As copywriting legend David Ogilvy once said, “Don't bunt. Aim out of the ballpark. Aim for the company of immortals.” And that's my goal with this article… to provide a blueprint for using AI to craft copy that converts like nothing else.
So let's look into whether ChatGPT can aid you in creating compelling sales bullets for emails and sales letters. We'll weigh the pros and cons of leveraging ChatGPT for this task and unveil some secret tactics to tap into its full power. Trust me, you'll be astounded by what this tool can achieve with the right strategy.
What Are Sales Bullets?
Eugene Schwartz said, “Merely stating the advantages of your product will not get your copy read or believed. Build your copy in dramatic episodes which prove each point.” That's what a sales bullet achieves.
To grasp how vital a sales bullet is, let's dive into its definition:
A “sales bullet” is a short sequence of words that provokes curiosity and compels you to keep reading. It's designed as a one-phase sales page: something so intensely curious and drenched with benefit-rich dimensional language you feel compelled to buy the offer simply to get that “one” thing…or even to know what that one thing even is.
Let me share an example of a legendary sales bullet crafted by Gary Halbert. While it's not a ChatGPT creation, it perfectly encapsulates the spirit of a sales bullet:
“Why carrying a pebble in your left pocket (but never your right) can all but guarantee losing three pounds of fat—at least! The mystery is unveiled on page 17.”
What the hell? A pebble? Why? And why the left pocket, and never the right? What else is on page 17? You get the picture. Sheer brilliance.
I often judge the talent of writers coming to me by their ability to craft killer sales bullets. It's almost a lost art these days…but BILLIONS of dollars of products have been sold solely by sales bullets. That's right: in the early days of direct response, there were ads composed 90% of sales bullets. That's how potent they are.
The Halbert/Simon Scoring System
When ChatGPT wrote a killer sales bullet, I gave it a “Halbert.” For example:
“Caloric staggering exposed: Why typical diets fail and the secret to losing 10 pounds in 10 days. No gimmicks, just astonishing results!”
And when ChatGPT bombed, I gave it a “Simon” (after the cheesy car salesman in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film True Lies, brilliantly played by the late Bill Paxton).
For instance:
“Shed those extra pounds and feel your best with our weight loss products specifically formulated for women over 50.”
I died a little bit upon reading that drivel, tasting a bit of lunch in my mouth. Ugh.
This states the obvious. No intrigue or rewards for reading on. About a “blah” as dry hot dog wrapped in Wonder Bread…and equally deadly, at least when it comes to selling anything.
ChatGPT started off with a bunch of Simons…but after doing this, it began writing more like Halbert. Here's how…
Using “Few-Shot Learning” to Train ChatGPT
To elevate ChatGPT's copywriting, I employed “few-shot learning.”
Few-shot learning is a technique used to train machine learning models with very little data. Instead of requiring thousands of examples to learn a new concept, few-shot learning models can learn from just a few examples, or “shots.”
For artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, few-shot learning is key to helping the model become proficient in a new style or technique with limited available data. By giving ChatGPT just a few samples of effective copy in a particular style, the model can start to adopt that style for new responses.
Few-shot learning works by training machine learning models on a variety of data, then learning to apply knowledge from known concepts to new, similar concepts. The models develop an understanding of attributes that define concepts, then look for those attributes in new examples. With a few samples, the model can say “this new concept has qualities X, Y and Z like other concepts I know, so I will treat it similarly.”
The result is an AI system that doesn't require massive amounts of data to learn new things. With a small number of examples, it can start responding and generating content in a particular style. For copywriters, few-shot learning is a powerful technique to impart styles and techniques to ChatGPT and have it start crafting copy in the desired format with limited training data required.
Feeding The Machine
The key to implementing few-shot learning with ChatGPT is providing the right types of examples and prompts to guide the model in adopting the target style or technique.
So I gave ChatGPT 50 Halbert-like sales bullets to analyze. Then I prompted ChatGPT again, challenging it to write sales bullets for my weight loss offer.
After the few-shot, and something I call Pre-prompting, I simply told ChatGPT:
“Pretend you're a copywriter using dimensional language, real-world examples, and mystery within 12 words. Write sales bullets.”
With this context and Gary's examples, ChatGPT instantly generated some promising bullets, including:
“Caloric staggering exposed: Why typical diets fail…and the secret to losing 10 pounds in 10 days.”
“Age-defying beauty reveal: Turbo collagen production. Leave them mystified by your radiant, youthful glow. No costly procedures needed.”
Not bad, but not quote…so I pushed it further.
Advance Prompts: How to Refine ChatGPT’s Copywriting
To strengthen ChatGPT’s bullets, I gave it these prompts after it wrote the bullets above. Chat learns best in chunks. Don't try to single-prompt your way to killer copy. Use Pre-Prompting (more about that in another article) and few-shot, and build on top of each output.
“Expand each bullet. Make more mysterious. Follow the formula.”
And out came some Halberts:
“The concealed hormone fix—transforming menopause into a weight loss ally.”
“Think you need to count calories to lose weight? Then you haven't heard about the Sneakers Secret…revealed on page 18.”
“This ONE trick makes people ask, ‘Did you go on vacation? You look 10 years younger!' What's stunning is how SIMPLE it is!”
Then, I picked a few “close but not quite” bullets and said: “Make each bullet 50 words longerusing mystery, intrigue, and promise.”
Turning this not-bad bullet: “Age-defying beauty reveal: Turbo collagen production. Leave them mystified by your radiant, youthful glow. No costly procedures needed.”…
…into this powerhouse Halbert:
Discover collagen’s age-rewinding secret. A pioneering new replenishment method banishes wrinkles, tightens and brightens skin—leaving friends asking “what’s your secret?” and “have you reversed time?”
The Ups and Downs of Using ChatGPT for Copywriting
As my late friend Joe Sugarman, author of The Adweek Copywriting Handbook, once said, “When prospects have a choice of what to read, they'll always choose the copy that serves their best interests…That's why the more closely your copy focuses on your prospect's needs, wants, and desires, the more persuasive that copy will become.”
That's vitally important to understand, because AI, without my Pre-Prompting Method™ (which includes Few-Shot Learning and a few other tricks of the trade), you will end up with “Chat Copy”. Copy that lays flat and doesn't move the reader.
As of today, ChatGPT works well for:
- Sales bullets and short copy: With training, ChatGPT can compose Halberts and snippets that sell. Even so, it needs Pre-Prompting to pull it off.
- Emails: ChatGPT drafts my email promos and newsletters. It's great for the first draft, and Pre-Prompting can take it all the way to A-list live.
However, without ChatGPT still struggles with:
- Long landing page copy: ChatGPT can't craft a cohesive multi-page sales letter yet – not without doing it in “chunks” with multiple Pre-Prompts and formulas (I train folks on how to do that : )
- Sales funnels: Managing a complex funnel requires human oversight and vision. This will come in time.
- Persuasive psychology: While ChatGPT mimics enthusiasm, it can't replicate persuasive nuance. That's why I never ask it to – I give it the persuasion formulas in the Pre-Prompt (clever boy).
The Future of AI for Copywriters
ChatGPT and other AI will expand roles, handling personalization, persuasive long-form copy, dynamic landing pages, and predictive optimization. But human skills —judgment, creativity, storytelling, psychology—remain mostly human. The future is AI-human teams.
Some possibilities:
- AI for personalized, targeted content: AI will generate tailored content for different audiences.
Advanced persuasive copy: AI may handle long sales letters, email sequences, and more. But people provide creative direction. - Dynamic landing pages: AI could potentially generate complete customized landing pages for different offers/audiences.
- Predictive copy optimization: AI may analyze how people respond to copy variations and suggest changes to optimize results. However, human insight is still key.
AI augments human skills but can't replicate the creative mind or life experiences. The future is collaboration. Copywriters who make use of tools like ChatGPT—while sharpening uniquely human skills—will be in high demand. If you use Pre-Prompting, you'll up your chance at nailing A-list level copy.
So how do you do it?
Streamlining the Process of Generating High-Converting Sales Bullets With ChatBullets
I just released a simple $19 program called ChatBullets. This program employs Pre-Prompting, which includes few-shot learning techniques, just as we demonstrated, and formulas – but simplifies the whole process, making it literally cut and paste simple.
By supplying the necessary details, such as niche, target audience, and a few other data points you might want to cover – fill-in-the-blank easy – you can swiftly generate powerful sales bullets tailored to your specific requirements.
Pick it up here for another few days for just $19. After that it's off the market for a good while.
In conclusion, ChatGPT can indeed aid you in crafting killer sales bullets. By applying the correct methods and providing it with the necessary context via few-shot learning, you can unlock its potential to create engaging and high-converting sales copy. While it may need some tweaking and training, the results can be genuinely extraordinary. So, whether you decide to use the techniques discussed in this article or explore dedicated training programs like ChatBullets, ChatGPT can be a priceless asset in your sales copy toolbox. Tap into its power and watch your conversions soar.
