There really is an art to writing effective sales copy—but the good news is that it’s one that almost any web writer can pick up in short time with a little practice. In fact, many folks even find it to be practically second nature. Here are a few simple guidelines to help you get off on the right path…
Start with an attention-grabbing headline.
It’s difficult to get a potential customer to read your sales copy if they don’t actually find a good reason to start giving it their undivided attention in the first place. This is where writing a good headline comes into play. It doesn’t have to be a fancy play on words; however, an attention-grabbing headline does need to be relevant to pique the reader’s interest. Give them exactly what they’re looking for with your headline and use it to lead them even deeper into the sales copy.
Tell your readers what’s in it for them.
It’s time to change things up…enough about you and your services already! Okay, that sounds a little harsh, but if you think about it for a minute, when you visit a company’s website or read their product literature, what are you really seeking? Do you want to know how great the company is and how awesome their product is…or do you want to know how this product will make your life better? Tell your readers what the benefits are for them (and keep it real).
Use calls to action repeatedly.
Make it as easy as humanly possible for your website readers to take the next desirable action. Want them to click through to your squeeze page? Want to encourage them to place an order? The best way to do this is to subtly—but repeatedly—give them the opportunity to take the next action by using a call to action several different times throughout the copy. Don’t just ask for the sale at the very end of the article…chances are good that your visitor will never make it that far.
Keep your USP in mind throughout the copy.
Your USP (unique selling proposition) is the key to convincing potential customers to buy from you. Tell them what makes you different from the competitors; what makes your product or service better. But always use extra care not to simply brag, but to help your future customers embrace what’s in it for them.
Don’t overwhelm your readers.
Some sales copywriters have perfected the art of writing really long sales copy. Others insist that keeping it short and sweet is the secret key to effectiveness. Here at WSpider, we can’t specifically recommend any single technique here, but we certainly do want to stress that website readers must be kept interested and are very easily overwhelmed by bulky boring content. If you go for the long sales copy technique, keep it active and interesting (and be sure to use plenty of that whitespace we’ve discussed so frequently).
