Years ago I had a friend who made a New Year’s resolution. Her goal was to lose 40 pounds in six months.
In June of that year she was 40 pounds lighter.
She didn’t follow a diet plan or purchase special meals. Her attack was simple: before putting something in her mouth she’d ask herself: “will this help me lose weight or gain weight?”
And she let the answer to this simple question guide her actions every time.
There’s much to be said for this approach. If you cut out the things that don’t advance your cause, you can arrive at your goal in record time.
This method can be applied to just about every endeavor, including writing successful sales copy.
Whether you’re writing emails, sales letters, love letters or filling out job applications, the art of persuasive writing — sales copy — will help you reach your goal.
And the secret to effective copywriting, or sales copy, is the same approach my friend used: figure out what you want to accomplish and eliminate anything that won’t get you there.
The question to ask of every word and every sentence you write is: does this advance my cause? Will it make my product more enticing? Will it make me more interesting? Will it make my skill and experience look like a better fit for this job?
Focus on your purpose. Everything else is flotsam.
And of course, the same is true in life.
Keep your goal in mind at every juncture. Will eating this help me gain weight or lose weight? Will this sentence encourage the reader to buy from me, meet me, hire me?
Let the answer to these simple questions guide your writing and your life.