Copy Not Converting? Read This...

If your copy is NOT converting and you know:

• you chose a hot target
• in a growing market
• with a hot offer
• that is differentiated from the opps
• and proven to take your target from Point A to Point B
• with speed and precision
• while being irresistibly priced (value >>>>> price)

THEN it’s likely:

You’ve OD’d on hypey marketing books. And gave up your job of being a seasoned lawyer.

What do I mean?

Picture this:

Imagine a murder case where you’re representing a client who you know beyond a shadow of a doubt is innocent.

Now imagine this client is facing 25 to life if convicted.

It’s your job to make a case that persuades the jury to see the innocence of your client.

If you fail, his life is over.

How would you approach this situation?

I don’t know, but I’ll tell you how a person who reads one marketing book and turns around and starts calling themselves a copywriter would approach it.

He’d walk into the courtroom yelling and screaming into a megaphone:

"MY CLIENT IS INNOCENT!

MY CLIENT IS INNOCENT!!!

MY CLIENT IS INNOCENT!!!!"

Aka making a bold claim with no substance or proof.

What’s wrong with this?

Many things, but the main one being it doesn’t advance your argument in any way for lawyers BOTH with guilty clients and innocent clients would tell the jury the same thing: "My client is innocent."

As a result: These words carry no weight.

This is equivalent to a marketer entering let’s say the weight-loss market with the claim: "My product will help you lose x pounds in x days."

(Or a freelance copywriter making the claim: "I’ll double your conversions with email marketing.")

What’s wrong with this?

Brands with good products and shit products are both making the same claim, so it doesn’t really tell the reader much (how can he know who is for real and who is just bullshitting? He cannot).

For claims are not enough (especially in sophisticated markets which is where the internet as a whole is heading).

This is one of the BIGGEST differences early on between people who quickly start writing winning copy and people who continue writing trash copy that just doesn’t convert (even though on paper they think they’re doing everything right).

A novice fills his copy with claims.

A pro fills his copy with proof (and uses the proof to differentiate himself from the opps).

So with that noted…

If your copy isn’t converting, focus less on doubling down on claims (this is only making the copy more unbelievable). And more on backing up one big promise with proof.

For the burden is on you.

What does this look like in practicality?

Simply analyze how a seasoned lawyer approaches the same situation.

Instead of leading with claims, he uses one central claim (my client is innocent) and spends the rest of the case painting a picture of proof by presenting evidence after evidence that is irrefutable which guides the jury to conclude: "based on the evidence, we have no possible choice, but to determine the defendant is innocent on all counts."

With that stated, it’s the proof element that does the persuading and guiding and influencing. Not you.

It’s hard to influence somebody if you walk up to them and plead for their trust in your claims.

It’s easy to influence somebody if you leverage proof that makes them persuade themselves into believing what you want them to believe.

This is the key because here’s the thing:

People want to believe (desperately) – you just need to give them enough reasons to believe.

Contrary to popular belief, your reader and target isn’t against you.

He or she is for you and desperately wants to believe that your product or service can truly take them from point A to point B (just like a target suffering from x health condition/terminal illness desperately wants to believe that "new" clinical trial will work for them).

You just need to give them enough reasons to believe.

So with all that noted…

If your copy isn’t converting, it’s likely you’re not using enough reasons/proof/substance to make it convert (instead you’re taking the lazy way out and employing more hype marketing at the expense of good old law).

This is the main element I’d focus on optimizing.

More you enhance the proof element, the more you also differentiate yourself from the opps.

For the main thing that separates a new brand from a leading brand (from the marketing side of things) is the proof element.

I can easily go into any market, clone a proven offer, and run it to similar targets, but it wouldn’t perform as well.

Why?

Because the big brand has proof on their side. I don’t.

Such is why you need to tweak how you think about business:

It’s not a game of directly focusing on growing revenue. It’s a game of indirectly growing revenue by directly focusing on growing your proof element.

More you grow your proof element, the more you grow your customer base.

More you grow your customer base, the more you grow your profits.

So, focus on growing this metric exclusively (and you’ll build a thriving business – even if you F up a lot of other things.)

Thanks for reading!

Your friend,

/tej

p.s. If you need help optimizing the above, I’d:

1. Read through "Making Them Believe: How One Of America’s Legendary Rogues Marketed "The Goat Testicles Solution" And Made Millions" by the GOAT Dan Kennedy (RIP).

2. Donate $497 to my favorite charity in exchange for 6FP.