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| Copywriting The Easy Way. |
By:
Glen Campbell |
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Have you ever visited a site that just screamed, “buy this product”? We’ve all seen them, and asked ourselves how the site owner put together such excellent copy. It’s really no mystery once you've learned the proper copywriting techniques.
We’ve put together this list of the top things you can do to make your site more effective:
- Pose a question to your prospects. By posing a question either in your headline or in the first few sentences of your web copy you are making your prospects think. Ask questions that are thought provoking such as “How do you see yourself in 5, 10 or 20 years?” However you can grab the readers’ attention, and get them to engage in your site copy, you need to do it!
- Keep in mind the old adage, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”. And, remember that you’re not the only one who has heard this! It’s important to keep your claims realistic and believable so that prospective customers don’t feel like they’re being swindled. One important way to make your sales letter believable is to be specific. Back up any claims with facts and use specific numbers whenever possible. Then show prospects that you believe in the quality of your product by offering a strong guarantee.
- Before you start writing, create a plan. Always sit down and make at least a short plan before you start drafting your website or sales letter. Without a plan, you are more likely to get off-topic or to lose track of what you wanted to say next. Even a simple outline can keep you on track and help you ensure you don’t miss any important points.
- Load your copy with as many benefits as you can think of. Benefits – not features - are what sell products. So when you want to craft copy that sells you need to stay focused on what the customer will get from using the product. A good way to approach this is to answer the question “what’s in it for me?” from a prospects point of view.
- Once you’ve written your sales copy, put it away for a few days. As soon as you finish writing your sales letter you will naturally think it’s the best piece of copywriting ever written. But before you declare it your final draft, put it away for a few days and see how you feel about it when you read it with fresh eyes. Then pretend you’re a prospect and read it from their point of view.
- Get feedback from your customers. Listen to what your customers want and write your copy to address their concerns. Not sure what they want? Some great ways to find out are to: ask them on your squeeze page, conduct a survey, ask them in an exit popover, encourage feedback with a form on your site and even by paying attention to which keywords bring them to your site (through PPC or the natural search engines). When you know what it is that they want, you can position your website as the best place to get it!
- Split test your copy to find what works best. The most profitable sites always split test their copy to make sure it’s converting as many browsers into buyers as possible. Start with the elements of your copy that have the biggest impact – headline, subheadline and first paragraph. Once you’ve perfected them, move on to change other elements and see whether it makes a difference. A great split testing tool is Easy Split Test (http://www.easysplittest.com). But remember, the key to effective split testing is to only change ONE element on the page at a time. If you change the headline, subheadline and opening paragraph, how will you know which change was responsible for the increased conversion rate?
- Learn how to turn features into benefits. Start by making two lists, the first should be the benefits of your product and the second should be the features. Now, combine the lists by transforming the features into additional benefits. Instead of just listing “immediate access to …”, use “YOU WILL GET immediate access to…” This is a good approach, because benefits sell products better than features. And, when you can turn your features into benefits you are explaining your product in a way that focuses on the reader rather than on your product.
- 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!
- Use the space "above the fold” wisely”. When copywriters refer to “above the fold” they mean the part of the screen that is displayed when a prospect visits your site – before they scroll down. This is an extremely important area for grabbing attention because it is all a potential customer will see if they only stick around for a few seconds. So make it count! Include a compelling offer, shocking headline, strong benefit, guarantee or great testimonial. Whatever you think will best work to grab the visitor’s attention and suck them into your site.
- Have someone proofread your sales letter for you. If you can afford a professional editor then that is definitely the best option. If not, at least have a few friends read it for grammar and spelling. You can also request a free copywriting critique from the members at http://www.copywritersboard.com
- Write your sales letter as though it is a letter to your mom. An old copywriting trick is to pretend you’re writing a letter to your mom. Explain to her all of the exciting details about your product or service. Then replace “Dear Mom” with ‘Dear Friend” and voila – the perfect sales letter!
- Include a headline on your order form page. Don’t stop selling the prospect once they click through to your order page. Many site owners simply use a generic title, which does nothing to tell the prospect that he or she is headed in the right direction to achieving everything your promised in your sales copy. Use this space to keep the prospect excited so they take the final step and enter their credit card information.
- Make sure you copy sounds like a conversation. The more conversational your copy is, the more engaged your customers will feel. Nothing is worse then boring sales letters that sound distant and technical as they describe the features of the product. If a prospect is not engaged, he or she will not stick around long enough to even think about buying.
- Proofread your copy 3 times before placing it anywhere. If your site is full of typos, misspelling and misused words people are going to wonder where else you lack expertise. Don’t undermine your credibility with unnecessary mistakes. It only takes a few moments to look over your text, or to ask someone you trust to look over it as an extra set of eyes.
- Tell stories. People have to be able to project themselves into owning your product. A great way to do this is to tell them stories that they can relate to. Paint a vivid picture that describes a typical person who owns your product and exactly what it has done for them. By using stories to highlight the main benefits of your product you’re selling prospects without them feeling like they’re being sold. As a result they’ll be less likely to resist.
- Tell a compelling story. People are naturally more interested in stories then they are sales copy because they feel less pressure to buy. Use this fact to your advantage by telling a story that highlights the key benefits of your product or service. Need some inspiration? Consider telling the story about how you came to develop the product. Or profile a customer who is doing amazing things with your service.
- Spend time copying out excellent sales letters. Most of the world’s best copywriters will tell you that they got started by literally handwriting out some of the best sales letters of all time. Doing this will help you to learn the flow of a good sales letter and how to take readers from being mildly interested to pulling out their credit cards. A great place to find successful sales letter is http://ww.hardtofindads.com.
- Remember, prospects are judging your credibility when they read your copy. Never assume that your site visitors are going to believe what you tell them - unless you are already a known entity. Keep this in mind and write your copy in a way that shows your honesty and sincerity. Two great ways to boost your credibility are to provide proof that what you’re saying is true and include real testimonials. When you quote someone, or you include a statistic in your site copy, be sure to state where you got the information. Use trusted sources whenever possible, so that your readers know that you are trying to provide them with accurate and verifiable information.
- Start a swipe file. Good copywriters are always on the lookout for examples of good copy. When you find them, add them to your “swipe file” for ideas when you get stumped. Of course it’s never advisable to plagiarize something another copywriter has written, but you can take a particularly well-written letter or ad and rework it so it works for what you’re selling.
No longer will you have to work for hours to find just the right words for your website. The copywriting tips above take the guesswork out of effective copywriting. If you take some time to update your current copy - or to write new copy using what you have learned - you just may be amazed at the results. |
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