I’ve reviewed a ton of copy from my 1:1 clients over the last 30 days.

In that time, a few key patterns have emerged.

So today, I’m sharing 4 tactical insights you can implement right away to get more leads, clients, and customers.

Now, some of these are a bit more advanced…

But then again, everyone loves ninja stuff, amirite?

So if you’re reading this, then I suspect you’ll enjoy it regardless of where you’re at in your own copywriting journey ;)

Let’s dive in.

Reading time: 3 minutes and 26 seconds

1) Distance control

Managing distance is a sneaky way to nudge the reader in the right direction.

How?

By creating closeness with some things and distance with others.

You do this with two simple words:

- This
- That

‘This’ creates closeness.

For example:

• This fill-in-the-blanks Facebook ad template converts like crazy

• This is how you can wake up to an inbox full of inbound DMs each morning

Use this with positives like benefits, desired outcomes, your unique mechanism, etc.

On the flipside, ‘That’ creates distance.

For example:

• That might be the worst part about inconsistent lead flow

• That’s why most men & women over 40 never lose weight and keep it off

Use this with negatives like problems, things they want to avoid, the old way of doing things, etc. 

It’s a subtle way to influence your readers’ perceptions.

2) Problem-solution

The temptation to reinvent the wheel is hard to resist sometimes.

But when it comes to hooks, headlines, and subject lines…

Sticking with proven frameworks often works best.

And one of my all-time favorites is:

The Problem-Solution.

(this is straight out of Great Leads btw, which goes much deeper if you’re curious)

Here’s a simple way to execute on it:

- Call out the problem
- Phrase it as a question
- Tell them what to do next

For example:

• Struggling to generate inbound leads? Read this

• Sick of attracting tire kickers & freebie seekers? Watch this

You can also invert it and give the command first:

• Read this if you need more inbound leads

• Watch this if you’re sick of attracting unqualified leads

It’s stupid simple, but it works.

3) ‘Yes set’ edit

‘Yes sets’ are an old school direct response tactic.

The goal is to build rapport with the reader by asking questions they will answer ‘yes’ to…

Such as:

• Are you thinking of launching a high-ticket coaching program?

• Do you struggle to write content & copy that converts?

This is a proven way to create psychological momentum…

And prime them to keep saying ‘yes’ to you.

However:

The ‘Are you’ portion of the question telegraphs an incoming sales pitch…

Which, in turn, triggers resistance in some readers.

So here’s the subtle edit I like to make:

Instead of phrasing it in the “present continuous tense” (shoutout to ChatGPT for helping me remember what it was called lol)... 

… I remove the ‘Are you’ and shift to the “present perfect tense.”

• Ever thought about launching a high-ticket coaching program?

By removing the ‘Are you’ section, it’s less likely to trigger immediate resistance.

And by broadening the time horizon, you’ll capture many more people.

It’s easy to say, “no, I’m not thinking about it right now.”

But if you’ve ever thought about it at any point in the past, then you’ll answer ‘yes’ to the second version.

Mission accomplished.

4) Keywords

Keywords are just for search engines, right?

Wrong.

In the context of headlines and subject lines, keywords offer a crucial benefit:

Relevance.

They reassure the reader that the content they’re about to read will apply to them in some way.

For example, ‘copywriting’ is a keyword for my audience.

So even if you just glanced at the subject line for this email…

You’d know it was going to tie-in somehow.

This is especially important for personality-driven emails where you may be telling stories that don’t have an obvious connection to your core topics.

People are always scanning for relevance signals in the inbox.

Whether they realize it or not.

So without one or more keywords in your subject line, many may choose to ignore it.

Don’t underestimate the importance of first impressions.

Putting It All Together

4 tactical insights from 30 days of copywriting review:

1) Distance control
2) Problem-solution
3) ‘Yes set’ edit
4) Keywords

That’s it.

Thanks for reading!

See you next time.

Jim Hamilton