How to Think Like a Copywriter
Do you groan in agony at the thought of writing a sales letter?
Does it feel like every word is dripping with a pushy sales
pitch that you just know your readers will hate? Recently, this
exact situation was poised to me, and the question was asked;
"How do I overcome this feeling and where do I start in order to
write action inducing sales copy?"
The first thing that is required before you can sit down to
write is a change in your mindset. You need to know when writing
a sales letter that you are not asking or "pushing" your readers
into buying your product. You are offering a solution to a
problem or filling a need that your readers face. This is the
heart of your sales letter, and the main focus. The benefits are
very important, but remember that you are making an offer to
solve a problem.
Once you realize that your offering a valuable solution to a
problem, and not peddling a useless piece of junk, writing the
sales letter becomes much easier. Business owners who know that
their product or service provides maximum value never feel as if
they are "pushing something" off on the customer. If you don't
feel this strongly about your product either stop selling it, or
add more value.
Helpful Tips to Make Your Sales Copy Soar
Write to your customer the same way you would tell a friend
about the product. If you really found benefit in a product, you
would tell your friends about the great benefits you reaped from
using the product. Your customers will respond to this approach
the same as your friends will.
Write to your customer, not at your customer. This means write
as if the letter is addressed directly to them and not the
anonymous majority. You might say:
"Customers who purchase our XYZ Oral Hygiene Kit will enjoy long
lasting fresh breath for up to 8 years guaranteed"
While this is a strong statement, your customer psychologically
associates some third party with the benefit. Instead, paint a
picture in the mind of your customer and make sure they are in
it. So instead of the above you would say:
"After only one 1 painless application with my XYZ Oral Hygiene
Kit You will enjoy up to 8 years of long lasting fresh
breath...guaranteed!"
This turns on the mental television in your customer mind and
allows him to "place himself in the drivers seat" for lack of a
better analogy. And when your customers start seeing the
benefits as they pertain to their situation, you will start
realizing higher conversion rates.
Spend a little extra time and make sure your copy is the best
you can produce. There is no point to writing a sales letter if
you're not going to make it shine. Trust me your customers will
be able to tell if you rushed it and threw out some random list
of benefits trying to force a sale, and your orders will reflect
it. So take a little extra time and take some pride in your
work, it will be well worth it when your sales count skyrockets.
Have a third party proofread your work. As a copywriter, we are
often too close to our own work, and are unable to give a
objective review. Have a friend or family member read through
your copy to see if the wording flows well, and the message and
more importantly, the offer, gets through to the reader. If you
can't find anyone local, their are plenty of marketing forums
online where copywriters hang out who would be glad to read
through your sales copy and help you out.
In the end you get out of your sales copy what you put into it.
A businesses sales copy can make or break that business. Take a
little time to learn the fundamentals of writing sale pulling
copy, and you will be rewarded with every sales letter you
write.