The SWIPES Email

Friday, August 16th, 2024
​An educational (and fun) email by Copywriting Course. Enjoy!

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🎤 Listen to this email here:

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Swipe:

Some of the most "snackable" and helpful content I find is on Instagram or Reddit, and often in the form of slightly-helpful images like these:

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....or this cool guide to seeing how much daylight is left:

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...or this explainer of tax avoidance:

All these images convey a lot of info in a small amount of space which I think is a highly effective form of content.

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Wisdom:

I think Freelancers > Agencies.

In my experience it's a lot easier to engage with a specific freelancer (from social, UpWork, Fiverr etc) rather than a full blown agency.

One thing I don't love about agencies is the long on-boarding process, then the delegation of work to multiple people.

This isn't BAD per se, and it might even be a great thing, but for small companies it's always so much easier to hire a freelancer (or multiple to do the same project).

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Interesting:

These are “24 Psychological Triggers” are the underlying emotions that cause people to buy. Here’s all 24 with a simple example for each:

1. Curiosity: “Discover the secret behind effortless productivity.”
2. Greed: “Get double the product for half the price.”
3. Vanity: “Make a lasting impression with our luxury accessories.”
4. Guilt: “Don’t let your loved ones go without this essential tool.”
5. Fear: “Protect your data before it’s too late.”
6. Trust: “Recommended by 9 out of 10 financial advisors.”
7. Belonging: “Join the exclusive network of top professionals.”
8. Instant Gratification: “Start enjoying premium content right away.”
9. Simplicity: “Set up in just three easy steps.”
10. Scarcity: “Limited edition – only 50 left!”
11. Authority: “Endorsed by leading industry experts.”
12. Surprise: “Unlock unexpected bonuses with your purchase.”
13. Urgency: “Offer ends at midnight tonight.”
14. Comfort: “Experience unparalleled comfort with our new ergonomic chair.”
15. Exclusivity: “Be among the first to experience our new product.”
16. Nostalgia: “Revisit the charm of yesteryear with our vintage collection.”
17. Reciprocity: “Get a free gift with every purchase.”
18. Social Proof: “Over 1 million satisfied customers.”
19. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): “Don’t be the last to try this trending product.”
20. Loss Aversion: “Avoid costly mistakes with our expert guide.”
21. Hope: “Imagine a brighter future with our innovative solutions.”
22. Love: “Show your loved ones you care with our personalized gifts.”
23. Adventure: “Embark on an unforgettable journey with our travel deals.”
24. Security: “Ensure your peace of mind with our advanced protection services.”

These were all defined by the late Joe Sugarman, and are a very helpful tool to find an “angle” for your next sale.

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Picture:

Does anybody else love doing fun house projects? I get so excited to do them 😂

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Essay:

I’m seeing a trend of long-form bloggers that have slowed down because they were posting more short-form stuff....returning to long-form blogging.

There’s a nice middle-space for thoughts that are longer than a Tweet, but shorter than a book.

While it's much harder to post to a blog than many social sites, it's super nice to have a “home” for your content that's 100% controlled by you.

I think the move is this:

Make a long-form blog post that's really deep:​
↪ make small social content from it.
↪ make short form videos from it.
↪ make long form videos from it.
↪ use the graphs/images from it.

For example I frequently reference the concept of a "Triple Threat" and can always reference this article for the more in-depth explanation:

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I’m guilty of this as well….all my content (besides interviews) have become far smaller and snack-sized.

This isn't a bad thing, but it's nice to at least once a month pump out a pillar content piece that lives on forever.

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Splurge:

I'm doing a bunch of concurrent split tests on CopywritingCourse, and one fun result from our sales page has been the length of our sales video.

8% engagement: 1 hour video
​24% engagement: 10 minute video

The video is at the top of our sales page like this:

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For reference this is the 1 hour long video on YouTube (although on the sales page I serve the video through Wistia):

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While the video worked well, and is very comprehensive, the problem is people don't wanna be sold for ONE WHOLE FREAKIN HOUR!

Someone told me, "I was 25 minutes in and still hadn't hit testimonials...."

So we made a 10 minute version, and the average engagement rate (calculated by how much of the video people watch) went from 8% to 24%.

The last test we're trying (still no conclusive results) is if a slideshow like this would be better than a video.

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Have a great Friday!​
​Sincerely,
Neville Medhora

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P.S. Checkout some wins from Copywriting Course members:

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