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Hannah Martin – The First Lady of Copy

Hannah Martin is a copywriter. A special copywriter. She learnt her trade at Ogilvy and Mather back in the mid-90s in Hong Kong. She trained in direct response copywriting. That speaks volumes. David Ogilvy was regarded as one of the world’s greatest copywriters. On this episode Hannah gives us a masterclass in how to write good copy and applies it both to your about page and to your sales page. We’ve created a PDF download “How to write great copy – a quick guide” to capture everything Hannah told us. Grab your copy here

As a copywriter she has covered TV, Press ads, Billboards, Guerrilla Marketing. Her training taught her to come up with the big idea and how you write to buy.
Hannah has also worked for other agencies in London plus for the last 7 years she has freelanced from home. Her clients include Disney, Marriott, plus a small business start-up.

Hannah Martin has provided some tips for your “ABOUT PAGE”.

  • An about us covers what you do and how you benefit people.
  • She boils all this down to your ‘elevator pitch’.
  • So, you are always ready – on an email, you can send it, or with an elevator speech, it’s in your head, so you can say it!

About us, is often the most visited page.

Try avoid talking TOO MUCH about your story on your About Page, unless it leads into why your business was created. People operate off self-interest. So you must tell them how you can help them. Identify what their pain point is and how you can solve these for your potential clients.

Testimonials are so important. So are reviews. These give confidence, especially if they are given by people just like them. Keep them short and pick out results. Use statistics. Use your client’s and prospects language.

Tip: Read how people talk about their problems. Such as “I was spending money and not getting results”. Find testimonials that support the RESULT that your potential clients are looking for. Know your target audience and what their pain points are. What is their problem. How do they feel about it now and how do they want to feel about the problem? Who is the competition and what makes me unique?

Don’t get greedy. Narrow your niche to a defined target market. When you address their problem you are the person who they’ll want to deal with. People will come too rather than you having to find them.

Long copy. In a digital world is shorter. There is an art in understanding your market. When Hannah writes blogs, she takes note of her headlines. Understand the psychology of people.

Hannah’s copy tips:

  1. Make sure you talk to someone and NOT at them. You talk to someone. Hannah’s training included redrafting paragraphs and putting as many “you(s)” into the copy. Try it with your existing website copy.
  2. Keep it short. Sentences and paragraphs. Do not overwrite. Not points for long complex words. Write for a reading age of seven (7). It is about communication, don’t lose your audience by using long, complex words. Use natural language, avoid stilted language.Does keep it short mean overall length of copy. Write for the person who will buy. Don’t be boring. How long should copy be? We scan more online. Online we have many more distractions and less forgiving. A brochure will have more of your attention. If you have a lot to say, break it down, into chapters and bullet-points.Your brain resists big sections of text.The double-readership path. Some people scan through text, to get the gist.Your headline and your PS (online your call to action) the 2 most read parts of your text.Google need a minimum of 300 words and typically 1500 words to rank.But don’t lose your core message. If you want to mine down into more detail, link them to a separate page. They can click to more detail.

Hannah Martin gave us some great tips on how to write an about page and structure sales copy, we thought these were so useful we put them in a  PDF you can download and keep as a document to refer back to each time you sit down to write. You can get your copy here. https://thenext100days.org/32download

Hannah Martin told us all about the talented ladies club, you can find more information here: http://www.talentedladiesclub.com

The Talented Ladies club are running a twitter course aimed at small business. This looks a first rate course, and It isn’t just for ladies. Twitter is a fantastic source of sales leads and useful contacts, and all it needs is 30 minutes a day if you approach the platform properly. The course gives you a great strategy to do exactly that. Want more business from Twitter, then take a look here.