Sales Copy Editing Cheat Codes, with Nathan Fraser

When you’re all but done with your copy -- especially long-form copy, like a sales letter or a VSL script -- you’ve got to take one final pass to make sure everything is right. Of course you’re looking for the numbers to add up and the words to be spelled right -- you know, if you’re into “spelling,” that is. But there are bigger-picture copy edits to do. I haven’t heard much about them from other people, but our guest today, the Copywriters Podcast’s own Nathan Fraser, has a list that is going to knock your socks off. I mean it. This is good stuff. Top pro’s know this and use this, but Nathan’s the first person to write it down and organize it, all in one place. Best of all, it’s an addition to his already very useful and extremely reasonable book, “Sales Page Cheat Codes.” Nathan told us about three simple copy-editing cheat codes that can boost the conversion power of your copy in a big way. The first one is a form of big-picture editing: Looking at two goals (your own, and your reader’s) and pretty much ruthlessly editing out anything that doesn’t move the copy in those two intertwined directions. Sounds simple and self-evident. But there are lots of snaggles and pitfalls that can get in the way if you’re not careful. Nathan explains what the biggest ones are, and how to steer clear of them. The second cheat code is also deceptively simple. It’s to acknowledge and deal with your prospect’s objections. And these are beyond the well-known ones like, the price is too high, or, what happens if I don’t like the product? Nathan gets into the psychology of the prospects as they read your letter or watch your video. He pinpoints three areas of doubt that can kill a sale… or lead to a boatload of extra sales if they’re handled well. He tells you how to handle them the right way. Finally, all work and no fun makes Jack a dull copywriter. My words, not Nathan’s! But his third area of editing sales copy has to do with making sure your copy is fun and easy to read! Nathan has four key tests that are easy to do that fit into this part of his list. I love how he starts the first one: “Forget everything you learned in high school English class. Your English teacher was wrong about almost everything.” Then he gets down to specifics about the RIGHT way to make your copy fun and very readable. By the way, you can get all of these cheat codes, plus a whole lot more, in the latest edition of Nathan’s new book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VRRL75Z Download.