Why Creativity Can Kill Your Copy

It’s true… being clever, cute and creative with your words can truly hurt your conversions.

Now, before I start getting hateful comments, let me explain.

When it comes to what you say, creativity rules. Telling the right story, conceiving the right metaphor, nailing the right analogy—these are important things.

As David Ogilvy said, “What you say is more important than how you say it.”

However, what you say is ultimately impacted by how you say it. And “how you say it” can make a world of difference to your conversion rates for just about any action you want a reader to take. Testing a great headline against a marginal one will prove this every time.

So, the valuable lesson that every copywriter learns is to stop trying to reinvent the wheel when it comes to the words and structures to use when communicating that killer creative story. This is why even the pros steal from one another.

Why Professional Copywriters Use Swipe Files

A copywriting “swipe file” is a collection of winning ads. Sales letters, space ads, headline collections, plus bits and pieces of copy that have been marketplace proven to make big money. A carefully collected swipe file is the essential starting point for most new copywriting campaigns.

It’s a bit like why lawyers begin with a basic form when drafting a new legal document, or why web designers start with a basic code structure. Start with something that has proven efficacy, and customize from there.

The problem with the swipe file approach is context. Many new and inexperienced writers (and often many pros) will miss the mark when trying to adapt past copy to a new situation.

Yep… the winning formula becomes a bust when inappropriately applied. What’s needed is a smarter approach that evaluates winning words within the exact context of your particular offer or content.

Why Copywriting Software is a Scam

If you’ve been reading Copyblogger over the last few months, you may have noticed some of the professional copywriters and bloggers who comment here mentioning Glyphius, which is a simple-to-use piece of software that allows you to statistically calibrate your writing against a huge database of successful ad copy. In other words, the software is like a massive automated swipe file that lets you see the effect (good or bad) of using certain words in the specific context you are writing about.

But when I first ran across Glyphius, I thought it was likely garbage.

Why the strong reservations? Well, mostly because copywriting software typically promises to “instantly generate” a killer sales letter for you. That’s just not true; no software can do that.

When I looked a bit closer though, Glyphius wasn’t making those types of bogus claims. The software is promoted as exactly what it is—a tool for optimizing copy. Your own brain is still a crucial element of the equation.

I really started to get interested after reading results published (PDF) by ace copywriter Brian Keith Voiles. He wrote three headlines, scored them all with Glyphius, and then split-tested them to see if the software predicted correctly.

Glyphius nailed it, and other copywriting professionals have reported similar results. The software has since been endorsed by copywriters Michel Fortin, Roberta Rosenberg, Michael Humphreys, and scores of others.

I love what Brian Keith Voiles says about optimizing your headlines and copy with Glyphius being a bit like “playing a video game.” It’s addictive to keep trying to beat your last score by better optimizing your copy, and rewarding to know that this type of “game” will make you more money.

Based on my own use of the software over the last several months, I’m joining in on the chorus of praise. What’s more, I’m making Glyphius one of the primary sponsors of Copyblogger from here on out.

If you’re writing landing pages or doing any other type of copywriting that is designed to sell or prompt action, buying Glyphius is a no brainer. However, there’s also an additional way to use the software that’s not advertised, and it can greatly benefit bloggers looking for social media traffic.

How Glyphius Helps You Score Traffic

Here’s a valuable way to use Glyphius that creator James Brauch is not currently promoting. That’s right… attracting links and traffic.

Last year demonstrated the power of blog post titles and carefully crafted openings and summaries for making the front page of Digg, the Delicious Popular page, and basically attracting natural links in general. You know… the kind of links Google wants you to get in order to rank well in the search results.

Attracting a link is a form of response, just like any other desired action. Using the right words in your headlines and openings can make the difference between a successful link promotion and a complete flop.

“Link attraction” has become its own service sector, with fees of $5,000, $10,000, or more charged for a single piece of content that is designed to attract attention in the social media space. When you think about it that way, investing $135 in a tool that allows you to optimize the most crucial aspects of your own content is an easy decision. It’s getting more competitive every day, so you need every advantage you can get.

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