Joanna Wiebe

Save Time and Money: People Want One or the Other You’ve heard me bitch a lot about the most overused, meaningless marketing message of all time: “Save Time & Money” I go on and on about that damn phrase. My ebook readers have heard it. My email subscribers have. My students have heard it. And […]

Making a Promise in Your Web Copywriting A promise deepens trust with your customers and can boost conversion rates What do your customers want from you? What are your customers worried you’re only SAYING you’ll do? 4 places you should test your promise Your promise should be specific, unmistakable and most of all, kept “We” […]

How To Be a Scientifc Copywriter Use proven formulas Write your copy using facts Apply the psychology of persuasion Split test everything Measure and document Copywriting is NOT an art. Sorry, let me rephrase: Effective copywriting is not an art. It’s a science, first and foremost. As John Caples teaches in Tested Advertising Methods (only […]

Bartering is different from selling. The biggest difference is that people barter away things they don’t want in exchange for things they do. Compare that to sales. When you’re selling, you’ve got to get your prospects to part with their MUCH LOVED dollars and cents. So bartering and selling are different… …But that doesn’t mean […]

These have been the basic rules of subject line-writing for a good 10 years: Keep the length of your subject line to 50 characters with spaces (CWS) or fewer Lead with an action word Include your brand name somewhere in there Avoid spam-trigger words, exclamation points and odd punctuation Avoid being cutesy or clever Then […]

How to Name a Product Understand your product’s purpose. What is its value? KNOW your audience. Who are they? How do they talk? Make sure the name is easy to pronounce ABC: Always Be Clear Test the name in context, like on your website pricing page The name you give your product, service or company […]

“Copy leads design.” I say it all the time. I believe in it. You could say it’s my mantra. When I say that “copy leads design”, what do I mean? Simply that you should first organize your messages (i.e., your copy) on the page, and then let the visual design come in to amplify your […]

The Ultimate Starter Kit for Small Businesses Like Mine When you have to make a pitch video, it sort of sucks to waste time searching for a great video prod tool. When you have to buy a theme for your new WordPress site, it definitely sucks to spend $79 only to find out your theme […]

Tips for Writing a Great App Store Description Choose a search-friendly name + icon Your intro copy should win the “more” click Write your description like a sales page Test across devices Think writing a website is hard? Ha! Try filling up – or, even harder, not filling up – the “description” for apps on […]

The Ultimate 101 List of Copywriting Awesomeness For Startups & Small Bizzes That Want to Write Sweet Web Copy… Sans Pain Warning: If you plow through this list, your brain will hurt, and you may resent me for it. So please take your time with it. I don’t want to be the cause of more […]

K, so, I dunno about you… but Mariah Carey doesn’t inspire me to work harder. Yet all the “songs for entrepreneurs” playlists I find are chockerblock full o’ divas wailing at the sky. That ain’t gonna work for me… …Because startup founders don’t always need songs about reaching our dreams. Those songs can be helpful […]

After The Verge published Scamworld on May 10 and Frank Kern responded with a Facebook post about it, it was hard not to wonder what might happen to the biggest players in the world of internet marketing. Lord knows there are more than a few of us ‘onlookers’ who have, over the years, heard about […]

Ever feel like you’re becoming a bit of a… diva? You should. It feels great. 🙂 My hubby says I’m turning into a shark… like the sharks we watch on “Shark Tank”. (Love Dragon’s Den, too. And how ’bout The Pitch? That’s a killer show! But I digress…) Whether a shark or a diva, the […]

Today, Ankesh Kothari over at SuccessNexus posted an interview with me as part of his weekly series, “5 Questions with an Expert”. (How nice to be called an expert! 🙂 ) You can read the full interview here: https://successnexus.com/bundling-strategy-joanna-wiebe-interview/ In this interview, you’ll find out: The one strategy I fell into… that has turned into […]

How to Become a Freelance Copywriter I’m a lucky bitch. Yes, I’m a lucky bitch. … And that’s not just because I have an amazing partner and home life and family and job. And great health. And generally strong financial security. And a sense of balance, love, hope and purpose. (Wow – I am a […]

I talk pretty constantly about one simple but uber-critical component of any brand, product or company’s messaging: the value proposition. AKA the unique sales proposition (USP). In fact, about one-third of Copy Hackers Book 3 is dedicated to value propositions. Why? What’s the big deal? Value propositions help separate you from your competition. Great value […]

If you’re reading this, you probably already know that social proof (a la testimonials) is major for copywriting success. You know testimonials are necessary. But do you know that they can – and should – help: Boost your credibility in general Highlight the types of people buying your product Showcase the various locations of people […]

9 Steps to Write Your Ultimate Home Page Headline Check out the guest post I wrote for the KISSmetrics blog: https://blog.kissmetrics.com/ultimate-home-page-headline/

I’m an angry copywriter. I hide my deep, intense, dragon-warrior anger a lot on this site and in my books – I pretend I’m, like, zen – but every so often it comes out. And here it is now, showing through loud and clear: my anger. I’m angry about something. Something that might seem to […]

What the hell does copywriting have to do with testing, you ask? Only everything. Okay, that’s dramatic. It’s got a lot to do with testing, though. After all, before online A/B testing, there were millions of offline tests running in the direct mail world. Some of the greatest testers of all time were and are […]