Selecting the right words is critical to the success of the sales copy. Salespeople and Network Marketing members aptly call it “pressing the hot buttons”.
You will want to do the same for your own sales letter because it will be doing all the selling for you!
Recent research conducted at Yale University found 12 words that are the most personal and persuasive words in our language! Be sure to use as many of them as possible!
Here are six of them.
1. You
Notice something? It is “you” and not “I”. You see, the salesletter is about solving your prospect’s problem, not yours. You simply provide the solution. And when you write in terms of“you”, not only does it become more personal, you shift thefocus of importance and limelight onto your prospect rather than blatantly talk away or praising yourself.
2. Discovery
Sometimes, your prospect may perceive a problem he is facing as “cannot be solved” - he/she wishes, “I hope there is a solution” or subconsciously thinking, “It would be nice if someone had already discovered it”. Thus “discover” or“discovery” is a powerful hot button to press and use in your sales letter. For example, if you are facing a situation with your spouse and fear that if the divorce is granted, you would have to part with 50% of your asset, you would probably wish there were a way to stop your divorce. What if I told you that I have discovered a way? Sure, you would jump on that!
3.Safety
Most people are not risk-takers by nature, thus safety and security are appealing to them. When you especially recommend a tangible product or service, you can automatically put a seal of assurance by letting your prospect know that it is safe to use or 100% tested.
4. Money
Money, money, money – this is yet another hot button to press on! Let’s face it, we are all interested in money, whether we admit it or not. Words such as “make money”,“save money” and “multiply the amount of money you already have” are hot buttons you can easily press..
5. Proven
You want to convince your prospect that your product or service is already proven and tested before being brought to the online public. It would really scare most people if they found out that they were the first to test at their own risk of time and money. If you lose the sale, you know why!
6. Results
No matter how high your claims about your product or service in your sales pitch, your prospect would only find you spewing hot air without the results. So, you showcase your testimonials. Even better, you showcase your own results which you have personally found with your own product or service. Examples of results are:
“I have lost 22kg in three weeks!”
“I have made $1,031.00 withDEF program!” and
“With JKL Software, I have saved 3.5 hours every day in writing and submitting my articles to directories!"
More words in next post! Plus more tips and tricks about writing compelling copy at Bizwrite!
Attention - Interest - Desire - Action. You may be tired of hearing this formula. But top copywriters still use it - so you ignore it at your peril!
Grab Attention.
This, of course, is about your headline. Go back over everything we said about headlines, and remember once again that if it does not GRAB your prospect’s attention, the rest of the letter is a waste of time. If you are sending the letter as a mailer, remember many people open their mail standing by the bin. Speaking for myself, a sales letter gets only the briefest of glances before being dropped in the bin. That’s how much time you have to attract the reader’s interest!
If you are doing an online sales letter, just think of the many distractions your reader might have. The baby crying – the doorbell ringing – the phone ringing – having to collect the kids from school – the sun shining outside … You have to COMPEL your reader to pay attention to your letter.
Imagine your target prospect sitting across the table. Suppose it’s a female who might be interested in your weight-loss product, but she is engrossed in a TV program or a magazine. What do you say about your product to get her attention? Write that down!
Arouse Interest
OK, you’ve got her attention, but then her eyes begin to drift back to the TV or her magazine. What do you say about your product to KEEP her attention? Write that down! Enlarge on the benefit TO HER. Be personal. Make her see you are really interested in her and you understand her problem.
Your first sentence could be a question, like “Why aren’t YOU earning $50,000 in your spare time?” Or it could be designed to intrigue, such as “Today you had an idea that could make you millions. And you didn’t even notice it!”
Remember, even if the reader’s attention has been attracted by the headline, it could still fade if the beginning of the body copy fails to hook. So DON’T waste time on a warm-up paragraph – get straight to the point.
Create Desire
Ram home the benefits of your offer. Include as many benefits as possible, as near as possible to the beginning of your letter. Benefits are what the product can do for your customer, not how much time you took to produce it or what brilliant techniques were used.
· Be as specific as possible with your benefits. Instead of saying “Your customers will love our new computer game” say “Earn $2,000 from every sale!”
· Use bullet points, bold type, highlighting etc., to emphasize points that need emphasizing. But don’t overdo it – too much emphasis is counter-productive.
· Use sub-headlines, which definitely help to get your letter read. This makes it easy for the “skimming” reader. Many people “skim” with one finger on the trigger – make sure they get the essence of your message. Follow the same rules as for headlines. Make them convey a benefit and make them interesting enough to compel the reader to read the text that follows them.
· Always include at least one P.S. to reinforce the main benefits in your letter, especially an off-line sales letter. Everyone who writes sales letters agrees that a P.S. increases effectiveness, though it is not really clear why.
· Use endorsements or testimonials wherever possible. If you don’t have anything suitable, offer a few free samples of your product in return for answering a questionnaire.
· Make sure you provide a cast-iron money-back guarantee – decide what period of time this will be for – 30 days, 3 months or whatever. Although this will attract some freebie-seeking refund requests, it means an overall increase in sales. Look in your swipe file for examples of guarantees. There is an art to writing a guarantee so it will be quicker and more effective for you to see how other people do it!
Initiate Action
Be VERY clear about what single action you want your readers to take and make it VERY easy for them to take it. DON’T offer them the choice of more than one action. In the case of sales letters, the action is usually to buy the product. If you want them to buy your product, CLEARLY ASK FOR THE SALE.
Eliminate distractions like external links. Give them only ONE way to proceed – to your order form.
Before you close the sale, remind your readers what will happen if they don’t act. Remind them of their problems and make them feel the pain of not solving them. Then remind them how good it would be if they had your product. Once you’ve emphasized the gap between their current situation and their desired state, ask for the order.
Highlight reasons why they should act right away. It is well known that if they put it off, most people will forget or the interest will evaporate. Emphasize that stocks are limited or offer special bonuses for early ordering.
Make it absolutely clear how to get to the order page and offer several alternative ways to pay. If it is an off-line mailer, make absolutely sure you provide an order form including your name and address and providing space for customers to write theirs. Offer as many different ways to pay as possible, including credit card if you possibly can.
Of course every letter is different. But keep this basic formula in mind and you WILL succeed. More tips and tricks about writing compelling copy in future posts and at Bizwrite!
Writing salesletters is one of the most important things you will have to do as a copywriter. But a sales letter HAS TO SELL! How?
Have you ever read a book or article and immediately felt a powerful connection with the author? As if the author was writing directly to YOU?
Have you ever read a salesletter that made you feel like that?
For me, very seldom. But when I DO come across such a letter, I find myself pulling out my credit card. Almost as if I had no choice!
Here's the simple secret to wielding that kind of power.
Before you try to SELL to your readers, meet them where they are!
What do I mean by this?
Show them that you can see the world through their eyes. That you understand their feelings, that you're aware of their problems, fears, hopes and desires!
You can't fake this. You can only only show them all these things if you GENUINELY enter into their problems.
Think about your own relationships. NOTHING creates a bond between two people faster than sharing something in common, especially a common pain or frustration.
Now - when you can show your customers that you see the world from where they are standing, that you can feel what they feel, the frustrations and struggles that they are going through, then you can easily lead them to the solution. And the solution is what you are selling!
Why do you think personal stories and testimonials work so well to sell products? Because the customers RELATE to the people in the stories. If you have personally gone through the same problems and challenges and can use your own personal story, that's even better. (That's why those 'rags to riches' stories shift moneymaking products so well.)
So take your mind OFF your product and concentrate on your customer. Only that way will your prospects be interested in what you have to say!
But do that and you'll create instant rapport! Your salesletter will take on a MAGNETIC quality. It will COMPEL your customers to buy from you, and leave your competition in the dust!
Lots of earlier posts such as 11-14 June are really relevant to sales letter writing so do go back and take a look. And of course
don't forget to visit us at Bizwrite for loads more tips and tricks about writing compelling copy.
Your Sales Letter is Your Sales Person
Your sales letter is your virtual sales person. Your sales letter does all the selling on your behalf to your prospects.
Unlike conventional and direct response marketing businesses, there is no need for you to train and recruit multiple sales people. All of your efforts should focus on creating a powerful sales letter that produces a minimum 2-4 percent conversion rate on your behalf, and better later on.
In other words, for every 100 prospects you refer or visit your web page, 2-4 of them will be your customers. After that, you just provide the marketing and draw in targeted prospects to visit your sales letter and it will do all the selling to your prospects for you.
Your sales letter is like a personal letter from you to your prospect. In your letter, you tell and convince your prospect to buy your product or access to service from you.
You have probably already got a great idea for a product, now you will need to have the following in order to churn out a sales letter that kills:
1. Good writing skills. Since you will be writing your own sales copy, you will need to have good writing skills and a good command of English, at least. Note however, that there is a big difference between best-writing and bestselling. More on that in future posts.
2. Personality.Yes, you need personality. You will be writing a personal letter from you to your prospects so be friendly and approachable in your letter. Don’t write a stiff letter, because not only is it boring to read, you turn people away from your web page faster than Speedy Gonzalez! Mix your writing skills with personality, and you will make a perfect sales letter that kills!
And last but not least, you need…
3. To take action! There is a wealth of information on how you can write your own killer sales copy staring at you – don’t waste it all by not doing anything with the information!
Got it? Now, let’s get started.
Lots of earlier posts such as 11-14 June are really relevant to sales letter writing so do go back and take a look. And of course
don't forget to visit us at Bizwrite for loads more tips and tricks about writing compelling copy
Headlines range from "hit-you-in-the face" to more understated ones that don't appear like a headline at all.
Your headline gets noticed when it appeals to the reader's interests. You must use your headline to point out a difficulty the reader has or something you know the reader feels powerfully about.
This is the last post on headlines and is intended to sum up the last few posts.
Seven Sure-Fire Headlines
1. Ask a Question. "Are you worried about becoming fat and flabby?" A question headline forces the reader to answer in her mind. You mechanically get the prospect involved in your message.
2. Begin your headline with "How to." "How to lose 15 pounds in 3 weeks." People love information that illustrates how to do something valuable.
3. Provide a testimonial. The advice of a satisfied customer can act as a catalyst in pursuing others to buy from you.
4. Issue a command. Some traditional headlines order readers to "Aim High" and "Move Ahead” and so on. Turn your most significant benefit into a strong headline.
5. Significant news makes a good headline. This especially works well for huge changes in your organization or the introduction of savvy new products.
6. Headline a last date for a special offer. Most of us are always too busy and tend to put off taking action. "Save Money Now" and "Get Bonus If You Buy Now” offer augment response.
7. FREE offers often draw the greatest response. There is a myth that wealthy or professional customers are turned off by free offers. This is not accurate at all. Just customize your free offer so as to match the style of your customers or industry.
REMEMBER:
Prospects are always hard-pressed for time. They are barraged with hundreds of ads, sales letters, postcards, and commercials every day. They tend to tune out any advertising message that looks like it will take quite long to figure out. Headlines help them decide. So focus on them.
Sales letters and web copy are the most likely areas where you will need to use headlines. Those two places are where we are going next.
Meanwhile, don't forget to visit us at Bizwrite for loads more tips and tricks about writing compelling copy
We are looking at more steps to power copy, or to writing compelling copy. In this post we are looking at other kinds of killer headline besides the benefit headline (which is still the no.1 attention grabber).
But another very effective type of headline is the GUARANTEE HEADLINE.
That is, a headline that contains a guarantee right there in the headline, instead of OR as well as further down in the copy.. It can be an effective way of gaining trust and credibility with your target market.
These headlines are particularly useful when you are offering a guarantee that is unheard of in your industry.
• Are You Tired Of Throwing Away Your Hard Earned Time And Money On A New
Garden That Is Impossible To Keep Under Control? Here’s A New Way To Solve
All Your Garden Problems… 100% Guaranteed!
• Hands That Look Lovelier In 24 Hours – Or Double Your Money Back!
• Announcing A New Technologically Advanced Lap Top Computer That You Can Never Drop, Never Smash, And Never Lose… 100% Guaranteed!
• Double Your Appointments In 30 Days Or I’ll Pay You $500 Cash!
• The “Art Of Negotiating” Guarantees To Make You A Better Negotiator!
• Yep, I’ll Teach You How To Make More Money Than You’ve Ever Dreamt
Possible – Or I’ll Give You Your Fee Back Plus A Ten Dollar “Penalty” Right Out
Of My Pocket!
• The Missing Link – Never-Released Original SEAL Training Guaranteed To
Skyrocket Your Fighting Skills!
• Quick Turn Real Estate Expert Reveals Secrets To Making $117,000 In Cold Hard
Cash… In 12 Months Or Less Using A 100% Guaranteed Program!
Come and see us at Bizwrite for loads more tips and tricks about writing compelling copy
Up to now we've been concentrating on the Benefit headline. This is certainly the type that's guaranteed to grab your reader's attention.
But there are other types of headline that can be very effective and now we will look at some of these. First, the Testimonial Headline.
The TESTIMONIAL HEADLINE uses a powerful customer testimonial right inside the headline, instead of, or as well as, further down the copy.
This adds credibility to what you are claiming. Testimonials from someone well known and respected by the target market are the most powerful. Testimonials from unknown persons are not quite as powerful, but still very effective.
• The Results Were Phenomenal! We Took In Over $1,895,000.00 (Yes, Almost Two Million Dollars!!!) On This Single Promotion!
Eileen & T.J. Rohleder, M.O.R.E. Inc., Goesell, Kansas
• I Was Hesitant To Get My Building Supplies From Johnson Brothers – After All, All Tool Dealers Have The Same Pitch. But I’ve Come To Find Johnson Brothers To Be All They Say And More. I’ve Saved $32,516 With Them This Year Alone. That Says Everything!
Scott Williams, Williams Construction, Sydney NSW
• I Was Held Hostage For 4 Days By The Sharpest Minds In Direct Mail. And When It Was Over I Didn’t Want To Leave. I Had learnt The Ultimate Skill… How To Make Real Money Anytime, Anywhere. All My Fears About Not Knowing What To Do Were Gone. By Day Four, I Had The Formula Down; I knew How To Do It Right, And Even Before I Got Home From The Seminar, I Had Started A Major Direct Mail Project Which May End Up Earning Me $20,000 This Month!
Dan Reynolds, Harrison, Arkansas
Come and see us at Bizwrite for loads more tips and tricks about writing compelling copy!
