Writing for the mind’s eye

As a copywriter, one of the most important skills you need to learn is to paint a movie in the mind’s eye of your readers. The more vividly you can paint your images or movies, the better your messages will be comprehended (and acted upon).

The human brain works of the stimulus it receives, and it is 100% literal. The input it gets comes mainly from our 5 senses and can process that information with ease. On the other hand, we also make it work with words and abstract concepts… and that’s the part that it almost always has trouble with.

For example… if I say the word “water”, your mind will instantly know what I’m talking about. An image will appear in your mind and you will understand what I just said. You have experienced water with all your senses; you have seen it, you have heard it, you have listened to it, you have tasted it and you have smelled it.

But that’s not it… the mind’s eye not only allows you to imagine things. It lets you live them! And the more descriptive the words are, the more vividly you’ll see each movie.

Imagine that you and I are in a well-lit room with the walls painted white and the sun shining magnificently outside. It’s all warm and nice. Picture me reaching into my pockets and pulling out a big yellow lemon and a sharp knife… now imagine that I slowly start to slice it in half, you can see blade of my knife cutting firmly through the ripe skin of that lemon and a few drops of its juice dripping down from it. I then take that lemon up to my mouth, give it a gentle squeeze and drink a sip of that juice; my face immediately wrinkles up with that delicious sour taste…

Not only you were able to imagine me slicing the lemon, chances are that even your mouth started watering when you read that description. That is the power of the mind’s eye. Your brain actually lived that short experience with me… based only on descriptive words.

You just saw what happened when I said the word “water”; but what happens when I say the word “leadership” instead? Your mind then goes through a completely different process and tries to put that abstract concept into images. It reaches within to search for movies or images that you have stored and are related to that word… and only after that, you’ll understand the word I said.

The brain has a lot more trouble understanding abstract concepts. In addition to that, the brain is “literal” and does not understand the word “no” (or any type of negation).

Let me give you an example to make things crystal clear. Imagine that you’re talking to me in person and I tell you not to think about a monkey with a tiny red hat, dancing in the street. Chances are that you already have a pretty vivid image of that monkey in your mind, even when I told you not to think about it. This is the reason of why when you tell a child “Don’t jump in that puddle!”, he does. His brain vividly lived a small movie with him jumping in… but didn’t hear the “don’t” part.

It has been proven scientifically that when a reader experiences something vividly through her mind’s eye, she will get emotionally involved with it; and this increases sales. This is why you should always charge your copywriting with glowing, vibrant and forceful words… and replace any vague copy you have.

Some of the best ways to make your copy livelier is by using: metaphors, similes, stories, action verbs, case studies, testimonials, comparisons, etc. All of which, I’ll be covering in future posts to this blog.

Recommended reading:

If you’d want to add instant shimmer to all your writing, I recommend that you take some time to read this powerful classic entitled “Movies in the Mind - How to build a short story” by Colleen Mariah Rae.

In this short read, Colleen teaches a fool-proof system to instantly embellish your writing with clear, lucid movies that vividly play in the mind’s eye of your prospects. Movies that shine and involve the reader, pulling her into whatever realm you’ve created.

Read More

Top 10 Favorite Copywriting Books

Source

What books have been the most helpful to you in copywriting? This question was recently asked by Stephanie (aka circusmama) in the copywriting forums. And holy guacamole Batman! - it’s one of those questions that just crazy-glues itself to my mind and sticks there until properly answered.

And while I know fully well that a skimpy list like this one doesn’t do justice to these great books, and I’ll probably end up making for it by reviewing each one in a separate blog post sometime later this year. So without further ado here’s the list of my top 10 favorite copywriting books

(Click the title to learn more about each book):

10. On Writing – Stephen King
This book is, to say the least, a very interesting read. In the first part of the book, horror novelist Stephen King shares a good number of very personal anecdotes and life experiences. The meat of the book however, is the official “writing advice” section. Even though the advice is fairly simple and geared for beginners, writers of all levels will find good value in King’s extensive and instructive writing examples.

9. Net Words - Nick Usborne
Net Words is a true golden nugget for copywriters. This book reveals Nick’s rare strategies on how to write powerful and compelling copy for the internet by showing you how to drill deep into the minds of your readers and helping you find and develop the “voice” of your website. One of the things I like most about this book is that Mr. Usborne takes the time to give great examples of what to do and what NOT to do when writing online copy.

8. Movies in the Mind – Colleen Mariah Rae
This book is not directly related to copywriting, but to narrative and descriptive storytelling. In this book, Mrs. Rae shares an innovative collection of techniques on how to write a compelling story that pulls the reader in and doesn’t let go until the last word is read – which is a very desirable skill for any copywriter.

7. Triggers – Joe Sugarman
Mr. Sugarman is one of my favorite copywriters of all time (no wonder two of his books made it to this list). In “Triggers”, Joe shows us 30 valuable sales tools that you can instantly put to use to make your writing more persuasive. The concept of triggers is that by understanding human nature, we as copywriters can come to understand how our audience will react to certain situations or techniques.

6. Influence – Robert Cialdini
I’m a big believer in the theory that in order to become a great copywriter, you must first learn as much as you can about human nature; and this book is as good as it gets. In his book, Cialdini unveils with juicy details and plenty of examples the six principles of influence and human persuasion: Reciprocation, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity.

5. Tested Advertising Methods – John Caples
This classic book is a must-read for anyone involved in advertising, marketing or copywriting. In Tested Advertising Methods, Caples guides you step-by-step through the whole process of creating a powerful ad, from developing a good hook, to crafting a winning headline to writing a good first sentence, to creating the perfect close. What I love about this book is that the principles Caples teaches are truly timeless and never affected by ever shifting social trends or industry changes.

4. The Copywriter’s Handbook – Bob Bly
Can you really write a book that teaches someone the craft of copywriting in 350 pages? Most copywriters would consider this an impossible task, but Bob Bly pulls it of brilliantly in this great handbook. The book starts out by explaining to beginner writers that their job is to craft copy that sells, and then goes on to explain exactly how to do it. This perfectly structured book belongs in the bookshelf of anyone who aspires to become a great copywriter.

3. The Robert Collier Letter Book – Robert Collier
Robert Collier is probably the most plagiarized copywriter ever. Collier’s amazing ability to write persuasive and hypnotic sales letters has never (in my opinion) been matched. This book is a true classic and worth reading from cover to cover. It includes a collection of Robert Collier’s most profitable sales letters; but most importantly, it includes the precise instructions on how to craft compelling copy that converts prospects into buyers, how to take the guesswork out of advertising and how to keep customers satisfied and coming back for more.

2. Advertising Secrets of the Written Word – Joe Sugarman
This book has been described as “a complete direct marketing course from one of America’s top mail order entrepreneurs”. In my opinion, that hype-sounding description falls short on describing this amazing book. Page after page, Joe Sugarman takes you by the hand, details his thinking process and teaches in a very entertaining way the craft of writing record-breaking direct response copywriting. Each valuable piece of advice he offers is backed up with great examples from his days at JS&A.

1. Wizard of Ads (Trilogy) – Roy H. Williams
Controversial as it may be, I’m a huge fan of “the wizard”. With his creative and unconventional approach to advertising, Mr. Williams has made this trilogy of books my personal favorite. Drawing from fascinating anecdotes, the wizard teaches his copywriting methods through a series thought-provoking essays. It doesn’t matter if you are new to copywriting or a well-seasoned pro, you’ll find this trilogy enlightening and a most worthy addition to your bookshelf.

Did I miss any of your favorites?
If so, click here to join the copywriting forum and share with us that elusive golden nugget of wisdom that escaped this list.

Read More