copywriting: October 2012

Wednesday 31 October 2012

Title:

Writing The Perfect Sales Letter

Word Count:

1266

Summary:

Keywords:

Article Body:

Before you actually write the e-book we are going to write the sales letter first. Now I suggest you write it in Microsoft Word and save it. Then we can transfer it to the main “Sales site Page” when we are designing our basic site in step 5

The main reason we are writing our sales copy before we ever write a word in our e-Book is because it hasn’t actually being created yet, which means there is absolutely no limit what you can write in your sales letter. The sales letter doesn’t fit the e-Book; it’s the other way around.

Now you can describe exactly what your e-Book will show to the potential customer. There are no restrictions on what you can write in the sales letter. When the sales letter is completed you can then incorporate all the ideas you have come up with into your e-Book

Your sales copy must do the following three things

• Get the attention of the prospects
• Communicate the benefits of the product
• Persuade the prospects into the desired action

Remember the most important part of your page design is your actual sales copy. A fancy website and graphics help but the key is in the words used

Sales letter Structure

• Header/Title
• Promises
• Testimonial
• Info product
• Benefit
• Bonuses
• Guarantee
• Summary

This is the structure that you should use for your sales copy. If you check out the best sales letter they will all follow this formula?

Header

The main function of the header/title is to grab the reader’s attention. The header should be displayed in a large, bold font. This demands your potential customer’s attention and intrigues them to read further on. Include your logo or e-Book cover (discussed later on) close to the header. If you header is not well designed you run the risk of losing the potential customer straight away. Spend time creating your header.

A Promise

This section promises the potential customer a huge benefit which is almost too good to be true. It’s ok if it’s a bit too unbelievable the testimonials will take care of that. Here is an example of such a headline

Discover how my 5 step affiliate programme can increase your income by 10,000 a month

Testimonials

In this section you include testimonials that old/new customers have sent you about your product or service. You probably don’t have any customers yet so email some potential ones your e-book for free in exchange for a testimonial. When you do start selling you can always ask a new customer for one.

Now the testimonials page has assured the potential customer that you can fulfil the promises you made in your header also you have gained a bit of trust from your potential customers so anything else you say that follows the testimonials page will be taken as true. This is the reason why the testimonial is placed at the top to gain trust right away where if it was placed at the bottom after presenting some good sales copy it may be already too late.

Info and product

In this section you will give info on what your product or service is about. You should show your customers a list of problems in this area. Agree with the customers, on how frustrating these problems can be and how you, yourself dealt with these problems. The key is to show the person that you have a deep understanding in this area and you are an expert on the subject. That is very important.

Next you must introduce your product as the solution to the problem. Then you must have a proper e-Book cover design. This is crucial. Many people have never purchased an e-book so you must give them some idea what exactly they will be purchasing

Benefit
This section is basically telling your potential customer of the benefits they will receive from purchasing your product. Show your potential customers the enjoyment they will get from using the product. Give them as much information on your product as you can. Use bullet points to emphasize the benefits. Put in another testimonial just to remind the person that it’s all true. Keeping their trust is highly important.

Bonuses

This is a powerful tactic used to increase sales. Including free bonuses with the purchase of your e-Book will increase the perceived value of the e-Book. Also a deadline on bonuses is also a good way to speed up consumer purchases. Bonuses also reduce the risk of money back returns

Guarantee

Offering a guarantee to your potential customers takes the risk off their shoulders. A good guarantee is the final bit in the jigsaw that will make the person finally purchase the product. The agreement is such that if the customer is not happy with their purchases then can get a full refund. You must remember that lots of your potential customers will be “first timers” therefore a guarantee puts their minds at ease. Guarantees can be 30 day, 60 day, or lifetime; however such guarantees must be backed up with an exceptional product.

Summary

This is one of the most important steps in the sales letter; this is where you close the sale. In this section you must include your most appealing benefit and finally ask for the order, because if you don’t they wont. Finally make it easier for them to order like an “order now” button shown below.

At this stage you should start to write your sales letter in Microsoft word we will concentrate on the html design and implementing the sales letter in it in section six but for now just concern yourself with writing your sales letter. To help you here are some of the web’s top e-book publishers sales sites. You can check out my own sales page at http://www.ebookprofitmaker.com

Sales Letter generator

Ok ill now offer you an alternative to writing the sales page yourself. Only use this if you are willing to spend some money. You may want to check out this piece of software that actually writes the sales letter for you. All you do is answer the questions it asks and you will receive your sales letter. You can find this software at sales generator here

Credit card Transactions

Finally you will need to find a credit card processor later on so your e-Books can be ordered. The one I seriously recommend is Clickbank. Ill go into them in more detail in section 6 but for now I want you to know that all these company’s, including Clickbank, have a set of rules that you must abide by to use their software. Don’t panic ill go through these rules now. Basically it involves putting a certain amount of details in your sales letter and product delivery page so you can be accepted by your credit transaction company. So here they are:

You must provide on your sales page:

• Detailed description of your product
• Buy now link
• Explain how the product will be delivered
• Mention how long the delivery will take

* remember theses are rules not suggestions

So that is everything you need to know on how to write your sales letter, hers a quick summary
We need to:

• Write the sales letter before the e-Book
• Sales letter structure must have , header, promise, Testimonial, info and product, benefit, bonuses, guarantee and summary
• You can have your sales letter made by Sales letter generator
• Certain set of rules should be included in the sales letter for the purpose of the credit card transaction company

Title:

Copywriting Makeover: Subtle Changes Make A Noticeable Difference Part 1 of 2

Word Count:

699

Summary:

Changing a few words in your copy can lead to double-digit increases in conversions. If that sounds like a bunch of hype, stick around and I'll show you how it's done.

Keywords:

copywriting, seo copywriting, search engine copywriting

Article Body:

Changing a few words in your copy can lead to double-digit increases in conversions. If that sounds like a bunch of hype from an online infomercial, stick around and I'll show you how it's done.

That's really all that happened with Kneelsit.com, an Australian ergonomic computer chair manufacturer. They had what would be considered a successful site with a continual stream of orders. All the basic information was already included on the home page, but the owner felt as though something was not quite "there" yet. He wanted a fresh approach to the site's copy, so that's what he received. And the results were simply amazing.

The Problems

While Kneelsit had great rankings for their key terms (normally #1 to #4 in popular search engines) keeping those rankings high required some attention to the SEO piece of the puzzle. Conversions, however, were not at their maximum. The business was not suffering, but it did have room for improvement. So, after receiving a sample chair to use during the process, I set (or should I say "sat") out to work.

Once I assembled the chair and rolled it up to my desk, I kept a notepad nearby so I could jot down benefits as I noticed them. In just a few days’ time, I had a long list of features and benefits to refer to.

As I read over the original home page copy (which can be seen here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/kneelsit-home-original.html), I noticed something else. Many of the benefits I had on my paper were referenced (at least briefly) in the original copy. Some were phrased differently than I would later phrase them, but most were there.

However, in this highly competitive industry, I wanted to be sure to keep the uniqueness of the chair on the forefront. Visitors needed to quickly see that the Kneelsit was superior to other computer chairs available. The changing of some verbiage and providing more details in some areas would help keep visitors reading and help them easily distinguish this chair from others on their comparison list.

Once my list of benefits was completed, I began relating these options to other kneeling chairs and to users of ergonomic computer chairs. I wanted to see which benefits on my list were unique in the marketplace. I also wanted to know about the users of these chairs. After all, the buyer is the center of the process and should also be the focus of the copy.

My research revealed some of the reasons users would need an ergonomic chair and also the biggest complaints about some of the current ergonomic designs. In addition, I discovered which benefits were common to other ergonomic chairs and which were distinctive.

The Solutions

Armed with the research results, I started crafting the copy to speak to that one person who was forced to sit at a computer all day, in pain, and who desperately needed help. This person had tried several other computer chairs before with little to no results and was getting skeptical about finding a solution.

I looked back over my list of benefits in search of the ones that would not be found in the competition's copy. I focused on one exclusive, patented feature (the axle design) and the fact that the chair was customizable for every body type.

I laid out a plan for the new copy including keyword selection, keyword placement, benefits and key points to be mentioned.

Similar in many ways to the original copy, the new version had some subtle, but powerful, changes. The goal of the new copy was to show the true distinction of these chairs by highlighting the most impressive benefits.

I would also focus on incorporating keyphrases in headlines and sub-heads (where it made sense to do so) and throughout the copy. I had to pay careful attention to making the copy sound natural, as I never want the SEO factors to overshadow the message of the page.

In Part 2 of this series (seen here: http://www.marketingwords.com/articles/articles_subtlechanges2.html), we'll take a look at what went into the rewrite as well as what type of results were achieved with the new copy.

Tuesday 30 October 2012

Title:

Business To Business Copywriting Secrets

Word Count:

577

Summary:

Let us show you how to increase your marketing results and get more qualified leads through effective, proven copywriting.

Keywords:

btob, copywriting, direct mail, marketing, advertising

Article Body:

If you want to increase your marketing results and get more qualified leads, you will need to improve the effectiveness of the copywriting on your website, print ads, emails and direct mail.

This is vital because copywriting is your “salesperson in cyberspace, in print and in the mail” … and great salesmanship produces great sales … average salesmanship gets only average or worse results.

Here are the copywriting tips that will improve your marketing results. These are proven based on our copywriting work for over 450 businesses since 1978.

This is a list of what your prospect is thinking as he reads your marketing copy. It’s important to make sure everything is addressed on this list. If you do this, your marketing results will improve dramatically.

1. You’d better have done your research to know what benefits I want most from your type of product or service. If you don’t, I won’t even notice you, and if I do, I won’t even give you a hearing.

2. What do you do? How will it help me? I need to know “what’s in it for me” instantly or I’m gone.

3. Why should I believe you?

4. I already have a supplier for that – why should I listen to you?

5. Make it easy for me to read, understand, navigate, and “scan” your marketing material.

6. I want a specialized expert in your field for my situation or my needs or my type of business.

7. Don’t bore me! I’m sick of corporate talk, business buzz terms and mumbo-jumbo. Almost all business marketing is very dull and boring and I won’t read it.

8. I want ALL the details and specs, including product information, product applications, CAD drawings and plans, costs and shipping. A ThomasNet.com study finds a very large percentage of buyers say these details are not readily available.

9. I want to read copywriting from a real live person talking to me person to person, and not from some emotionless corporation.

10. I won’t admit it on the record, but I make purchases based on my emotions. Sure I need logic and features for verification, but if you can touch my emotions, I’m much more likely to buy from you.

11. I badly want more from my life than just work. I’m very interested in saving time, work and stress.

12. Make it easy for me! You list many different things I can do and I’m confused. What one thing should I do now and why?

13. Don’t overload your website or brochure with fluff – stick only to relevant and helpful information I need. I’m tired of all the irrelevant “filler” information on the web and I won’t read through it anymore.

14. Compare your product or service against your competitors for me if it is really as good as you say it is. Be honest, as I’ll see through any favoritism.

15. Be specific; generalities go right into my garbage.

16. What’s your guarantee?

17. How can I test your product, service or company first, in a low or no cost way, before I make a large commitment?

18. Help me justify the investment to my boss on an ROI basis.

These copywriting secrets applied properly are a main reason one website, direct mail piece or ad can pull 2 to 3 times the response as another for the same product or service. This is why the most successful marketers hire the best outside freelance copywriters they can afford.

Monday 29 October 2012

Title:

Earn Huge Money Thru Copywriting - How To Become A Great Copywriter

Word Count:

605

Summary:

When one talks about marketing strategies, copywriting for the web is one of the most commendable tools from the marketers' point of view. This is because, copywriting as a marketing tool is an effective way to...

Keywords:

Copywriting,Copywriting for the Web

Article Body:

There is generally a better way to make a copywriting material, but a lot of people are turning their backs on it due to reasons I beg not to discuss. Potentially powerful copywriting materials are those, which are able to convey the message to your prospective clients. There are good writers in terms of putting their ideas into the copywriting material but are unable to convey and relay the real message to the targeted clients. The purpose of writing an article is to primarily educate the people who read your material. If as a writer you are not able to do that, then you are not complete as a skilled and effective writer. I have given below some few tips on you can make a greatly impacting copywriting material.

When one talks about marketing strategies, copywriting for the web is one of the most commendable tools from the marketers’ point of view. This is because, copywriting as a marketing tool is an effective way to communicate with your targeted clients whatever activities or any updates that a company is engaging into – in a wider geographic range. With the present demand for huge number of copywriters the earning to become a copywriter is just so enticing. Below are some of the tips on how you can earn more money with copywriting:

- When a business owner asks you to do copywriting for them, the aim of that is to advertise and promote their products. In which case, when you do copywriting jobs, you have to make sure that you sell and sell. On your copywriting material, you have to make sure that you get to move your targeted clients to an action either to visit the site or make a purchase. These actions would mean money and more money for the business.

- You have to develop a copywriting material that is full of interest and should promote enthusiasm and immediacy. This will give your prospective clients the drive to do an action about what you are trying to promote and advertise. Overall, a copywriting material that tries to build excitement is more like to sell.

- With copywriting, businesses are not only expecting to generate sales but traffic and list, too. This means that the copywriting material should be able to capture also potential clients thru the e-mail address that you may solicit from them when they get to open and read your copywriting material. Make sure that you give these people enough reasons for them to leave their personal information, say, give away gifts or some freebies like e-book or discounts.

-Choose the topic that you have better knowledge about. Choosing a topic for your targeted clients should be anchored on two things: what interests you and what interests your targeted readers. As a copywriter, you must be able to make these two elements meet at a certain point. Otherwise, if one of these turns out to be not considered during the creation of the copywriting material, a potentially problematic copywriting material is in the making.

- Upon weighing altogether the topic that will best benefit your targeted readers and your own interest, it is now time to come up with the outline of your copywriting material. This is an important aspect of your entire copywriting material because it shall allow for a better and well-crafted copywriting material.

-Always check your copywriting material for any possible grammatical flaws. Maintain a copywriting material that is free from any flaw as this manifests carelessness and distrust from the perspective of the readers. To avoid this, you will need to be proactively checking your works at the end of the completion.

Sunday 28 October 2012

Title:

Writing Helpful Help – A Minimalism Checklist

Word Count:

560

Summary:

Keywords:

writing checklist, writing for the web

Article Body:

User documentation is all too often written by programmers for programmers. It tends to focus on the product’s features, rather than the user’s tasks. Generally, programmers aren’t in the ideal position to be writing user documentation. They’re too close to the bits and bytes, and they’re too far from the user. To them, what the product can do tends to be far more important than what the user can do with the product.

It’s a subtle – but vital – distinction. Research shows that the key to effective user documentation is writing task oriented help. Even better, write your help according to the minimalist theory. In the documentation world, “minimalism” is a fancy word for a commonsense practice. In basic terms, it means write to your reader and keep it simple.

The theory itself has a lot of twists and turns. If you want to read a great – but slightly wordy – book on the subject, check out the book “Minimalism Beyond the Nurnberg Funnel”, 1998, edited by John Carroll.

In the meantime, if you can tick every item in the following checklist, you’ll be well on your way to usable online help that both your readers and your managers will thank you for.

Helpful Help Checklist

1. Base the help on real tasks (or realistic examples)

2. Structure the help based on task sequence – Chapter headings should be goals and topics should be tasks

3. Respect the reader's activity – this is generally more about what you don’t do than what you do. Don’t waste the reader’s time by diving off into tangents

4. Exploit prior knowledge and experience – Draw the reader’s attention to previous tasks, experiences, successes, and failures

5. Prevent mistakes - "Ensure you do x before doing y"

6. Detect and identify mistakes - "If this fails, you may have entered the path incorrectly"

7. Fix mistakes - "Re-enter the path"

8. Provide error info at end of tasks where necessary (rule of thumb, one error info note per three tasks is a good average)

9. Don't break up instructions with notes, cautions, warnings, and exceptional cases - Put these things at the end of the instruction, wherever possible

10. Be brief, don't spell everything out, especially things that can be taken for granted

11. Omit conceptual and note information where possible, or link to it. Perhaps provide expansion information at the end of the topic, plus maybe a note that there are other ways to perform the task/goal, but this is the easiest

12. Sections should look short and read short

13. Provide closure for sections (e.g., back to original screen/goal)

14. Provide an immediate opportunity to act and encourage exploration and innovation (use active invitations to act, such as, "See for yourself..." or "Try this..." rather than passive invitations such as, "You can...")

15. Get users started quickly

16. Allow for reading in any order - make each section modular, especially goals, but perhaps tasks (definitely if they can be performed in different order)

17. Highlight things that are not typical

18. Use active voice rather than passive voice

19. Try to account for the user's environment in your writing

20. Before writing anything, ask yourself “Will this help my reader?”

By building these practices into your documentation process, you’ll find that your online help becomes easier to write, shorter, and far more usable for your reader. What’s more, your boss will love you!

Saturday 27 October 2012

Title:

42 Questions for Achieving Optimal Website Writing Results

Word Count:

591

Summary:

The foundation for creating advertising copy or website writing that floods your newly designed website’s copy with cash-in-hand ready-to-buy customers is forged from the interview process between you and your copywriter. The answers to the questions below are crucial to the effective and successful completion of your project.

Keywords:

website writing, website copy, website advertising

Article Body:

The foundation for creating advertising copy that floods your newly designed website’s copy with cash-in-hand ready-to-buy customers is forged from the interview process between you and your copywriter. Subsequent research and the creation of a dynamite promotion all stems from the critical information gathered about your business, your product and service, your customers and your competition. The answers to the questions below are crucial to the effective and successful completion of the website writing portion of your project.

1. What are all the product's benefits?
2. What are all the product features?

3. How is the product different and better than the competition?

4. What does the buyer expect when he spends his money for this product? Do we deliver?

5. What methods, approaches and sales techniques is the competition using?

6. How does the audience for the product differ from the general public?

7. How much can the buyer reasonably expect to pay?

8. Does your average buyer have a credit card or checking account?

9. Will the product be purchased for business or personal use?

10. Can you expect to get multiple sales from your buyer?

11. What is the logical ‘back end’ product to sell someone after he has purchased your product? [‘Back end’ refers to other products in your product line you can offer to someone who has bought the primary product featured in your ad]

12. Will I need to show your product in color?

13. What is the total number of potential customers for this product?

14. Who will buy your product, i.e. teens or seniors, men or women, executives or blue-collar workers?

15. Is there a market for overseas sales?

16. Should I offer time payments?

17. Will the product be a good gift item?

18. Should my copy be long or short?

19. What should the tone of my copy be?

20. Should I test the price?

21. Should I test copy approaches?

22. Is there a seasonal market for the product and are you taking advantage of it?

23. Are testimonials available from satisfied customers?

24. Do I need photographs or illustrations?

25. Which appeals have worked in the past for this product?

26. What objections might arise from a prospective customer? How can I overcome these objections?

27. Should I use a premium?

28. Should I offer a money-back guarantee?

29. Is this item also sold by retail? Are there price advantages I can stress for buying direct from the ad?

30. Should I consider a celebrity testimonial?

31. Can I tie in my copy to sonic news event?

32. Can I tie my copy to some holiday or seasonal event?

33. Does the product sell better in a particular region or climate?

34. Should I consider using a sweepstakes?

35. Can the product be sold through a two-step advertising campaign? [Ads generating queries rather than direct sales]

36. What must I do to convince the reader to buy your product now?

37. Can I use scientific evidence in my sales approach?

38. Have I allowed enough time to write, design and produce my copy?

39. Can I get the customer to order by phone?

40. What approaches used to sell this product have been unsuccessful?

41. Can I get powerful ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures?

42. Assuming the ad is successful, is the client prepared with orders?

Copyright Alan Richardson

Web Copywriting

Within this article on Web copywriting, we will look at copywriting in general and how to succeed in this particular niche of copywriting. Copywriting is a growing field but some of the greatest growth is coming in the niche of Web copywriting.

There is a great deal of demand for Web copywriting today as more and more people realize the importance of good web content. This is critical for two reasons and explains why there is such a demand for Web copywriting. The first reason is that there are more than 4 billion web pages out there according to Google and this number continues to grow in leaps and bounds every day. With such a large number of web pages, it is very hard for your website to get noticed if you're writing average content that no one wants to read. The second reason that is important to have good web content is that it will give you a better chance at having your website indexed. The way that websites are indexed is that search engines have search bots go through and find different web sites. The search bots analyze the page and look for particular keywords. To truly know what you should write when developing a website, you need to have some knowledge of Web copywriting. There are many different factors that go into getting your website indexed and noticed by the search bots so this is where experience in this arena can greatly help.

If you have experience in Web copywriting, you will find that you will have a great deal work available for you. You can write Web content for websites as well as sales letters and other types of marketing materials for websites. In addition to the reasons that you must write good web content, this content must also be easy to read for your prospective audience so that the traffic driven to a client's website can be converted into sales.

Web copywriting will continue to grow in leaps and bounds due to the difficult nature of this task. You must work to get your website noticed by both search engines as well as human audiences. This is a difficult task because you're writing for two audiences as opposed to one and making sure that you can sell at the same time.

Hopefully this article and Web copywriting has given you some good information if you are thinking about going into this field. There are a great deal of opportunities and it is a very flexible and high-paying occupation due to the fact that you can work from around the world if you have an Internet connection. You'll want to take some time to read more about the field so you have a better grasp of how you should write for people. Any person can write Web content but it takes a strong copywriter to write content that can sell as well as get indexed. This is a field which will take a great deal of time to learn so be sure to expand your Web horizons as well as you can.

Friday 26 October 2012

Copywriting Rates

Within this article on copywriting rates, we'll look at how much you can make both employed as a copywriter as well as what type of copywriting rates you can charge if you are a freelancer.

If you are employed as a copywriter, you can make a small amount or large amount of money depending on your expertise and how you sell yourself. The average writer in 2005 earned roughly around $60,000 including bonuses, according to Advertising Age. This was quoted at the following website: http://www.collegeboard.com.

As far as copywriting rates go when you are a freelancer, this is a hard question to answer. Some people charge on a per project basis while others charged on a per hour basis. Here are some facts from a study done back in 2005 so adjust these figures slightly for the purposes of this article. If you like to learn more about copywriting rates up front, here is the link for that: http://www.excessvoice.com/copyfees.htm. If you write a sales letter that is supposed to generate leads, most freelancers charged somewhere between $1000 and $2000.

If you were to charge for writing a website home page, this often would bring in between $300 and $400 for you. Copywriting is a very good profession as about two out of every five people earned somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000 a year in gross income. Be sure that you take advantage of purchasing these survey results because it could allow you to earn a great deal more money. You could find that you are grossly undercharging your services in this could provide an immediate boost to your income without having to do any more work.

The figures that were quoted here were based upon the median of copywriters surveyed so if you have specific knowledge and experience that others do not and this can be quantified, you could charge a higher price than what the market could bear. This would allow you to have a greater gross income. Taking the time to learn more by your field and develop experience within a particular niche can give you a competitive attitude which would allow you to charge more for your services.

Hopefully this article on copywriting writing rates has given you some knowledge on what kind of rates you could charge. If you want more information on particular activities that you currently engaged in, look up the survey which is listed under the link provided above.

All of the rates that were listed in here were the median rates remember. This is the critical point that is being re-emphasized in this paragraph because it should give you an idea of what you could potentially charge. Rates within markets can always change so you must make sure that you're keeping up with what others are charging so that you make sure you are not shortchanging your self. The rate that you charge for services is contingent upon what the market is willing to pay as well as how well you sell yourself.

Thursday 25 October 2012

Title:

The indispensable qualities of professional copywriter

Word Count:

405

Summary:

Provides an insight into the process of choosing professional copywriter and the qualities that the copywriter must possess.

Keywords:

copywriter, writing article, create press release

Article Body:

Whatever industry you operate in and whatever web site you have, it indispensable that the content on your web site is written easy-to read, appealing and attractive style. Your potential customers will visit your web site and judge both you and your company by the information presented on your web site. It might be enough to have appealing content in offline advertisement, but it is not enough just to have attracting content to be successful in online environment. However, how can one make sure that your web site will stand out from the numerous other identical ones on the internet and it will attract the attention not only of your visitors but the search engines as well? In order to get high rankings the text of your web site should be well optimized as well. Undoubtedly, this is where the skills of experienced and skilled copywriter count.

It is widely known that the copywriter should be creative, ingenious and must possess excellent writing skills. But apart from these well-known facts, what qualities and experience should professional copywriter possess? First he should know how to perform keywords search and keywords analysis. In my experience there are some specialists in the company, who can perform this task for copywriter; however it is imperative to find out whether the copywriter can perform this task before hiring him. Second, he should have good knowledge of modern marketing tools. He must understand current online advertisement strategy and the techniques that allow receiving high rankings on your web site. He also should know how develop highly efficient marketing program that will advertise the site and gain promotion of it online. For instance such techniques as press release and article writing that help to promote you as real professional should be known to your copywriter.

Third, the text written by him should induce customers to take some actions. One should remember that it is crucial to have action –driven text on your web site to get high results. Fourth, the copywriter should be custom-oriented and understand how the potential customers write, talk and act in order to write as much convincing as possible. Killer-Content.com is one of the leading copywriting companies, that provides its customers with appealing, attracting and ingenious copywriting SEO and web content. It also provides its customers with efficient press release services. The writers of Killer-Content.com create press release that helps to get exposure of your company.

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Title:

Discover the Advantages to Hiring a Freelance Web Site Copywriter for Your Web Business

Word Count:

552

Summary:

Once you have completed your web site development and design, you're ready to start website marketing. Don’t wait until crunch time to start seeking out an expert to write the copy for your newly developed and designed web site. Have a freelance web site copywriter in your bullpen to come to your aid…when you need him.

Keywords:

freelance web site copywriter, website development, web development

Article Body:

Ok…so you already have a crack staff of writers on-hand to handle your company website's writing assignments. So why should you consider hiring a freelance copywriter?

Well, as you know, today’s corporate belt-tightening often means too much work for too few people. This is especially true in the communications area, where cutbacks have strained the resources of our workforce across the board. The result? Stress, overwork and low morale.

And of course, this strain is more intense when those unusual or special projects come up. The disruption in the day-to-day activities of your staff can have two results. Either this project gets low priority or the day-to-day work suffers.

What’s the alternatives? Well, you can solicit the services of an established Ad agency or PR firm. And in some instances this can be the wise choice, especially when you need the kind of flashy productions intended to impress and entertain the client…the kind designed to win glitzy awards.

The problem? These fancy productions often come with a significant price tag. Face it, these firms have a lot of employees to feed and the cost of this high overhead is passed on to you. And that often means a budget under stress.

In addition, these firms tend to be busy with the best writers often assigned to the large, high profile clients. You may get a team of junior writers, but you’ll still pay the high cost.

The solution? Studies indicate that hiring a freelance writer can actually average 5% (or more) less expensive than work done internally. While at first glance the higher freelance per hour rate appears more cost, when you add the true cost of internal labor, not only salary, but benefit and overhead costs. And because you use him only when needed, there is no ‘downtime’ cost.

And with low overhead, the costs for freelancers are generally significantly lower than the established ad agency and PR firms.

What are some other advantages, besides cost, to having a freelance writer in the bullpen?

· Control…Office politics, personal sensitivities and organizational bureaucracies often effect control of a project deadlines and content. The freelance writer is your strategic sourcing partner for any project, working with you.

· Objectivity…Essential to creating powerful persuasive copy. Freelancers can give an impartial view and new perspective to your project.

· Writing experience…Intimate knowledge of a product or service is not necessary to write about it. Good copywriters are experienced researchers and adept at asking the right questions to get up to speed quickly. What is more important is the fresh perspective that comes from their diverse experience in meeting a variety of communication challenges.

· Better results… Many writers can write well…but few can produce the powerful and persuasive copy that optimizes lead generation or sales. The best copywriters are masters at pulling in qualified customers dramatically increasing profits.

· Fees…Copy fees are almost always a very small portion of the total project cost, but its effect on money generating results can be enormous.

Don’t wait until crunch time to start seeking relief. Have a freelancer in your bullpen to come to your aid…when you need him.

Copyright Alan Richardson

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Title:

The Bible - The Source Of All Copywriting Secrets

Word Count:

874

Summary:

Keywords:

copywriting, sales letters, internet marketing

Article Body:

I've been a student of the Bible for practically all my life. There is a lot of reason why this book remains the number one best-seller year after year. I think that it is the source of ALL wisdom, yes, including successful copywriting!

What do I mean by this?

Simply put, every copywriting strategy can be found FIRST in the Bible. This may appear to be a strong statement but I challenge the reader to prove otherwise. As I did the research for my latest ebook "77 Ways to Skyrocket Your Website's Conversion", I kept saying to myself "but that's in the Bible … that's in the Bible."

I would like to take a look at FIVE copywriting principles and show you that they are as old as the Scriptures. This article is not meant to 'convert' you so read with an open mind ... ready? Let's go!

1. Stress benefits not features.

It's the Garden of Eden. The serpent approaches the woman Eve to get her to take of the forbidden fruit. Does he rave about the color, taste and texture of the fruit? No, he sells Eve on benefits. "Your eyes will be opened, you will be like God ..." (Genesis 3:4). Now that's a benefit, not a feature at all. And did Eve fall for it? She surely did.

That may seem like a 'negative' example - a plain deception. But look at what the book of Revelation promises the "overcomer". Eternal life, health, recognition, wealth and mansions without mortgages.

2. Use lots of testimonials.

If you have just a cursory knowledge of the Bible you know that the gospels of Matthew, Mark Luke and John make up the first four books of the New Testament. They all cover the same ground and share many common stories. So why would we need four different people saying practically the same thing?

You see they all wanted to tell THEIR story about the Rabbi Jesus Christ. So the writers (all satisfied customers) relate the life-changing encounter they each had - the more testimonies the better.

The entire Bible relates stories of peoples encounter with the supernatural and how it affected their lives. In fact, Jesus related to the disciples after His miraculous resurrection that all the Old Testament was really about Him.

3. "Create a damaging admission and address flaws openly"

That's the title to chapter 3 of the master copywriter Dan Kennedy's book "The Ultimate Sales Letter". He goes on to explain that if you openly admit the drawbacks of your offer then your credibility goes up instantly with the customer. For example, your price may be higher than your competitors so you may say: "If you are looking to save a few bucks then you can find many other companies who will be willing to give you some 'quick fixes'. But we provide a very thorough and expert service, hence the higher price"

You are admitting that you are expensive but showing why - the customer gets a superior service.

In the gospels we see many potential disciples who wanted to follow Jesus and he told them openly that it was a sacrificial walk. He told them in no uncertain terms that it involved a "cross", leaving father and mother behind, even possible death - but you will gain eternal life in the process. Talk about a "damaging admission.

4. Place a limit on your offer to motivate procrastinators.

This is a very important element of the "call to action" section of any sales letter. Humans are naturally procrastinators. We always put off what should be done now for a 'later' that never arrives. That is why the copywriter must show that supplies are limited or the special offer is for a 'limited time only'.

In many 'call to action' sections of the Bible we see the same warning to procrastinators. "Today if you hear my voice do not harden your heart .." (Hebrews 3:7). In the story of the great flood procrastinators were found outside the ark. Jesus told the story of the covetous farmer who built bigger barns to store his grains not knowing that death would come knocking on his door that very night.

Jesus never sent one of his listeners to go away and think about it. Today ... now, was the only time that anyone had. His message was "ACT NOW!"

5. Research your potential customers to know their problems and needs.

Dan Kennedy refers to this as "getting into the customer". Getting into the head and experiences of the customer -walk in his moccasins.

The whole Christmas story is about Jesus getting into the skin - literally - of the customer. The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus is touched by our feelings and infirmities. He became like one of us so that He may understand "the customer" better. That is why he could speak to the needs of the human heart with such authority because he knows what is in man.

I've just briefly looked at 5 copywriting principles but this applies across the board. Whether you accept the Bible as just another book or as inspired writings, there is no denying that the principles are there.

I would love to hear from the reader if he or she would like to challenge me on finding a useful copywriting principle that's not in the Bible.

Monday 22 October 2012

Title:

Your FAQ Page - A Sales Tool? You Bet!

Word Count:

522

Summary:

FAQ pages are generally well-trafficked areas of your site. With just a few adjustments, your FAQ page could become one of your leading sources for sales conversions.

Keywords:

copywriting, copy writing, web copywriting

Article Body:

by Karon Thackston © 2006

The FAQ page… a standard addition to almost any site. It usually lists questions customers ask on a regular basis, and the answers to those questions. But what befuddles me is that hardly any sites I’ve visited use this page as a sales tool.

Did you think of that? If not, you’re losing out on the use of some valuable real estate! FAQ pages are generally well-trafficked areas of your site. With just a few adjustments, your FAQ page could become one of your leading sources for sales conversions.

Let me give you a before and after version of one site I visited. I’ve changed some of the information so as not to promote (or embarrass) the site owner.

BEFORE

What is the source of the minerals used in your supplements?

We use all-natural minerals from sources such as limestone and dolomite. Nothing artificial.

[back to top]

What is the source of Vitamin C?

Ascorbic acid, which was originally gained by isolation from fruits and plants, is produced today by an industrial process. The basis for the industrial ascorbic acid synthesis is D-Glucose (grape sugar or corn sugar), one of the most common organic compounds in nature.

[back to top]

Informative? Yes. Does it answer the question? Yes. Does it contribute to making the sale? Not really.

Now, let’s change these two answers just a bit, add a link or two, and see how much more powerful they can become.

AFTER

What is the source of the minerals used in your supplements?

We use all-natural minerals from sources such as limestone and dolomite. These 100% natural minerals are then carefully processed under low heat to remove impurities and preserve quality. Many minerals are processed under high heat, which literally kills the beneficial elements of the mineral. Because of our devotion to producing quality vitamins and minerals, we take additional precautions that other manufacturers skip. To ensure you receive the most potent supplements possible, choose XYZ Vitamins.

[shop for minerals]
[back to top]

What is the source of Vitamin C?

Ascorbic acid, which was originally gained by isolation from fruits and plants, is produced today by an industrial process. The basis for the industrial ascorbic acid synthesis is D-Glucose (grape sugar or corn sugar), one of the most common organic compounds in nature.

XYZ Vitamins uses only organically-grown grapes and corn, and we extract our own D-Glucose to ensure the process remains 100% natural. No other manufacturer in the world has developed its own facility specifically to produce the highest quality of Vitamin C. We go the extra mile to ensure the vitamins and minerals you buy from XYZ Vitamins are the most beneficial for you and your family.

[shop for vitamins]
[back to top]

See the difference? The “before” versions JUST answer the questions. The “after” versions boost consumer confidence, promote unique qualities of the products, and offer easy-to-follow links to buy the products in question.

By using some imagination and salesmanship, you can turn your FAQ page into a highly productive tool that not only gives visitors the information they need, but also encourages more sales!

Title:

Simple Steps to a Killer Headline

Word Count:

223

Summary:

Writing a killer headline is the key ingredient in your sales copy.It forces the prospect to read on abe further influenced.Learn the key points to writing a killer headline.

Keywords:

advertising, marketing, online business, promotion, ecommerce, SEO

Article Body:

The headline is undoubtly the most crucial factor of the sales copy. You could have the best sales copy ever written but a poorly written and not thought out headline will almost single handly ruin your business.The following points should insure your headline is quality and will force to read on.

1. Ultra Specific

You need to be as specific as possible. For example. Instead of "how an ebook author make thousands every month",change it too "how an ebook autor makes $2,678.85 every month".Its more specific and alot more believable.

2. Keep it unique and original

You really need to come up with your own original headine.For example im sick of seeing this headline. "Finally,the simple way to get free to your site. Its this word "finally",its been totally overused.

3. Keep the urgency

This really forces the reader to view the sales page further.Give the headline a sense of urgency. For example, giving a special offer for reading on,deadline dates or total amounts available.

This techniques have personally been proven by myself, they work some better than other, the key is to keep tweaking and testing with the above points always in mind.

I use these tips in the headlines I create. I ALWAYS MAKE SURE MY HEADLINES GRAB THE ATTENTION. My website ebookprofitmaker.com currently has a conversion rate of 3.3% and 76% of my vistors read past the headline.

Sunday 21 October 2012

Title:

SEO Copywriting Makeover: Finding the Right Trigger

Word Count:

883

Summary:

Watch as professional SEO copywriter Karon Thackston takes a site with no emotional appeal and no search engine rankings and turns it into a great success!

Keywords:

copywriting, seo copywriting, search engine copywriting, website copywriting

Article Body:

by Karon Thackston © 2005
http://www.copywritingcourse.com

You've got a great product or service. Now, how do you make buyers sit up and take notice? How do you get them excited about what you're offering? You have to pull the trigger.

There is at least one trigger for every product or service on the market today. Finding it is the hard part. Once you determine what will set your customers in motion, you've won half the battle. This was the case with ForecastWatch.com.

With a new site, the owner of ForecastWatch.com (Jeff) was unsure of what to do with the copy in order to connect with his site visitors and cause them to take the action he wanted them to take. Not to mention, Jeff wanted to rank highly with the engines as well, so search engine optimization (SEO) had to be taken into consideration, along with the selling aspects of the copy.

The Problem

The only real problem was finding the right trigger. The original site had little to no usable copy. That's not an insult; it's the truth. You can see the original home page here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/forecastwatch-original.pdf. Jeff knew he needed help from a professional copywriter, so he spent little time on the site content.

The Solution

To determine the most powerful trigger, I took a look at all the segments of ForecastWatch.com's audience. It was broken down into three distinct types of customers. They were all interested in the most reliable weather forecasts possible, but for three very different reasons.

One group was made up of meteorologists. Their obvious interest was in being able to provide the most accurate forecasts to their viewers and listeners. A second group was compiled of weather risk managers. It is the job of these professionals to accurately assess weather for industries such as the stock exchange, construction, transportation, national defense and more. The last group needed weather forecast accuracy for personal reasons, usually as a hobby or for sports reasons (coaches, etc.).

While the last group was primarily interested in the weather as amateurs, the first two segments (meteorologists and weather-risk managers) have a lot on the line when it comes to weather forecast accuracy. Their reputations and their jobs are on the line.

And that's the trigger! I put it right up front in the headline, which read:

ForecastWatch.com
Because Your Reputation Depends on
Being Right About the Weather

The headline hit the nail on the head. It got the attention of weather professionals, was of great interest to hobbyists and included part of one of Jeff's keyphrases. The last word in the headline (weather) tied into the first sentence of the copy and, thus, created a keyphrase.

Keep in mind that engines don't read spaces or line breaks or punctuation within the copy, so having one word of a keyphrase in the headline and the remainder of the keyphrase in the first sentence of the copy is an excellent way to make the copy flow and keep in line with SEO protocol.

Now, the task would be to keep that same emotional twist and energy throughout the copy. With the old copy, Jeff had no rankings with the engines for his chosen keyphrases, so the optimization of the copy needed to give him a presence.

The Rewrite

In the opening paragraph, I touted the praises of weather professionals, letting them know their expertise was recognized and appreciated. I also used one keyphrase twice and the second keyphrase once. In addition, I used the individual word "weather" and substituted "specialist" for "risk manager" in some instances to add to the flow and give a well-rounded environment for the spiders and bots.

Next, I provided a good overview of what ForecastWatch.com offered. Again, a keyphrase was used in the headline (because it worked for both the visitors and the engines, not strictly for SEO purposes), and a keyphrase was used in the paragraph.

Finally, the copy was broken out into segments that targeted specific individuals. This gave them precise information on what benefits ForecastWatch.com offered them. Boxes for meteorologists, weather risk managers and weather enthusiasts were created. Within the copy for each block and again in the anchor text for links to internal pages, keyphrases were used where appropriate. These boxes lead each visitor to information that was most relevant to him/her.

You can see the new copy here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/forecastwatch-rewrite.pdf.

The Results

I always like to let the customer take over in this section. Here's what Jeff had to say about the rewrite of his home-page copy.

"Traffic has steadily increased, and I've gotten a lot of leads and my largest non-weather-company business customer from Internet search. The rewrite helped me with more than just the website. It helped me to define my business goals and to articulate them in other marketing materials as well." In addition, rankings continue to rise with current positioning in the top five for one of his keyphrases.

Take the time to do a little research. Put yourself in your customers’ place. Uncover what's most important to them, and you'll be rewarded with greater conversions in the long run.

Saturday 20 October 2012

Title:

Making It Easy for Customers To Choose You

Word Count:

742

Summary:

If someone were standing in front of you and told you that they were considering buying my desk from you or from Vendor Z, what would you say to convince them to buy from you?

Keywords:

copywriting, online copywriting

Article Body:

© 2006, All Rights Reserved

Isn't it frustrating? All you need is a new computer desk (or whatever you may be currently shopping for), but you can't make a decision you're comfortable with. It shouldn't be this hard, should it? What's holding you back? Probably lack of information.

Here's something every web site owner should know. When visitors come to your site, they are looking for a reason to buy from you. Think that's stating the obvious? You'd be surprised! I come across countless sites every day that do everything but give the visitor a reason to buy, subscribe, click, call or otherwise take action. It's a fatal mistake in any business, but it's especially damaging for web-based companies.

Let's continue with our example of buying a computer desk. You start with the big three office-supply stores. You click the "office furniture" link, and you're faced with a barrage of links to pages about lamps, printer stands, bookshelves and more. Then you get to the desks. Computer desks, desk collections, metal desks, workstations… geez! There are lots of links, but no information. Finally, after drudging through pages of links, you find some actual copy that describes a desk you think you might want.

You look over the features. You write down the price. You gather the shipping or delivery information. Great! Now, on to the next site.

When you arrive, everything looks almost the same except the logo. Same navigation, same links, same inventory, same prices. The shipping amount is the same, and the delivery policy is identical to the site you just came from. As you click from site to site, it's like déjà vu. How are you supposed to make a decision to buy when all your options are equal? What will be the determining factor between site A and site B?

If you're feeling frustrated just reading this scenario, imagine how your site visitors feel. When they come to your site, they are looking for a clear reason to buy from you instead of all the other sites. Do you give them a reason? Do you give them several reasons?

If all factors are equal - even if all factors are similar - your visitors will find it difficult to make a decision. When they start guessing at which site would be best to buy from, you start losing business. Maybe they'll choose you, maybe they won't. There is a way to ensure you are chosen over your competition. You have to clearly point out how you are different or better than every other option available.

MarketingExperiments.com recently published their findings in regards to differentiating your company from others. They reported that most companies - when asked what their most unique aspect was - answered, "Our great customer service." I have bad news for you. That won't cut it. Why? Because, in most cases, when customers are visiting sites to gather information and make purchasing decisions, they won't come in contact with your customer service department. It would be a nonissue until something went wrong.

Also, since most businesses are claiming excellent customer service, it's an overused promise that has begun to carry less and less weight. You need something solid. You need something that is persuasive. If I were standing in front of you and told you that I was considering buying my desk from you or from Vendor Z, what would you say to convince me to buy from you? Here are some things to consider when trying to discover ways to differentiate yourself from other businesses.

· Offer free shipping (on all orders or on orders over a certain amount)

· Increase your inventory

· Decrease your inventory and only carry specialty items

· Lower your prices

· Raise your prices (works well for premium goods & services)

· Increase your area of expertise (for service-based businesses)

· Specialize or narrow your niche

· Achieve ratings or rankings from well-known associations or organizations

· Apply for a patent

· Win awards

· Offer a customer loyalty program

Conduct an online survey of your visitors to ask what they want. (SurveyMonkey.com is great for this.) Look back over your complaints and other feedback for ideas about how to set yourself apart. Email existing customers (if you have their permission to do so) and ask them why they chose you. Whatever you do, don't stay in a position where you are exactly the same as (or highly similar to) your competition. The chances are far too great you'll get lost in the crowd.

Friday 19 October 2012

Title:

Sales Letters that Sell!

Word Count:

2015

Summary:

A step-by-step guide to writing powerful sales letters that produce results. Packed with tips, techniques and proven strategies that turn letters, emails and mailers into high-impact selling tools. Learn to overcome the barriers to selling by tapping into the deepest psychological motivators of prospective buyers. Discover the three critically important parts of your offer, how to motivate procrastinators, and how to structure the all-important close that turns prospects into customers.

Keywords:

sales letters, writers, writer, writing, copywriter, copywriting, letters, mailers, email writer

Article Body:

The average consumer is inundated with sales pitches. So if you’re selling a product or service to today’s ad weary consumer, if you want your sales letters to get results, you’ll need a step-by-step plan that breaks down the barriers to buying. A plan that bypasses the head and goes right for the heart.

If the heart’s in it, the brain will follow.

Buying anything is largely emotional. Whether it’s paper clips or plain paper copiers, emotions lead the purchase. Facts, specs and the like are simply used to justify the decision, once made. Which means that everything about your sales letter, every sentence, every phrase must appeal to your customer’s emotions.

What emotions?

The simple truth is, there are only two emotions that really motivate people: The promise of gain or the fear of loss--with the fear of loss being the stronger. Example: Given the choice of headlines: “Save money in legal fees.” Or “How to keep from being sued.” The latter will probably get a better response.

Supporting the promise of gain and the fear of loss are seven key emotional hooks or basic human needs. No matter what your product or service, to be effective, your sales letter must directly address as many of these basic needs as possible:

• Safety/Security
• Wealth
• Good looks
• Popularity
• Self-satisfaction
• Free time
• Fun/Excitement

So how do you get them to act? How do you go from head to heart? What’s the copy paradigm? Imagine you’re in a baseball stadium facing an audience in rows of bleachers. It’s the game of the century, ninth inning, bases loaded. And you’ve got a bag of peanuts you absolutely must sell or the boss will fire you on the spot. What would you do to get their attention? Yell “Peanuts?”

Start with a verbal “2x4”

You’ve got to hit them over the head with an emotional motivator. And that means you start with the envelope. Remember-- gain or loss--it has to be right there on the outside, in bold. (When was the last time you rushed to open a plain white envelope?) Two examples:

Gain-- “We Put a Money-Making Miracle in this Envelope.”
Loss-- “Throw This Away and Work Hard for the Rest of Your Life.”

Okay. They’ve opened the letter and what do they see? A boring paragraph about your leadership in the industry? Stuffy sentences about commitment, innovation and dedication?

Whoosh. In the round file it goes.

Time to visit our key motivators--gain or loss. Again, it’s got to be there in a headline they can’t miss. And it must reinforce the headline that compelled them to rip open that envelope. Both headlines must dovetail in their message and emotional impact.

Example: “Finish reading this letter and you’re halfway to becoming rich.”
Next comes the all-important body copy. What to say to leave them begging for your product. For this we go right into the consumer’s emotions, mining for clues to the perfect selling pitch.

What’s the problem?

A while back, McDonalds was beating the pants off its competitors. So Burger King hired a big powerhouse ad agency to gain them market share. They tried everything--analyzing secret sauces, elaborate contests, toy tie-ins. Nothing worked. Finally, they sent out questionnaires, did focus groups, and literally stopped people on the street. And you know what they discovered? Not what consumers liked, but what they didn’t like about hamburgers. For on thing, the leading hamburger came practically “factory made” with everything on it. Some folks liked pickles, others hated onions or mayo. That was “the problem.” The solution was simple: hamburgers made to order, followed by the now all-too-familiar slogan “Have it Your Way.” The point is, you’ve got to find and exploit your consumer’s problem. And make your product the hero.

Life without your product--miserable

So, you’ve succeeded in getting your reader’s attention. You’ve discovered their “problem.” Now it’s time to remind them how many ways that problem affects their lives. If you’re selling a cordless electric lawnmower, you’ll want to remind them of all the headaches of their old gas powered mower. Like running out of gas, finding the gas can, taking it to the gas station, driving back with a can full of smelly gas in the car, maybe spilling gas on the carpet. Once at home, there’s the annoyance of yanking the starter until your arm feels like a wet noodle. And the fire danger of having a can of gas in the garage with kids playing near it. The point is, you want to paint a very troublesome picture of life without your product.

Life with your product—absolute bliss

Now that you’ve raised your reader’s interest by making them feel the pain of life without your product, it’s time to provide your solution. Here’s where you’ll briefly introduce yourself and your product or service. No more running out of gas, no more smelling gas cans in your new car, no more yanking that starter cord till your arm falls off. Just flick the switch and you’re ready to mow. Plug it into your electric outlet and it charges overnight. Your worries are over. You go on and on, hammering home the fact that your product or service is the perfect solution. At this point, your reader will probably ask, “Sounds interesting, but who the heck are you to think you can solve my problem? I never heard of you.”

Credentials time

Here’s where you build trust by detailing key facts that build confidence in you and your company. You could start by listing some testimonials from satisfied customers. If these come from people in the industry who your prospect is familiar with, so much the better. And if you can get photos, phone numbers and so forth, it will add even more to your credibility. This is also the time to mention how long you’ve been in business and any articles that about your company and/or its products that have appeared in the local or national media (these can be particularly valuable, since they come from an impartial source).

Now that you’ve assuaged their fears about doing business with a complete unknown, they’ll want to be totally sold about your product or service. Here’s where you go into detail. And this is the perfect time to do so, because you’ve established trust. They won’t be thinking about who you are, but what you can do for them--how you’re going to solve their problem.

Detail benefits, not features

A key caveat here. Don’t get your reader quagmired in “Featurespeak.” It’s easy to do and it’s what most unskilled writers fall victim to. Featurespeak is for your sales team, not your potential customer. Avoid things like “Our new cordless electric mower features the X9T Autoflex handle, or the PT600 Zenon Battery. Better to say, “Our new electric mower’s handle easily adjusts to your height for maximum comfort.” Or “The easily rechargeable battery lasts up to 5 years without replacement.” If your product or service has more than three major benefits, list them in bullet point form to make them easier to read.
Make them an offer they can’t refuse

This is the crucial part of your sales letter. Your offer should be compelling, irrefutable and urgent. You want your reader to say, “This is a great offer, I’ve got nothing to lose but my problem.” Try to combine the big 3 in your offer--irresistible price, terms, and a free gift. For example, if you’re selling a cordless electric mower, your offer might be a discounted retail price, low interest rate, and a blade-sharpening tool. Try to raise the perceived value of your offer by adding on products or services--for electric mowers, it might be an extended warranty or safety goggles. Augment this with compelling benefits these additional products or services will provide.

Assuage with a guarantee

There’s a little voice in the back of every customer’s head that whispers, “Buy this and you’ll be sorry.” So make your offer bulletproof. Take the risk out of the purchase. Give the absolute strongest guarantee you can. It tells your reader you’re confident in your product or service. Enough so to back it up with a strong guarantee. Don’t be afraid to make this final commitment.

Motivate the procrastinators

So they’re reading your letter and are pretty convinced that your company and your product or service can solve their problem. They want to buy. The mind is willing but the flesh is weak. Time to bring in our key motivator—fear of loss. One way to tap into this fear is by convincing your reader that because this is such a good deal, only a scant few mowers remain. Or that the extended warranty is being offered only for the next few days, or for the next 50 customers. Our old motivator--gain--can be used here as well. Example: “Buy now and get a $20 gift card--FREE!”

Call to action--KISS

You and your staff know what readers need to do to buy your product or service, but your readers are inundated with offers every day. And each offer has a different procedure for buying. Give them a break and walk them through the order/purchase process. And KISS (keep it simple stupid). Use simple action words like “Pick Up the Phone and Call Now!” If your phone number spells out a catchy slogan or company name, always add numerical phone numbers. If they need to fill out a form and mail it, say so. And if possible, use large type on your form—especially if you’re selling to seniors. Be clear on what they’re ordering and for what price.

ABC!

Follow Alec Baldwin’s admonition in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross—“ABC…Always Be Closing.” Sprinkle your call to action throughout your letter. Ask for the order. Then when you give the call to action at the end of the letter, it won’t come as a surprise, but just another reminder. Better still, if they’re ready to order halfway through your letter, they’ll know what to do.

Postscripts are magic

Nobody reads postscripts, right? Wrong. The P.S. is the third most read element of a sales letter—after the headline and any picture captions. The top wordsmiths use several (P.P.S) in their letters. It’s one of the best places to remind readers of your irresistible offer. But you have to be brief and compelling, establishing urgency and value, and drawing on your key motivators of gain and loss.

Drive it home on the order form

The order form is where some of the greatest sales are won or lost. It’s where that little voice in the back of your customer’s head comes alive once again and says, “You’ll be sorry” or “You sure you want to buy this now?” It’s what I call Preemptive Buyer’s Remorse.” Time to bring in our top gun persuaders--gain and loss--one last time. Use the same persuasive arguments as before--only be brief, more compelling and urgent.

Do you want the steak knives or the El Dorado?

Okay, you’ve got the prized Glengarry leads. And the formula for writing a winning sales letter. Start by knowing your prospect’s problem, then drive home key benefits using the emotional motivators I’ve described. And don’t forget Alec Baldwin’s other maxim, AIDA--Attention. Interest. Decision. Action. Get their attention, build their interest, convince them it’s the right decision, and finally, urge them to act. Good luck. You’ve got 26 letters in the English alphabet. How you use them can make all the difference …between getting the steak knives or the Cadillac El Dorado.

Title:

Writing Benefit-Driven Web Copy – 4 Steps to More Sales

Word Count:

1390

Summary:

You've identified the benefits you offer your customers, but how do you turn a list of benefits into engaging web copy which converts visitors into customers?

Keywords:

web copy

Article Body:

You've identified the benefits you offer your customers, but how do you turn a list of benefits into engaging web copy which converts visitors into customers?

Recently I wrote an article explaining how to identify the benefits you offer your customers (http://www.divinewrite.com/benefits.htm). That article challenged business owners and marketing managers to think in terms of benefits rather than features when writing their web copy.

What the article didn’t discuss was how to actually write the web copy once they had identified their benefits. That’s what this article is about. (It even gives you a couple of templates you can use to make your job a whole lot easier!)

As a website copywriter, many of the projects I undertake are completely new websites. The client has some general ideas about what they’d like to convey, but they need someone who can fine-tune their message, and create web copy (and a web structure) which engages their readers. As a result, over the years I’ve developed a process for doing this effectively. There are four main steps:

1) Identify benefits

2) Identify how you deliver these benefits

3) Prioritise your benefits

4) Write the content

Although this article touches on step 1, it’s mostly about steps 2, 3, and 4.

STEP 1 – IDENTIFY YOUR BENEFITS

Branding aside, most websites are about selling. Customers don’t want to know what you can do; they want to know what you can do for THEM. That means the first question you should ask is, “What benefits do I offer my customers?” This is usually the first step toward identifying the key message to be conveyed.

That’s not to say that your website shouldn’t describe your products and services. You just need to make sure it describes them in terms of benefits to your customer.

But benefits identification is outside the scope of this article. If you’d like to find out more about how to engage your customer with benefits, go to http://www.divinewrite.com/benefits.htm.

STEP 2 – IDENTIFY HOW YOU DELIVER THESE BENEFITS

Of course, you can’t just claim to deliver benefits and stop at that. You need to support that claim. On your website, you’re going to need to convince your audience that you actually do deliver these benefits. Anyone can say they deliver benefits, but few can say it persuasively.

From step 1 you’ll have a list of benefits. Now you need to think about how you deliver each benefit in that list. This is where you start talking about features – price, product highlights, distribution channel, competitor weaknesses, external factors, USPs, etc. It’s helpful if you draw up a table with one column for benefits and one for the features which deliver those benefits. (Click http://www.divinewrite.com/downloads/benefitsfeatures.doc to download an example Benefits-Features table – 20KB.)

You’ll probably find this process much easier than identifying benefits. In fact, you’ve probably got most of this information written down already… somewhere. If not, chances are you uncovered a good portion of it when you were brainstorming for benefits.

TIP: If you’re having trouble identifying supporting features, before filling out the table, try listing everything you can think of which relates to what you do and how you do it. Don’t worry about the order. Just braindump onto a piece of paper, a whiteboard, a Word document, anywhere… Don’t leave anything out, even if it seems unimportant. (You’d be surprised how important even the most insignificant details can become once you start assigning them to benefits.) If you start getting lost, think back to the question you’re trying to answer: How do you deliver your list of benefits to your customer? Once you’ve done your braindump, read through it and decide which specific benefit each feature delivers.

STEP 3 – PRIORITISE YOUR BENEFITS

Now that you’ve identified all the things you COULD say, it’s time to figure out what you SHOULD say and where you should say it. This is where your benefits-features table comes into play. Read through your list of benefits and prioritise them according to how compelling they will be to your reader.

The reason for this? Priority determines prominence. The most compelling benefits will need to be prominent on your site.

TIP: Be aware that your list may include some benefits which everyone in your business category could claim. In other words, they’re not just specific to your company, but apply to the type of service you offer. For example, if you sell a Content Management System (CMS) for website creation, you may list “Greater control for marketing managers” and “Less expense updating content” as benefits. Every CMS vendor could claim these benefits, so you’ll need to question their importance. Will they differentiate you from your competitors. Generic benefits can be useful if none of your competitors are using them, or if you feel you need to educate your market a bit before launching into company-specific benefits.

STEP 4 – WRITE YOUR CONTENT

So now you know what you’d like to say, it’s time to decide how to say it. This is about three things:

i) Subject – What is the subject of your site; features or benefits?

ii) Structure – How do you structure your site such that your customers will read your most compelling benefits?

iii) Words – What words should you use to best engage your audience (and the search engines)?

The remainder of this article is dedicated to Subject and Structure. For further discussion of Words, see http://www.divinewrite.com/webwriting.htm and http://www.divinewrite.com/seocopy.htm).

Subject

What is the subject of your site; features or benefits? The answer to this question lies in audience identification. If your audience knows a bit about the type of product or service you’re selling, lead with features (e.g. processor speed, turnaround time, uptime, expertise, educational qualifications, wide product range, etc.). But make sure you talk about their benefits, and make sure the features offering the most important benefits are the most prominent.

Here’s a simplified example…

“Cool Widgets offers:

-- Standard Operating Environment – Significantly reducing the complexity of your IT infrastructure

-- System upgrades which are less expensive to license – Providing excellent TCO reductions”

In cases where you’re selling to an audience who knows very little about your product or service, lead with benefits (e.g. if you’re selling something technical to a non-technical audience).

Here’s the same simplified example, reversed for a novice audience…

“Cool Widgets offers:

-- Reduced complexity of IT infrastructure – We can implement a Standard Operating Environment for your organisation

-- Reduced TCO – We can upgrade your IT to systems which are less expensive to license”

Structure

How do you structure your site such that your customers will be sure to read your most compelling benefits? The answer is, keep it short ‘n sweet. And make it scannable. This doesn’t mean you have to cut features or benefits. You just have to structure your site to accommodate your message.

While every site is different, as a rule of thumb it’s a good idea to introduce your main features and benefits on your home page. Summarise them – preferably using bullet points, but at the very least, clearly highlight them so that your audience can scan-read (e.g. bold, underline, colour, link).

Then link from each summarised feature or benefit to a detailed description. Try to keep each page to approximately 200-400 words. You may need several pages to detail all your features and benefits. (Click http://www.divinewrite.com/downloads/pagestructure.doc to download a page structure template – 29KB.)

TIP: In cases where you need to introduce features and benefits which are generic to your field (rather than specific to your offering), your home page is generally the best place to do it. From there, you can lead to a second page summarising the specific features and benefits of your offering.

Conclusion

Web copy is about far more than just clever words. It’s essential that you identify the benefits you offer your customer, and that you can convince your customer you actually deliver those benefits.

I hope that the guidance and tools provided in this article will help you on your way to engaging web copy which converts to sales.

Happy writing!

Thursday 18 October 2012

Title:

Copywriting Makeover: Subtle Changes Make A Big Difference, Part 2 of 2

Word Count:

821

Summary:

Changing a few words in your copy can lead to double-digit increases in conversions. If that sounds like a bunch of hype, stick around and I'll show you how it's done.

Keywords:

copywriting, seo copywriting, search engine copywriting

Article Body:

In part 1 of this series (seen here: http://www.marketingwords.com/articles/articles_subtlechanges.html), we were introduced to Kneelsit.com, an Australian manufacturer of ergonomic computer chairs who was in search of a high conversion rate. After spotting several trouble areas within Kneelsit's original copy (viewable here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/kneelsit-home-original.html), I set out to rewrite the home page with specific goals in mind.

The Rewrite

I really felt for the users of these chairs. They had back problems and medical issues, trying desperately to find relief. I can only imagine how it must feel to sit in pain all day, every day. And, after seeing so many false claims for other chairs, I could understand how they might be skeptical. So, after reading the new home page copy, I wanted the site visitors to have confidence, to see the difference in the Kneelsit chair and to understand the benefits this chair would offer.

Of course, those in chronic pain were not the only visitors to the Kneelsit site. While they were the primary segment, the audience also consisted of those with mild back pain, those with inconsistent problems or simple fatigue, and those who simply wanted a comfortable chair that wouldn't contribute to any future back problems. The copy also needed to meet their needs and provide the information they were seeking.

You can see the revised copy here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/kneelsit-home-new.pdf.

The Headline

The original headline did, in fact, list benefits. It stated:

Superb Comfort, Perfect Posture, Gentle Movement, Natural Balance

However, only one of those benefits spoke to audience members… Superb Comfort. While posture may have been a secondary thought, gentle movement and natural balance didn't strike a chord simply because of a lack of knowledge. As it happens, these two benefits are important, but the general population doesn't understand what they mean. It would require educating the site visitors about these two before they would grasp their full meaning. That education couldn't take place within the headline (not enough room!), so those two benefits needed to be removed.

The headline needed to evoke feelings of trust for the skeptical and a sense of stability for the hesitant. It also needed to provide an obvious benefit - one that would catch the reader's attention.

Also, because it made sense to do so, I included one keyphrase in the headline. The new headline read:

Ergonomic Chair Design Based On Years Of Research Lets You
Sit For Hours With No Back Pain

The Opening Paragraph

The original copy started out just fine by naming some important benefits, but it didn't back them up. After pointing out the relief of stress and pain, it went directly into an explanation about the chair's patent.

The new copy took a cleaner path. It started by pointing out that others (users and professionals) liked the chair, and then it proceeded (in the next section) to explain why.

The original copy tried to educate readers about the importance of continuous movement and natural balance. There is nothing wrong with educating your customers; however, you need to give ample space to do that. Because the visitors had limited information about these two benefits on the home page, they may have been confused or - at the least - unpersuaded.

The new copy held firm on one feature: the swivel axel mechanism. It explained how this helped with customization of settings to fit every body type and more. With minimal education needed, the customer was able to understand that this one, patented feature offered multiple benefits.

Rather than simply listing shipping details for the close of the copy, the new version of the home page pointed out some additional benefits pertaining to quality and stylishness.

As I wrote, I looked for places to use the keyphrases chosen for this page. This was absolutely not a numbers game. My goal was not to use the keyphrases as often as I possibly could. That approach is not SEO copywriting, in my book.

Basing your copywriting strategy simply on the sheer volume of times you can include keyphrases makes the copy sound forced and ridiculous. In fact, on this home page, the keyphrases were only used a total of four or five times. Yet, to the amazement of some, the home page ranks in the top 10 (and often top five) for its chosen key terms.

The Results

Did it work? Did the changes bring out the results we wanted? They sure did! When asked about improved conversions, the owner of Kneelsit.com had this to say, "Our conversion rate has definitely improved since the rewrite… probably by around 35-40%!"

Sometimes, even though you may have included important information in your copy, it just doesn't do what you hoped it would. Take the time to explore, experiment and test. Replace a headline. Rephrase a paragraph. Subtle changes can often make noticeable improvements in conversions and other areas of business.

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Title:

Is There Really a Difference Between Online Copywriting and Copywriting for Print?

Word Count:

1019

Summary:

Some copywriters think writing is writing, and that it doesn't matter whether you're writing for print or the internet. It's all the same. I suggest there are lots of differences.

Keywords:

copywriting online, copywriting for print, copywriting tips

Article Body:

One of the biggest copywriting mistakes I’ve seen over and over again is writing about features rather than benefits. But, you say, I want everyone to know all about my great product. How do I get them to buy it if they don’t know about its great features? Sorry to burst a bubble, but the truth is they just don’t care.

What they do care about proves a basic truth about human nature—we’re basically selfish creatures. We care about benefits instead of features. “What’s in it for me?” That’s what’s really important. What that means is that you need to know exactly how your product or service will benefit your readers, and then be able to convey it to them in terms they’ll understand.

Another common mistake is writing to everyone. Your target market cannot be “everyone”. If it is, nobody will truly get the message. And if nobody gets your message, nobody is going to buy either.

Determining who your target market is before you start to write will at the least, focus your writing. And go even further than determining a broad target market if you can. Narrow your target market to a niche market instead. Who are your most important potential clients? Determine who your most important target is and write directly to them.

Pick one topic and stick to it.

Prove your authority. You can use case histories, testimonials, cite important studies or use your own published articles. The point is that people buy from experts. Make sure that’s what you are.

Whether it’s print or online copywriting, make it easy for them to respond. Send a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope or business reply card if your copywriting a direct response piece. If it’s online, use convenient order forms and make them accessible from every page.

And while we’re on the subject of ordering, if you don’t tell them why they need to order now, they most likely won’t.

Procrastination, it seems is a basic human tendency. So, if you don’t tell them to order now, they’ll most likely put it off until tomorrow and tomorrow and yet another tomorrow, until finally they’ve simply forgotten.

Entice them to order with limited time or quantity specials. Create a sense of urgency about it so they really will order today.

There’s an old copywriting formula to keep in mind while you’re writing. It applies to any type of copywriting that sells. That old formula is AIDA

Attention. Grab attention with interesting headings, photos, subheadings, etc. Your first headline really makes or breaks your copy. It’s the first thing read and possibly the number one deciding factor for your reader staying or leaving.
Interest. Create interest with your first sentence and your first few paragraphs.
Desire. Stimulate desire with benefits, testimonials and case studies.
Action. Ask for action now with special pricing, combinations, limited time or quantity offers. Give them a really good reason to buy Now.

Repeat your main benefit, and ask for action again with a P.S. Interestingly the P.S. is the second-most read line in print and online copy. Some experts say one P.S. is best, while others use two or three.

So those are similarities for all copywriting that sells. How is online copywriting different from print?

Various studies have shown that the internet is a culture of its own. The internet was originally a place for sharing free information, and it remains that way today. In keeping with its culture, freely share information you’ve gained and you’ll get more visitors. And that also means to eliminate the hard sell, and practice the soft sell instead.

Remember that internet visitors are usually impatient for information. They generally prefer shorter pages than you’d usually write for such things as a direct response package.
A general guideline is to use half as much as your printed text. Keep sentences and paragraphs short. Break long copy up into more than one page, or use modules instead.

Don’t overload your readers with irrelevant content or links. People came to your site for a reason, and that reason was represented in their search term. Your page needs to be completely relevant to the search term, or they’ll simply leave.

The internet is graphics-oriented, so use pictures, diagrams, graphs, and anything else visual to help convey your message. And, unlike print, the internet can be interactive, so if it applies, use it.

But, you don’t want to over-do graphics either because your web site needs to load quickly. If it doesn’t load in less than 10 seconds, your potential sale is most likely gone. He or she is probably checking out your competition!

Possibly the biggest difference between copywriting for any type of print and online copywriting is in the research. You can write any print copy without using particular phrases, but you can’t do that online. Your online copy needs to be written around keywords that are put into search engines by prospects.

Remember that there are lots of copywriting tips you can find free of charge simply by searching with you favorite search engine. And there are several very good copywriters who have free copywriting tips on their web sites. Two that come to mind are Bob Bly and Allan Sharpe.

So those are a few tips for your copywriting. And I’d like to leave you with one final tip. Many would-be copywriters worry too much about their writing. Fear of seeing their copywriting in public, or even on a letter can freeze you into inactivity. I would encourage you to give it a try.

If you’re copywriting for your web site, remember to research keywords first. And then start with an outline if you need it. Start by just writing a few phrases. The point is—just start. Don’t be afraid of mistakes. That’s what editing is for.