Clayton Makepeace copywriting wisdom

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How to craft a persuasive guarantee (4 proven rules):

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Spending money hurts. Physically. It’s literally painful, the way a punch in the arm is painful.

The pain is actually your brain’s response to risk (i.e., wasted money, lost time, missed opportunity). 

Higher perceived risk = more pain = less sales.

Lower perceived risk = less pain = more sales.

So as a copywriter, as a marketer, it's in your interest to create offers that decrease perceived risk. (Or even eliminate it!)

And the best way to do this is with a guarantee. The late copywriting master, Clayton Makepeace, followed 4 rules to craft his. 

In no particular order:

RULE #1: Longer guarantees decrease refunds (e.g., a 1-year money-back guarantee is better than one lasting 6 months).

RULE #2: Performance-based guarantees increase sales (e.g., lose 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks or your money back).

RULE #3: High production costs = high barrier to guarantee (e.g., “Please return the product to get your refund…”).

RULE #4: Low production costs = low barrier to guarantee (e.g., “No questions asked!”).

Clayton Makepeace passed away in March, 2020. 

He was one of the best.

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