02-The Copywriting Checklist

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KOPYWRITING
CHECKLIST
START WRITING TEXT
THAT SELLS BETTER
NEVILLE N. MEDHORA
MEET NEVILLE
Neville Medhora is the creator of NevBlog, late 1800’s, and the same psychological patterns since
HouseOfRave, KopywritingKourse, and 10+ more humans could think.
products. He now teaches entrepreneurs how to write
The techniques he teaches can change your
copy that sells.
writing... your personal communication... and your
He started studying the art of copywriting to help business... forever.
out his own businesses. To this day, he obsessively
To help you learn and remember these techniques
reads everything, listens to everything, and
you’re about to learn: Neville suggests you print this
watches everything about copywriting, and he’s
document out, grab a drink and a pen, then find a
noticed patterns.
quiet place to read it while taking notes.
Successful copywriters and advertisers through history
have followed pretty much the same rules since the
KOPYWRITING CHECKLIST b
WHAT’S IN
THIS COURSE KICK ASS COPY SELLS1
GET IN THE COPYWRITERS MINDSET2
LET’S MAKE SOME HEADLINES!3
LAY DOWN THE PLAN FOR YOUR ARTICLE WITH AIDA 6
FINDING THE RIGHT TONE TO WRITE IN8
TELL A DAMN GOOD STORY10
THROW IN SOME SOCIAL PROOF12
BRING IT HOME: MAKE THE CALL TO ACTION SUPER OBVIOUS14
NEXT STEPS TO LEARN MORE 17
KOPYWRITING CHECKLIST I
INTRO
KICK ASS COPY SELLS

Whether you’ve heard of me or not, all you need to know is that I’ve been explaining what their product can do… and they do it in a way that’s been
writing for years. Blog posts, newspaper articles, full magazine spreads, proven to sell better.
corporate messaging, ghostwriting, books… you name it.
That’s when I realized that just changing the words can make a good business
But it wasn’t until I started learning about this art called “copywriting” that I fly, or go bust.
started making money with my writing.
Now instead of going through everything the hard way like I did…..I’m
Before that whenever I would try to sell something, the writing around it was gonna shorten the process down for you. Just follow these guidelines, and I’ll
random and not optimized to sell. Basically NO psychology on “what makes lead you down the path to make anything you write sell better.
people buy” was applied to my writing.
So get a sales page, an email, or book you’re working… and let’s make that
And the disappointing sales proved that. copy kick ass!
What I realized is that most successful businesses did the opposite. They
planned out how to market their products, and put effort into properly
KOPYWRITING CHECKLIST 1
STEP Even after reading that copy, I still have NO idea what these people do! It’s
1
so vague and boring, why would anybody take the time to read this?
GET IN THE However, if we have these guys first repeat “No one cares about you, they
COPYWRITERS MINDSET only care about themselves,” maybe we can clean up their message.the app.
Remember, if you’re trying to sell something, it’s all about the customer, not
GOOD EXAMPLE
If you have a Shopify ecommerce site, we make it sell more products
about you. It’s more important how THEY feel about buying this. It’s more
in less than a week. Just download our Shopify App by clicking here.”
important what THEY get by handing over those hard-earned dollaroos.
EXERCISE Bam. Instant increase in people clicking their link and downloading the app.
Repeat this to yourself three times, out loud, before you write word: No one
cares about you, they only care about themselves.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The reason I’m teaching you this, is because most people never make it • Everyone’s favorite subject is themselves. Talk about what’s in it
for THEM.
crystal-freaking-clear what the customer is getting because they’re too busy
• Don’t talk about yourself right away, unless the readers already
blabbing about themselves! know you.
• Focus on what THEY will get. Focus on how THEY will feel after
buying. Focus on how THEY can benefit from buying your products.
BAD EXAMPLE Focus on what THEY will get if they take the action you want.
We are a full-service agency started in 2003 committed to satisfying

our customers business needs and creating conversion utilities.
We strive to specialize in ecommerce driven products and have
extensive backgrounds in the subject spanning over 15 years of
combined experience.” KOPYWRITING CHECKLIST 2
STEP
2 LET’S MAKE
SOME HEADLINES!
Now that we’re in the right state of mind, let’s start with a headline. We first
start with the headline because:
If you saw the first version, you might skip over that unless you’re a particle
1. The headline is usually what makes people decide to read an article or
not. (Super important). physicist. But if you saw Version B, it might’ve actually caught your attention
2. We can make the whole article laser-focused around that headline. enough to give it a quick read. Point is, the headline gets people in the door.
(Having a strong focus for the article makes it easier to write).
EXERCISE
EXAMPLE Start by writing down at least 4 subject lines like this:
• Subject 1: words
Version A: Median theory of particle physics explained.
--vs-- • Subject 3: words
Version B: Scientists just discovered “The God Particle” in worlds
most expensive scientific test. Now go through and fill in those 4 spaces. This always helps jog your memory.
I do up to 15 titles to get my brain jogging. When I re-read them and share
them with others, ONE headline usually jumps out.
ROT FORMULA HEADLINE GENERATION USING ROT

If you aren’t creative with headlines, here’s a great formula to follow: The You can also mix and match R, T, & O to get a fast headline.
ROT formula (Results - Objections - Time).
Results they’d want Learn to speak Spanish R-T-O

Learn to speak Spanish in 20 days even if you have poor
English skills!
Objections Even if you have poor English skills T-R In 20 days you can learn to speak Spanish.
Time frame In 20 days O-R-T

Have poor English skills? You can still learn to speak
Spanish in just 20 days.
Results they’d want Get on the New York Times Bestsellers / T-R-O
This year, we can get you on the New York Times
Become a best-selling author Bestsellers List even if you don’t have a large following.
Objections Don’t have a large following / Don’t have T-R

Want to become a best-selling author this year? Let
experience marketing books us help you become a best-selling author.
Time frame This year / Start today R-T-O

Did you know that you could still become a New York Times Bestselling
Author in one year without having a large autdience? We can help.
HEADLINE EXERCISE STORY

Fill in the subject lines by mixing & matching them. Like this: We tested two headlines before writing an article about starting your
own business. 800 people were polled, and the results were clear what
R-O-T people wanted:
Predicted
Headline: Conversation:
T-O-R Ten insane business ideas you can do 21.38%
starting tomorrow
O-R-T Stop being a freakin “Wantrepreneur.” Here’s how 12.96%
to get going on your very first business..
R-T-O
That means if we sent out that
article to 10,000 people: KEY TAKEAWAYS
After making the first 4 subjects, try getting creative on your own, your • Version A: 2,138 people
• The purpose of a headline (or subject line) is to
inner headline-writer will be warmed up by now! would have read it. attract the RIGHT person to read the article.
• Version B: 1,296 people • Never “trick people” with misleading
would have read it. headlines. It will work the first time, it angers
people and trains them to ignore you.
So just knowing Version A • Start by writing out the headlines first. It will
give you a laser-focus for the article.
was more appealing to people
• Quick headline test: Write multiple headlines,
BEFORE we wrote the article, show them to others, ask them what jumps
out at them and makes em wanna click. It’s
we could get 65% more traffic simple as polling people with a Google Form or
from the same amount of effort. posting the question on your Facebook page.
• Bonus headline trick
STEP Now go ahead and start filling in document with your own copy. It doesn’t
3
matter what your subject or action you want them to take. This formula
LAY DOWN THE PLAN FOR works. See for yourself:
YOUR ARTICLE WITH AIDA

This tiny little formula has helped bring in millions of dollars to companies
when they start using it. It works for emails, magazines, TV, podcasts,
sales pages...everything. Tattoo this on your forehead, it’s super valuable
to memorize: Attention - Interest - Desire - Action.
Attention: Get their attention.

Interest: Keep them interested with interesting facts.
Desire: Make them really WANT to buy it.
Action: Get them to take the exact action you want.
You already gave a headline and general idea of what you’re writing, so let’s
make an “AIDA Outline”. It’s helpful to start with a blank form like this and
write out the AIDA formula:
Did I get you to follow along??
It’s not because I’m a good writer, it’s simply because I followed that simpllleee
little AIDA formula to psychologically string you along into taking the action
I desired!
PERSONAL STORY
Till this day I write in this AIDA-template fashion. It’s also the #1 way
other people have learned to write properly structured copy. So give it a
try in an email, in a relationship dispute, or in your business copy. It has
literally changed lives.
STEP
4
BAD EXAMPLE
FINDING THE RIGHT This is a real piece of copy that’s almost comical to read, because you’ll
TONE TO WRITE IN
have NO IDEA what this place sells!
Just steps 1 - 3 alone usually help people improve their writing drastically…
and hopefully it did for you too. But let’s dive deeper to some common
problems into a problem I see when teaching:
PROBLEM ...if people see that confusing lump of text on a page, they’d have NOOOO
A lot of people can eloquently explain to me in ONE sentence what their CCLLLUUEEEEE what you’re talking about and leave!
company does. But when they sit down to type it, a stream of confusing
buzzwords dumps on the keyboard!!
Here’s how WhichBoxMedia could have easily explained what they do, if the Remember: You don’t have to explain KEY TAKEAWAYS
CEO and a friend were chatting in the coffee shop: EVERY feature of your product, just the • Write like you speak.
extremely high-level benefits. Such as: • Stay congruent with your personality,
don’t try to be someone you’re not. It
If you have an offline company that makes content… like a newspaper, radio
“We get your brick-n-mortar business comes off odd in your writing, just as
station, magazine, or book publisher… we can publish all your stuff online. it would in real life.
online.”
• If it takes more than 3 sentences to
explain, you’re making it too long.
We do everything for you. Our clients usually see a 75% growth in total
I once tested a few headlined, and the • Video: How to know instantly if
revenue just in the first month. something sucks, like a Caveman.
one that sounds like me speaking to a
That’s the benefit of taking your business online. friend clearly won out:
While you sit back and relax, we build your webpage, maintain your
Facebook pages, update your Twitter accounts, and keep your online
presence updated. And of course we’re fully up to date on technology, so
all your content will work on desktops, iPads, iPhones or any device.
Basically we can be your whole “Technology Department”.
See how much clearer that was??
Simply get your phone out and record you having a conversation with your
made-up-friend. You should be able to explain what you do in no more than
3 sentences. Preferably just one.
STEP
5 TELL A DAMN
GOOD STORY
My home in Austin once got robbed. The thieves stole $5,000 worth of my
Mac laptops and desktops. I wasn’t even home when it happened, but then
the strangest feelings started to take place:
on my computers called “Prey” that tracks down the thief if your computer
I felt extraordinarily violated in a deep way.
is ever stolen. It even takes a picture of them with your webcam and logs
Everytime I walked into my home, I searched every bathroom, closet, and their activity.
bedroom… with an airgun I bought that looked like a real pistol. I even
I used the above story to sell the Prey software on AppSumo. Instead of just
started keeping a metal police baton by my desk, just in case.
writing about the features of the product, I told an emotionally relatable
Every single day I fantasized that the “Find My Phone” app installed on all Mac story that happened to me, then explained how I could’ve used this software
computers would kick in and reveal the thieves locations… and “something” BEFORE I got robbed, and the importance of installing it now. It worked
would happen to them. like crazy. Prey got more downloads in that single day than… ever.
OK. PAUSE HERE. Link to my copy. (I bet you’ll install Prey after reading it).
This story is 100% true. And it caused me to act like a overly-suspicious

crazy person. It also caused me to do something else: Install this software
This combination of telling a story mixed with selling works really well for
products that need to be sold with an emotional edge. Here’s a simple formula EXAMPLES
to follow for it: Here’s some quick examples of how you would weave a story
into a product:
[Story that happened] + [how the product could help] + [how to buy product]
Golf: The ball cracked off the tee so fast it sounded like a gunshot. It
Even Ramit Sethi (who I consider to be a fantastic copywriter) reached out had been happening every time I hit the ball that day. I hadn’t taken
to say this: extra lessons, I hadn’t gained any muscle….the only difference was the
club I was using. The T85 club I bought has a solidified iron core,
so with every swing I was hitting the ball with 70% more mass. No
wonder my game got so good.
Weight Loss: That morning I tried putting my pants on, and realized I
couldn’t even fit into the XXXL size. Those were the biggest size pants
they carry at the store. After years of denying it, I finally admitted to
myself that I’d officially reached “fat ass” territory. The problem wasn’t
People learn by metaphor. going away….and that’s why I finally bought Mike’s eating course.
So even if you’re talking about YOURSELF (what I actively discourage in KopywritingKourse: Two hours after I hastily sent out my first
“properly copywritten” email to 7,500 customers that night, I checked
Step 1), people are subconsciously applying the experience to their own life.
my iPhone at a party. It was 11pm on a Friday night and my phone
showed 80 orders from that one email. My eyes lit up as I calculated
“If you want to sell and don’t know what to write, just tell a story about it.” how much money I just made from that one email. This is when I
realized that copywriting actually mattered. It was also then that I
realized, “I’m gonna be ok….I’ll always be able to make a living.” It
was a skill that changed my life.
STEP EXAMPLES
6 THROW IN SOME
“We’ve developed apps for HP, Dell, and Samsung”
“Some of our famous clients include HP, Dell, and Samsung”
SOCIAL PROOF
“Zappos trusts our software to handle their 30,000 transactions a day”
Testimonials or case study results show your product works

for everyone:
“Dr. Jason Zillow saw his total sales increase by 70% after installing our app”
People want to know if you’re the real deal. If they’re dealing with someone/
“Aaron started his first business within 5 days of taking my course, and just
something they can trust. quit his job”
Do I EVER hesitate before ordering from Amazon.com? NO! “This training helped take Sharon from struggling freelancer, to successful
business owner.”
I know my credit card is safe with Amazon. I know that my order will arrive Borrow credibility just by using a name:
quickly. I know if something goes wrong they’ll take care of me. On an AppSumo deal that was for a font-matching service, we used a quote
by Steve Jobs to help explain some peoples obsession with typography:
But with businesses or products they’re not familiar with, people are more
As Steve Jobs described his obsession with beautiful typography:
skeptical. And when people are skeptical, they don’t take out their wallets.
“I learned about Serif and Sans Serif typefaces. About varying the amount
Just like you wouldn’t take out your wallet while in a sketchy neighborhood. of space between different letter combinations. About what makes great
So try putting them at ease by giving “social proof ”. typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way
science can’t capture...and I found it fascinating.”
If you’re selling a product, try linking the product to a more famous name, --Steve Jobs
like this:
used by How websites often use social proofing:
mentioned by This greyed-out string of logos across the page always converts best. If you
[your product] + +
trusted by [big name]
make them with color, they distract the reader too much.
bought by
official brand of
got these results for
PERSONAL STORY
I stuck these logos at the bottom of an ecommerce site on every product page,
and it resulted in a 21% boost to sales. The number of sales increased, but the
bigger money came in because the SIZE of the sales increased. Many larger
clients who were eased to know we’d worked with well-known companies:
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Borrow” credibility from larger brands that’ve been involved with
your product/service.
• Add in testimonials and results. Often just one close-to-home

testimonial can tip someone to buy.
• Know what’s cooler than saying you’re a rockstar?? SOMEONE ELSE

pointing at you and saying, “That guy’s a rockstar!” (aka a testimonial).
• Drop in a “credibility bomb” by slyly mentioning you’ve done big

things to gain their credibility. “When I was working at Google I
headed up the Android department… so when I designed this app, I
knew how to make it the fastest and easiest to use.”
• Robert Cialdini’s book Influence, the Psychology of Persuasion
STEP By this time you should have built up the case WHY someone should buy,
7 BRING IT HOME:
and then close it.
You close the sale by telling them:
MAKE THE CALL TO 1. Get them to take action.

2. Telling them what will happen once they place an order.
ACTION SUPER OBVIOUS 3. Tell them to do it now.
The ENTIRE point of writing something for your business is to get the person
to take an ACTION. It can be to: EXAMPLE
So… if you’re ready to start writing copy that converts better (which
• Make them laugh 1 in turn makes you more money), then grab this course now.
• Teach them something new
After you checkout with PayPal, we will immediately send you some login
• Inform them of something they need to know 2 codes for the members area. You can start learning Kopy right away!
• Make them click a button
• Leave a blog comment clicking this giant link ->
3 So grab the course now by
• Get them to call
• Make them feel a certain way
• Get them to buy something
That 2nd part is SUPER important if you’re selling something that’s not
That last one: “Get them to buy something” is usually what people want to physically being delivered to their house. If it’s confusing AT ALL to the
learn. And the way we do that is leading them by the hand. customer as to what they’ll be getting next, that wallet is in a “sketchy
neighborhood” and they won’t pull it out.
So this is the ‘Action” part of the AIDA formula. It’s the last part where we
get people to take ACTION.
*NOTE: If there’s something really obvious such as an “Add to Cart” button 3. Open your eyes for 2 seconds and look at the page.
or filling out a billing form, you don’t always have to lead people through 4. If you can’t tell what you’re supposed to click on the page…
every step. you failed.
His advice was to make a VERY obvious button that TELLS you what to
BUTTON ADVICE do. He then showed me some highly-tested buttons that Google uses,
A good call to action button should be and they all end up looking the same: A big blue button that instructs
BLAZINGLY obvious. I was in the airport in you what to do.
Japan, and a confirmation page for their free

Google Chrome
wireless came up on my phone. I can’t read download page:
Japanese, but take a guess which button was
the “accept” button.
Google Wallet checkout:
Clearly the greyed out button was “no” and
the bright orange button was “yes”. That’s a
good button. This very much follows the “BFB Google Offers:
Trick” I’ll teach you next.
THE B.F.B. THEORY Based off his advice, I re-designed my own checkout button on an
(Big Fu@#ing Button Theory) ecommerce site I owned to be more blue, bigger, obvious to click, and
describe the action it will have. It got 20% more people to click “Add to
A friend kinda high up at Google told me how get gets his design team to
Cart”, and it looked like this:
make pages where they want people to take an action. He said:
Before After
1. Load up the page you’re testing on a screen. Even a laptop screen is fine.
2. Take 10 big steps away from the screen, and close your eyes.
KOPYWRITING CHECKLIST Step 4: Write like you speak. Stay congruent with your personality. If
it takes more than 3 sentences to explain, you’re making it too long.
Beware of buzzwords that require thinking.
Before you write, here’s a quick cheat sheet you can review your copy with:
Step 1: Get in the right mindset: “No one care about you, they care Step 5: Can you insert a really good story if needed? Use this formula:
about themselves.” Focus on what THEY will get. Focus on how [story that happened] + [how the product could help] + [how to buy product]
THEY will feel after buying. Focus on how THEY can benefit from
Step 6: Throw in some “credibility bombs” (aka social proof ) by
buying your products. Focus on what THEY will get if they take the
“borrowing” credibility from larger brands/people that’ve been
action you want.
involved with your product/service.
Step 2: Make an interesting headline. Start jotting down several using
Step 7: Remember to CLOSE the sale or make them take action at the
this formula, or mixing it up:
end! Tell them what will happen once they place an order, and tell
[Result they’d want] + [Objections] + [Time frame]
them where to do it.
Step 3: One of the things people always take
away the most when I teach them to write,
is this little method of starting off a piece of
copy. I make a Google Doc or Word file,
and make a little table that looks exactly
like this one to the right before I write.
Perhaps you can lay this out before you write
anything. Just fill in the bold areas with your
text, and your copy will be written.
THE MAIN HEADLINE: LARGER

NEXT STEPS TO LEARN MORE
AND IN CHARGER-ER?
IT’S SAID THAT THE BEST HEADLINES ARE BETWEEN
EIGHT AND TWELVEGET ON MY FREE EMAIL LIST
WORDS. "Just wanted to hit you up and say thanks for the emails.
Signup to my free email newsletter for more examples and They are genuinely helping me a lot." - James M.
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techniques for copywriting.
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lanitia nimpos re volupis nonsedi temperum unt rerspiet vendis eum licae This guy is a big sumo.
nonsequate.
THE CASE OF THE FAT SUMO
“Your course, for me, was the best thing that I’ve been through so
KOPYWRITINGKOURSE
Qui blaborum illuptaspe planienit que doluptas maximus mollit eum eiciisit
far. I’m a visual learner so it was super helpful to get a chance to
see you displaying your “skillz” live” - Trenton S.
experes il iur simust, que If
explaut elese velendebis iniam, odios volesciae Erchitas ditatati ipsus am sent expel eris event aut officturis dusanda
you’d like me to step-by-step show you how to write great copy “Nev, thank you for creating the Kopywritting Kourse. I have
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learned so delicitate
much more verum
about sales rectibus,
from your conecul
course than I have
over video lessons, grab this Kopywriting Kourse immediately.
from 3temperum
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rerspiet - Jeremiah
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“Jason spoke elenduntiur
to me this morning and thanked me because I
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recommended we signed up for a consult with you. He was
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a slump for nullaborem
3 months when ademail
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sales were low. After our
Work with me 1-on-1. This is best if you have a business you consult he was left invigorated, and since then our emails have
been doing extremely well because he’s been using the tips you
want to make better in just a few short video calls. gave him. Thank you!” -Alf
17

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www.imarketing.

KICK ASS COPY SELLS

We are a full-service agency started in 2003 committed to satisfying

ROT FORMULA HEADLINE GENERATION USING ROT

Results they’d want Learn to speak Spanish R-T-O

Time frame In 20 days O-R-T

Objections Don’t have a large following / Don’t have T-R

Time frame This year / Start today R-T-O

HEADLINE EXERCISE STORY

• Bonus headline trick

LAY DOWN THE PLAN FOR works. See for yourself:

YOUR ARTICLE WITH AIDA

Attention: Get their attention.

Did I get you to follow along??

Basically we can be your whole “Technology Department”.

See how much clearer that was??

This story is 100% true. And it caused me to act like a overly-suspicious

Testimonials or case study results show your product works

• Add in testimonials and results. Often just one close-to-home

• Know what’s cooler than saying you’re a rockstar?? SOMEONE ELSE

• Drop in a “credibility bomb” by slyly mentioning you’ve done big

• Robert Cialdini’s book Influence, the Psychology of Persuasion

You close the sale by telling them:

MAKE THE CALL TO 1. Get them to take action.

ACTION SUPER OBVIOUS 3. Tell them to do it now.

BLAZINGLY obvious. I was in the airport in you what to do.

Japan, and a confirmation page for their free

THE MAIN HEADLINE: LARGER

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