What’s up, LDCC comrade!

Here’s your weekly insight letter…

This week’s topic? Bullets… The 2^nd most powerful element of your copy (feel free to swipe).

(If you want early access to these letters, grab your free copywriting cheat sheet here, and join the Collective.)

So.

The purpose of a bullet:

1. To give the eyes a rest.
2. To demand attention.
3. To tease with desirable benefits.
4. To weaken the reader’s willpower.

No one wakes up thinking, “gee golly I hope I stumble upon a sales page today” (unless you’re a studious copywriter). People come into the presence of your copy determined not to spend. And it’s your job to weaken their defenses.

This is where your bullet army comes in.

… Your bullets should be so compelling… That spending their hard-earned cheddar becomes involuntary.

And today, we’re gonna learn how to write these little soldiers.

But.

Before we swipe from the professionals, we gotta lay down the ground rules on how to write dank bullets.

The 8 rules to writing whiplash inflicting bullets

Remember. A bullet is a mini-headline. So whatever formula you subscribe to for writing headlines, use that also for bullets. The only difference between the two is this:

Bullets… unlike their needy, older brother… go inside the copy. And they come in armies… Directing the reader’s desire towards a common CTA.

You only get 1 headline per CTA. But you get unlimited bullets.

After a good bullet dump, your reader should be giddy about buying whatever offer you have at the bottom of the page.

General rules of thumb:

1. Promise a benefit

This should be linked directly to the impending CTA. It needs to get the reader excited and curious.

2. Make them easy on the eyes

Redundant I know… One of the many purposes of a bullet list is to give the eyes a rest.

BUT, you should make it even easier on the eyes by structuring your bullets uniformly. Make each the same length as the one prior.

3. Keep it simple

Avoid sub-bullets and such. They should be clear, concise and awesome.

4. Order them according to grammar and word usage

Don’t alternate between how to’s, what’s, discover’s, learn’s, etc. If you’ve got some how to’s and some learn’s, section them accordingly. Don’t mix them.

5. Alternate between emboldened and unemboldened

This one’s straight from our savior himself, Gary Halbert. And it’s another great way to keep the reader’s eyes from wandering.  Consider writing every other bullet in bold type.

6. Curiosity is key

Every bullet should open a loop. The only closure? Your CTA. Don’t write sentences. Write “mini-headlines.” The is, perhaps, the #1 rule to writing killer bullets.

“Write bullets that wound, with the only remedy coming from buying the product” – Ken McCarthy.

7. The dump

There is no limit to how many bullets you can include in the dump. The more the merrier. Don’t be repetitive, but be liberal with it. As the reader slides down your list, their curiosity should only become more intense.

Take advantage of that by pouring it on.

8. Fantasy

Most people browse the internet alone. No one’s around to judge them… Exploit this by triggering mankind’s darkest fantasies: envy, laziness, lust, greed, gluttony, power, control, etc.

So.

Those are the rules… now let’s put them into action. You still with me?

… How to use bullets to attract even the most stubborn of readers…

The key to priming your audience. (This step is crucial…)

Before the bullet dump, you’ll want to activate your readers’ salivary glands.

To get the most out of your bullets… Lead into them by asking a question.

Something like this:

Are you tired of working for the man… making HIS dreams come true instead of your own? Yes? John Doe was too. Here’s a few of the little-known secrets his new book reveals:

… [Insert bullet dump here.]

… [Insert crystal clear order instructions.]

Bullet “Swipe File”

Kick-ass examples:

• How Gary Halbert took in today’s equivalent of $350,000… per day! (The greatest copywriter of all time reveals his 1-step, secret formula.)

Gary Halbert

• The 7-step formula that even an illiterate drop-out can use to write advertising copy 100 times more potent than the best Madison Avenue ad agency!
• The Real Reason people choose to buy anything — the secret truth long known by master salesmen, sociologists and “con men” finally revealed!
• How to use a little-known “positioning secret” to completely cancel out the superior size or experience of your attacker! (Size and strength are meaningless when you know this secret!)
• How to write a sales letter than will make you rich!
• Siamese twins come unglued doing double-take at Kacy blockbuster sale!
• What question you must ask when you rent a car to get the lowest price humanly possible!
• How you can legally tape any telephone call you get from a collection agency… and… how to use that tape to scare the hell out of them… and… even use it (legally) to make them pay you a big settlement!
• FAKE COCAINE: A legal substitute that fools almost everyone!
• What colors you must never paint your house if you want to sell it fast!
• How to get a “selling edge” even 9 out of 10 real estate brokers don’t know about!

Gary Bencivenga

• The easiest way to control the process of persuasion rather than merely guess at it. You’ll learn that persuasion, like music, comes down to a few simple notes. Master them, and you can play an infinite variety of melodies that are music to your prospects’ ears.
• You will dissolve price resistance and may even be able to double or even triple your original price point because your product will create such white-hot demand from the core of your market.
• The best defense against being cheated in a performance-based agreement is to do this…
• How John H. runs a weekend business that uses other people’s vacant land to rake in as much as $10,000 profit per week. No equipment, no investment, no employees needed!
• How James P. Charges $2,000 for a simple service most businesses need, but few people are aware of. He has so much business, he doesn’t even advertise.
• You’ll learn about a unique new product that’s selling like wildfire to religious people and gives you a 500% markup.
• You’ll be given the amazing inside story of a business that requires so little of anything, you could run it out of a phone booth. Yet it’s quietly making better than $50,000 a year for scores of men and women.
• The method for earning thousands of dollars on other people’s inventions.

Scott Haines

• How to get hundreds of glowing (and true) testimonials from your customer for free… and… what to do with them to generate even bigger profits.
• Why the “back-end” letters you write (when you know Gary’s three main tricks) may be 100 times more profitable than anything else you will ever write!
• How to use a simple 36-word postcard to bring in $37.00 for every dime you spend!
• How to write copy so it “talks-the-talk” of any group of people to whom you are sending your sales message. This secret weapon will make even the most skeptical of your prospects… stand in line and beg you to take their money!
• A weird (but effective) way to find the mailing lists that are perfect for your campaigns… and… how to test those lists… with out mailing a single letter!
• The exact words you should use to write a money-back guarantee that… increases sales… and reduces refunds!

Anonymous

• Two proven “cures” for writer’s block. (The first one is simply doing a lot of research. The second one is much easier… and can be found at your corner grocery store.)
• How to stop a life-threatening disease in your dog… before it surfaces.
• How turning off your cell phone in the summer time can help prevent your dog from getting heat exhaustion.
• The surprising secret one California woman discovered that earned her a $10k promotion.
• Discover how one mom became a successful CEO – and was still able to pick her kids up from school at 3pm every day.
• Find out why this health coach’s decision to “go paleo” quadrupled her business.
• The one mistake that even pro golfers make that kills the power in their downstroke… and how to use a simple, easy “adjustment” that will instantly increase your power by 200% or more!
• How to develop new products, back-end profit centers, lead generators and repeat business money machines in only hours.
• They all laughed when I said I was going to create a profit pulling website quickly and easily… But when I made my first sale just 4 hours later…!
• 10 questions that reveal “leaks” in your copy — ask these before you send it out, plug any leaks, and it WILL increase your response.
• 7 simple, 5-minute tweaks that add credibility to your site, so people will be more comfortable handing over their credit card and other personal information.
• The one sentence you MUST add to your site if you want anyone to purchase anything from you.

Want to know the #1 piece of advice any successful copywriter will tell you?

Steal.

Take these bullets. Put them in a word doc and use them as templates. Use them as headlines… Use them as bullets. Either way, you would do well to use them.

I wish I had time to give you more… But unfortunately, I only have 1 hour to send out this letter…

So, let me know… by replying to this email… if you’d like to see more examples in the future.

But.

If you’re like me… You need something you can reference when you’re writing copy. And there’s actually a book that comes to mind…

You may be interested.

I’ve only included 37 bullets here… But what if I said there’s a man who compiled a list of 2,000? And what if he ordered them according to topic?

Would you be interested? I was. You can find the book here:

2001 Greatest Headlines Ever Written: A Collection to Inspire Your Own Great Headlines

Here’s a few bullets included in the book:

• 2 big dangers now facing every upper-income American… And 1 new discovery that can protect you against both. Sample it. Free.
• The how-to magazine for choosing the right business to go into.
• At last… A fine food magazine with recipes so reliable you can try them on guests without fear.
• I will not just tell you about my success story, but rather… I will introduce you to your own!
• They shocked us. They outraged us. They didn’t do anything wrong. They just did it first.
• How long will you live? Ignorance about how to take care of yourself can be the mistake that kills you in your 50’s and 60’s… “The dangerous years!”
• How to develop a silver tongue, a golden touch and a mind like a steel trap.

Only 1,994 to go…

Seriously… This book is going to be the 1 that makes me a millionaire…

How’s that for a 20,000% ROI?

… 11 pages of pure headline can be found here.

Worth a gander isn’t it?

If I were an ambitious entrepreneur… I wouldn’t hesitate on making that investment. And I didn’t. Consider it your homework.

You won’t be disappointed. But. If you are… Amazon’s got that ironclad, 30-day return policy.

Happy bulleting!

But, that’s all I got for ya in this week’s insight letter…

I hope the take away has been well-worth your time spent reading.

With love,

Robert

Copywriting Cheat Sheet

P.S. I am an affiliate of Carl’s book… But, obviously, I’d never recommend a book I haven’t taken advantage of myself. It truly is a treasure.