Saturday, February 21, 2009

Copywriter: New Ideas

Copywriter: New Ideas



The way people perceive adverts and sales pages change and this can be a problem for the copywriter. New prospects may accept your copy and become convinced your product is the one for them. However, readers who have been around longer will read it and say to themselves, I have seen this all before. "tell me something new."

It is therefore your mission; should you choose to accept it, to use new language in your copy to persuade readers that your product will do what you say it will. You will need to gain the trust of the prospect because they know you are trying to sell them something as you are a copywriter. New ways of catching the reader's attention and using original copy is our biggest challenge today.

If you picked out 100 sales pages on the internet today and scanned them for duplicate content you would probably find the same words make up about 80% or more of the copy on all of them. The late Eric Morecambe once said to Andre Previn when he was slated for playing the wrong notes for a piece on the piano, "I am playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order." I think this is what has happened to our sales pages and adverts. There are so many advertisements out there that, for the most part , the same language is being used but in a different order.

There is no better place to than checking out the your adverts and sales pages of similar products if there is any. Take note of what they are saying and how they are saying it. Now get your thinking cap on and brain storm some ideas on how to make your ad better? How can you make your sales page stand out from the opposition's run of the mill sales pages? What can you offer that they have not? This is what you need to think about as a copywriter. New and exciting ideas on your sales page will blow any mediochre opposition out of the water.

Telling a story is the tried an tested way of selling and it works to an extent as it keeps the reader interested. We could however modify this and maybe tell a joke with the punchline coming at the end. As long as the joke fits in with what you are selling. Even better, telling your reader you heard a really funny story the other day which you will share with them but first you want to tell you about this super product. Here's an example of one you could use for promoting weight related products.

A young man took a girl out on a first date to the fair ground. He bought her a toffee apple and after eating it she asked to be weighed. He took her to the stall where a man guessed her weight correctly and they carried on. One hour later she asked for a hot dog and after eating this she said she really wants to get weighed. The young man (getting fed up with this) agreed but insisted they should go home after this as he was tired. He drove her home to her parent's house. Her parents answered the door and asked how the evening went. She answered "It was wousy."

Using personal experiences, whether they are funny or amazing stories, is an excellent way of building trust with the reader. Even if the story makes you look a fool the reader will respect your honesty. Again, it has to be pertinent to the product you are selling.

Do the other sales pages or ads answer all the questions that the prospect will have. Moreover, does their copy generate trust : would you buy the product of them? If not, then the door is open for you to write a sales page that answers all their questions. You could ask them to email you with any further questions. Better still, ask them to phone you, how cool would that be? All this will add to the image you are trying to portray and eliminate any obstacles your reader may have about purchasing your product.

I'm sure you can come up with a many more new ideas of your own but the key point is, we cannot stand still. we must move onwards and upwards as they say. For today's copywriter, new ideas are will make your copy stand out from the rest and this is what copywriting is all about.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Copywriter: How to end your Sales Page

Copywriter: How to end your Ads




Sometimes even for the best copywriter, how to close the advert or sales page. Is the biggest stumbling block. Do you say OK now buy my product or maybe cheerio? Here are some suggestions that I hope will not just close your ad or sales page but close the deal as well.


As a copywriter, how about telling your readers what may happen if they do not buy your product. Highlight a problem that would be difficult or better still, impossible to resolve without your product. On the other hand, tell them the most beneficial aspect of your product and how it will change things for the better.


An old trick sales people would use during a sales pitch is to ask a series of questions that end with the answer “yes“. For example, do you agree this will benefit you? . Did you notice how low the price is? etc etc. Then at the end of the ad while the reader is in the mindset of saying yes ask the reader to buy the product.

Sometimes it is hard for salesmen to stop talking, so much so they they talk themselves out of the sale. This can also affect the copywriter. How do you finish your sales pitch. . You could end your ad copy with a deadline.This ads urgency to your copy. Tell them it's a limited time offer and they need to order by a specific date.

I have also seen ads and sales pages which summarise the main benefits to finish off with and this is a good technique for the copywriter. How you do it is up to you but you could just do a short review of the whole sales page bullet pointing the unique selling points.

For the copywriter, how to finish on a high upbeat text is the main challenge. If you study other sales pages the big hitter at the end is the guarantee. Whether it be all your money back or triple your money back if you are not satisfied with the product it is up to you.

I would combine this with testimonials which are always a powerful tool to have in your armoury especially if it is a well known person who is complimenting your product.

Another concern for the copywriter- how do you get your reader to take action and by right now. One way would be to finish your ad with a discount or free bonus if the product is purchased today.

A powerful way to end your ad if it is possible is to offer your product for a free trial period to begin with. If you are confident your product will satisfy your customer‘s needs go for it. Very few customers will send it back if it is that good..

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Promote Your Site

Sometimes you need more that Search Engine Optimization to get people to visit and come back again to your site. Here are some add on ideas you can use to help.

1. One way would be to add a message board to your web site. Visitors
will visit your web site to ask questions and answer
other people's questions.

2. You could add a directory of web site links to your web
site. People will visit your web site to find related
web site links for the topic they're interested in.

3. Add an article section to your web site. People
will visit your web site to read and learn new info
related to their interests.

4. Add an archive of past e-zine issues to your
web site. People will visit your web site to read
past issues of your e-zine that they've missed.

5. Add a free ebook directory to your web site.
People will visit your site to download, study and
read new information.

6. Add a free classified ad section. People will
visit your web site to place their own free classified
ad and to read other offers.

7. Add a free link page to your web site. People
will visit your web site to place their own link and
to look at other people's links.

8. Add an "about us" page to your web site. People
will visit your web site to read about your business
and yourself.

9. Add a guest book to your web site. People will
visit your web site to leave their opinions about your
business and to list their signature file.

10. Add a free software download page to your
web site. People will visit your web site to find
new software that will make their life easier.

This is a very useful Ebook: Click Here!

Friday, February 6, 2009

Repeat Visitors

How To Get Repeat Visitors



Remember, it takes more work to sell to a stranger than to sell to someone who has already bought from you. It goes without saying then, that it takes less work to get repeat visitors to your site than it would to entice new readers on to your web page. Here are some great tips in how to go about getting those repeat visitors.

1. Increase the number of visitors that revisit your web site by publishing a free course right on your site. Just release a new lesson once a week.

2. Make sure your graphics load correctly on your web site. Broken graphics will make your business look very unprofessional.

3. Avoid using scrolling marquees on your web site.They take the attention away from your ad copy and make your web page load slower.

4. Make your web site writing exciting to read. You can use emotional words, descriptive adjectives,highlight keywords with color, etc.

5. Remember to reach out and touch your visitors offline. When your visitors give you offline contact information use it to send them some direct mail.

6. Use guest books to improve your web site. Your visitors will leave good and bad comments. Review the comments and use them to improve your site.

7. Regularly check and resubmit your web site's search engine rankings. They can drop very quickly because of all the competition.

8. Divide your price over a period of time to make it sound less. Offer a payment plan or show the per day price. For example, "Only 33 cents per day!"

9. Promote your products within the content of your web site. If you write and offer free articles tie ina mention of the product or service you're selling.

10. Update the content on your web site regularly.You'll want to add new content and update the old content.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

How to get Testimonials

Ok so you are certain that proof that your product will make it sell like hot cakes. Problem is, you can't just magic the proof out of thin air, so where do you get the proof from? Here are some ideas.

You should have a blog running by now, if you do not then start one today. It will take 15 minutes and is a godsend to get feedback on. Use these comments in your sales page or advert to show you are the expert or that you are trustworthy.

Find reviews on your product and if they are good get permission to use them on your future sales page or adverts as testimonials.If your product is too new for this, give it away free and in return as for a review or testimonial. This is a super way to get quick testimonials on your sales page.

Advise buyers of your product that if the give you a testimonial about your product you will allow them to put their website domain in the text and therefore generating traffic and then it is a win, win situation. You may even want to interview these people to do a case study and ad this to your sales pitch.

Create a guest book on your blog or website to get a discussion going and use this as evidence that your product works.

Last but by no means least, ask your buyers for feedback and mention you may use this in your next advertising campaign. if they like your product they should have no hesitation in giving you a testimonial.

Getting your first testimonials can be a little daunting but like all internet businesses you have to stick with it. What ever you do, never make up testimonials. You will be caught out and it is morally wrong. I once saw an advert with testimonials and each one had text of who they were and how big the were on the web and a photograph. The next day I found a review on the internet saying these people did not exist in a Google search so they couldn't have been that big.

Anyway speak to you soon.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Give Us The Proof

Are you giving your readers enough proof that your product works. You can have all the flowery language you want in your advert or sales page but it will be very unconvincing unless you have evidence that your product does what it says.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to prove that your product will solve the problem, or will give your reader the information he or she is looking for. How many times have you not been swayed by an advert until you hit the testimonials and low and behold someone has had the same problem as you and the product being advertised has resolved the issue? This is no coincidence. The proof has been put there on purpose.

To be blunt, proof is probably the most persuasive copy you can write on a sales page or advert. Why, well possibly because there is so many scams out there nobody trusts anybody anymore and are crying out for some evidence that your product is not a scam.

There are 2 types of proof:

1/ Evidence that the creator of the product has achieved what he or she has claimed to achieve from the product. ie The creator needs to show the problem and how the product has resolved the problem. This is not as powerful as the next one as readers are normally skeptical about a creator of a product blowing his or her own trumpet but it is still good to have the creator's thoughts in your sales page.

2/ One of the buyers of the product need to publish a testimonial stating how the product has helped resolve an issue. Obviously the more testimonials the better. This is better than the first as it is evidence from a third party.


Speak to you soon about how to start persuading your readers to buy from you.

This is a very useful Ebook: Click Here!


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