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Get Three Internet Marketing Ebooks
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Get Three Internet Marketing Ebooks
Absolutely FREE!
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Sales Letter Basics:
5 Tips To Help
You Improve Your Copywriting
And Make More Sales!
by:
Kevin A. Koop
Most Internet Marketers, including myself, tend to wear a lot of "hats."
Sure, outsourcing is a really great strategy and I'm doing my best to
outsource more and more aspects of my own Internet Marketing business
but at the end of the day…
there are still some things you need to be able to
do yourself.
Copywriting, in my humble opinion, is one of those "things." Now, I'm
not saying you have to become the next Michel Fortin, Gary Bencivenga or
Yanik Silver but you should know the basics of writing compelling copy
as it goes way beyond the crafting of a Sales Letter.
Here are the main reasons you need to be able to craft compelling
copy:
When you're first starting out, you probably don't have $5,000 to
$25,000 to hire a really good copywriter to write a Sales Letter.
The ability to write good copy will improve every aspect of your
business. Your Sales Letters will convert more… your email messages will
drive
more traffic… your blog posts will generate more comments… your
pay-per-click ads will get more clicks and on and on it goes.
When you understand how to write good copy
you'll also be able to :
Hire the best copywriter you can afford when the time comes to outsource
the writing of a Sales Letter. The better you understand copy, the more
likely you are to discern between the copywriters that are available and
find one with a "voice" that fits your marketing and personal style.
Know which products (simply from reading the Sales Letter) are more
likely to convert visitors to buyers. This is extremely important if you
are considering becoming a Joint Venture partner or Affiliate for a
particular product or service.
The truth is… A great product will fail if the copy that's written to
sell it stinks! (Learn this now, as learning this later will cost you a
lot of money).
Now that I've told you why I believe every Internet Marketer should be
well-versed in copywriting, here are some tips to put you on the
right path:
1. The Headline is King! Most copywriters agree that about 70-80% of the
buying decision is made after someone has read your headline… Yeah, it's
that important!
2. You need to learn as much as you possibly can about your "target
market." What are their fears, dreams, hopes, needs, etc.?
What language do they use that is specific to them?
The more you're able to talk "to" your market, rather than "at" them,
the more likely they are to feel comfortable in making a buying
decision. If you address their biggest desires and show them how your
product or service will help to fulfill them; you're on the road to
success.
3. Make sure to include as much "social proof" (i.e. Testimonials) in
your copywriting as is possible. People are skeptical by nature and the
more proof you can offer the better.
4. People are curious and like to know the "why" behind things. If
you're offering a really low price or are making some claim that seems
hard to believe, make sure you include the "why" in your copy.
Maybe you're only offering a low price for a short period of time while
you gather some more testimonials or maybe you've burst a pipe in your
house (actual problem of a marketer I know) and you're trying to quickly
raise some cash to fix your house.
My point?.. Read your finished copy aloud (and let others read it too)
and if you find yourself thinking… "why is that?" then make sure to
include the answer in your copy as others will be wondering too.
5. Here's a simple copywriting formula: It's
called Problem/Agitate/Solve (PAS)
Basically, you remind your target market of the problem they are having
(maybe it's the fact that they are constantly slicing the golf ball when
they go out golfing).
Then you agitate the problem. By agitate, I mean discussing why having
this problem is so problematic and bothersome to your reader. Since I'm
using a golf analogy, it could be something like:
"That nasty slice is not only embarrassing, it's likely costing you 8-12
stokes per round."
Lastly, you tell them how your product or service solves their problem.
This will be product specific but here's a sample of a possible
solution:
"In my ebook, I reveal the 5 most common causes of the golf slice and
give simple drills to correct each one… forever!"
Now that you've got a taste of what separates the bad copy from the
good, here are some products that will help to hone your skills and make
more sales…
One book I really like is "Advertising
Headlines That Make You Rich" by David Garfinkel.
"Master
Copywriting" by Advertising Legend Ted Nicholas
This 99 minute mp3 audio (& companion PDF transcript) reveal some
amazing copywriting gems. This is to be expected, however, as Ted's copy
has produced more than 1 Billion Dollars in sales for himself and his
clients.
If you really want to dig deep and acquire the skill set necessary to
become a high-converting copywriter, I strongly suggest Yanik Silver's "Ultimate
Copywriting Home Study Course." His website is ugly (in my opinion)
but the course is absolute gold! It's not cheap, but I've found it to be
invaluable for my own business
************************************
Kevin A. Koop is a
full-time Internet Marketer and the creator of the
Article Domination Method, the Article Writer's
Cheat Sheet and a special report on Pay-Per-Click
Advertising entitled:
Free PPC Update
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