This week’s podcast is a refresher on the core basics of writing persuasive copy (and everything is copy — it’s not ONLY sales pages and emails).  If you can write effective sales copy, you can literally write your own paycheck. There really should be no such thing as a “broke copywriter”. And there should be no such thing as a business owner or entrepreneur who is NOT a copywriter. By definition, good copywriters can create money out of thin air. So this leads to a very important question: why does copy so often fail? Fear not, Grasshopper. I have the answer… There are universal psychological triggers that help you sell more effectively. Certainly, there are universal principles to writing persuasive sales copy. After all, as John E. Kennedy taught us, copywriting is mere “salesmanship in print”. You can hardly “swing a cat” these days without hitting a copywriter who has a “formula” for writing copy. Most of these formulas are actually quite good. BUT… The formula I'm going to share with you today is intentionally based on these universal principles (which many of the cocky young yellow belts in the copywriting dojo are not even aware of). Thus … back to you “PASTOR-ing” your customers. ​Most people associate the term “pastor” with the preacher at church. While this is certainly true in most cases, the original meaning of the word “pastor” was actually “to shepherd”. And what does the shepherd do? He or she cares for, feeds, and protects the flock. Now, before we go any further, I should address the habit that some marketers have of referring to their customers as their “herd”. It seems to paint an unflattering picture. That kind of imagery is not what I am invoking here. The actual role of a shepherd is a loving, caring, and protective one. In fact, Jesus, who called himself the “Good Shepherd”, actually laid down his life for his flock. ​I am certainly not suggesting any religious overtones for your copy: what I am suggesting is that you adopt the same loving, caring, and protective role as you write copy for your prospects and customers. ​ ​And, as you might've guessed, P.A.S.T.O.R. is also an acronym for pieces of your copy. Here is the explanation:

• ​​​"P" is for PROBLEM
• ​"A" is for AMPLIFY
• ​"S" is for STORY and SOLUTION
• ​"T" is for TRANSFORMATION and TESTIMONY
• ​"O" is for OFFER
• ​"R" is for RESPONSE

I’ll promise you this: If you apply the mindset of being a shepherd to your readers, and you follow the sequence of the P.A.S.T.O.R formula, my prediction is you will experience more sales, more profits, and more happy customers… more often.

Links

• Read This Or Die - Click to check out my new book, Read This Or Die, where I show you the sales letter I wrote to myself (that saved my life.)​
• Complete Transcript - Visit the show notes page for a complete transcript of this episode

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