"Part Two: Ray Edwards In Search Of Heroes Interview Was Awesome" by Ralph Zuranski
Ray Edwards In Search Of Heroes Interview
Ray Edwards: What I do and what copywriters in general do is that we persuade people in print. That is the most basic definition. It can be more things than that.
Basically copywriting is the art of persuasion using language. You might do it in print on paper, or you might do it on the web, or you might do it on audio, but it is all essentially the same skill. The distinction that I make between what I do and what others do is that I draw a distinction between persuasion and manipulation.
Let me just say that there are many great copywriters, people whom I admire and are my friends and who I believe are very ethical and who do practice the art of persuasion as opposed to what I feel is the darker art of manipulation. Here is the difference. This is the way that I define these two words. This is not what you will probably find in the dictionary.
To me, the art of persuasion means giving people the reasoning, the emotional freedom and the ability to do things that are right for them that they truly deep down want to do anyway versus what I call the dark art of manipulation which is basically tricking people into doing things that are not good for them and perhaps don’t want to do.
There are definitely techniques that writers can use to manipulate people and that speakers can use to manipulate people. I don’t practice those particular arts, but I think copywriting is the art of persuasion and anyone who has a product for sale or a service for sale can appreciate the fact that most of the people that they end up doing business with were not ready to do business at the very beginning of the process.
They had to go through a sequence of events. They first had to get to know the person or the product or the service. They had then to come to a point where they liked the person or they liked the idea of the process of the service. They had to reach another point where they trusted in the person, process or service. Then they bought.
Jim Edwards, who is no relation or no relation that I am aware of is a great marketer and a really stand up guy and a great human being. He sums up the process like this: Know me, like me, trust me, pay me. To me that is the greatest summary of salesmanship that I’ve found anywhere. That’s the process.
My job as the copywriter is to put the words on paper or onto the computer screen that lets people know you, like you, trust you and pay you. I specialize in writing copy for the Web and for Web sites in particular and for the whole process that moves people along that continuum.
Ralph Zuranski: So what you basically do is you write the sales page, the landing page and then the auto responders also?
Ray Edwards: Yes. Ideally the way I explain it is that selling to anyone is a process. It’s the process that I just described. For me to be the most effective copywriter that I can possibly be for my clients, I need to be able to write the copy for all the parts of the process.
Each step along the way is an opportunity to either move your prospect closer to a buying decision or further away from a buying decision. Ideally I like to write the landing page which intrigues the prospect and gets them to share their contact information so that we can have an ongoing conversation.
I like to write the pre-sale auto responder series that lets them get to know you, trust you, and like you; the sales page which explains the offer in detail and walks them through that buying process and the order page which is crucial. This is where so many orders are lost on line.
It is estimated by people who are much smarter, with bigger research budgets than mine that over 60% of online shoppers abandon their shopping experience on the order page before they have clicked the ‘Buy now’ button. The thank you page is after you have made your purchase and you are wondering at that moment in time, “Hey, did I just do a good thing or did I do a dumb thing?”
Then the follow up auto responders which keep in contact with the prospect now that they are a client or a customer and reassure them and let them know that you are there on the other end to help them through whatever questions or challenges they might have with your product or service.
I walk them all the way through that process and the goal is to achieve a higher response rate, more sales and a lower refund request rate - the people who are dissatisfied with the product after the process happens. This is best way I have found to lower refund rates. I’m assuming that you have a good product to start with. We are assuming there is not a problem with the actual product or service itself.
What people really want is they want human contact. They want to know that you are still there and that you didn’t just take their money and now you are going to go away. That is what the post sale auto responder sequence is all about.
Yes, I like to write through that entire process.
Ralph Zuranski: Is there a training course or something that you offer?
Ray Edwards: Well, I don’t have a training course for sale currently. I do have a training course that I have been developing to help people understand this process. That will be available in the near future.
For those that are interested it will be available at http://PowerCopySecrets.com.
Ralph Zuranski: Is that your Web site?
Ray Edwards: That is a Web site for that particular product. There is actually nothing at the Web site at the time we are doing this interview, but there will be very shortly.
Ralph Zuranski: Oh, great!
Ray Edwards: My main Web site for my services when people want to get in contact with me or have questions for me is http://RayEdwardsCopywriting.com.
Ralph Zuranski: Great. Ray, let me ask you one of the first questions. What is your definition of heroism?
Ray Edwards: Well, that is such a deep and powerful question, Ralph. I think as people we tend to dismiss it. We talk about heroes in a way that I feel almost devalues what true heroes are. We talk about sports figures and actors and rap singers and all sorts of different people as being heroes.
Often times I think that kind of definition is misplaced. I will start by saying that while I deeply appreciate you asking me to be part of this program, I’m pretty sure that I don’t qualify for the title of hero. I’m deeply flattered that you asked me to be part of what you are doing. I do admire that and I do think that there is heroism in that.
As for what a hero is, if you look in the dictionary you’ll find that heroes are people who are endowed with great courage and strength and they are celebrated by their bold exploits. I think that is a good starting definition.
In my mind, heroes are people who are endowed with great courage and strength and who follow through on the conviction of that courage and who have ideals that they strive to live up to and set an example for other people to follow. To me that is what we all need.
I think that everybody wants to be a good person. Everybody wants to be the best person that they can be. I think that people are basically born with an inner desire to be good and to do good.
That is why I believe that we are always looking for heroes to follow. We want an example that not only shows us what to do but also shows us that it is possible to do it.