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I was reading Brian Clark’s latest blog post today at www.CopyBlogger.com about bullet points (one of the BEST bullet point tutorials ever, IMHO), started to draft a comment, and, before I realized it, my comment was a full fledged lesson in itself!
So instead of posting it as a comment on Brian’s blog, I decided to post it here.
But before reading my “add on” lesson, I HIGHLY encourage you to read (even print out) Brian’s post at www.CopyBlogger.com/bullet-points-for-bloggers.
Ready?
OK, here we go…
1. Give-Away Bullets.
These are sort of like the lady who hands out cheese cubes at the grocery store. She gives people a little “taste” of food that keeps them alert and shopping — and many times they end up with the thing they tasted in the shopping card.
You can do the same thing with your bullets.
Every now and then, just flat out give away one of your secrets.
For example:
- How to use simple cartoons to explode your sales…no matter what you sell or who you sell to. (For example, you’d be amazed at how easily a picture of a phone operator with her headset on can jack up your response!)
Another play on this is to give half (or even most) of the secret away… and then add a little “twist.”
Like this…
- Two proven “cures” for writers 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.)
2. Expansion Bullets.
I LOVE using these in ads that have lots of bullets.
Not only do they break up the “sameness” of the page (when you have several pages of bullets) — but they also add more tease, demonstration and curiosity.
Plus, they give a nice little “loop” effect to your ad that keeps sucking the reader back in.
Here’s an example:
Speaking of stopping diseases… chapter 32 of “Why You Should Never Give Your Dog A Bone” will show you…
Vet Bills And Medications!
This is no joke.
In fact, if you want to kiss those sky-high vet bills and expensive pet medications goodbye forever… then turn immediately to page 92 and discover:
Why some colleges will perform veterinary services for your dog (as education for their veterinarian students) at a reduced cost (and sometimes free!)… A special website where you can buy dog medications for as much as 50% off… A secret way to get high-quality veterinary services 100% FREE for the rest of your dog’s life… How to save a HUGE amount of money on your vet bills by asking your vet one (almost laughably simple) question… And more.
There are actually 12 money-saving secrets in this chapter.
And each one can save you a pile of money the next time your dog gets sick, hurt or just needs a routine checkup.
Here are a few more of the little-known secrets revealed in this hot new book for dog owners:
And then it just goes back to hitting them with more bullets.
3. “Can’t Be Done” Bullets.
This is my all time favorite bullet point technique.
I first heard Eugene Schwartz talk about this in a video speech he gave, and have used them with reckless abandon ever since. (In fact, I like it so much I dedicated an entire chapter to this in my book “The Copywriting Grab Bag.”)
Basically, this is where you say something that is “almost” unbelievable.
Something 100% true, but that is so whacky and “out there” it makes you say,
“How in the heck can you do that???”
Here are some examples:
And so on, and so forth.
Anyway, those are three more techniques to add to Brian Clark’s excellent list (which, again, you can get at www.CopyBlogger.com/bullet-points-for-bloggers).
I hope you enjoy (and profit!) from them.
{ 11 comments }
This was a killer post Ben. Honestly.
I will be coming back to this one many times.
Dave
Promoting all the time eh, Ben?
I accidentally search for that book in Google and found this one: http://www.amazon.com/Should-Never-Give-Your-Bone/dp/0979578604
Even though I don’t have a dog, and not interested in having one, but you still making me to search for that product.
Heh.
Wow…amazing post Ben.
Like Dave said - I’ll be coming back to this one the very next time I’m writing bullets for a promotion…
Actually both posts were great - yours and the one from copyblogger!
Keep it up
Jeremy Reeves
http://www.controlbeatingcopy.com
Great info. Ben. And I would like to know how to write that press release please!
Susan
Dave: Glad you likey!
Abdul: Oddly enough, I don’t actively promote that book anymore (just let it sell on amazon.com). If you want to read the sales letter I pulled that bullet point from, it’s at http://www.NoDogBones.com (just scroll down past the radio interviews).
Jeremy: Thank you, glad you enjoyed it and hope it helps ya
Susan: The “secret” is to write a press release and then just change the headline and send it out again. A new headline makes it basically a whole new press release. It grabs the attention of some reporters who maybe skipped it or didn’t use it the last time. This is a powerful Paul Hartunian teaching and he’s definitely “the man” when it comes to this stuff: http://www.PublicitySystem.com
Hey Ben, thanks for the mention! This is an awesome elaboration.
I think it blows people’s minds to know how much there is to discuss about bullet points. Who knew?
Hey Brian, I think everyone ought to print out your post (I know I did!) and use it as a guide. Awesome, awesome stuff.
Ben
I even write with bullets when I’m not writing sales copy!
Personally I think it helps to signify “hey look at me - I’m important”.
I find that if I have lots of information to send to a vendor or customer in any correspondence, the bullet points just help things stand out and or draw attention to the important parts of my message.
I don’t use bullets enough. I learned a lot from both you and Brian about different techniques for using them.
Thanks Ben!
Bullet-proof bullet points.
Thanks Ben… printed both yours and copybloggers.
Melody: You’re in good company, I once read somewhere that Paul Hartunian does the same thing — even when he’s just writing phone messages to people, etc in teasing bullets just to practice. An awesome habit to get into…
Walt: You’re more than welcome, glad you liked it that much!
Ben
Arrrrrgh!
Ben you are so good at this. And I feel so ordinary in comparison.
I’ve got to tell you how I have benefitted the most from your advice on bullet points. Your lesson on writing press releases has produced awesome results for me, because you made it clear that a good press release is not a pre-packaged news story, but simply a teaser device to get a journalist to call me.
And you taught me to do this by writing a list of intriguing bullets on the press release.
Sure enough, one of the reporters who called me said she just had to call to find out what one of my bullets meant. We had a 40 minute call and after investing that much time with me, it was a lock that she would write an article about me (and she did).
Now with this additional info on bullet points, I am going to be truly dangerous.
Thanks for the great info, even if you make me doubt my copywriting chops now and then.
Charles Brown
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