Secret #9
The Ultimate Bullet Formula

“Copy is not written. If anyone tells you ‘you write copy’, sneer at them. Copy is not written. Copy is assembled. You do not write copy, you assemble it. You are working with a series of building blocks, you are putting the building blocks together, and then you are putting them in certain structures, you are building a little city of desire for your person to come and live in.”

Eugene Schwartz

Sales copy bullets are the workhorse of any copy. They are called bullets from the term “bullet point” which is a dotted list on the page or screen, typically 3-12 at a time. You see them on everything from Amazon listings to long-form sales letters to email teasers to brochures. You use bullets to arouse curiosity and give people reasons to take whatever action you want. That action could be anything from ordering or signing up or calling on the phone.

Bullets:

• Build curiosity so you can create pressure inside people to get them to buy faster.
• Grab people’s attention so you can address their specific wants (and needs) to make more sales.
• Convey important information quickly so you can get your message across fast to maximize every advertising dollar you spend.

The interesting thing is that when most people create bullets, they only include features. For example, if it’s a drill, they’ll say, “Hey, it’s 18-volts, and it’ll take up to an inch bit.” Like that means something to somebody! Features are what we would put under “technical specifications.”

The problem is people don’t buy because of features. Features are how they compare things. People buy the benefits . What are they going to get as a result of that feature? You’ve got to understand the difference between features and benefits.

A feature is what something is .

A benefit is what something does for you.

We’ll take the drill example. It’s 18-volts, which is the feature. But what that feature does is enable you to drill through hardwood like butter so you can drill a bunch of holes without recharging the battery every five minutes. The fact that it will take up to a one-inch bit (the feature) means you can do all types of projects, especially around your home, without having to switch tools (the benefit).

Again, understand the difference between features and benefits. Features don’t make somebody buy something. The benefit of those features gets them to buy from you.

You don’t need a thousand bullets in your copy. Depending on the copy job, I would take four, five, six, a dozen excellent bullets over a fifty crappy bullets.

Bullets have different functions in sales copy. You can put two or three at the top of a sales letter right under the headline to suck people in. You can use bullets in the description of a product, whether you’re selling it on Amazon or your website or in an email. Bullets are what carry most of the weight of your copy. Once your headline pulls them in, you can use bullets to:

• Summarize what people will see in a video.
• Give people a preview of your blog post.
• List the benefits.
• Give people reasons to keep reading and to make a decision.
• Summarize what they are buying.
• And much, MUCH more!

If you don’t learn how to use bullets, then you will have a problem creating the curiosity you need to drive people forward in the sales process. You won’t build the pressure that gets people to buy.

Here’s a quick story about using bullets to sell something.

That sales letter I mentioned in the Introduction to this book that has done over a million and a half dollars in $29 sales is for an e-book. To help boost sales through that letter, I used a list of bullets that corresponded to specific page numbers in the book. So for someone reading the bullets about “What’s in the book?” it feels tangible because I’m telling them things like:

• How to get up, running, and selling on Amazon Kindle–FAST! (The Web’s #1 e-book retailer WANTS to sell your e-book for you–here’s how!) (Page 14)
• The *sure-fire* secret to creating an e-book that sells like crazy while having more fun than you ever thought possible! (Page 23)
• How to quickly avoid the #1 Mistake authors make that causes them to take months or years to write a book . . . so you can finish in just a few days. (Page 7)
• A step-by-step explanation of how to actually get a complete REAL e-book DONE in less than 72 hours! (Page 103)
• The absolute “bullet-proof” best e-book to write and sell online–FAST. (Page 2)

I’ve done this with video products, too. You can write bullets that provide the time stamp on specific videos to get the promise.

So bullets

• Give people a reason to act.
• Build curiosity.
• Carry the load of explaining what your product is and what it will do for them.

I think the all-time truism about features and benefits is only partially correct. You’ve probably heard the old saying, “people don’t buy the drill; they buy the hole.” Well, I think you need to drill down deeper than that! What they want is not the hole in the wall; they want their wife to stop bitching at them because they haven’t hung that picture yet. They want their kid to be happy because they were able to put the nice neat hole in the front of the birdhouse or make the holes to bolt the jungle gym together.

What we need to drill down to is the meaning of each benefit.

So, here’s my go-to formula for creating bullets. You’ve seen it already in this secret and probably didn’t realize it.

Basic Bullet Formula

Formula: It ________ so you can ________

Remember, Feature = what it is and Benefit = what it does.

Now, I’m sick of drills, so let’s switch to something sexy. Let’s talk about wrenches! Here are some bullets I wrote for a set of Dewalt wrenches I’ve been eying on Amazon for $29 but can’t seem to pull the trigger to purchase. I guess I’m just not emotionally attached to them yet!

Here’s the original bullet list from Amazon:

• One-piece set
• SAE sizes
• Chrome vanadium steel construction
• Stamped markings for easy wrench size identification

Yawn. Not very compelling. But I want to want these wrenches, so let’s give them some help, shall we?

• One-piece set so you can keep all your wrenches together in one place
• SAE sizes so you have the exact size you need when you need it
• Chrome vanadium steel construction for strength and durability so you can work them hard
• Stamped markings for easy wrench size identification so you can quickly find the right size

Already we’ve made a difference. That’s better than 80% of people do with their bullets just by adding the benefit. But we want to do better than 99% of people out there, and that’s where my Ultimate Bullet Formula comes in. Are you ready?

Feature + Benefit + Meaning

Feature = what it is

Benefit = what it does

Meaning = what it means to the buyer / reader / prospect

Formula: It ________ so you can _______ which means _______.

So let’s light those wrench bullets on fire and make even the most inept dad with six thumbs on one hand believe he can finally be the mechanic he always dreamed. A real “honey-do-list” house pro! Are you ready?

• One-piece set so you can keep all your wrenches together in one place which means you’ll never be left high and dry with the wrong wrench
• SAE sizes so you have the exact size you need when you need it which means you can get projects done faster and move on with your life
• Chrome vanadium steel construction for strength and durability so you can work them hard which means you‘ll spend a LOT less money on tools over time
• Stamped markings for easy wrench size identification so you can quickly find the right size which means no more pulling your hair out over stripped nuts

When you start talking about benefits and meaning, your sales copy bullets (and your sales copy in general) will take a quantum leap in effectiveness. And when you start thinking in terms of benefits and meaning, the sky is the limit as far as your selling power is concerned.

So, as we wrap up this secret, when writing bullets, get the momentum going. It’s kind of like headline brainstorming. As you make bullets, you’ll have ideas pop into your head for other bullets. As you focus on the different features, benefits, and meanings of whatever it is you’re selling, your bullets will get better and better. It’s kind of like warming up from a run or exercising where the third or fourth or fifth set is when you get into a groove. Your first bullet isn’t nearly as good as your fifth, sixth, or tenth!

Also, if you need five or six bullets, write ten or twelve and choose the best five or six. Again, it’s just a game of momentum. And one last thing. You can build up a very effective swipe file for bullets. I would highly recommend you start creating a clip file of bullets you see that catch your attention. Just like having a swipe file of headlines, having a swipe file of bullets can come in handy when you need to brainstorm a bunch of them quickly.

Summary:

• Bullets are the workhorse you use to create curiosity in your copy.
• Five amazing bullets will outperform 30 good bullets.
• Always include meaning in your bullets because that’s the secret sauce that makes them better than everyone else’s bullets!