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10 Steps To Great Sales Copy

Copywriting implies writing about any subject (product, person, service, concept) in such a persuasive manner that the reader feels like taking some action by the time he is through reading the material. So, if you're selling anything or if you want your users to sign up for something, you have to write strong persuasive copy, and here are the basic principles - follow them and you'll soon own a copyright on copywriting:

1. Persuasive is the name of the game when it comes to headlines. You want to grab your reader and hook them in that first three seconds they're reading. By the time they get to the end of that headline, they need to want to read more. If you can't do that, your headline has failed. It's got to be catchy, challenge, entice or exploit some current event. The headline must lead the reader directly into the rest of the text on the page. The hook must make them feel compelled to read the rest of the text on the page.

2. The tone has to be casual, informal and conversational. Just like how you talk to a friend. Be good with grammar, but don't be conventional about it - for example, you can have some one-sentence paragraphs too.

3. There has to be a section that talks about the advantages of your product and each advantage must be written in brief, preferably formatted in a bullet form.

4. The writing needs to be kept clear, concise and easy to understand. You never want to confound your reader with words and phrases they need to stop and go look up on dictionary.com. In other words, avoid humungous words, long sentences and anything that equals confused message delivery. This is not the place to demonstrate how many sentences you can string together by combining commas and semi-colons.

5. The copy should always emphasize on the reader's wants and desires. So, before writing the copy, put yourself in reader's shoes and ask what is it you'd like to see written.

6. There has to be a commitment or a promise made early on, preferably before the end of second paragraph.

7. The way the paragraphs flow together should be seamless and most of all logical. If there is any fluff, wandering or digression, clean it up and toss it out. Web visitors have short attention spans and even shorter tolerance for extremely long-winded copy that appears to be imploding.

8. Avoid making claims and promises that have no basis in fact, just because they sound good. Your reputation is built upon honest delivery of fact. This is not creative writing. It's copywriting and if you have a "magic ingredient" that makes your chocolate taste incredible, you'd better be able and prepared to back that up with facts and testimonials.

9. Many sales letters will have an extremely persuasive opening, bulleted benefits to the reader, and a number of decent testimonials and when it comes time to make an offer of the service or product, there's nothing there. Please realize that by the time a reader has gone through all of points above and has reached the bottom of the page, they are expecting something. On the Internet, they are usually looking for a deal, bonuses, freebies and inducements for buying right then. Essentially, they want an offer they can't refuse. Well, give it to them. You will strike gold as a result. Miss this, and people will leave your page scratching their heads. Which would you prefer?

10. If there are any questions left in the readers' mind, any doubts, this is where you quash them. You need a finale, just like in the movies, but in this case it compels the reader to take action. Whether you offer a truckload of extras, promise a secret formula only for buyers or some piece of free software they get in addition to their main order, this is where it's offered. You want to spice it up to the point where it is irresistible. In some cases, I've actually heard of people who bought because the bonus was so good and the product was just okay. That's the excitement you want to bring to your closing copy.

These were some principles of good copywriting. If you are starting off, look up the Internet for sales letters that have worked in the past and try to model your pitch based on them. Slowly, you will get a hang of copywriting, and from then on you can only get better.

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