Ever watch that movie “Bonnie & Clyde”?
Pretty gruesome movie.
Especially the end — when ol’ B&C get sprayed with bullets.
And while it may be gruesome…
… it’s a perfect “metaphor” for copywriting.
Because, you see, many of the best ads are almost ALL bullets.
They “spray” their customers with lots and lots and lots of bullets — bam! bam! bam! — one irresistible benefit and unique “twist” after another…
… until — sweet Moses! — they GOTTA have the “thing” sold.
This is why I consider bullets to be numero uno.
More important than your body copy.
More important than your leads and hooks.
And even more important than the all-sacred headline.
Blasphemy, you say?
Well, think about it:
What is your headline and subheads and leads and guarantee copy and PS’s other than your best bullets?
Maybe not in “bullet” form…
… but the super-dramatic tension and drama and power is there.
And you can easily “shape” them into whatever you want.
So bullets are big time important.
And some extremely expensive products have sold on the power of just one, itty-bitty bullet point.
But here’s the thing:
Most people simply don’t know how to write a decent bullet.
In fact, most bullets you see (especially online) are limp and lifeless.
There’s no “energy” in them.
No drama.
No twisting or turning or tension.
As Ken McCarthy (the best bullet point teacher I’ve ever seen) told me when I interviewed him for my Copywriting Grab Bag book — most bullets are not really bullets.
They’re more life wuffle balls — easily avoided & ignored.
And it’s the few people who know how to write bullets — and really understand how they work — that seem to have the least amount of problem writing ads.
It comes so easily and naturally once you get bullets down.
Bottom line?
Nobody spends enough time on their bullets.
Which means, if YOU spend a lot of time on YOUR bullets, and really work on getting them right, you will give yourself a gigantic advantage over your competition.
Simple?
Oh yeah.
And that’s the beauty of it.
Ben Settle
P.S. One of the unique bonuses I give away when you buy John Angel’s swipe file course from my affiliate link at www.SwipefileSecrets.com
is a cool bullet point “cheat sheet.”
Just take these bullet point “templates”, insert your own claims and ideas, and — BAM! instant bullets ready to fire away.
But you can ONLY get this cheat sheet when you buy John’s swipe file course from my affiliate link at:
And then email me your receipt at: ben [at] bensettle.com.
(Also, when you go to the order page, make sure you see my affiliate name “vantagenet” at the bottom. Otherwise you won’t get credit for buying it and I can’t send you the bullet point cheat sheet.)
P.P.S. And speaking of bullet points…
I’ve been kicking around doing a tele-seminar about bullets.
Is that something you’d be interested in?
If there’s enough interest, I’ll do one in early ’09.
Let me know, k?
