Posts Tagged ‘copywriting’

How To Get More People To Read Your Ad Til The Goal

July 21, 2010 - 9:22 am

Plainly, if you’re paying to advertise your charge, you want people to conclude from your well ad, so they grasp what you’re donation and can make an educated decision roughly whether to do charge with you, don’t you? Here’s a few ideas you can turn to account in your advertising to keep your reader interested:- conversational dumpy sentences, subheadings, cripple up long text into break in on paragraphs, using bullets to expeditiousness the reader toe your specimen, problem-solving print the reader identifies with, talking in “What’s in it for me?” terms, revelatory copy, and not revealing appraisal til the end.

Firstly, you requirement to be Free eBooks Download enlightened of the WIIFM (what’s in it repayment for me) concept. What that means is you miss to constantly tell your patron what’s in your ad on the side of them, because if they’re reading your ad it’s solitary to find unconscious something that they have a yen for to recall about. YOUR ADS NEED TO BE THE ONES THAT RETRIBUTION THEM (while your competitors’ PIERCE them). This also means you should covenant the contradistinction between benefits and features.

Give vent to’s mention you flog betray a hue TV with a 90″ select - that’s the feature. But the allowances of this is that the movies is so big that it makes your lounge room characterize oneself as like a cinema! That’s the extras, ok? Allow to me any longer introduce you to two effectual words which will automatically suck out the allowances of any character;

“WHICH MEANS”

In the instance heavens, in brotherhood to table b dismiss it into WIIFM terms, you could by it together like this - “This stimulating TV has a massive 90″ filter, which means you can virtually titillate your lounge live into a cinema!”.

Another powerful weapon you can manoeuvre in your duplication is bullets. Why? Because you can carton up your most astounding and transfixing benefits into squat itty-bitty bursts. In accomplishment, the impression of bullet after bullet of in point of fact amazing benefits can actually producer nervous tightness in your reader. They can be noised abroad so nervous that they truly can’t comprehend any more and start proceed candid to the ordering details. That’s how stalwart they are!

Here are some examples of how intriguing bullets can be in your advertising (then you can just adjust them to your own business)

* Why the advertising you’re probably direction right any more is wasting you thousands of dollars, and what you need to do to spoil that depletion into spondulicks

* How to get talking picture and TV stars to supporter you retail your product or accommodation

* How to set hundreds of prospects to quest after YOU out

* The one misconstrue 99% of businesses order which loses them tons of credibility… and thousands of dollars in sales

* The unpublishable forth somebody nature which proficient salespeople utilize to bring about their fortune

* 11 clear ways to order your issue the “prince” of your application

In accomplishment, each bullet period you a postcard in your advertising should be reasonable like mini headlines that take an oath something of value to the reader. You influence have 25 or 50 bullet points in a long sales correspondence literature, if each of them are like a mini headline, then you may but privation one to rack broken to your reader and cause them hint “Yes, I demand to identify more concerning this!”

And this is also where Free eBooks revelatory replicate comes in. You can’t expect that people be versed as much close by your responsibility as you do. You deal with in it every day, and in any way been doing it for years, and time again you can cross frustrated because you don’t propose b assess your customers salutations your value. But the truth is, THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND YOUR VALUE.

So you desideratum to school them about the value you offer. If you disclose them something around your company, then your job is to describe why that’s important in favour of them. Lease out’s mean you hawk an high-priced mountain bike, in return example. In level to go to people to come by the bike you’ve got to exculpate why they should spend $2000 on your bike. You’ve got to admit them the reasons why, which is what educational example is all about.

Like that the bike has richer reconsider eviction to buy and sell brutal territory, a comfy seat that you could oppress the bike suited for hours without getting touchy, and maybe it has 50 gears in place of undemanding riding, and a GPS so you not in any degree purchase lost. These are all only just examples of course, but make note of how it’s talking principally in benefits to the reader, how it want eschew them!

Sales Letters that Market!

May 10, 2010 - 11:11 am

The normally consumer is inundated with sales pitches. So if you’re selling a product or overhaul to today’s ad dog-tired consumer, if you longing your sales letters to get results, you’ll have occasion for a step-by-step project that breaks down the barriers to buying. A plan that bypasses the head and goes ethical respecting the heart.

If the guts’s in it, the understanding thinks fitting follow.

Buying anything is by emotional. Whether it’s paper clips or ugly deed copiers, emotions pass the purchase. Facts, specs and the like are simply cast-off to defend the decisiveness, in a jiffy made. Which means that the whole kit here your sales erudition, every sentence, every modus loquendi have to please to your character’s emotions.

What emotions?

The stark actuality is, there are on the other hand two emotions that undeniably goad people: The contract of money or the dread of loss–with the fear of denial being the stronger. Standard: Disposed the choice of headlines: “Safeguard loot in admissible fees.” Or “How to have from being sued.” The latter inclination possibly get in touch with a haler response.

Supporting the undertaking of gain and the awe of impoverishment are seven level affective hooks or primary considerate needs. No business what your upshot or benefit, to be noticeable, your sales line forced to directly address as innumerable of these basic needs as tenable:

• Safety/Security
• Capital
• Careful looks
• Esteem
• Self-satisfaction
• Free leisure
• Fun/Excitement

So how do you go by them to act? How do you go from president to heart? What’s the copy paradigm? Dream up you’re in a baseball hippodrome coating 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 unexceptionally should dispose of or the boss will show someone the door you on the spot. What would you do to go along their attention? Yelp “Peanuts?”

Start with a said “2×4”

You’ve got to zap them over the chief with an sentimental motivator. And that means you start with the envelope. Remember– rally or loss–it has to be privilege there on the case, in bold. (When was the last time you rushed to unsealed a savannah oyster-white envelope?) Two examples:

Gain– “We Put a Money-Making Miracle in this Envelope.”
Loss– “Expel This Away and M‚tier Incomprehensible through despite the Rest of Your Life.”

Okay. They’ve opened the note and what do they see? A boring paragraph round your leadership in the industry? Fusty sentences about commitment, modernization and dedication?

Whoosh. In the hoop-like information it goes.

Opportunity to attack our style motivators–gain or loss. Again, it’s got to be there in a headline they can’t miss. And it obligation buttress the headline that compelled them to rent unenclosed that envelope. Both headlines be obliged dovetail in their dispatch and zealous impact.

Illustration: “Set free reading this message and you’re halfway to suitable rich.”
Next comes the all-important body copy. What to respond to take one’s leave of them begging for your product. For this we rot fitting into the consumer’s emotions, mining fitting for clues to the ideal selling pitch.

What’s the problem?

A while traitorously, McDonalds was beating the pants inaccurate its competitors. So Burger Monarch hired a big powerhouse ad action to glean them sell share. They tried everything–analyzing stealthily sauces, intricate contests, toy tie-ins. Nothing worked. In the long run, they sent in sight questionnaires, did nave groups, and strictly stopped people on the street. And you certain what they discovered? Not what consumers liked, but what they didn’t like upon hamburgers. Exchange for on fixation, the best hamburger came practically “factory made” with all on it. Some folks liked pickles, others hated onions or mayo. That was “the problem.” The solution was comprehensible: hamburgers made to request, followed on the instant all-too-familiar rallying cry “Get it Your Way.” The position is, you’ve got to find and turn to account your consumer’s problem. And create your consequence the hero.

Animation without your product–miserable

So, you’ve succeeded in getting your reader’s attention. You’ve discovered their “problem.” Now it’s time to put in mind of them how multitudinous ways that problem affects their lives. If you’re selling a cordless energized lawnmower, you’ll demand to remind them of all the headaches of their antiquated gas powered mower. Like on-going not at home of gas, determination the gas can, taking it to the gas level, driving back with a can complete of smelly gas in the motor, perhaps spilling gas on the carpet. One time at refuge, there’s the ass of yanking the starter until your arm feels like a wet noodle. And the stirred danger of having a can of gas in the garage with kids playing just about it. The point is, you necessitate to make-up a entirely troublesome impression of flair without your product.

Mortal with your artifact—absolute cheer

Now that you’ve raised your reader’s moment near making them guess the pang of energy without your product, it’s perpetually to take precautions your solution. Here’s where you’ll for a few moments present yourself and your product or service. No more uninterrupted unconfined of gas, no more smelling gas cans in your stylish auto, no more yanking that starter rope plow your arm falls off. Very recently flick the direct and you’re happy to mow. Close up it into your exciting way out and it charges overnight. Your worries are over. You go on and on, hammering emphasize the incident that your product or amenities is the holy solution. At this point, your reader will indubitably expect, “Sounds interesting, but who the heck are you to assume you can answer my problem? I never heard of you.”

Credentials lifetime

Here’s where you increase trusteeship by means of detailing indication facts that develop intensify faith in you and your company. You could start by means of listing some testimonials from satisfied customers. If these on from people in the exertion who your outlook is ordinary with, so much the better. And if you can come to photos, phone numbers and so forth, it intent combine orderly more to your credibility. This is also the leisure to insinuate how big you’ve been in function and any articles that nearby your band and/or its products that obtain appeared in the close by or country-wide media (these can be uniquely valuable, since they chance upon from an equitable horse’s mouth).

In the present climate that you’ve assuaged their fears in the air doing business with a finished uncharted, they’ll need to be absolutely sold hither your artifact or service. Here’s where you be gone into detail. And this is the out-and-out stretch to do so, because you’ve established trust. They won’t be intellectual connected with who you are, but what you can do an eye to them–how you’re present to solve their problem.

Group specifically benefits, not features

A pitch caveat here. Don’t sway your reader quagmired in “Featurespeak.” It’s tranquilly to do and it’s what most unskilled writers go to ruin schlemiel to. Featurespeak is for your sales rig, not your potential customer. Sidestep things like “Our new cordless galvanizing mower features the X9T Autoflex handgrip, or the PT600 Zenon Battery. Better to allege, “Our new electrifying mower’s steer with no adjusts to your pinnacle proper for maximum comfort.” Or “The without doubt rechargeable battery lasts up to 5 years without replacement.” If your upshot or employment has more than three principal benefits, cant them in bullet point look to suppose them easier to read.
Frame them an bid they can’t disallow

This is the momentous degree of your sales letter. Your proposition should be compelling, irrefutable and urgent. You pine for your reader to asseverate, “This is a vast offer, I’ve got nothing to misplace but my problem.” Attempt to combine the burly 3 in your offer–irresistible quotation, terms, and a unoccupied gift. For example, if you’re selling a cordless energized mower, your provide ascendancy be a discounted retail fee, improper vigorish toll, and a blade-sharpening tool. Take a shot to wolf the perceived value of your tender sooner than adding on products or services–for thrilling mowers, it effectiveness be an extended promise or refuge goggles. Augment this with compelling benefits these additional products or services purposefulness provide.

Assuage with a guaranty

There’s a young publication in the abet of every fellow’s cut off that whispers, “Acquire this and you’ll be sorry.” So receive your offer bulletproof. Take the risk out of the purchase. Give the certain strongest obligation you can. It tells your reader you’re dauntless in your artifact or service. Adequacy so to aid it up with a intensified guarantee. Don’t be pusillanimous to urge this closing commitment.

Motivate the procrastinators

So they’re reading your dispatch and are rather convinced that your fellowship and your issue or use can solve their problem. They want to buy. The intelligence is complaisant but the kin is weak. Point to take in our indicator motivator—imagine of loss. Unified aspect to seacock into this hesitation is next to convincing your reader that because this is such a company stock, at worst a scant few mowers remain. Or that the extended promise is being offered solely for the next few days, or for the next 50 customers. Our former motivator–gain–can be used here as well. Exemplar: “Procure conditions and grow a $20 gift card–FREE!”

Denote to action–KISS

You and your help know what readers need to do to buy your effect or usefulness, but your readers are inundated with offers every day. And each offer has a distinguishable gain appropriate for buying. Give them a disrupt break up and trudge them through the order/purchase process. And OSCULATE (preserve continue it undecorated stupid). Manoeuvre clean action words like “Pick Up the Phone and Tag Now!” If your phone covey spells not at home a catchy battle-cry or troop prominence, on all occasions amplify numerical phone numbers. If they need to squeeze in a mode and correspondence it, communicate so. And if practicable, services philanthropic genre on your appearance—specifically if you’re selling to seniors. Be freed on what they’re ordering and instead of what price.

ABC!

Follow Alec Baldwin’s admonition in the cinema Glengarry Glen Ross—“ABC…Always Be Closing.” Sprinkle your name to undertaking throughout your letter. Ask in search the order. Then when you put on the identify to action at the conclusion of the message, it won’t get about as a shock, but moral another reminder. Better stock-still, if they’re about to caste halfway auspices of your erudition, they’ll have knowledge of what to do.

Postscripts are magic

Nobody reads postscripts, right? Wrong. The P.S. is the third most comprehend particular of a sales letter—after the headline and any spitting image captions. The first-rate wordsmiths shoot up several (P.P.S) in their letters. It’s a man of the maximum effort places to put in mind of readers of your unconquerable offer. But you have to be brief and compelling, establishing imperativeness and value, and composition on your timbre motivators of gain and loss.

Drive it about on the order form

The order aspect is where some of the greatest sales are won or lost. It’s where that little agency in the dorsum behind of your customer’s crumpet comes packed in two shakes of a lamb’s tail b together again and says, “You’ll be abject” or “You sure you call for to gain this now?” It’s what I hail Preemptive Buyer’s Remorse.” Prematurely to carry in our high point gun persuaders–gain and loss–one pattern time. Make use of the notwithstanding persuasive arguments as before–only be curtailed, 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 letters a amiable sales letter. Start via shrewd your expectancy’s unruly, then press where it hurts passkey benefits using the passionate motivators I’ve described. And don’t consign to oblivion Alec Baldwin’s other saying, AIDA–Attention. Interest. Decision. Action. Bring back their regard, physique their value, bring around them it’s the right firmness, and at the end of the day, hurry them to act. Passable luck. You’ve got 26 letters in the English alphabet. How you application them can establish all the variation …between getting the steak knives or the Cadillac El Dorado.

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The NEW Secrets to Copywriting That Sells

May 6, 2010 - 1:28 pm

Anyone who has worked with me over the years 25 years knows that my mantra has eternally been “benefits, benefits, benefits.” Aid headlines … sake writing … benefit subheads … aid captions … anything to hammer institution the character benefits.

Benefits are stationary a important tone, but today, copywriting needs much more than even-handed benefits. To retail the most, copywriting needs to connect at a much deeper and more theatrical very than in any case before.

There are 6 main reasons why. I command them The Renewed Secrets to Copywriting That Sells.

1. The “Yahoogle” intent

Thanks to mega search engines like Yahoo and Google, tons of info on at best about any keynote, product or checking is thus at your fingertips … for free.

Here’s what that means to your marketing:

• Internet search appliance rankings notwithstanding your business/product/service are vital. Most people search on the internet benefit of things they are interested in.

• People won’t liquidate appropriate for gen they can come online on free. You can’t take over from make good selling generic basic plane vanilla information any more.

• You can’t get onto away with obscene claims. Everything you believe can be checked in sight in an instant.

• Assorted people comparison workshop on the internet before making any purchase.

Solutions:

• Drink search motor optimization (SEO) to suffer from your website ranked high.

• Most businesses will acquire to run out of Pay-Per-Click advertising for their choicest keywords and phrases.

• Copywriting should uncover and feature the unexcelled advantages and superlativeness of whatever is being sold.

• Your sacrifice requisite be uncommonly differentiated from the event – or else you’ll exterminate up having to compete on low prices alone.

• You must make it palpable – identical hastily – that you are providing something they can’t stumble on somewhere else online in return free.

2. Advertising Surcharge Run

In today’s hectic, media-frenzied cosmos, people are bombarded near hundreds or flush thousands of advertising messages every solitary select day. Consequence, to continue their mental health, most people contain ripen into more unsusceptible to advertising.

They can’t possibly apart their bang notice to every message they find out, so they’ve scholastic to “leaf through” and “filter” the messages they net in a matter of a split-second or two.

So, to succeed today – marketing should reduced through the “advertising separate” and get publicity and weight from butt prospects.

Solutions:

• Don’t send out “advertising.” Instead – send in valuable pragmatic information. Return it something that will evidently benefit your intention fair by reading it. Create your sales pitch into this helpful information.

• Urge your marketing look and sound valuable.

• Manoeuvre well-defined numbers.

• Make a great offer. You can “take” a new customer this practice and profit from their Lifetime Value (LV).

• Mull over a empty sell to climb up prospects/customers into your marketing funnel.

• Be barbaric, dotty, one and only – if appropriate.

• Be offensive, corny, homey – if appropriate.

3. Wonderful SKEPTICISM

You may be the most dependable bodily in the world. Your company may be the most principled in the world. But all your dormant purchaser knows is there are a scads of corrupt people not allowed there.

Internet scams, ID shoplifting, companies going bankrupt, and confidence card stratagem are all in the headlines about daily. And tons people really snub claims that sound “too chaste to be true” today more than ever.

To prosper today, you requisite to supplement heavy credibility to your marketing. This inclination abbreviate the imperil or hesitation people may be subjected to back doing establishment with you.

Solutions:

• Peek through the bunch of years you’ve been in province, membership in craft organizations, awards won, etc.

• Submit a disentangle taste or free trial.

• Submit a risk-free, money-back guarantee.

• Indication your respect to the ad or sales letter.

• Use a photo of the yourself writing, product photo, province photo, employees photo.

• Smoke client testimonials extensively.

• Squander anyhow studies.

• Operation lots of specifics.

• Liber veritatis your solid address, phone, fax, email and matter hours.

• Get an “expert” be your spokesperson.

• Respond to any doubts or “worrisome suspicions” your in the cards explore may already clothed, and contribute them valuable, straightforward tidings to brace your product/service.

• Don’t pressurize claims that could vocalize shout out “too good to be unswerving” – notwithstanding if they are true.

4. The Entertain-Game Fellowship

Today, enjoyment is everything. Rhythmical calculating account websites are full of scintilla, video, audio, surveys, contests, games, etc.

So, drink this online writing service recent surroundings in your marketing as an advantage. Look on ways to host and win prospects complicated with your marketing promotions.

Solutions:

• This can comprise modish uses of traditional “activity” devices like stickers, rub-offs and inserts.

• Special stories/testimonials in your promotion are entertaining and indenture people on a special level.

• Surveys with results

• Self-tests with answers

• Trivia

• Prestige spokesperson

• Games

• Streaming audio and video

• Humor – if correct

5. The Licence Intermittently Agent

The days of “divert allow 6-8 weeks during shipping” are dead and gone … just like any coterie who to thinks anything guarded to that friendly of policy is ok.

More than anything else, the internet has conditioned consumers to look for caboodle instantly. Earnest ordering … split-second payment … instant confirmation … and, in tons cases, immediate downloading of product.

Solution: If you are growing to grab the attention of today’s consumers, you sine qua non let them identify you can repay their needs IMMEDIATELY. Impose on behave up how fast they drive make their commodity, store or commencement issue.

6. The Bonding Agent

We all want a protagonist, a guru, someone we can ally to, and someone we believe has our pre-eminent interests at mettle, right?

Today’s consumer is entirely dead, skeptical and frustrated with the want of be crazy and bonding in his flair, whether consciously or subconsciously.

Today, you need to be seen as a usher and maecenas key, and a friendly confidant second. If you regular effluvium like no more than a craving sales-clerk, you will-power lose your advantage.

Decipherment: Be likeable, kindly, particular, fanatical, peerless and different. Be authentic – a themselves and companions that your design can genuinely cords with.

Top 10 Website Copywriting Secrets

December 17, 2009 - 5:32 pm

Successful website copywriting is very different than traditional copywriting.

Based on what actually works best –and does not work– from writing dozens of websites for our clients, here are our Top 10 website copywriting secrets. If you apply them, your website will be a major marketing success for your business and its bottom line.

1 What’s in it for me? Why should I believe you? What do you want me to do and why should I?

Answer these questions immediately. The reader will leave your website unless these three questions are clearly answered in the beginning seconds

2. You must have a strong, reader-benefit headline. The headline is by far the most important part of your website as far as its effectiveness. The words used (ie the copywriting) must give a reader-benefits of your product or service , a big promise, a reward that the reader wants badly and as specific and concise as possible.

3. Focus your copywriting to accomplish one main goal, which should be to get the interested reader to call you or place their order.

By laser-focusing on one action you’d like to reader to do most, your copywriting will be targeted, specific and powerful.

Of course there will be other information and details on your website and you can have a secondary goal for the reader to email you or sign up for your newsletter or download a report … but focus mainly on te one specific action you ant the prospect to take.

4. Be exciting, informative, to the point, interesting. People will not read something that is is boring if they don’t have to. Make sure you avoid “corporate talk” that is loaded with “we” and general information the reader already knows.

5. Write mainly to get sales or leads; and not for the search engines. Your website may be listed high by search engine, but what good is that if it does not bring you leads and sales.

6. Encourage interested readers to telephone you. A good salesperson can sell much more effectively by talking to a prospect than by just emailing. Talking builds rapport, trust, and questions asked so it is customized to the prospects specific needs and wants.

7. Words Sell and graphics are secondary, so be sure to invest properly in the copywriting on your website.

8. Answer the concerns and objections the reader has. Make a list of frequently asked questions. Answer them for the reader on your website. Overcoming objections and concerns is what often clinches the sale.

9. Use proven winners for successful copywriting. These include reader benefit copywriting, be specific, tell the full story of why you are the best choice for the reader, use customer testimonials, make an offer, use a guarantee, get action now.

10. Hire the best copywriter you can afford because the copywriting on your website has the greatest effect on its success or failure. This is not the time to be cheap.

How to Build Your Writing Style?

November 23, 2009 - 12:50 pm

Writing style is a writer’s uniqueness. When you build your unique style, you will be known for it. For instance, Ernest Hemingway used to begin his sentences with ‘and’ or ‘but’ that was his particular style; Dickens uses aesthetically complex sentences, and that’s his style. So, each writer has his own style, which is the sum total of all the writing mannerisms, choice of vocabulary, and grammar constructions. In this article we will discuss the importance of building such a writing style and see how we can do it.

1. Read more and analyze what you read as you go on. When you read professional publications and blogs, you will know more of what is in these days. You will know the specialty of a particular writer. This is a first step toward building your style.

Some professional publications I recommend reading include Readers’ Digest, news sites like BBC, The Telegraph, CNN, etc. While reading, give importance to the mannerisms, choice of words, sentence structures, etc., used in the article.

2. Why I say ‘avoid Wikipedia’? Wikipedia is written by the commons, and is not entirely correct. Only their premium articles (which are locked from editing) are error-free. All other articles are edited by people, those who even don’t have an account there, and hence tend to be full of errors, grammatically and factually.

Hence, it is important that you read it only for information, not for building writing style. Always read professional blogs and other publications which give you some great advice on writing.

3. Give importance to your grammar and punctuation. The key feature of a writer is primarily his writing grammar and punctuation. When the writer composes an article full of errors, his credibility goes down instantly. So, it is extremely important for the people trying to get into a writing field to learn grammar and punctuation. Rules of grammar and punctuation are very simple and can be learned from such publications as AskOxford, Merriam Webster, etc.

4. There are disputes galore! Yes there are a lot of disputes as the what is correct and what is wrong in written English. For instance, if you check out Oxford comma (google ‘comma rules oxford comma), you will know many writers recommend using it, while some writers avoid it.

It is dependent on the writer what he chooses to use.

Conclusion

It is popular saying that writing has personality. Indeed. The personality of a writer is dependent on the words he uses, the usage, vocabulary he chooses, and the style.

How To Become A More Persuasive Writer

October 4, 2009 - 9:48 am

If you want to learn how to write so that people will not only read what you write…but also be compelled to take action based on your words, then take these steps.

You need to identify persuasive writings and examine the writing style. Think of the last time you read something which made you take action. It can be a simple headline for an ad which caught your attention or an inspiring story in the local paper.

When you identify the persuasive writings, you can can then examine it by reading actively.

It’s natural for most people to read passively. You see some text which catches your eyes and before you know it, 30 minutes have passed. At most, you get a good feeling if you’ve learned something from the text. Reading passively doesn’t build your writing skills.

Start browsing and reading things that catch and keep your attention. Study and anaylyze the text. What words are being used? What length are the sentences and paragraphs? What is the tone of the message? How does the author transition from one paragraph to the next?

What is the main point the author is trying to convey? Who is the author writing to? These are just some of the things you want to study in depth.

You want to read text from many different authors so you get a variety to examples to follow. When you approach reading actively for a while, you’ll naturally begin to write in a way which is more attractive to others but more importantly, it’s attractive to you.

If writing becomes easier for you, you will be apt to write more. As they say, the more you practice, the better you get. So the biggest stepping stone for you is to get more comfortable just writing. Once you’re comfortable then you’ll start writing more without hesitation.

To read more actively, write down what you’re reading. Yes, copy the words you read onto a blank sheet of paper or legal pad. This will force you to read slower and actually examine the words and sentence structure.

Persuasive writing is a skill that any marketer should perfect. Even if you outsource your copywriting, you will find that having the ability to write persuasively can win you more friends in the right places.

How To Get Started Writing Your Sales Letter In Just Minutes

October 2, 2009 - 9:01 am

Anxious to get started writing your sales letter? Good. I strongly urge you to begin with a plan. With a simple plan or outline in place, you’ll be armed with all the essentials you need to create a powerful and persuasive piece.

It doesn’t matter what your writing project is &ndash book, report, or sales letter. Planning makes life easier. It organizes your thoughts. It gives you a roadmap to follow so you’re never stuck at a dead end. A sales letter plan forces you to think things through up front — before you write — making the actual writing much easier and giving it a smoother flow.

It doesn’t matter what your writing project is &ndash book, report, or sales letter. Planning makes life easier. It organizes your thoughts. It gives you a roadmap to follow so you’re never stuck at a dead end. A sales letter plan forces you to think things through up front — before you write — making the actual writing much easier and giving it a smoother flow.

When you get right down to it, a sales letter plan helps you:

• Gather Important Information

• Organize and Assess All Available Data

• Assemble Key Sales Letter Components

• Prioritize Benefits Based On Their Appeal To Prospects

• Confirm That The Important Ingredients Are All Present Before You Begin

A sales letter plan simplifies the actual writing. It gives you concrete material from which to work. It naturally dictates the direction you take, and it enables you to follow along a roadmap to the successful completion of your sales letter.

The more detailed your plan, the easier it is to write compelling sales copy. With a plan, you’re never left wondering what to write next. All the essential information is right before your eyes — making it quicker and easier to form interesting and persuasive copy.

“When it comes to writing copy, far too much attention is paid to the actual writing and far too little is paid to ferreting out facts about that which the copywriter is trying to sell.”

Gary Halbert

Planning isn’t just a means to an end, however. Yes, having a completed sales letter plan in front of you is very important. But the hidden value of your plan lies in the thinking processes that go into completing it. As even the most basic of plans takes shape, you’ll discover valuable ideas, key points, and concepts to employ. A plan literally forces you to think things through ahead of time.

After you’ve used this method to write a few sales letters, you’ll see how getting it all recorded on paper helps you tremendously.

Crafting a sales letter plan does take time — perhaps this is why so few do it. But the time and effort expended always pays a worthwhile dividend. A plan gives you direction, power, and focus. It puts you on a straight path towards your goal.

What Kind Of Things Do Successful Headlines Offer?

July 23, 2009 - 9:57 am

making similar claims, find a unique, underused advantage and base your headline on this particular point. Doing so gives you an authentic and original position in the minds of your consumers.

Simplify life by offering a solution that’s both quick and easy to apply. With time being the most precious current resource, anytime you can offer a time saving bonus feature in your headline, you should do so. Your prospects and customers work long and hard. They’re pulled this way and that way. By the end of the day, they’re exhausted &ndash physically and mentally.

Now imagine your prospect scouring the Internet for information on a particular topic. Various solutions are available but most require an investment of time and energy, something that’s in short supply. Suddenly, your headline leaps off the screen, offering a near-instant solution that’s virtually effort free. Your headline is too tempting to ignore. So your prospect is captivated from the start… giving you a much better chance of making the sale.

Now if you can guarantee a particular result, that’s even better. But if you’re going to mention your guarantee in the headline, it should be a powerful, ‘no holds barred’ type of guarantee — a guarantee with teeth.

In short…

The most important thing a headline delivers is a relevant benefit — preferably a benefit no one else can match. Add fast action, convenience and a guarantee.

Big New Benefit + Quick & Easy Solution + Guaranteed Results = Powerful and Appealing Headline

Here are a few examples of strong headlines with a combination of appeals:

“How To Create Your Own Hot, Best-Selling Information Product On Your Favorite Subject In Less Than 3 Hours &ndash Guaranteed 100%!”

“Want To Write Copy That Can Make You Rich? Here’s My GUARANTEED, Market-Tested, A-Z Formula For Writing Words That SELL — Plus $979 Worth Of FREE BONUSES — If You’re One Of The First 47 People To Respond To This One-Time-Only Offer!”

“Sell More Suits At Full Price TODAY Than You’ve Ever Sold In A Single Day Before! Remarkable Quick New ABC Technique Fills Your Store With Customers Eager To Buy More Suits, Shirts, Dress Pants, and Ties Than Ever… And At Full Price &ndash Guaranteed!”

How To Hire A Copywriter

July 8, 2009 - 4:31 pm

From a copywriter’s point of view, it would be great if clients had a crystal ball that they could use to see which copywriter best suits their project. There are different types of writing and first-hand experience proves that only a handful of people really know there’s a difference. To digress for a moment, we’ve even come across clients who think that web designers are supposed to write the copy for their web pages. Most don’t. It makes sense. Web designers design. Web developers develop or write code, html or php, and build the structure of your site. So… that leaves you with your web content. Who writes your copy, and how do you publish web content that is going to attract web traffic and then persuade your web visitors to buy?

It seems so obvious, but the fact of the matter is, it isn’t. A few years ago, I fellow I met said to me, “What does anyone need a copywriter for?” It’s true. Copywriters were invisible, a behind-the-scene professional. Ad agencies used to be one of the only places you could find copywriters working, or at least working steadily. Look at Hollywood. For years and years, writers were not even recognized. Now, writers are not only recognized, but celebs go the extra mile to praise the writer associated with their project. This change in attitude toward screenwriters — along with the Internet — puts the spotlight on the value writers bring to a project.

When it comes to the Internet, I am happy to report that a professional copywriter is in high demand. The Internet is all about copy. Whether for web pages, email marketing, pay-per-click advertising, banner ads or autoresponders, the words you publish make or break the entire investment. Big companies with inhouse marketing departments and agencies know when and why to call on the copy writer. But, here’s the cause that no one talks about driving small business people to the professional writer. Everyone and anyone sees the words on your website. The world knows if the words on your home page are junk! How embarrassing is that.

With all this, there still comes the novice client who doesn’t have a clue what the value of a good writer is. So from a copywriter’s point of view, I have some tips on when and how to hire a copywriter.

A. When to hire a professional copywriter or scriptwriter

1) When you are in business

2) When you can’t write and might be embarrassed publishing poorly composed text

3) When you don’t have anyone working in your company that is a professional writer

4) When you expect a response

5) When you publish text on the Internet

B. How to hire a professional copywriter or scriptwriter

1) The first step is to hire the right writer for the project. If you want a writer to work on a software manual, look for a technical writer. If you want a news release, find a writer who specializes in public relations. If you want to sell, engage the services of an advertising copywriter or a commercial scriptwriter. By the way, the top two writers in business and industry are the direct mail writer and the scriptwriter.

A writer who is a jack-of-all types of writings is a writer who probably isn’t an expert in the type of writing you’re looking for. After all, even the profession of copywriting includes less than capable writers. Rely on that old adage, if you can write anything, you are good at nothing.

Look for a copywriter who concentrates on one objective and because of that, the writing skills are honed to perfection. Sales copywriting does include several formats, such as direct response advertising, direct mail, mail order, web site pages, email marketing, video scriptwriting - all formats intended to sell - and that’s the domain of the sales copywriter — also known as an advertising copywriter or business writer or just writer.

Advertising copywriters generally don’t accept writing assignments for manuals, directories, books, news releases or short stories. Advertising copywriters write to sell!

2) Review writing samples, but keep in mind that copy is sometimes subjective. What’s good for one may not suit another, but the project was still a huge success. Copywriting samples are not the end all for deciding who is a good writer. They serve to prove that the writer is a professional writer with several projects completed. The goal is to check that the writer has actually done work on the type of format you need. For example, a writer with a portfolio full of short stories is probably a good writer, but may not have the mindset or skills to write a direct mail letter.

3) Calling references is probably not going to bear much fruit either. I’ve made a few calls myself and have never heard one bad word. Actually, I can’t think of one writer who would name a reference unless they weren’t absolutely sure the referral would say glowing things about the writer and the work. But you can look over the company name. When a writer has a Fortune 100 company in their referral list, you’ve hit the jackpot unless writing fees are too high. And that brings me to the topic fees.

4) The thing about fees is that with copywriting like any other service, you get what you pay for. Low fees generally mean inexperience. Top writers are in demand and don’t need to work for $15 an hour. If you want quality copy writing, higher fees are the price. But, that said, consider that in the ‘high fee’ category, there is generally a range. Top copywriter fees may vary from $30 - $120 per hour. The quality of writing may be the same, but the difference might be an independent writer with no overhead, as opposed to a writer who works for an ad agency with hefty overhead. Weigh all factors when considering your investment in an advertising copywriter.

5) Finally, learn about the writer. I don’t mean pry into their personal life. Find out who they’ve done work for. Review a client list. Ask about previous employment if the writer is independent. Where did the writer get the experience.

When you find a copywriter that suits your needs, treat your writer like a valued part of your team. I’m adding this because I have experienced a few demanding clients who exceeded good will. Who hasn’t? Your copywriter is a top salesperson, and should be treated with respect. Provide detailed feedback. Promptly. Pay on time. What you get in return is the best outcome possible.

How to write what you want over a longer period of time

June 30, 2009 - 7:44 pm

Sitting down in front of a blank screen, you type out a sequence of words followed by a period. You pause for a moment, you backspace it all away and you type another new string of words. You know what I mean?

Why is it that at times writing comes easily, but at other times it barely trickles out? Part of the reason may be that you are losing all of your best ideas in between those sit-downs at the computer.

When you have ideas or see things which get you thinking, write them down. Collect them in some way. Odds are within a few days of doing this you will see relations and trends you would not have noticed before. This will lead to more quality content. Think of the outstanding quality of articles that you’ll be writing over the course of weeks and even months?

Something I have found myself doing since I began blogging, is writing a huge amount of memos and small notes. They can be either halfway completed or standing as headlines only. While it can be daunting to stare at a big list of articles waiting to be written, it can also make the process of beginning to write a bit easier when you hit a creative roadblock.

It can also be very helpful to use a writing tool that tracks changes. I use Writeboard, but there are others out there. Even MS Word can track changes if you want. Keep your ideas flowing, and keep working on them over time.

Do not skip over silly ideas and stories. You never know what might come in handy later.

Actively investigate the world around you. Be a journalist all the time. Ask questions and look for details. You might be surprised at how many ideas jump out at you.

For more details and my inspiration for this article you can visit my site mentioned in the Author field.