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The very point of sale
The ve ry point of sale that having a clear objective can help shape a story. The
Green Sheet for example, publishes educational articles and
copywriting and has markedly different guidelines for
each. Contributing writers cover a range of topics in a non-
promotional way; advertisers produce content designed to
spark interest and attract new sales partners.
"If you create content and your intention is to get somebody
to click a link, to go to a specific page, to request information,
to fill out a form, to opt-in, to request a phone call, or to
Unleash your inner make a phone call, then all these things are copywriting,"
Edwards wrote, noting that copywriting is all about getting
bestseller to yes.

Know why people buy, he noted, while sharing the top 10
By Dale S. Laszig reasons he identified: to make money, save money, save
DSL Direct LLC time, avoid effort, escape pain, obtain comfort, achieve
greater results, gain praise, feel more loved, and increase
ennifer Egan had me from the title, "Facts Still popularity or status. He suggested crafting questions
Exist," published Dec. 24, 2018, in Time Magazine. around these motivations such as, How will you save
time with this solution? What tasks would this product or
The Pulitzer Prize winning author, and former
J president of P.E.N. America, asserted that social service eliminate? Then think of as many answers as you
can to get a sense of your target audience and their needs,
media platforms are oversimplified, sensationalistic and
loaded with inaccuracies. "We need to write now, write he added.
well – tell the truth in all its messy complexity," Egan Simple language
wrote.
Edwards advised resisting the urge to sound authoritative
Egan's headline pulled me in because it was relatable. It when you write promotional content, because no one wants
reassured me, a trade journalist who chases statistics and to be lectured. Try instead, he stated, to make your prospects
data, that I can still do my job. Here are some thoughts on and audience feel smart by making their challenges and
writing and selling the payments industry's big, messy opportunities the focal point of your presentation.
story.
"Making it all about them means you avoid being cute,
Strong headline using sarcasm, inside jokes, or using anything that could

Good strong headlines get more sales and click-throughs, be misconstrued," he wrote. "You avoid trying to prove
according to Jim Edwards, author of Copywriting Secrets, how smart you are by using big words, industry jargon, or
published by Author Academy Elite in 2018. He explained acronyms you don't explain. All that does is confuse people
that headlines begin the sales process by stopping people and turn them off."
in their tracks and getting their attention. A great headline
with mediocre copy will outperform excellent copy with a Someone who is confused will be unlikely to buy
weak headline, he added. anything, Edwards noted, underscoring the need to be
crystal clear when communicating with people who may
"If your headline sucks, nobody reads your sales letter, feel scared, self-conscious or afraid of making the wrong
nobody reads your ad, and nobody watches your video," decision. Improve your odds by communicating in simple,
he wrote, noting that the purpose of a headline is to stop understandable terms, and keep your thoughts well
people from what they're doing and get them to start organized and sequential, he added.
reading or watching what you've put in front of them. On point, on brand

Good headlines, he added, attract your ideal audience by How can brands stand out in a crowded digital marketplace?
appealing to fears or desires and making an emotional Edwards proposed that most people hardly pay attention
connection. In fact, as he learned from personal experience, to what they see or read and could use a good jolt. "Your job
a great headline can catapult a project from obscurity to is to shock them, so they stop what they're doing and pay
profitability. "Just by changing a headline," he wrote, "I attention to you," he wrote. "You do this with a shocking
saved an entire project (and skyrocketed my business)." statement or image."
Clear objective I can't help but wonder about the cumulative effect of all
these provocative statements and images. To Egan's point,
Writing sales pitches requires a different focus and skill set have we become desensitized to internet shock jocks and
than writing educational articles, and I agree with Edwards
sensationalism? Do payments industry professionals
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