It’s that time of the week again when I pop up in your inbox.
And this time, we’re talking bullets because they’re like hooks for books.
Ever heard of bullets?
Hmm, no...not the actual pointy metal shooting kind.
I’m talking about these kinds…
- One apple
- Two carrots
- Three pigeons
- Butter
Ok, so a list of bullets in the world of copywriting are more than a shopping list of ingredients
or a summary of points.
Sometimes called ‘fascinations’, these bad-boys are specifically designed to create curiosity.
Their job is to create an open loop, you know, when you have that I-have-got-to-know burning desire to find out the
answer to something.
You see them in lots of places in sales copy. Info products especially.
Well, last Friday I won a lil’ ol’ copywriting challenge called ‘Bullet the podcast’.
It’s a challenge to write the bullets for an upcoming podcast episode among copywriters in a community I’m in.
The community is led by A-List copywriter Kevin Rogers. (You may not have heard of him.)
Kevin spent over a decade as a freelance direct response copywriter and worked with top companies to earn them over $100MM in sales.
He’s a mentor to the best and brightest freelance copywriters in the industry who produce game-changing work AND he picked MY bullets!
Aside from giving myself a very big pat on the back, I want to show you my winning bullets- they’re the ones with the time stamp next to them…
You can check them out on the podcast episode here…
https://copychief.com/ep-300-john-carlton/
Right, so now you’ve seen them…
There is a reason I’m going all in with the bullet talk today, and it’s not to toot my horn
here.
It’s because, as I say, how and why you build a bullet can be applied to hooks for your books too.
Like bullets, your book’s hook is designed to start creating that desire and curiosity.
Bullets do this with a few simple rules:
- Keep it about one thing, one concept or core idea. The biggest conversion killer is confusion.
- Keep the showmanship out of it - this isn’t the
time to demonstrate your clever use of words, or flowery language, keep it sharp and to the point.
- No dog whistling - (I wasn’t sure what this meant until Kevin Roger’s explained it to me) Basically, don’t use words, language, names, or references that only people who have already read your book would know.
- Be specific (but don’t break rule
three)
- Cut out as many words as you can while still making sense.
Here’s an example of how I boiled down one of my winning bullets from the podcast:
[04:21] A stupidly simple “LIFE HACK” that practically forces you to be a better writer — especially good when you feel like a caffeinated extension of your keyboard.
There may have been a few more edits, but this is what it took to get it there…
- JC’s stupidly simple ‘LIFE HACK’ that’ll force you to become a better writer. If you’re hunkerin’ in your bunker, livin’ in the glare, grinding out copy and getting nowhere—this one’s for you. (It’s worth it. I swear).
- The stupidly simple 'life hack' that practically forces you to be a better writer. This one’s for you if you're hunkered in your bunker, grinding out copy and getting nowhere. (It’s worth it, I
swear.)
- A stupidly simple life hack that practically forces you to be a better writer - without writing another word of copy.
- A stupidly simple ”life hack” that practically forces you to be a better writer - this one’s for you if you feel like a caffeinated extension of your keyboard.1
So, if you’re working on the hook for your book, use these same tactics to boil down the idea and give it as much punch as you can.
When you give it a go, show me. I’d love to see it.
I reply to all my emails personally. I might even suggest a tweak - if it’s needed.
Or, if you’re struggling, I can write it (and your book description) for you. Hit reply and we’ll chat about how I can help.
Angie
Footnotes
1 - That last line about being a caffeinated extension of your keyboard was lifted from a comment in a Reddit forum. If you're stuck for
inspiration, go diggin' in the Reddit forums relevant to your topic or genre. It's a goldmine.
