Knowing how to use bullet points properly can make or break your copy.

Do it wrong and you’re stuck with meh copy that doesn’t convert.

Do it right and you’ll make it near impossible NOT to buy your product.

There are two main steps involved in creating killer bullets:

These two steps are what I’m gonna teach you today. After we’re finished, you’ll have all the tools to write bullet points that’ll make your product seem irresistible.

Let’s get started.

Choosing what to write your bullets about

Bullets can be used for various things throughout your copy, but the most important are your features and benefits. In case you need a refresher…

Features describe the objective facts about your product (size, weight, material, etc.)

Benefits take it a step further and show WHY those objective facts are important to your customer’s life.

While features are important to have in your copy, benefits are what get people to actually pull out their wallet.

Your features and benefits will be the raw material for your bullet points, so let’s take a sec to brainstorm a monster list.

The 10 Commandments of High-Converting Bullet Points

Follow these 10 bullet-writing tips to knock potential buyers off the fence.

#1.) Create Curiosity

This is especially important for info products (ebooks, online courses, newsletters, etc). You want to tease the reader and make them curious about what new info your product will teach to help them achieve their goals.

One way to do this is the What, Not How Strategy—Tell them what to do, but not how to do it (that’s what they’ll learn if they buy).

• Most new freelancers fail NOT because they lack writing skills, but because they have deep-seated psychological money blocks. Discover the simple 3-minute visualization exercise you can do each morning to demolish these blocks and start earning what you deserve.

Or the Say What It’s NOT Strategy—

• Discover a dead-simple exercise you can do to “brainwash” yourself into becoming a copywriting machine (and no, it has NOTHING to do with hand-writing sales letters).

No matter which strategy you use, you can dial up the intensity even more by sprinkling in curiosity trigger words like…

Secret, little-known, new, trick, hack, forgotten, mysterious, peculiar, weird, strange, unorthodox, for the first time, that you won’t find anywhere else, that you’ve never heard of, etc.

#2.) Mix in Power Words

In addition to trigger words, make sure to use power words as well.

The trick is doing this in moderation so you don’t sound too hypey—if something is getting “skyrocketed” and “supercharged” in every single bullet, tone it down, amigo.

If you’re not sure if you’re overdoing it, have a friend read it over for you (or you can get unlimited feedback from professional copywriters in the Copywriting Course Members Area).

#3.) Use Unique Formatting

You want to do everything you can to be different and unique from your competitors. An easy way to do this is with formatting.

You can use emojis 😎💰

You can use different types of bullets:

▶ Like this.

⇨ Or this.

👉 Or this.

And you can order your bullets from short to long and make a “bullet slide”.

• This is a cool trick.
• The first bullet is the shortest.
• It’s quick to read and sucks the reader in.
• As they get sucked in more, the bullets get longer.
• Also, it just looks cooler and is more organized and easier to read.

Formatting might not seem like a big deal, but it’s a super easy way to keep things fun and differentiate yourself from your boring copycat competitors that all look the same.

#4.) Keep It Simple, Stupid

Which of the following bullets makes you more curious?

• Learn my 89-step plan to sculpting a flat belly
• Discover the one fruit you should NEVER eat if you ever want to lose weight

The second one, right?

The first one sounds way too complicated! People like info that comes in easy-to-digest chunks.

#5.) Be Specific

NEVER BE VAGUE. Adding specific numbers and details automatically makes your copy sound more interesting and credible.

#6.) Vary The Structure

Keep your bullet points fresh by changing up the format. An easy way to do this is to create 5-10 different bullet formulas and use a rotation. Just make sure you have enough variations so that it’s impossible to recognize any patterns.

The idea is to mix things up to keep readers on their toes. The last thing you want is for them to get bored (and these days, people get bored REALLY easily).

Whenever you read a piece of copy with good bullets, try to dissect the structures so you can use them in your own copy.

#7.) Vary The Length

To make your bullets even more captivating and unpredictable, try to vary your rhythm. Mix in short bullets, long bullets, list bullets, and parentheses bullets.

So instead of writing something boring like this…

In this book, you’ll learn:

Try changing up the rhythm, like this...

#8.) Vary How Much You Give Away

There’s a fine line between subtly creating curiosity and being a big teasing buttface.

You can avoid being a complete tease by dropping in gold nuggets here and there. This will keep readers on the hook without driving them crazy.

If you reveal something valuable near the beginning, they’ll feel compelled to read ALL your bullets to be sure they’re not missing other hidden gems.

Make some of your bullets purely teasing.

Make others partially useful (i.e. The “What Not How” technique mentioned earlier).

And every now and then, slip in a value bomb:

• Partially useful
• Tease
• 💣
• Tease
• Tease
• Partially Useful
• Tease
• 💣
• Etc.

#9.) Proofread From Your Reader’s Point of View

After finishing your draft, go back and read over each one from your target reader’s perspective. Put yourself in their shoes and imagine what they’re feeling with each bullet (if you have multiple customers avatars, do this several times).

Are you teasing too much?

Are there sticking points where you get bored?

Does every bullet pass the “Why should I care” test?

Is there a specific piece of information you’re looking for to validate your decision to buy?

#10.) Create a Swipe File

Whenever you read bullets you like (especially the ones that convince you to buy something), save it to your swipe file. Then, if you ever feel stuck, you can read over your file for inspiration.

That said, don’t just copy or substitute a few words. Instead, try to dissect why the structure works and use that information to write your own version (this is how I came up with the structure examples in #6).

Bullet List Blunders to Avoid

Speaking of editing, as you review your writing, make sure you don’t make any of these common bullet point mistakes:

Using Too Many Sub-Bullets

If your bullets go more than one level deep, you’re probably confusing people. Ain’t nobody got time to decipher your jumbled hierarchy of features and benefits.

This trusty 1997 moped is the transportation you never knew you needed:

• 200cc motor

  • 40-50 miles per gallon

    • I rode to work every day and only had to fill up once/month

      • You’ll save hundreds of dollars per month on gas

  • Only 40,000 miles on the engine

    • These Suzuki engines are known to run for 150,000+

• Comes with protective gear

  • 2 Helmets

    • Blue, Size Large

      • Comes with a tinted visor for daytime and a clear visor for night

        • Quick-Change System lets you change visor in

    • Red, Size Medium

      • Slight scratches from setting on the ground

  • Jacket and gloves

    • Made with military-grade foam that’ll keep you safe in a crash

Creating a Wall of Bullets

Whether you’re using bullets or writing in paragraph form, creating huge walls of text is ugly and intimidating to read. If you have a lot of bullets, you can make them easier on the eyes by breaking them up into categories.

Going Bullet Crazy

If you use too many bullets, your content will look like more of an outline than a finished product. This isn’t good.

To fix this, look for unnecessary bullet lists that could be replaced with a custom image.

Missing Bullet Opportunities

As you’re editing, look for paragraphs that list out ideas. These are perfect opportunities for bullets.

Being Predictable

Write this down and stick it on your computer screen:

I’m not saying to write like a weirdo, just look for subtle ways to catch your readers off guard and keep their brains active (like the ones mentioned in this article).

By using the expert bullet writing tips above, your features and benefits section will be fresh, captivating, and mysterious—the exact combination needed to shove potential buyers off the fence.

Good luck!