Archive for April, 2009

Demonstrate a sincere respect for your audience. Speak to them in a friendly tone as you would speak to someone you know. Understand who they are and what makes them tick and respect them for it. Respect their choices. Respect their intelligence and their time. Speak to them in simply language they'll understand and get to the point quickly.

Promise plenty and deliver even more. A common lament in marketing circles is to ;under,promise and over,deliver;. Giving the prospect more than they expect is a great way to delight customers and ensure they buy again. But ;under,promising; is self, defeating. The basis for all good sales copy is to deliver a big promise , a huge benefit that's sure to capture interest and resonate with your target audience. Make a huge promise and deliver even more.

Interact with your reader to keep them actively involved in your message. Avoid long, unemotional drawn out passages that sound like a textbook or boring lecture. Maintain passion and enthusiasm. Toss in the occasional question or brief quiz to further involve your prospects and get them interacting with you , the voice of the letter – on a mental and emotional level.

Keep your copy clear and easy to read. Use short words, sentences and paragraphs. Substitute big words with basic words of 5 characters or less. These are words that everyone understands. Limit sentences to a maximum of 1½ lines in length. Avoid paragraphs of more than 4 , 5 lines. Eliminate anything that could possibly deter further reading. Clarity and simple everyday language is crucial. Write copy that is easy to read and flows continuously, keeping the reader moving along. Make your message impossible to misunderstand. Don't give prospects the opportunity to put a different spin on it.

Make it easier for prospects to respond with a ;yes; than a ;no;. Facilitate a buying response at every opportunity. Create an offer that's difficult to resist. Provide overwhelming value. Simplify the ordering process by making it as quick and easy as possible. Don't ask your prospects to do too much or you risk losing them. Make buying now well worth the small effort. Make the cost inconsequential.

Speak one,on,one with your reader. Establish a connection – a level of rapport that instinctively builds trust. People like to buy from people – people who understand their problem. They like to deal with real people, not faceless corporations. Be just like your prospect. Communicate in a way that resonates and you'll quickly command acceptance. As you write, imagine writing to a friend who fits your target market profile.

Spend the majority of your writing time on the most important elements. These include the first things your prospect sees when arriving at your site or sales letter. Critical elements include the background header copy, main headline, sub,heading, Johnson Box, the first line of the letter and the P.S. Your offer and the ;big idea; used to present it are also important components of any sales letter. 97> of the prospects you lose will be due to one or more of the above elements.

Use specifics rather than generalities. Specific facts and figures add meaning, power and credibility. It makes your claims seem much more real. Vague descriptions on the other hand, don't give the reader anything they can instantly grasp and understand. There's no measuring stick, no quantitative element to give prospects a frame of reference they can easily understand. Providing precise details makes your copy ring true.

Consider your sales letter , in fact, every ad or marketing message – your one chance to influence prospects to take action. Make your sales letter a direct response vehicle that asks for action every time. Maintain a singular focus and objective – to stimulate a ;yes; response from the prospect. Make every aspect of your sales letter contribute towards the objective of getting the sale. Your letter is your salesperson that reaches out to hundreds, or thousands of potential buyers as a one,on,one personal communication. Make it as compelling as possible. Mediocrity simply won't do.

Make your message important and relevant to your target audience exclusively. With an ever,expanding array of choices online and less free time available, it's crucial that your message be of personal importance to the reader. Your prospect faces a constant barrage of messages all competing for his time and attention. Most of it is perceived as useless clutter… except for the essential information that speaks directly to the prospect's mind and heart. Those are the only messages that penetrate the invisible barrier shielding prospects from everything else.