception and mindset of the person you target. 

Writing copy that works--kills!--is measured only one way: that they do what you are asking people to do. 

But that means you need to understand their reasons for doing that thing, not yours.  You need to understand their perspective, what's going on in their world, how they're feeling about your product or your type of product. 

Are you starting to see that this has less to do with your perception and everything to do with theirs?  Okay, let's get started.

There are only a few things I can tell you that relate to every piece of copy you will write.  And rather than try to go over the dozens and dozens of types of copy, I will focus on the precious few. 

The first rule, obviously, is to focus on the perspective of the person you are trying to persuade.  Now, that's very easy to say, so, how do I do that?  Well, the simple answer, the right answer, the only answer, is to ask them.  If you want to sell ice cubes to Eskimos I suggest very highly that you talk to Eskimos about why they would be interested in buying ice cubes, what their opinions are about ice cubes, what their concerns about ice cubes are, if they’ve ever bought ice cubes before, and if so, from who and why, or, why they don't buy ice cubes at all right now.  Begin, it doesn't matter what you think about Eskimos or ice, what matters is what Eskimos think about ice. 

Call them, invite them into your office, but talk to them.  Do not, I repeat do not, send them a questionnaire asking them for their opinions.  Talk to the people that you are attempting to persuade.  Let them tell you why they will buy. 

Rule two, spend 40% percent of your words describing the problem and convincing your reader you understand how they're feeling right now.  The biggest problem most copywriters make is spending 90 percent of their words describing how wonderful the product or service is, and maybe 10 percent (or zero percent) convincing the reader they understand their problem.  People buy solutions to their problems, not your product’s wonderful features.

Can you see the difference?  The difference is huge.  The person reads your product copy very differently when they read it AFTER reading copy that convinces them you understand their problem .  It's a little bit like going up to a member of the opposite sex on the first date and saying “Oh by the way, will you marry me?”  Well, 10 times out of 10 the answer will be no.  Why?  Because you haven't given that person any context.  You haven't given that person any comfort or understanding of who you are and the extent to which you do or don't understand “where they live” right now. 

Rule three, use simple, emotion-packed words.  Write the way you talk, not the way you write right now.  There isn't very much to be said about this topic really.  Simply do this.  Read your copy out loud.  The best copy sounds like conversation.  Bad copy sounds like writing.  If you want to connect with somebody emotionally, if you're attempting to sell them, then you better write conversationally. 

Next rule, understand that people scan copy first.  Tell your story twice.  Tell it first with headlines, sub headlines, bullets, or underlines.  Then tell your story the second time in the body copy. 

Another rule, probably the best advice I have for you regarding how to write copy that works, if you want to learn to write good copy: write a lot of copy.  When I started writing copy I had come straight out of the IBM and a Master's Degree program.  To say the copy I wrote then was pathetically boring is an understatement.  But I wrote and I wrote and I wrote and I wrote and I wrote and every time I wrote my copy got better.  If you don't have the time to do that, hire a professional.  Like me.  But also understand that you don't need to hire professional.  The best person in the world to write your copy is you, after you have spent time on the telephone or in person talking to customers.  The second best person in the world to write your copy. . .is me.

Last rule, tell a story.  This is huge!  People love stories; it’s in our DNA, from the cave drawings and grunts around the camp fire to wandering minstrels/storytellers to today’s testimonials, we love stories.  What’s a story?  You have a story, the story of what makes you better, how you came to it and why that’s important to you.  And your customers have a story, the story of how they selected your company and how your product solves problems for them.

If you sell fund raising software, the ease with which your software can query user fields and build separate mailing lists is boring.  But how your software enabled a community hospital to raise money to buy a dialysis machine by sending donation requests to all their renal patients (by using all that boring query stuff your software does), well now, that’s interesting!

When was the last time your marketing had a Check-Up?