To quickly master copywriting on Amazon, you’ve been handed an amazing resource.
Amazon shows you what copy works. It fast-tracks your learning. It gives you all the information you need to go from writing good to great listings.
The best sellers have the best copy
Look at the niche you are in, bring up the best sellers and look at the words they use. You will find headlines with benefits in them, not just features.
You will find bullets with substantiations and insights into the transformation the customer will experience after purchase. And that’s important because that is where conversions happen. Headlines and key words draw people in. Bullet points convert to sales. So, how do you find a benefit that will motivate your customer to buy?
Right there, at the bottom of the page is an invaluable resource, customer reviews. They’re an absolute treasure trove for a copywriter.
Sales psychology
The secret to persuasive copy is answering the need state of a customer. They come to the store for a reason. To satisfy a need. If you can recognise that and then show that they will be better off after purchase you are onto a winner. Great copy shows empathy and understanding of what your customer is after.
The reviews section is littered with these gems – why it worked so well, how it transformed their lives, even the negative comments are useful because they show where the customer wants you to shine.
Think and speak like your customer
The comments sections are filled with clues.
You will find two types of comments. People who love the product and people who hate it. Both are extremely useful to you.
People who love the product, the four and five stars, will tell you why. What features they liked and why that was so important to them, what issues it solved. All the copy points you need to convince someone else. They can write your Amazon copy for you.
The negative reviews are just as useful, listing pain points, all the things you can take away from them with your product. From the negative you can construct a positive promise.
The comments reveal the emotional transformations you consumer goes through.
Get your highlighter out
Go through the comments and make a list, for and against – just highlight the phrases. This will not only show you the points you have to make but also give you the language that will be the most engaging. You will be able to talk to your consumer in their own words and use the reasons they have purchased the product to sell to other people.
This is extremely effective. It builds a rapport with the customer because it shows understanding – you know what they were after and why they wanted it. You’re a genius. You are thinking and speaking like your customer.
Lead with benefits, substantiate with features.
That is the biggest shift in thinking you have to make as a seller, to think like your customer.
Copywriting on Amazon has a tendency to focus on features that is totally understandable. You know your product inside out, it is your life but what you have to realise is that it is not so important to your customer.
Features are the logical reasons to buy. But it is the benefits that entice people, that convert people. They may justify the purchase later with the features but it is how the product changes their life that gets them excited and makes them think, “I want that.” At that moment it ends up in their basket.
The language of software
There is software out there that use this exact same process to help you write listing. The same principle of scanning best seller listings, picking out phrases from comments to help you populate fields – and they will get results.
That all costs money of course, which can be worth it for a lot of people but the algorithm does not speak English, it speaks binary. The drawback to that is the words, phrasing and grammar is not always right – just a bit off and if you are a person rather than a computer, you’ll pick that up. So beware. Software will do a good job but you can help improve its results too.
BONUS section
To help you improve your copywriting I have broken down exactly how I tackled this article. How I structured it, why I used the words I did to give you an insight into how to look at your own copy.
Principles I follow on every piece of copy
- Simplicity – The article was much longer, I got side-tracked by the psychology of writing. I realised I was wandering away from the focus of the article,, so I cut huge swathes of copy out. Hard to do when you have spent hours working but necessary.
- I make sure my sentences are short and to the point.
- I break up the text with subheads. This is for two reasons. One, Google likes structure and two, it makes the article easier to scan with your eyes. Very often people will speed read by flicking through the subheads and then read the sections that catch their eye.
- Find out about the fundamental principles of copywriting here
Here's a breakdown of the copy - the how's and why I chose words and phrasing.
Headline: Copywriting on Amazon. Write great copy fast
Copywriting on Amazon. This is my keyword phrase
Write great copy fast. This is the benefit I think would appeal to my intended target.
To quickly master copywriting on Amazon, you’ve been handed an amazing resource.
Amazon shows you what copy works. It fast-tracks your learning. It gives you all the information you need to go from writing good to great listings.
Quickly master – is a benefit and motivator followed by the keyword.
Amazing resource builds anticipation. I then re-enforce the benefit with fast-track to imply ease of learning and then end the paragraph with the transformation the reader will experience. This is all upfront to keep people reading. You will lose most of your readers within the first paragraph if you do not give them a good reason to read on.
The best sellers have the best copy – Insight and alliteration
Look at the niche you are in, bring up the best sellers and look at the words they use. You will find headlines with benefits in them, not just features.
You will find bullets with substantiations and insights into the transformation the customer will experience after purchase. And that’s important because that is where conversions happen. Headlines and key words draw people in. Bullet points convert to sales.
You – I write in the second person – I want the reader to feel that I am talking directly to them/you.
And that’s important – This is grammatically incorrect but feels more conversational.
convert to sales. – I use language that my audience uses and the goal they want to achieve, so this is an emotional benefit.
And then right there, at the bottom of the page is an even more valuable resource, customer comments. They’re an absolute treasure trove for a copywriter.
right there, at the bottom of the page – this is conversational and also introduces anticipation and energy.
treasure trove – I could have just said valuable for a copywriter but ‘treasure trove’ creates a picture in your mind. This helps people to visualise the story.
Sales psychology – My audience are entrepreneurs motivated by profit so I use words that reflect that.
The secret to persuasive copy is answering the need state of a customer. They come to the store for a reason. To satisfy a need. If you can recognise that and then show that they will be better off after purchase you are onto a winner. Great copy shows empathy and understanding of what your customer is after.
The comment section is littered with these gems – why it worked so well, how it transformed their lives, even the negative comments are useful.
Secret suggests the reader is about to be given something valuable. Of course, there is not secret, a copywriter is never given a secret book with closely guarded information about how to write copy. The reader knows this but the language draws you in. This is hyperbole which common in advertising language – exaggeration to make a point. I use the adjective ‘persuasive’ copy to show the effectiveness of my next statement. Without the adjective it is not as compelling. I then make my sentences very short, to build a rhythm. Onto a winner alludes to success and uses colloquial language. I then follow up the pervious ‘treasure trove’ reference with ‘littered with gems’ to create an image in the reader’s mind.
Think and speak like your customer
The comments sections are filled with clues.
You will find two types of comments. People who love the product and people who hate it. Both are extremely useful to you.
People who love the product, the four and five stars, will tell you why. What features they liked and why that was so important to them, what issues it solved. All the copy points you need to convince someone else.
The negative comments are just as useful, listing pain points, all the things you can take away from them with your product. The comments reveal the emotional transformations you consumer goes through.
Filled with clues – building anticipation and also language a person not a computer uses, so I am adding character with a colloquial phrase.
Love and Hate are emotional trigger words.
Convince – Here I am letting the reader know what they will learn, I am spelling out what they would like to do and I put this at the end of the paragraph as an incentive to keep reading.
I now introduce a new idea The negative comments are just as useful, a new benefit.
Reveal – I could have easily written “The comments show…” but “The comments reveal…” is a more emotional phrasing – like I am revealing a secret, the word has more power and so more engaging.
Get your highlighter out – Colloquial language to build rapport.
Go through the comments and make a list, for and against – just highlight the phrases.
This will not only show you the points you have to make but also give you the language that will be the most engaging. You will be able to talk to your consumer in their own words and use the reasons they have purchased the product to sell to other people.
This is extremely effective. It builds a rapport with the customer because it shows understanding – you know what they were after and why they wanted it. You’re a genius. You are thinking and speaking like your customer.
The first sentence is an example of active phrasing rather than the passive voice. I want energy in my writing to keep people moving through the text.
The constant use of ‘you’ and ‘your’ show I am having a one-to-one conversation, talking directly with the reader to build a connection.
Lead with benefits, substantiate with features.
That is the biggest shift in thinking you have to make as a seller, to think like your customer.
A tendency to focus on features is totally understandable, you know your product inside out, it is your life but it is not so important to your customer.
Features are the logical reasons to buy. But it is the benefits that entice people, that convert people. They may justify the purchase later with the features but it is how the product changes their life that gets them excited and makes them think, “I want that.” At that moment it ends up in their basket.
is totally understandable – I am showing empathy, understanding with reader – yeah, I know it’s not your fault.
Convert is a buzzword – I know it is important to the viewer, so it has value.
I make an argument and then I show the reader the results that they want to achieve with goods ending up in the basket
The language of software – Software does not have a language, it uses binary, so I am creating interest.
There is software out there that uses this exact same process to help you write listing. The same principle of scanning best seller listings, picking out phrases from comments to help you populate fields – and they will get results.
That all costs money of course, which can be worth it for a lot of people but the algorithm does not speak English, it speaks binary. The drawback to that is the words, phrasing and grammar is not always right – just a bit off and if you are a person rather than a computer, you’ll pick that up. So beware. Software will do a good job but you can help improve its results too.
Hyphens help to break up your text – creating a visual pause for the reader. Very useful when you want to make a point.
BONUS section
To help you improve your copywriting I have broken down exactly how I tackled this article. How I structured it, why I used the words I did to give you an insight into how to look at your own copy.
Ultimately, my goal is to get people to share the article or subscribe – that will help me. To do that I want to give them value for their time. A BONUS is a great word that describes being given something extra, to underline that feeling of added value.
About the author
Steve Girdlestone is a copywriter with years of experience under his belt. Words are his stock and trade.
