Showing posts with label selling products. Show all posts
Showing posts with label selling products. Show all posts

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..