Read Michel Fortin’s latest blog article titled “What Surgery Taught Me About Copywriting”.


Michel Fortin’s latest blog article is reprinted here.

What Surgery Taught Me About Copywriting

Something happened recently that provided incontrovertible proof of the importance of an infallible rule in copywriting.

I knew it all along but never saw it proven to me in such a personal and direct way.

What am I talking about? No, it’s not the headline. It’s not being emotional. It’s not benefits. And it’s not split-testing.

Sure, all of those things are important. Very important. But the one element I’m referring to, the one element that can transform your copy into a sales-inducing powerhouse, is…

… Proof.

Other than poor targeting and shoddy copy, the lack of proof in your copy is what probably (and most likely) causes it to fail.

People are extremely leery and skeptical. They never believe anything. At least, not at first. And they do much less today than ever before.

Blame it on the proliferation of scams and snake oils. Or blame it on the profusion of aggressive, hype-filled salesletters.

But the reality is, everything readers see is suspect right from the get-go. It gives new meaning to the word “conversion.” People never believe anything the moment they read your copy, so you need to “convert” them not into buyers but into believers.

You need to prove your case – and not just tell it or, worse yet, sell it. You need to provide proof. As much proof as you can muster. Any kind. Every kind.

For example, criminal cases win in court because of a preponderance of proof, and not just a little. (Conversely, they also lose if there’s reasonable doubt. That’s all that’s needed, and often it’s not that much.)

It’s the same with sales copy.

If there’s reasonable doubt, you’re going to lose the sale. (Or at best, you will only get a tiny fraction of what’s possible in terms of sales, if any.)

Here’s what happened in my life recently that proves this point.

My wife has breast cancer. And recently, she started a personal blog at BreastCancerVictory.com that journals her courageous journey into healing.

She started this blog for personal reasons. It’s part therapy, part education. (Awareness and prevention are incredibly important to her. For example, she wanted to clear up a lot of the misconceptions out there – a common one being that breast cancer only affects older women. Sylvie is only 36 years old.)

Nevertheless, here’s what happened.

Sylvie started posting around August. She talks openly about her cancer and discusses the many visits, tests and scans she had to undergo, from mammograms and ultrasounds, to MRIs and biopsies.

She even talks about her pain, grief and bouts of sadness that naturally (and understandably) followed the surgical removal of her entire left breast – also known as a “mastectomy.”

What did I do?

To show my support, I emailed my lists to notify them of her new blog. I did it several times. And the outpouring of affection, compassion and support as people commented on her blog was simply amazing.

Some posts received as many as 10-20 comments. Some received as many as 50. Others got nothing at all.

(But keep in mind, this was a brand-new blog, with no search engine exposure, no traffic, no advertising of any kind.)

Then, something completely unexpected happened.

It blew me – and Sylvie – away!

Last week, my wife had a visit with her surgeon who, after sending the excised breast to the pathology lab for a complete analysis, needed to discuss the report’s findings with her – as well as the necessary treatments.

She has breast cancer. We all knew that. She also needs chemotherapy to prevent the cancer from spreading. Again, we all expected that, too.

But here’s what happened and what we didn’t expect.

Sylvie posted the results of the complete diagnosis. With a copy of the report in hand, she posted some of the medical terms discussed in the report, and what they meant – in general, as well as to her, personally.

She included terms like “Intraductal Carcinoma in Situ,” “Multicentric Central Carcinoma,” “Lymphatic/Vascular Invasion,” “Invasive Tumor Necrosis,” “Modified Scarff Bloom Richardson Grade,” and more.

And in fact, to show how big this cancerous lump has grown, she created a graphic replica, based on the dimensions described in the report, demonstrating the actual size of the tumor.

Now, let me backtrack a little.

In that post, she provided three types of proof.

She provided factual proof. That is, actual medical terms, data and numbers taken straight out of the pathology report.

She provided evidential proof. That is, laboratory test results proving not only that she did have cancer, but also how big and advanced it was, and the fact that it has metastasized to her lymphnodes.

She then provided perceptual proof. You see, facts and data are powerful proof elements. But with every one, she translated what those terms meant. (For example, creating a graphic that demonstrated the actual size of the tumor was a part of it.)

And more importantly, she related what these figures and terms meant to her – how she perceived and felt about them, even at the moment they were being disclosed.

Because of the fact that these findings use technical jargon, they are easily left to interpretation. Plus, they can make the person feel distant and removed from them.

But by making them more real and personal, Sylvie translated what these terms meant to her. This, in turn, provided and increased the perceived quality of the proof.

This proof made it more, for a lack of a better word, credible. It made the terminology easier to understand and internalize.

OK, back to my point.

I emailed my list one more time. Same thing as before: the same lists with the exact same number of people emailed on the previous occasions. But what happened next was incredible…

That one post received over 150 comments in 48 hours!

Even now, after close to a week later, comments are still pouring in every single day (over 170 at the time of this writing, to be exact). See the blog post for yourself.

The bottom line is, once my wife provided proof, the response rate shot up dramatically. It compelled people to respond. This doesn’t mean that they didn’t believe her in her previous posts. But it did reduce any reasonable doubt.

It made them believe more.

This entire event gave me an idea. I thought about all the elements of proof that can add more credibility and believability to your copy.

With a little help from Sylvie, that’s where I came up with the term “FORCEPS.”

Think of a pair of forceps, which is commonly used by surgeons for extracting. In this case, think of it as a way to “surgically extract” as much doubt as possible from your copy!

FORCEPS is an acronym that stands for:

* factual
* optical
* reversal
* credential
* evidential
* perceptual
* And social

1. Factual Proof

In my wife’s example above, you were just given some examples of factual and perceptual proof. Statistics, data, factoids, numbers and so on fall in the factual proof category.

Facts of any kind about either the problem (i.e., anything that makes the problem more real and urgent in the mind of the reader) or the solution are powerful proof elements.

2. Optical Proof

In a court case, lawyers will argue that the best and strongest evidence is an eyewitness account. Similarly, optical proof – in other words, visual proof – is one of the most powerful.

Anything that can visually represent the product, the business, the person, the quality, the claims or more importantly, the benefits of the product or service, gives your copy a strong advantage.

For example, if you sell a moneymaking infoproduct, these proof elements include scans of checks and bank deposits, screenshots of website traffic logs, pictures of the author leaning against his brand-new 2007 Mercedes-Benz S-Class S550, etc.

You get the picture. Literally.

eBay reported that auctions with pictures have 400% more bids than ones without pictures.

That’s why adding a picture of your product on your sales copy works so well. Including a 3-D graphic cover of your digital product, even if it’s not in physical form.

If you sell a physical product, take a picture of it. Better yet, show it in action. (That’s why videos are even better.)

Or simply, take a picture of the product as you would, for example, with an online auction. Use different angles and lights, even take a photo of it with its original wrapping.

But nothing beats good ol’ before-and-after pictures. Even video and audio. For the more vivid the proof is, and the more senses they engage, the more believable the proof will be.

When I was writing copy for cosmetic surgeons, the most effective form of proof was showing before-and-after pictures of patients. You also see this in weightloss programs, bodybuilding equipment, diet programs, etc.

They say, “seeing is believing.” That’s why adding before-and-after pictures show not only the results but also the extent and measurability of those results through the element of contrast.

However, you don’t need to be restricted to the cosmetic industry to show before-and-after pictures.

One of my former clients sells special lighting fixtures. These lights were not your usual lightbulbs. They were using a special type of halogen that was twice as intense as a normal, high-wattage incandescent lightbulb, but with only a third of the power.

What did he do? He took a picture of a someone’s living room with normal lighting in it, and then took a picture of the room with his special lights. Both unretouched pictures were placed, side by side, on his sales copy.

The contrast was obvious. The proof, astounding.

3. Reverse Proof

Speaking of comparisons, reverse proof is the kind you often see when comparisons are made with other types of products or services.

You often see this in competitive analyses. That is, when your product or service is compared to other products in its class or category.

(You’ve probably seen this with lists of features and benefits of various products, often in a tabular format, where the product in question had more features and benefits than its competitors.)

This can apply to indirect competitors, too. For example, an airline’s direct competitor is another airline. But an indirect competitor can be the train, automobile rental, bus, ship, etc.

But I prefer to call it “reverse proof” because the comparison may not only be from product to product, but also from purchase to non-purchase.

In other words, anything that shows what can happen to the prospect if they buy a competitor’s product or, more importantly, when they don’t buy at all. Because their non-purchase is an indirect competitor as well.

Do you have proof of what can or could happen to someone if they choose NOT to buy your product? That’s reverse proof.

Some people call this “apples-to-oranges” comparisons. For example, you compare the price of your offer not against the price of a competitor’s product but against the ultimate cost of not buying yours.

For example, let’s say you know of someone who spent over $20,000 advertising a poor ad that had little to no response. If you sell a copywriting course for, say, $1,000, then you can compare the price of your course to the potential cost of not knowing how to write copy.

In this case, you would compare a small $1,000 investment to a potential $20,000 mistake.

4. Credentializing Proof

Credentializing proof is anything that helps to demonstrate, highlight, or bring attention to the credentials of the product, business or person behind it.

What kind of education or expertise does the author have? How many years of experience does he have or how many clients did she serve? What kind of degrees, accreditations or awards have they won?

If the product or author in question has appeared in the media, don’t be shy in adding these in your copy, including: newspaper articles, media reports on the product or business, appearance in trade journals, consumer reports, etc.

(Some of my clients have scanned actual newspaper articles about them and added them to their copy, for example.)

Celebrities, though biased, also give perceived objectivity by their fans. If you can name-drop any one who’s a recognized authority or celebrity, do so. Or let them do the talking.

If you were talked about on shows, publications and the media, drop those names, too. Some copywriters even add graphics or logos of those media in which they appeared.

(For example, one critique I just did today on a relationship infoproduct had a competitor’s website, which we tracked as doing quite well. The competitor’s site has the logo, in a bubble graphic at the top, stating, “As Seen In “˜Psychology Today’ Magazine!” With an actual screenshot of the magazine’s cover.)

But nothing beats authoritative endorsements, direct and even indirect ones – such as “9 out of 10 dentists agree.”

Another example of an indirect authoritative endorsement was once used by master copywriter Gary Bencivenga, who discussed a headline that said, “When doctors have a headache, here’s what they do.” You can read that article here.

5. Evidential Proof

Evidential proof is evidence or an argument that compels the mind to accept an assertion as true. Anything that can justify, backup or support a claim, in any way, is evidential proof.

In the dictionary, one of the many definitions of proof states:

“1. The validation of a proposition by application of induction or deduction (…) to derived conclusions; a statement or argument used in such a validation. 2. Convincing or persuasive demonstration; determination of the quality of something by testing or trial.”

Therefore, anything that can prove the validity of a claim, result or promise is evidential proof.

For example, some of them include product demonstrations, samples, independent studies, clinical trials, controlled tests, etc.

Even events and challenges work well, which is a blend of credentializing proof and evidential proof.

For example, Robert Allen did it. As the author of “Nothing Down,” a book about how to buy property with no upfront money or collateral, Allen was challenged by the media.

The set-up? They dropped him in the middle of nowhere USA with only $100 in his pockets for food and water, and within 24 hours he had to buy one property with nothing down.

(He ended up buying several.)

He took the challenge to put his claims to the test and won. But more importantly, he got the media involved, which provided a lot of publicity. Those are the kinds of results you would also want to discuss in your sale copy.

This is similar to “controlled tests.” I’m not talking about the marketing kind. I mean tests that actually validate the process, the product, the results, the claims, etc.

You can do hard tests or soft tests.

Hard tests are where you actually put your product to the test to measure its quality or validate its claims.

If you remember the infomercial for a new synthetic car oil called “Dura Lube,” they actually had cars put up on cinder blocks, drained them of oil, and had the motor run until it completely seized.

(And to fix the engine, one would have to invest, as they claim, in costly mechanical work.)

Then they added Dura Lube, drained it again and started the car, which was only running on Dura Lube residue. Not only did the car start without any problems, but an elapsed timer showed that the motor ran for hours without fail.

Soft tests are tests that do not directly validate the product, but used to drive home a certain point or prove an important benefit.

A vacuum commercial (I believe the name was “Oreck”) was proving that their vacuum, which was incredibly lightweight, could have unbelievable “hurricane force” suction.

So they tested the vacuum by getting it to literally suck up a bowling ball. That’s somewhat of a hard test. But the soft test was when they showed how the vacuum, placed on one end of a large scale against the same bowling ball on the other, weighed less the ball itself.

(You literally saw the bowling ball plummet while the vacuum raised up in the air like a feather.)

6. Perceptual Proof

Also called “persuasive proof,” perceptual proof helps to increase the validity and perceived quality of the evidence, and strengthens how someone perceives the evidence.

We all know that facts and figures can mean different things.

How did one arrive at these conclusions? Or against what can they be measured to understand their importance? Better yet, what do they mean at an intimate level, particularly to the reader?

That’s where stories, analogies, anecdotes, examples and real-life accounts help to not only expand on and solidify the proof, but also relate them to the reader and increase their level of appreciation.

Just like my wife who, in her blog post, related what those medical terms meant to her.

7. Social Proof

Lastly but certainly never the least, social proof is proof by modeling. In other words, we tend to give more credence to an idea or behavior when we see the masses approving or doing it.

Also known as “informational social influence,” social proof occurs in social situations when people make the assumption that others possess more knowledge and therefore deem their behavior as appropriate.

Therefore, they tend to assume that an idea is valid not by its objective evidence but by its popularity, following or acceptance by others.

For example, forms of social proof include testimonials, case studies, product history (such as sales numbers or clientele size), endorsements and so forth.

The more real you make them, the more believable they are (such as testimonials with audio, video, pictures, signatures, screenshots, graphs, etc). In fact, even blogs and forums are widely recognized and used as effective forms of social proof.

So, there you have it.

These are just some ideas. The bottom line is, the more proof you provide, and the more you backup your claims with proof of any kind, whether they are hard or soft, objective or subjective, the more believable – and profitable – your copy will be.
–
About the Author
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.

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*IMNewswatch would like to thank Michel Fortin for granting exclusive permission to reprint this latest blog post.

 

 

 

 

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