These Alternative Health Copywriting Secrets Can Double or Triple Your Success Regardless of Your Niche
By Will Newman

The alternative health niche is one of the most lucrative niches you can write for.

And if you use supplements or alternative health approaches, you already know a lot about this niche … almost enough to get you started writing effective copy.

The operative word being "almost." Here’s what I mean …

When I started writing health copy, I thought my personal experience and beliefs were enough to write strong copy.

Wrong!

I didn’t understand two core secrets about how to use emotions in this incredible niche. Let’s start with the first secret …

Alt Health Copywriting Secret #1: Fear can be motivating … but it must be handled carefully.

I went about my early writing “knowing” I had to target fear.

And that’s what I did. But I used it wrong.

My results weren’t bad. They weren’t good either.

Fortunately, after a few semi-successful attempts, I swallowed my pride in thinking I knew what I needed to know. I turned to the AWAI program called Secrets of Writing for the Health Market.

It taught me that while fear is a powerful motivator, it’s an emotion that must be handled carefully.

Think about your prospect and serious diseases like heart disease, diabetes, or cancer.

Your prospect may already be living with a diagnosis of one of these diseases.

If not, she probably knows somebody with this diagnosis.

And if that's not the case, she’s worried about diseases like this all the time.

So, when writing health copy, you must use fear in a way that your prospect knows you understand her problems. Talk to her personally … with empathy. Let her know you feel her worry and pain and want to help.

Be sincere. Let your prospect know you really do care. Not by telling her in those words but by showing her you understand what she's going through … and how what you're offering can make it better for her.

But targeting that fear isn’t enough …

Alt Health Copywriting Secret #2: Where there’s fear … give hope

Most health copy uses what’s known as a problem/solution approach. You present a problem and then offer a solution. (Your product, more on that in a moment.)

When using this approach, many copywriters make the rookie mistake of dwelling on the problem far too long.

Think about this: When you tap into those resident fears in your prospect about diseases that scare her, you do need to stir them up to truly get her attention.

But stir them too much, she’ll shut down. Stop reading. She doesn't need to be reminded over and over of the problems she faces.

So not long after stirring those fears, give hope. I try to give my first inkling of that hope in the headline and lead … no later than the fourth (short) paragraph.

What’s that hope?

That hope comes from the solutions your product brings.

But be careful at this point.

It's too early to talk about your product. You want your prospect to feel deeply that you care about her and her worries. Trying to sell her a product at this point only tells her you just want to make a sale. Not that you care about her.

Steer clear of using the product name too early. Instead, tell your prospect how some aspect of your product — like one of the powerful healing components — will relieve the problems you've focused on.

Bonus Alt Health Copywriting Secret: Do YOU believe?

This "bonus" secret doesn't apply just to alternative health copy. It applies to everything you write about.

The secret is simply this: You must believe in your product and its promise. If you do, your passion, belief, and enthusiasm for your product will shine through.

If you don't believe in what you're writing, your prospect will know you lack passion. He’ll know you don’t believe in your product. I don't care how skilled you are with words, lack of belief seeps through everything you write.

And if you don't believe in it, your prospect never will.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on these secrets of using emotion in your copy and the importance of belief. Comment below and tell us.