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Copywriting Tips: Easy Strategies for Writing Effective Website Copy

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It’s relatively simple to gain trust with your website copy and establish yourself as the expert in your area of business. Whether you sell candles or mining equipment, your online customers want to know that you are a reputable business person and that you “know your stuff.”

You need to speak directly to your target audience and give them the information they are looking for.

Writing for the Web Requires a Different Approach

Internet surfers are continuously looking for information and a solution to their problems. If they’re going to buy anything from you, you need to establish yourself as a credible and informative resource, who also happens to have a terrific product. It’s important to speak directly to the needs and desires of your visitor.

A Few Tips:

1. Talk to your customer – Avoid focusing on yourself. You are irrelevant. Tell your customer how she will benefit from using your product. Use the word “you” and you can be certain you are speaking directly to your customer.

2. Understand your target customer – Understand what motivates your customer and write from their perspective. Don’t try to appeal to everyone. You’ll get better results when you can speak directly the pains and problems your potential customer has than trying generic copy to sell to a wide variety of people.

3. Get attention – You can do this with a good headline and sub-headlines. That way, people will know instantly if you have what they are looking for. Forget cute and clever headlines…give your visitors the straight goods.

4. Keep it simple – Use short sentences and simple words. Your visitors eyes tire easily. Be kind to them! Break up your paragraphs and create plenty of white space.

5. Be casual – The web not the place for a formal essay. Write as you speak and be friendly with your visitor. Do double-check your spelling and follow most grammar rules, but keep the tone light, especially when your target is a more casual group.

6. Set yourself apart from the competition – What makes your product unique?

7. Prove it! – Add testimonials, sales statistics and anything else that proves your claims.

8. Create a sense of urgency – Limited time offers are perfect or showing your potential customer can no longer wait to solve her problem, can be effective. Make sure your potential customers feel the need to click on your link now.

Recommended for Further Study:

For more help with your copywriting and creating a website that people will stick around to read and buy from, check out Copywriting Sweetie. It comes complete with software and training to help you sell more of your product to customers who will buy from you over and over again.

Copywriting Sweetie Course & Software

More Free Copywriting Tips

Filed Under: Websites that sell Tagged With: ,

Copywriting Tips: How to Write Copy that Encourages Customer Action

July 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Why do you write copy?

Most of us write copy to inspire some sort of action. Whether you own a business that sells products, provides information or provides a service, you have an audience and presumably you want them to take some sort of action. The action can be to download free information in exchange for an email address. The action can be to return to your website or subscribe to your feed or the action can be to make a purchase. Copy is written with the expressed purpose of inciting action.

Copy is different from content.

Content is designed to provide information. It may also inspire action however that’s not its primary goal. The primary goal of any piece of copy whether it is an advertisement or a direct sales piece is to motivate action. For any type of copy there is generally a formula that business owners and copy writers can use to motivate action.

How Copy Encourages Action

There are many different formulas copy writers use to create action inspired copy. The general idea is to:

Attract attention – Create a headline that attracts the customer’s interest so they want to read more. This is often accomplished by making a promise or implying a solution to a problem. For example, Lose 30 Pounds in 30 Days” makes a promise. “Learn the Secret to Massive Weight Loss” implies the solution to a problem and may arouse enough curiosity to motivate the customer to read.

Inspires interest – The next piece of your copy will inspire interest. It will help the reader understand what you’re offering and why. This is generally accomplished in the first paragraph or two of a sales letter or the first sentence of a short advertisement.

Solves a problem – The next section of your copy shows how your product or service solves your customer’s problem. This section can be as long or as short as you need it to be. In this section there are two things you want to remember because ultimately you want the reader to take action. The first thing to remember is that you’re going to appeal to your customer’s emotions.

We buy for emotional reasons, not logical ones. We buy weight loss products for example because we want to be attractive, we want to be healthy or we want to feel worthy, sexy, beautiful and wanted. These are emotions.

The next thing to remember is that you want to sell the benefits of your product or service rather than the features. What benefits does your product or service offer?  An example of a benefit for the 30 pounds in 30 days is that ‘By this time next month you could be wearing your skinny jeans and looking great.”

Provides a call to action – The final thing your copy must do to inspire action is to actually tell your reader what they can do next. This is called your call to action. It’s the “Buy Now” button on an online sales page. If the rest of your copy has done its job, the buy now is inevitable however you must include a call to action on the page.

This simple formula is often referred to as AIDA, attention, interest, desire and action. Keep this formula in mind when you’re writing your copy and you’ll encourage the customer action you seek.

Filed Under: Websites that sell Tagged With: ,

Headline Writing: Five More Tips for Headlines that Sell

May 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

We’ve written before about How to Create Powerful Headlines that Sell. And the subject is so important, we’re back with five more tips for writing headlines that attract lots of attention.

Whether you’re writing a landing page on your website, an article or even an information product, your headline is an essential ingredient for success. Experts tell us you have about 10 seconds (or less) to grab your prospect’s attention. Guess what they read first? Your headline.

#1 What’s The Purpose?

What are you writing and why?  Are you writing a sales page? If so, what’s the purpose of the sales page? Are you writing an article or blog post?  If so, what do you want the article or post to accomplish?

For example, if it’s a blog post do you want comments? Do you want click-throughs? What’s your goal or what’s the purpose of the piece you’re writing?  Before you can even begin to write a headline, know your purpose.


#2 Know Your Customer or Reader

Ask yourself the following:
* Who is your customer?
* What is their biggest problem or complaint?
* How will this piece of content solve their problems? If you’re writing a sales page, how will your product or service solve their problem?

#3 Brainstorm Headlines

Brainstorm headline possibilities by writing twenty or so potential headlines. Here are a few ways to write effective headlines:

1. State a benefit – For example, “Lose Weight and Never Gain it Back.”
2. Use numbers and statistics – For example, “Lose Your First Five Pounds in 48 Hours.”
3. Make it newsworthy using words like new, introducing, or announcing – For example, “New Book Shows You How To Lose The Weight You’ve Been Fighting to Get Off.”
4. Make a big promise. – “Lose 20 Pounds This Weekend.”
5. Use a “reasons why” headline – For example, “10 Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight.”
6. Pique their curiosity – For example, “The Weight Loss Secret Stars Don’t Want You To Know.”

#4 Talk Directly To Your Reader

The word YOU in your headline let’s your reader’s feel as if you’re talking to them specifically and interested in solving their problems.

#5 Watch Your Language.
Use active and emotional language. Active language – language that shows movement and commands attention – compels people to continue reading. It pulls them into your copy. And emotional language attracts attention. For example, How To Lose The Weight You’ve Been Fighting to Lose. There are many emotions to tap into. What emotions is your audience feeling?

If you’re writing sales copy headlines, test and track your top two or three for conversion rates. If you’re writing article headlines, test and track which types of headlines draw more readers. Testing and tracking your headline results will help you fine tune your headline style to meet your reader’s needs and your business goals.

More information on writing headlines that sell:

Cosmopolitan Headline Swipe File
Gary Halbert, John Carlton, Eben Pagan And Michael Fortin all agree that Cosmo magazine is top notch for swiping headlines. Find out why.

Filed Under: Websites that sell Tagged With: , , , ,

Mouth-Watering Copywriting Tips

March 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Top-notch copywriters spend decades honing their skills to become sought-after experts. And what they know and can do can make you wealthy.

That being said, there’s a lot to say for doing it yourself and if you know a few tricks of the trade, there’s no reason why you can’t achieve the same conversion rates from your own copy.

Here are five mouth-watering copywriting tips:

#1 Make your story flow. When you write your copy, the sentences should flow into each other, the paragraphs should transition naturally and the ideas lead into each other with grace. How do you accomplish that? When you’re editing your sales copy, look to make sure everything flows. Don’t worry about it when you’re writing your first draft. Words that facilitate flow include:

* Additionally

* However

* For example

* What’s more

* Moreover

* Therefore

* Of course

To make sure your copy flows, always read the copy aloud before publishing. Conversational copywriting sells.

#2 Show, don’t tell. This is an age-old lesson when it comes to fiction writing, and the same rule applies to spectacular copywriting. Instead of telling people how they can benefit from buying your product or service, show them – with details, scenarios and stories. If they’re saving money, give them a real world example of just how much money they can save. If they’re improving their love life, show them how their love life will improve.

#3 Vary sentence structure. This is also important in creative writing, and, online, it’s essential. Lots of long sentences can put a reader to sleep and short sentences all packed together can feel choppy and a bit stressful. Vary your sentences and your sentence structure to make your copy easy and interesting to read.

#4 Use action. Juicy verbs are a copywriter’s best friends. Active and power-packed adjectives can help paint a vivid picture. Why have someone look good from buying your product when they can look drop-dead gorgeous?  Instead of “Click here to buy now,” try “Grab your copy now.”  Instead of “save money,” they can “keep their hard-earned cash in their pocket.”  Words have power; give your verbs impact and your nouns a kick with a powerful adjective. Of course, don’t go overboard or your copy can come off sounding “hypey” or forced.

#5 Don’t forget the power of “You.” Personal connection is essential for sales copy to work and that means the copy must be written to someone. Instead of “I” or “They” or “Business people,” use words that speak directly to your reader. “You” and “We” are great for making a connection.

Copywriting is a valuable skill and mastering a few power-packed techniques can mean the difference between a 1% conversion rate and a 10% conversion rate. Grab that pen, open your computer and get down to business. You can do it!

Here are some other copywriting resources that are available for immediate download:

SEO Copywriting: Power Copywriting for the Internet

and

Adwords Copywriting Secrets

Filed Under: Websites that sell Tagged With: , , , ,

Headline Writing: How You Can Create Powerful Headlines That Sell

February 10, 2010 By 1 Comment

Home Business How To RSS Feed You have mere seconds to capture a prospect’s attention.

One of the single most powerful tools you have to accomplish this task is your headline.  There are several keys to a compelling — and selling — headline and a few tips to help you get the job done.

Headline Writing Tip #1:  Tap into Your Prospects’ Emotions

According to psychologist, our buying decisions are based first and foremost on our emotions. It makes sense, then, to use headlines that offer your readers a strong emotional benefit or reaction.

For example, The 20-Minute Step that Will Make You a Business Genius taps into readers’ desires to feel smart and powerful.

Other emotions you can tap into are a desire to feel:

1. Attractive
2. Sexy
3. Assertive
4. Confident
5. Energetic
6. Pampered
7. A sense of belonging
8. In control of their own destiny
9. Wealthy
10. Proud
11. Respected
12. Safe

Headline Writing Tip #2:  Make it Active

To compel action, it’s important to use active language – language that shows movement and commands attention.

For example, “Stop Your Sugar Cravings Today With This Simple Step,” is a fine headline,but it doesn’t command action nor does it really tap into any emotions.  However, “Conquer Your Sugar Cravings With This Simple Step.”  Conquer is an active and emotionally powerful word.  Readers receive the benefit of feeling powerful and in control — and the headline commands action.

Headline Writing Tip #3: Let Your Reader Know They’re Important

The word YOU is a very powerful word.  Using “you” lets your reader’s feel as if you’re talking to them specifically and as if you are interested in solving their problems and helping them achieve their desires.  Whenever possible, instead of using I, Me or We in your headlines, use You.

Using the headline example above, compare the two options:

“Conquer Your Sugar Cravings With This Simple Step”

“Conquer Sugar Cravings with Our System”

People want to know what’s in it for them and when they can assess that information in the headline, they’re going to be compelled to continue reading your copy and making a purchase.

Here are three more ideas for powerful headlines:

* Make a promise – Earn $1000 a day
* Make it newsworthy – New program guarantees you’ll earn $1000 a day.
* Ask a question – Do you want to ensure your financial future?

Three Simple Steps to Write Headlines That Sell

So now that you have some ideas about what types of headlines sell, how do you begin to write those powerful headlines?

Step One – Get to know your audience intimately. What are their hopes, dreams, desires, and problems?  Understanding your audience will help you create an emotional and powerful headline directed specifically toward your audience.

Step Two – Determine how your products or services are going to make your prospects’ lives better or solve their problems. For example, if you sell fitness equipment and your audience struggles with feeling attractive, then you can create a headline that highlights a specific benefit your fitness equipment offers to solve that problem.

Step Three – Write ten to twenty (yes, twenty) possible headlines. Not only will this give you practice writing compelling headlines, it’ll help you hone in on that perfect headline.  And if you think you have a few winners, you can always test them for conversion rates to find out which headline is more effective.

Marketing and copywriting experts consider your headline to be the most import element of any effective marketing piece.  Take the time to craft a compelling, and selling, headline and you’ll reap the benefits for years to come.

More information on writing headlines that sell:
Cosmopolitan Headline Swipe File
Gary Halbert, John Carlton, Eben Pagan And Michael Fortin all agree that Cosmo magazine is top notch for swiping headlines. Find out why.

Filed Under: Websites that sell Tagged With: , , ,