Bullet points are the main workhorse of any document or sales page. We see them everywhere, from brochures and emails to long-form sales letters and legal documents. Today, we will take those dreary, stagnant, lifeless bullets and breathe life into your copywriting with magic bullets!
Get Prepared
One of the secrets to becoming an excellent copywriter is understanding that there is a structure and framework to guide you as you put everything together. For example, there would be no point in putting a headline at the bottom of a page; it would be ridiculous.
Magic bullets are one such structure, and they follow a recipe. Eugene Shwartz describes copywriting as ‘working with a series of building blocks and putting them in certain structures. You are building a city of desire for your ideal customer to come and live in’.
Your job as a copywriter is to get your customers so excited about your product or service that they are drooling while looking for the buy button as their hand reaches out for their credit card.
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However, the sad reality is that if you don’t learn to use bullet points correctly, it will be tough to create the curiosity and excitement people need when buying. If you don’t, they will find what they want somewhere else. Sorry, but it’s as simple as that.
Let’s dive in.
The Biggest Bullet Blunder You Can Ever Make
Bullets can perform several functions in sales copy, but a quick word of caution. It can be very easy to overdo it. You will find it’s far better to have four or five magic bullets that rock than fifty poor ones.
We use bullets in copywriting to:-
- Build curiosity and create excitement
- Grab people’s attention
- Convey important information quickly
Here are some bullet points for a Bosch drill I purchased on Amazon. It’s a great product, and I get plenty of work done. My only gripe is that the sales copy was written by the technical team, not a copywriter.
With that said, let’s dissect these bullets and, with genuine sleight of hand (typing), and a bit of brainwork turn them into Magic Bullets!
- Brushless Hammer Drill with 13mm metal chuck
- The 2-Speed gearbox and 20 torque settings
- Maximum hard torque of 60 Nm.
- Made in Europe. Designed in Germany.
- POWER FOR ALL 18V: The battery supplied is compatible with all tools within the Bosch Home & Garden 18V System
- Items Included: Universal Drill 18V-60, 1 x 2.5Ah Battery, Charger, Case
Isn’t that exciting? [Not!] In reality, it’s about as exciting as a brand new utility bill, and the reason we fall into this trap is because we confuse features with benefits.
Magic Bullet Secret Ingredient #1:
Take another look at our example. The bullet points all depict product features, but features don’t sell products—problem solvers and magic bullets do!
- A feature is what something is. Features are boring, boring, boring!
Let’s take another look at our drill.
It has an 18v motor—most power drills on the market use an 18v motor, so what? Yippee.
A 13mm metal chuck would need to be metal because if it was made of plastic, it would most likely explode.
Maximum hard torque of 60 Nm – Are you serious? Unless you have a degree in physics, you probably need to Google it, just like I did. As you can see in the pic, Bosch’s tech team jumped in straight away to help, and without clicking a link, they told me:-
“Torque (soft/hard/max.)* 31/60/- Nm. No-load speed (1st gear / 2nd gear)*, 0 … With 60 Nm of hard torque and a 174-mm head length, the drill driver . . .”
WHAT?! This is becoming worse and leading to more confusion!
What began as an innocent task of buying a drill on Amazon has now metamorphosed into a Google search, total confusion filled with insecurity—and we still haven’t found out what 60Nm of hard torque is!
I wasn’t the only one who was confused by this ordeal. There were so many Nm’s around they were beginning to turn into garden gnomes!
People also ask:
- Is 60 nm torque good for a drill?
- How many nm is a good drill?
- Is 45Nm good for a drill?
- What is the high torque setting on a drill?
The main takeaway is to use technical jargon in bullets only if you write a technical manual.
This may be an extreme example but it’s absolutely vital that you understand these are all features—a feature is what something is. Features are boring, boring, boring!
Magic Bullet Secret Ingredient #2:
Sugar and Spice - All Things Nice
Benefits are the next building block that we need to assemble. The best way to do this is to describe the benefits of your product or service clearly, quickly, and succinctly.
The benefit of our 18v motor is that it has so much power waiting to be unleashed like a roaring lion that it will drill through wood, steel, and masonry like butter.
The benefit of a 13mm chuck is you can drill bigger holes, and because it’s made of metal, it won’t self-destruct.
A benefit is what something does! Unlike features (which we all know are boring), benefits allow a copywriter some room for creativity and expression.
Perhaps your product is a kitchen mop. It probably has an extra-long handle so you can clean all those dirty corners, or it may have a convenient squeeze handle so you can get rid of all that dirty water. Whatever it is, when you solve the problem, you will definitely see the benefits.
Now it’s time to put our first two magic bullet building blocks together.
Features + Benefits
Feature = What a product or service is. Benefit = What it does.
Basic Magic Bullet Formula: It________ so you can _______.
- It has an 18v motor so you can drill through wood, steel, and masonry like butter
- It has a 13 mm metal chuck, so you can drill bigger holes
- It has a 2.5Ah Battery, so you can have power when you want it
- It has a maximum hard torque of 60 Nm, so you can get the toughest jobs done
- It has a 2-Speed gearbox and 20 torque settings so you can make adjustments for every type of job
- It’s made in Europe and designed in Germany so you can depend on quality steel and componentry
Can you see how we’ve improved our copy? Adding a benefit will often increase your conversion rate, sometimes up to 50%. We have also described our product in such a fashion that our prospect is now focused on what the product does rather than what it is. Now that your customers understand your product better and how it will benefit them, they probably feel a bit more confident and are ready for the next step.
Now that we have our first two building blocks, let’s add the next ingredient. This is the final piece of the puzzle. It is the missing link that makes you stand out from the crowd. It will give our magic bullets purpose and a reason for being there, and best of all, it will add meaning.
Magic Bullet Ingredient #3:
This is the exciting part – It’s time for some quick research.
Take a long hard look at your product or service. What is about what you do or sell that will a) solve a problem or b) make a revolutionary change in someone’s life?
Advanced Magic Bullet Formula: It________ so you can _______ which means _______ .
Features + Benefits + Meaning
One of the keys to entrepreneurship is your ability to write quality content that will unlock those secrets and solve a persons’ problem.
Feature = What it is. Benefit = What it does. Meaning = Life-changing factor
- It has an 18v motor, so you can drill through wood, steel, and masonry like butter, which means finishing work early
- It has a 13 mm metal chuck, so you can drill bigger holes, which means no more drilling pointless pilot holes
- It has a 2.5Ah Battery, so you can have power when you want it, which means you can work longer and make more money!
- It has a maximum hard torque of 60 Nm, so you can get the toughest jobs done, which means it’s strong and tough, built to last.
- It has a 2-speed gearbox and 20 torque settings, so you can make adjustments for every type of job, which means greater versatility and better value for money
- It’s made in Europe and designed in Germany, so you can depend on quality steel and componentry, which means a long life and a ton of trouble-free fun
We’ve just transformed a piece of really lousy copy into something that will create excitement and reassure your customers.
Notice that in the last four magic bullets, we expanded a bit to add value, such as ‘long life and a ton of trouble-free fun’ and ‘strong and tough, built to last.’ This is done help move your customer along the emotional journey involved during the buying process, and prime them for other offers or our guarantee.
Key Takeaways:
- Don’t use technical jargon unless you are writing a manual
- Stick to the template, but don’t be afraid to expand benefits and meaning
- Features are boring, boring, boring. Features don’t sell. Magic bullets do!
Features + Benefits + Meaning
Feature = What it is. Benefit = What it does. Meaning = Life-changing factor
- It really works so you can write better copy which means happier clients and higher quality content.
Keep flying high. D 😊
