10 Steps to Better Sales Copy

10 Steps to Better Sales Copy

by: Brandie King

Youกve worked so hard getting that much elusive traffic to your site. Youกve taken out a few ezine ads that have returned a good number of clickthroughs, you’re getting some traffic from the major search engines, and still you wonder why your cash register isn’t jumping. You know youกve got a good product or service. Whatกs the problem?

Well it might be the sales copy on your web site.

Far too often I see the same mistakes on web site after web site. Letกs take a look at 10 points of writing good copy and see how many of these you have incorporated into your own site copy.

1) ATTENTION: You MUST grab the visitors attention immediately with your headline. Youกve got about 2 seconds to get their interest or they are gone. How many web sites have you seen that start out with a phrase such as ‘thank you for visiting my web site. Here you will find some great productsก BLAH BLAH BLAH. Bye bye visitor.

The headline of your site must pull the visitor in, make them want to learn more. Iกm not going to give you sample headlines as that is not the purpose of this article, but if you don’t have a killer headline, the rest becomes somewhat irrelevant.

2) INTEREST: Once youกve managed to convince the always skeptical visitor that they need to keep reading with your great headline, you need to start building overall interest in your product or service, how will the potential customer benefit from your product or service. Never EVER start talking about yourself, you must focus on the benefits your product can provide to the visitor.

3) BUILDUP and CREDIBILITY: So far so good, you haven’t lost them yet. Now comes the tough part. Up to this point youกve lured them in with some great writing, but now you have to start backing up your claims. This is where you need to throw in some testimonials. Any testimonial you use must be 100% authentic.

4) PROVE YOUR CREDIBILITY: I recommend you always use the personกs real name, city and state in the testimonial.

Testimonials that simply use someoneกs initials are always looked at with a skeptical eye, and you know why, no one really knows whether they are real or bogus. Ask the person giving the testimonial if it is OK to use one of their real email addresses in the testimonial. This way people know they can contact this person to verify the authenticity of the testimonial. I have given a number of testimonials through the years and always allow my email address to be used. I have also received a number of inquiries from people wanting to verify if my testimonial was real. It was, and a few of them also became MY customers.

5) BELIEVABILITY BUILDERS: Make certain at this point you offer a no hassle guarantee. A Strong guarantee does not increase refunds, it reduces them. Make the potential customer know that you stand 100% behind what you sell and if they have a problem or are dissatisfied in any way, you are there to help them.

Don’t make them have to hunt around for email addresses or phone numbers. A simple, กif you ever have any problems you can just pick up the phone and call me at 5555551212ก

Don’t make financial claims you can’t backup. If you are going to brag about how much money you have earned, you better have copies of notarized bank statements on your site showing EXACTLY how much you made. If you haven’t made $500 per day selling a given product, don’t say you have. Itกs just not believable. 6) SCARCITY: The limited time offer has been working wonders for years and using it on a web site is no different. Telling the visitor that when the product or special price is gone, it is gone, tends to build a sense of urgency. If they don’t act now they may lose out. They may not lose out, but you need to convince the always skeptical buyer that if they don’t act now, your great offer will be history.

7) ACTION: Quite simply, make it easy for the visitor to order now. ie; Call this number to order now: or, Just CLICK HERE to go to our secure order page.

Don’t make the visitor jump through hoops or have to look all over your site for a place to make an order.

8) THE WARNING: Learn to play on the visitors fears and emotions. Use a simple statement like this:

กListen, you can go on making no money for the next 20 years, It doesn’t matter to me, but if you’re serious about changing your life, all it takes is one simple phone call and youกll be on your way to a new beginning.ก

You are touching an emotional flash point. If theyกve gotten this far into your sales letter, you obviously have their interest, so hitting those emotional buttons can be the one thing that makes that sale.

9) NOW: This is building off the emotional buttons you pressed in #8. You need to again drive home the urgency. Convince them they owe it to themselves, that they don’t have to struggle anymore, that there is a better way etc. This is pretty much the icing on the cake.

10) THE POSTSCRIPT: Always end with a PS. You can restate #6, while rewording it differently, remind them this is a limited offer. You can also use the PS to throw in added bonuses by stating that if they act now you will throw in this bonus, or that bonus. You start piling on.

If youกve followed these 10 points you pretty much have the outline of how some of the best copy writers in the world construct copy that has turned ordinary people into millionaires.

Remember that getting the visitor to your website is just the start. Once they are there you better know what to do with them.

About The Author

Bryan Wintersก promises: กNot Only Will I Show You How to Make Your Living Online, Iกll Also *Pay* For the Products, Services, and Resources Needed to Do It: Web hosting, Autoresponders, Ad Tracking, and More!ก Click here for the solution youกve been searching for: http://pbutton.opportunity.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 16, 2003

by Brandie King

How Does Your Website Measure Up?

How Does Your Website Measure Up?

by: Dan Karwoski

Does your website make a good first impression? Is the navigation intuitive? Is the content appropriate for your audience? Youกve had your website up and running for a while now but youกve always had a nagging suspicion that your website is lacking effectiveness and you just can’t put your finger on it. Youกve dabbled with colors, added/removed images rewritten the text but it still feels as if everything just isn’t working together. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a way to sort things out? Well now you do!

Find out if your website has power, energy and the right stuff to help your business succeed. Youกll be able to find out if the navigation; advertising, optimization, imagery and look are combining to make your home page an effective tool. Each section has a number of questions that help define, in detail, all the important areas of a well designed website. Just run through the list starting at the top. When you’re finished just click the ‘total Scoreก button at the bottom.

Just use the simple Q and A form here: http://www.learn2design.net/login/secure/interface/eval.php to see if your website meets established design standards. Using this checklist form you can rate your website (or anyoneกs) to make sure youกve got all the essentials covered effectively.

Now the hard part; you have to answer the questions honestly and objectively! I know, itกs your baby; youกve spent countless hours nursing it to stardom. But now is the time to make an honest assessment. (Pretend its someone elseกs website if that helps.)

The form should only take 5 to 10 minutes to complete and at the end there is a brief description of what your score means and what you can do to improve your site.

About The Author

Dan Karwoski has been teaching website design to college students since 1997 and has created quality work for MSNBC, Microsoft, Amazon, Atom Films and many others. Interested students can learn the basics of web design by registering at http://www.learn2design.net. Please email questions to [email protected].

[email protected]

This article was posted on October 20, 2004

by Dan Karwoski

BestSelling Book Secrets

BestSelling Book Secrets

by: Matt Bacak

Everyone says, ขSome day Iกm going to write a book,ข but few actually do. So congratulations on a noteworthy achievement! Now that you’re holding your book in your hands, after years of research, writing, editing and rewriting, the last words youกll want to hear are, ขThat was the easy part.ข Well, unfortunately, that was the easy part. Unless you don’t mind your only fans being family and close friends, or unless you’re already a celebrity with a big publishing house behind you, your new challenge will be letting the world know about your book so someone will actually read (a.k.a. buy) what youกve so laboriously created. And the hard reality is that, in the madness of todayกs publishing environment, the onus for successful book promotion lies almost exclusively with the author. Whether you fought your way through to a mainstream channel or decided to selfpublishwhether youกve written a selfhelp tool or a novelodds are good that a publicist won’t be calling you tomorrow morning with a jampacked itinerary of book signings and television interviews. Some of you may have a little help if you’re mainstream, but all of you will carry the lionกs share. So, where do you begin?

First of all, your book is no longer ขyour baby,ข but a businessand as with any business, you must have a Marketing Plan. Number One in your plan should be creating a website that will help facilitate everything else weกll cover in this article. If you already have a website (business or otherwise), add a banner headline announcing publication on your Home page. If you don’t have a website and/or don’t know how to create one, Google how to create a website, and plenty of userfriendly links will come up. The point is that your website should showcase your book as the feature, and you should offer the book for sale right there. Sign up for a Pay Pal account, if you don’t already have one (www.paypal.com ). This is an easy, affordable way for you to offer buyers a means to pay with a credit card, and that feature alone will help drive more books out the door.

Next youกll need to develop a Sell Sheet consisting of: a) a summary of your book in 50 words or less; b) an author biography in one paragraph; and c) your field of expertise and how that relates to your book (not always relevant with fiction). Then identify your Target Audiencethe ขwhoข you had in mind while you were writing. If youกve written a novel, will interested readers be male or female, young, middleaged or seniors, action or romance devotees? If your book is nonfiction, are you targeting a certain business or profession? Do you already have a client or seminar base that will be a builtin market? If you don’t have a builtin base, what media outlets (radio, television, print) will help you build one, and which will be relevant and feasible? How do you get to Book Reviewers? (Reviews are golden, even if they’re not glowingand reviews are mandatory for success. Without them, you don’t get interviews, and the good ones become marketing tools.) Each category and media market, by the way, can be easily researched via the Internet, and each will have to receive a Review Copy of your book. Once your target audience is clear, identify your bookกs Position with a single sentence that explains why someone would want to buy your book over others in the same category. This is an extremely important element because, with every Review Copy you send out, youกll have between 5 and 15 seconds to catch someoneกs attention. Finally (and youกve probably figured this out already), you need to decide how much money you’re able and willing to spend on your book promotion. Guess who buys all those Review Copies, for example? Youกll also need business cards (focused solely on your book), bookmarks, ขJust Publishedข posters, announcement post cards, travel expenses and so forth.

But before you send out for oxygen, this new challenge isn’t as daunting as you may think, because the majority of BestSellers begin their successes locally. Your first contact won’t be to the New York Times, but rather your local newspaper. Send a copy of your Press Release (similar to your Sell Sheet but a more familiar format to the media). If you Google how to write a press release, youกll find a wealth of tutorials. Then use a ขlocal authorข angle to approach the Manager or Event Coordinator in nearby book stores (small independent book sellers and big chains like Barnes & Noble), first about scheduling a book signing, and second about stocking your book on their shelves. (The former will be easier than the latter.) Check each storeกs Event Calendar and attend several book signings to see how they’re done. When you have a signing scheduled, send invitations! Include everyone youกve ever known, if you can afford the stamps. Although youกll want to do a broadcast email to announce your bookกs publication, signing events require oldfashioned invitations to bolster turnout. The book store(s) will also do a little advertising (usually very little, i.e., a flyer by the cash register), but your best hope for a large crowd resides in the people you already know.

Use your successes with local papers and book stores to secure interviews with other media outlets. Google to seek out venues in your area such as noon television news broadcasts and radio talk shows that are willing to feature new authors. Remember, every contact you makethrough media, book stores, book reviewers, libraries, everyonewill need to receive a Review Copy of your book. Be sure to write REVIEW COPY in big, black magic marker letters on the inside front cover to minimize bootleg sales of all the books you’re sending out. Distribute widely and generously all of your other promotional materials, as well (Sell Sheets, Press Release, Business Cards…), and never travel without two copies of your book. Take a handful on your vacation. You just never know when a future fan will be standing in front of you.

This local focus will not only build success from the inside out, but will also help minimize cash outlays for airfare and hotels in the beginning. At the same time, however, expand your base by listing your book for sale on sites like Amazon and eBay (both sites have links that walk you through the process), and by entering your book in contests (have four or five ongoing at any given time). Google again for those contests germane to your book, but research the sponsoring organization(s) before entering. Some are less reputable than others. Contests offer tremendous publicity potential, though, and many judges return valuable comments whether you win anything or not. Lastly, set up an automatically inserted tag line promoting your book at the bottom of every email you generate. Thatกs free advertising that could circle the globe.

Obviously, the howtoกs of book promotion could fill volumesbut the short version begins and ends with you. If you believe with a passion that your book can be a BestSeller, then others will believe, too. Just keep in mind that, as with any project or craft, the devil is in the details. Orchestrating a book promotion can be a little like managing a goat rodeo, if all the basics aren’t in place. Make your plan, have your props, and then start calling on your local segment of the world. Every success will breed another, and the boundaries of ขlocalข will continue to expand as far as you wish to push them. Of course, none of this happens overnight, and wisdom suggests putting your plans in motion while the book is still in the production cycle. Then allow yourself a few captivating moments when you first hold the ขreal thingข in your hands. Celebrate and feel that welldeserved pride. Okay. Timeกs up.

The window of marketing opportunity is the first year after publication, which doesn’t leave room for many wasted days. Even though writing your book was the easy part, selling your book is the fruitful partand nothing compares to the sound of someone saying, ขI bought your book, loved it, and recommended it to my friends.ข May those words ring familiar time and again along your personal path to your own BestSeller!

About The Author

Matt Bacak became ก#1 Best Selling Authorก in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s eBiz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets http://promotingtips.com

This article was posted on August 08, 2005

by Matt Bacak