Internet Marketing Strategies Part Four:
Writing Effective Website Sales Copy
By Shelley Lowery
A professional looking website is a very important part of
making sales. However, without effective sales copy your
website will be useless. Words make sales, not fancy
websites.
Your words are the entire foundation of your business.
Your product, your website and your marketing strategies
all depend upon your words. You must learn how to write
persuasive words specifically written for your targeted
customer. You must feel your customers needs and write
your copy with passion, excitement and benefit.
Your text should be written in a black, legible font with
a light background. Avoid using fancy fonts or backgrounds
that will make your text difficult to read. When you begin
writing, write in small blocks of text with a space
between each block. There is nothing that will make your
visitor click away faster than a sea of black text, so
make sure you use plenty of white space.
Begin your sales letter with a powerful headline that
demands attention. This headline is the most important
part of your entire sales letter. If it doesn't grab your
potential customer's attention, they won't bother to read
the rest of your letter. Your headline should be displayed
in a larger bold font and demand your potential customer's
attention to intrigue them to read on.
Use subheadings (headlines) throughout your letter to
capture the attention of those who just scan your text.
Your subheadings should provide highlights of each section
of your sales letter and be displayed in a larger, bold
font.
Once you've captured your potential customer's attention
with your powerful headline, you should now direct their
attention to your introduction. Write a brief paragraph
about your product to let them know exactly what you have
to offer them. Keep your introduction brief and to the
point with no filler content.
Once you've written your introduction, continue to write
and tell your potential customer why your product is the
solution to their problem. Tell them exactly how your
product will benefit them. Identify a specific problem and
promote your product as the solution. This can be
accomplished with the use of questions that identify a
specific problem that your product will solve. Ask your
potential customer questions that you know they can
identify with -- feel their needs.
Every word, sentence and headline should have one specific
purpose -- to lead your potential customer to your order
page. When writing your sales copy, direct your words
towards one specific person. Use words like "you" and
"your" rather than "them" or "their." Write as if you are
speaking with just one person -- one on one. Write to
persuade, that's the bottom line.
Use the following formula when writing your website sales
letter:
A - Attention - Use a powerful headline that
demands attention
I - Interest - Intrigue interest and create
curiosity
D - Detail - Provide details about your product or
service
A - Action - Call for action
Many Internet users are apprehensive when it comes to
making a purchase on the Internet. You must put their mind
at ease by displaying your full name, company name and
contact information. In addition, you must completely
remove their risk. Provide your potential customers with a
solid, no risk, money back guarantee. This will put their
mind at ease by building their confidence in you and your
product. In addition, include some of your testimonials
within your sales letter. Make sure you don't create a
separate page for your testimonials, as they most likely
won't be read. Place your testimonials throughout your
sales letter to ensure their visibility.
Studies have shown that long sales copy out-sells short
sales copy. However, some visitors do prefer a short sales
letter. To accomodate both types of preferences, you can
provide both. For those visitors who prefer a short sales
letter, provide them with an opportunity to click through
to your sales page throughout your sales letter.
When writing a long sales letter, keep in mind that with
each additional click, you will lose a percentage of your
potential customers. Have you ever read a sales letter
page that forced you to click through several pages to
continue reading the sales letter? Many Internet users
find this very frustrating and just click away. Try to
keep your sales letter all on one page for the best
results. Your visitors would probably much rather scroll
through a long sales letter than click through and load
another page. Their time is very valuable -- accomodate
them.
Once you've written your sales letter and packed it with
all of the benefits your product has to offer, your next
step will be to "call for action." Ask for the order and
provide an easy ordering process. Continue to reassure
your potential customer by reminding them of your personal
guarantee and lead them to your order page.
For potential customers that still aren't convinced,
provide them with free bonuses just for purchasing your
product. Many times, you will find that your customers
purchase your product just for the free bonuses.
Your final step will be to close your sales letter with a
PostScript. When your visitor scans your sales message,
chances are, they'll read your headline, subheadings and
your PostScript message. Place your most important
benefits within your P.S. message. It will get read.
Write your words so that they seamlessly flow together
from your beginning headline through to your order page.
Pack your copy with all of the benefits your product has
to offer and keep it simple. The simple, well designed
sites with great copy make the sales.
Copyright © Shelley Lowery
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design
course, Web Design Mastery.
http://www.webdesignmastery.com And, Ebook Starter -
Give Your Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL book.
http://www.ebookstarter.com Visit Web-Source.net to
sign up for a complimentary subscription to Etips and
receive a copy of the acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet
Marketing Strategies."
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