In part 1 of ‘Orgasmic Web Copywriting That Floats Their Boat‘, I talked about compelling attention-grabbing headlines and how writing an effective headline is the first and arguably most important step in creating web copy that sells.

We talked about my experience as a journalist and how studying newspaper and magazine headlines and attempting to write your own are the basic principles for mastering headline writing.  The problem is, mastering the web copywriting craft doesn’t end with great headlines…that’s just where it starts!

We’ll assume that you’ve captivated the reader with your star spangled headline.  Now commences the task of sustaining their interest as they travel through your web copywriting masterpiece.

At the heart of every piece of great web copywriting is a story designed to engage and interest the reader.  Great copywriters are, in essence, great storytellers and as most of the web copywriting powerhouses, and yes, I include myself in this prestigious group, will tell you, their ability to tell a good story comes from their insatiable thirst for reading good stories.

Let me digress for a moment… bear with me… there is a method in my madness!

“Man Turns Personal Tragedy Into A Best Selling Novel”

Millennium year, and my personal life took a nose dive.  With a void in my life and wallowing in my own self pity, I began the cathartic journey of penning my story.  Initially, it was little more than a private opportunity to vent my spleen and extract fictional revenge on the people responsible for my misery.  And so, a fact-based-fiction novel was born.

The best stories and indeed the best web copywriting, starts with factual accounts that morph, change and touch the hearts and minds of the reader.  For example, my novel, which incidently, I decided not to publish despite great interest, told a story that most of us can relate to.  We have all been dumped, we have all felt that gut wrenching sense of loss and we have all thought about the wretched things we would like to do to even the score or change the ending.

Great web copywriting that sells products tells a story that the reader can relate to.  It exposes and exploits their insecurities or desire for things to be better, or different and tells them how you or your product can solve their problems.

Take the example below…

For the millions of people facing foreclosure, this simple (yet GREAT!) piece of web copywriting speaks directly to them.   It peaks their interest and it tells them I understand their plight and their problems and what’s more, I know how to solve it!

There is no way of knowing what the product this piece of of web copywriting was actually selling is, or even how it will meet their desire to solve their problems, what I can tell you is this piece of copy sold 2000 copies of my clients  somewhat absolutely terrible product in just 7 days!

Great web copywriting is about telling a great story that informs, inspires and strikes a chord with the reader.  Every one of us has needs and desires that a great copywriter can ‘tap into’ to sell a product.  More on the AIDA formula, and desires in part 3!