How to Write Copy Like a Pro - Part 4 / 5

This is the fourth installment of the series, the 101 most important things to keep in mind when writing sales copy.  The tips will include how to get started, how to write compelling copy and how to improve what you’ve already written.

61. Let prospects get to know you. Giving your potential customers a sense of who you
are and what your company stands for is a great way to build trust. And studies have
shown over and over again that people are more likely to buy from someone they
know and trust. So start building a relationship with your prospects the same way you would with a new friend – by telling them a bit about who is behind the website.
62. Use white space to your advantage. White space is useful for highlighting important
thoughts and ideas that you don’t want your readers to miss. Use it on your website to
draw attention to important benefits, bulleted lists and subheadings. It’s also a great
way to make your sales copy look less intimidating. Nothing scares prospective
customers away faster then large blocks of text. While you would not necessarily
want to use this technique for print ads because of the cost, it’s a great tool for online
sales letters that is often overlooked or misused.
63. Be honest and realistic. While you want your customers to believe that you can help
them to solve their problems, be honest about what your product or service can –and
cannot - do. If your product is a timesaver, focus on how much time. If you offer a
service that will save your customers money, focus on how much money they can
save. It’s expected that you’ll over-estimate a little, but never over-promise when you
know you can’t follow through.
64. Remember that pleasure is a great motivator. Find ways to appeal to your
prospects’ desire for pleasure, like telling them that they will have more free time,
more money or be more beautiful if they buy your product or use your service. These
are great ways to approach a customer in need, and they will help you achieve the
pleasure of higher sales numbers!
65. Load your text up with benefits. Come up with a list of as many benefits as you
possibly can and make it a point to include them ALL in your sales letter. The more
the better! To get started, spend time taking a serious look at what you are offering.
List all of the benefits that you can and want to provide to your customers. Is it access
to something they want? Is it increased profits? Is it better self-esteem or a better
appearance? Whatever the benefits – get them in the text early and often for the best
results.
66. Appeal to your prospect’s emotions. Great copywriters know that customers make
the decision to buy on an emotional level, and then seek logical reasons to back up
that decision. Use this to your advantage and appeal to your prospects’ emotions as a
way to suck them into your sales letter. Tap into their desire to protect their children,
eliminate pain, feel empowered… Then back it up with all of the benefits your
product offers so they can justify their decision.
67. Use testimonials and case studies that show specific results. The best evidence you
can provide to back up the claims in your sales copy is real results that are measurable
and achievable. Choose testimonials that state actual results in detail such as dollars
made or saved, number of customers acquired, time saved, etc. The more specific
they are, the better job your testimonials will do of convincing new prospects that
your product can help them too.
68. Don’t be afraid to admit your shortcomings. Be willing to admit your
shortcomings – it shows integrity, openness, and honesty. No product is perfect and
your prospects know it. Prospects expect you to rave about your product and describe
it in the most glowing of terms. That’s fine for the most part. But admit a flaw or
weakness and you’ve added credibility to your message. Prospects are much more
likely to buy into your beliefs when you level with them and admit your product isn’t
the perfect answer for everyone.
69. Include bonuses to add value. Bundling your product with high quality bonuses
such as a free gift, related ebook, audio download, coaching session or coupon is a
great way to increase the perceived value of your offer. The key to successfully using
bonuses is to make them relevant and only available through you. Then tell your
customer just how much these extras would sell for individually. The better the value
being offered, the more likely the customer will be to take the deal!
70. Focus on value instead of price. Increasing the perceived value of your offer is more
effective than discounting the price in most cases. People have a hard time passing up
what they believe is good value for their money. And, value offers are a much better
way to make your product stand out in a highly competitive market.
71. Offer your customers a money back guarantee whenever possible. Fear keeps
people from buying. Help your prospects overcome their fear by offering a hassle free
money back guarantee. They’ll be more likely to consider your offer if they know that
they can get a refund if they’re not satisfied. Be sure to explain your guarantee clearly
on your website – including what the guarantee covers and how long they have to
claim it. And keep in mind that the more personal you make your guarantee, the more
likely customers will be to believe it. A good way to do this is to write it in the first
person and add your signature at the bottom.
72. Offer people results instead of products. Customers rarely go looking for a product.
What they go looking for is the desired result. For example, if they want to learn
about something, they buy a book that teaches them about that topic. It’s the
knowledge they want, not the book itself. So sell the results and benefits of what you
are selling, more than you sell the product or service itself. This will definitely get
more people buying, because they will quickly see how you can help them to solve
their problems!
73. Make your copy believable. The first rule of successful copywriting is to make your
copy believable. Avoid exaggeration, and be aware that people are not going to
immediately trust you enough to accept whatever you tell them! By being honest, you
are making a great effort to gain the trust of your visitors and your bottom line is
likely to show the result.
74. Avoid excessive punctuation. Exclamation points certainly have their place in sales
copy, but be careful not to use excessive punctuation on your website!!! Doing so can
give the reader the impression that you are exaggerating your claims. People are
suspicious of marketing people to begin with, and are on the lookout for signs of
dishonest claims. Use only one exclamation point or question mark at a time.
75. Make sure that your site design encourages visitors to read your text. If your site
is full of flashing text and animations that draw the visitors’ attention away from the
copy that you have worked so hard to craft, then what’s the point? Make sure that
your copy is the focal point of your site – at least on the page where your sales letter
is. If your site makes a good impression on customers, then you have a much greater
chance of making a sale.
76. Use testimonials. People don’t like to be the only one buying something. Show
prospects that others have bought from you and have been satisfied with their
purchase by including honest testimonials in your sales letter. Testimonials go a long
way in assuring potential customers that you will deliver as promised, and that you
have a happy existing customer base. The best kind are unsolicited ones, but if you
need some to get started with simply contact your customers and ask them to give you
feedback.
77. Guide prospects toward purchasing - don’t push them. Pushy sales people do
nothing more than irritate potential customers. And by writing a sales letter that is full
of hype, you’re putting that pushy sales person in front of every prospect who visits
your site. A better approach is to use persuasion and honesty to guide people to buy.
Concentrate on pulling in your readers by giving them a solid emotional reason to
believe what you say – a strong testimonial or a sincere thank you from an
appreciative customer. This will go much further than demanding sales copy.
78. Focus on what your prospects want – not what they need. If you write your web
copy to focus on what people NEED, they will be much less inclined to look at your
product than they would be if you were focusing on what they WANT. People are
always on the lookout for ways to get what they want, because wants are emotional.
And when logical needs come up against emotional wants – the emotions always win
out!
79. Let your passion show through. Show your customers that you love to talk about
your products by letting your excitement shine through. Invariably, when you are
excited about what you are offering it will get others excited as well. It’s easy for you
to be sincere when you care about your customers and your products, and almost
everyone who visits your site will see this immediately.
80. Don’t use price as a point of competition. If you engage in a price war with your
competitors, you only end up hurting your own bottom line. Instead, find ways to
write outstanding copy that demonstrates what it is about your product that makes it
better than what competitors are offering. A lot of great copywriters have sold more
expensive products then their competition because the value was perceived as higher.
It’s often been said that it takes the same amount of effort to sell a $20 item as it does
to sell a $200 one!