How To Write Great Sales Copy

I’ve mentioned before that to make ‘it’ on-line you need good copywriting skills and that John Carlton is the best of the best copywriters.

In my experience, writing good sales copy is not something that can be learnt by following a brief guide or tutorial.  You need to practice and you need feedback from an expert. Whilst it might not be possible to become a global phenomenon overnight, there are a number of valuable tips you can implement in order to increase the positive reaction you get from your sales copy.

The Headline.

The headline is the most important part of your copy.  If your headline is awful or even worse, if it is boring then people probably won’t get past that to read the rest of the content.  You need to write a catchy headline that attracts, excites, and intrigues your reader.

You need to grab your visitors’ attention as early as possible. You might include some shock value in your headline or have it ask the reader a compelling question.  It could even be the start of a very engaging story.  “A year ago, I was living on the streets of New York, made homeless after my Adjustable Rate Mortgage shot through the roof and I could no longer meet the repayments.  Today I live in a penthouse apartment ten stories up that I purchased for seven figures…”

Copy like this excites the reader and makes them want to read on – they want to know how exactly this person went from the streets to luxury living.  Great sales copy will often tell a story that the reader will relate to.  You should keep to the facts – do not make anything up. You can tell if it’s fact.

You wouldn’t want to get into trouble with an attorney general or the FTC over false claims.

Good sales copy draws people in so that they read to the end.  If you are able to tell an exciting and interesting story which relates to your product and how it will improve their lives it will be naturally appealing to your readers.

Each and every paragraph needs to lead into the following paragraph, drawing the reader further into the copy until they reach the sales pitch.

Most purchases are made based on emotion and are later justified with logic. Purchases are very rarely made solely on logic.

People don’t tend to purchase a product because of its features – they buy the product because of the advantages it will give them. This is called the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) effect.  If you are selling a car, you can’t tell the buyer about the ABS brakes, superior sound system, or Corinthian leather seats.

You will make the sale based on them believing that they will be the envy of their co-workers and neighbours and that the car will be like a magnet to girls (if it’s that sort of car!).

People will make the purchase based on the way you have sold the fantasy to them and later they will justify the purchase with logic.

Each sales letter you write needs to contain a headline, a number of sub-headlines (often referred to as ‘hooks’) and testimonials scattered throughout, and in addition to the storyline, you will also need to add some bullet points showing the benefits of the product.

These will also help to break up the somewhat monotonous content and help the flow of the letter.

Don’t forget to add a call to action at the end of your copy and a Post Script (PS) that works as a summary for those who can’t be bothered to read the whole letter.

Research a number of your favourite sales sites and use a similar approach and style.  Bookmark these sites and borrow ideas from them to use on your own customers.

Create a file of sites sales letters that appeal to you and then the next time you are to create your own sales page you have a huge reference file to refer to.

Go ahead and try, start practising and over time your copywriting skills will vastly improve.