Posted by Before we get started, I better clear one thing up…
WHAT THE HECK IS A BULLET POINT, ANYWAY?
“…uhhh… it’s one of those thingies in writing with the large dot.”
True.
And it’s one of several elements or lines in a bulleted list.
It’s also an excellent way to convey information because people will often read the bullet points before they read the rest of the copy.
Now here are a few reasons I found on the internet NOT to use bullet points (and I am NOT making this up, I swear).
‘They’ say you shouldn’t use bullet points because…
- People will read the bullets first
- Bullet points are boring
- Bullet points are too long
- Bullet points tell readers what’s coming
- People might read the bullets and not the rest of the page
And point by point, here’s why those supposed negatives are actually GOOD things:
- Anything that gets someone reading your sales copy is a GOOD thing
- Bullets points are only boring if you MAKE them boring (duh)
- Bullets can be as long or short as you choose
- Good bullet points pull your reader into devouring the rest of your copy
- Some people only need the bullet points to make a buying decision, and that’s awesome!
Why should you add lots and LOTS of bullet points to your sales copy? Because bullet points…
- Grab attention
- Break up monotone paragraphs
- Create white space
- Communicate key information quickly
- Entice and intrigue
Another interesting fact is that if you’re going to have a list anyway, people look at lists with bullets more often (70%) than lists without bullets (55%). That’s why you want bulleted points rather than plain old lists.
How do you write GREAT bullet points?
- Combine both features and benefits in your bullet points to boost persuasiveness.
- Lead with the benefit, follow with the feature
- Be consistent and concise with each bullet following the same pattern.
- Add a curiosity element to the feature and benefit.
- Keep them brief and easy to process
- Start each bullet point with a verb
- Sell the feeling
- Punctuating bullet points is optional
- Eliminate the weakest bullet point(s) because each bullet must pull its own weight
What are some examples of great bullet points?
- Five ways to get prospects eager to buy before they even see your pitch.
- Why some patients are given favored status in hospitals … almost preferred treatment. This little-known information could save your life.
- How to learn about medical discoveries before your doctor.
- How to get customers to call you instead of you chasing them using the Black Widow technique.
- How to use a simple 36 word postcard to bring in $37 for every dime you spend.
- Hot to get hundreds of glowing and true testimonials from your customers for free… and what to do with them to generate even bigger profits.
- How to create a huge demand for your product or service using a 10,000 year old secret that still works every single time.
- Sell the same product or service at up to 400% higher prices and have your customers thank you for it.
- How we got over US$40,000 worth of products complimentary this year alone … and how you can do it too.
- The exact words you should use to write a money-back guarantee that increases sales and reduces refunds.
Was it insane for me to write almost this entire article in bullet points?
- Yes, because who in their right mind does that? (Maybe someone who wants to bring home the point that bullets work? Nah…;-)
- Maybe, because you’re no fool and you knew this entire time I’m using all these bullets to demonstrate that (GASP!) bullet points WORK
- No, because if you’ve read this far then you’ve read nearly the entire article and that’s my point… bullet points get people reading (and buying!)
Bullet points are your secret warriors against skimmers and attention deficit. They feed your reader bite-sized information, create curiosity and you’re your offer easy to understand.
One last thing… if I had a choice between a salesletter with NO bullet points and a sales letter made up of nothing but headlines and bullet points, I would take the latter every time. Guaranteed, it would out-convert the none bullet point letter by 2 to 1 or better.