By John Alexander
How are your online sales doing lately?
Have you read articles recently that talk about how
the old-fashioned online sales letter is dead?
The good news is that sales copy is not dead at all
so be careful to which voices you listen to on the
Web.
If your online sales are in a slump, don't just give
up on your Web based business just yet. These days
if your current sales letter may feel like it is dead,
it may not currently be doing the job you intended,
but that don't mean you are beyond bringing it back
to life in a bigger and livelier fashion than ever
before.
Sometimes tiny little changes can make a big difference.
One of the biggest problems that people have is understanding
and dealing with change.
The sales letter of years ago usually tended to be
a long-winded page that went on and on for ever. These
primarily worked in their day for specific audiences
based on the fact that there was loads of information.
I remember seeing one particular sales letter that
was 9,000 words long.
What do you do if your Web site sales are in a slump?
Here are 10 quick and easy tips to apply to any sales
letter that should help it along:
1. The power of Surprise!
One of the biggest things you can do is to re-write
your copy in a way that will "surprise"
your visitors. Catching your visitors by surprise
(in a good way) separates you from everyone else out
there. It can be not only refreshing but often by
adding in a twist with a difference, it can be enough
to improve visitor response. Far too many people tend
to spend their time trying to re-create what their
competition is doing. Better yet, you lead the way
and do something different than everyone else is doing.
2. Writing sales copy as opposed to writing dialogue.
Are you really writing a sales letter or should you
be writing dialogue that "speaks to the reader"
the way you would speak to your friends? Consider
writing more like the broadcasters do "for voice."
Read your Web copy that you have right now. Is it
loaded with marketing type hype and multi-syllable
corporate lingo?
If so, clean it up. You would never talk this way
to your friends, right? Next time you listen to the
radio, take note of how a professional broadcaster
will project personality into their spoken word. It
is more than just their voice, it is also in the way
their copy is written for voice.
3. Spend time working on your headline.
How well does your headline speak to the reader? What
is it saying? Is it talking about the services you
offer or is it actually describing the benefits of
owning, possessing or using your product or service?
Far to many people are talking about themselves rather
than clearly dialoguing about those benefits.
4. Using the power of emotional content
When creating your sales copy, another good thing
to keep in mind is the power of emotional content.
Focus on the emotion you want your readers to have
as a result of their experience on your Web page.
Write towards delivering the right kind of emotion.
Many people make their buying decisions when they
"feel good" or "positive" about
what they read.
5. Ramp up towards one huge, killer benefit in your
list.
As you describe your benefits, build some momentum
towards the one major big benefit. Most people never
have nearly enough benefits in their list, but try
and build up to the one MAJOR deal that you think
will be the topper and work it in as the closing statement
using natural dialogue.
Example: "Now once you download your e-book,
flip over to page 85 to discover how you can get 12
months of support at no extra charge for 1 full year."
This type of dialogue practically paints a picture
in your mind of you opening a book and literally getting
the extra bonus information by turning to a certain
page.
6. Define your benefits using something other than
everyday, overused jargon.
For example instead of saying "free shipping"
you could do the following.....
Normal price $24.95
Special Sale $16.50 which includes delivery right
to your front door!
7. How well does the tone of your sales copy read?
Ideally you want it to flow without any stumbling
points.
An easy way to check this is to read your copy out
loud.
8. Did you know that people care about your opinion?
Write to your readers, but include your own perspective.
Did you know that people care about your opinion and
actually want your perspective on an issue or about
a product. Most good sales copy will offer something
original and something more than just the same old
routine. Include additional original information such
as your own review of the product or even a benefits
matrix so the reader can compare how your product
measures up to similar other products on the market.
9. Using Audio Testimonials still works well.
The power of the spoken testimonial through audio
often adds an extra emotional element that the written
testimonial can not capture. Have you tried an audio
streaming service like Instantaudio.com to stream
your testimonials?
It comes with a Toll Free 1-800 number you can use
to add testimonials to your Web site at the click
of a button. The service works great even over slow
connections and gives you an easy way to let your
customers leave their comments.
10. Getting started.
Similar to my advice to new SEO students who are
just building their SEO skills, the same important
advice applies here to working with your sales copy.
While you are reading these tips, why not actually
go to your sales copy page and actually get started
today.
Don't wait. Don't put it off until later but the
sooner you get started making some changes and testing
those changes, the sooner you can enjoy the benefits.
One of the biggest errors made today by some folks
is not so much in the mechanics of good writing. It
seems the challenge for many is the simple act of
getting started right now, today.
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