Being a copywriter my work has to inspire, entertain and inform my readers. It has to help them make the right buying decision, which, of course, means coming to the conclusion that that product or service I happen to be writing aboutis the one they want.

But there is a saying coined by yours truly that shows this isn’t quite as easy as it sounds:

‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a reader in possession of a sales letter, will be in close proximity of a rubbish bin’

OK, so I may not have come up with that one totally on my own - I had a bit of help from Jane Austin. But it is very true - people don’t like sales letters. They turn up on your door step unannounced trying to sell you something you don’t want (I like to think that you may not think you need it…yet). It is an invasion of their privacy so there is only place for them to got - in the rubbish to be recycled into something more useful.

How to make your sales letter un-recyclable

I agree that, technically, a sales letter is going to be recyclable however well it’s written. But hopefully this post will delay the inevitable until your letter has been read and, preferably, been acted upon.

If your letter is unsolicited it is unlikely to be read.

The potential success of your letter is determined before it has been written - it’s all in the planning. You do plan, don’t you?

Don’t panic! I have a plan

The planning of your letter is vital. You’d be amazed at how many people think it’s OK to skip this step.

Cast your mind back to your school days if you can - remember that teacher (you know the one, brown suit and socks with sandals) who always told you to plan your essays, well he was right. Remember how, when you took his advice, you grades began to rise? Well, if you plan out your sales letters your sales results will also start to rise. There’s nothing worse than receiving a letter that’s all over the place - no planning means no focus. And no focus means wishy-washy nothingness.

This list of pointers will help you plan your letters.

• Who am I writing to? – your target market/ideal reader this will determin the voice you use
• What do I want to say? – focus on your reader’s needs not yours so clearly state the benefits as they will see them
• How much space do I have? – if there is a set word limit make sure you know what it is
• How do I want to come across? – what’s your tone to be? Friendly, approachable, authoritative…
• What’s my deadline? – this is vital!
• What do I want to achieve? - what is the objective of your sales letter?
  

There is a good reason why the last point is in bold - because it’s flaming important!!!!

You must know what is to be achieved by your letter if you are going to make it happen. Do you want it to change your readers’ minds about something? Do you want them to buy something, book an appointment, sign up for a newsletter…

Why am I telling you this?

For the simple reason if I don’t you could end up spending a small fortune on your sales letter campaigns in return for absolutlet nothing.

These simple tips will help you get your plan in place. Make sure you:

• Find our who your audience is
• Tell them the benefits of your product
• Tell them what you want them to do next

Before you whinge that you haven’t got time to plan - just think about what diving in unprepared might do. It could turn your unopened letter into a paper cup!

Of course there is one way that you can save yourself the time it takes to plan and execute a brilliant sales letter – hire a copywriter!

It doesn’t really matter how many people see or read your website, if it doesn’t inspire or compel them to buy it’s no good.

I’m sure you’ve experienced landing on a sales page just to think “interesting…” and then moved on to something else.

‘Interesting’ doesn’t get you sales. Your website copy and your approach has to be proactive to encourage people to part with their hard earned cash.

7 tips to help you convince people to buy from you

1. Make your copy like a conversation

Don’t talk at your readers, talk to them. Imagine they are in front of you as you write and you’re having a conversation with them. Use words such as “you” and “your” to build a relationship with them.

2. Use online forums

Participating in online forums is a great way to promote yourself and increase your credibility as an expert in your field. Fill out your profile (gaining those all important back links) and try to visit the forums as often as possible. You can even contribute articles – giving free advice helps build trust.

3. Make your call to action clear

If your web page doesn’t have a clear call to action that tells your reader precisely what you want them to do, it’s not good. Tell them to “buy now”, “subscribe to your newsletter”, “call to make an appointment” etc.

4. Focus on your reader

Your reader is only interested in one thing - themselves. Therefore you must focus your website copy on what they want. If they can’t see what’s in it for them, they won’t be interested.

5. Keep it simple

The only thing on your website that will sell to your reader is your words. Graphics and pictures look pretty but they won’t sell a sausage.

6. Create your own copy

By all means study your competitors’ website copywriting but don’t be tempted to copy their style and content. Try something different – stand out from the crowd. Be an individual, show your own style.

7. Update regularly

Your readers will get bored if they are constantly faced with the same old website copy. Keeping your content fresh and up to date will keep it relevant.

So there you go - if you follow these 7 tips you’ll increase the number of sales you get through your website.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

You may have spent hours putting together a pretty advert which is very informative. Great - I’m sure you’re very pleased with it, which you should be assuming you weren’t hoping to make any money from it.

But I have a feeling the main reason for going to all that trouble was to make money so you may have a problem. You’ve just blown your marketing budget on a nice piece of paper that won’t sell.

The copywriting (or sales writing) on your advert is there to perform 2 functions – it tells your reader what your product is but it must also be persuasive enough to make them buy it. Not always an easy combination to achieve.

I’ve been a freelance copywriter for a while now so I have put together 7 tips to help you make your adverts more persuasive.

1. Including a picture of yourself will add a personal touch.

2. If you have any famous or well-known clients, mention them (it will increase the want factor).

3. If your product’s passed any tests (safety, quality control etc.) write about it.

4. Include testimonials from happy clients.

5. If you’ve had articles written about your product make reference to them in your advert.

6. Make sure your website looks professional – its quality will have an effect on their opinion of your product.

7. If you offer a money back guarantee, tell them – it will show your commitment to them and increase your credibility in their eyes.

Your advert is there for one purpose only - to make your reader want your product and then convince them they need it. When you’ve achieved that the sale’s in the bag.

The writing of articles and article marketing is one of the best and fastest ways to market your business. As a copywriter it is something I have been doing for sometime to great effect.

Don’t believe me? OK then, I’ll prove it. I have put together 7 ways you can benefit from articles. Are you ready?

1) Articles quickly position you as an expert in your field

By writing articles you’ll be setting yourself apart from your competition. You’ll never have to grab a chair, climb on it and yell "listen to me, I’m an expert!" Your articles do that for you.

2) Articles are an army of 24/7 salespeople

Once your articles are published on the internet you’ll have a 24 hour, 7 day a week, 365 day a year international sales team working specifically for you. Not bad eh?

3) One article can have many uses

In other words, leverage. One article can be used as a free report, a newsletter feature, it can become part of an online e-course, part of a book, etc. The possibilities are endless.

4) Articles spread the word about your business and your services

Online articles have a very long shelf life. They can be picked up by anyone at anytime and anywhere.

5) Marketing articles is simple, easy and inexpensive

It costs you nothing to write an article (apart from your time). It also costs you nothing to have it listed on article directories.

6) Articles can help you build a mailing list

Once you have a few articles out there, people will click through to your site and sign up for your newsletter building a mailing list worth its weight in gold which can be used over and over again.

7) Articles let you stay in touch with clients and sell more products

On average it takes 7 contact for a new prospect to be ready to become a client. Articles let you to stay in touch with prospects and provide them with quality information.

I could go on - article writing and marketing really is a fantastic and cost effective way to your business. What are you waiting for? Give it a go.

All freelance copywriters understand what is required to get their readers to do what they want. It isn’t some dark mystical secret but rather the skill of getting inside their heads to understand what makes them tick.

Psychology is a big part of the copywriting process.

The real key to effective copywriting is understanding how your reader feels, what they are looking for in life and what problems they are looking for solutions to.

It might sound daunting, but it is easily achieved. The first step is to put yourself in the shoes of your reader – why would they want the product you are selling? What will they get out of it? What problem could they have that would be solved by it?

Don’t guess because you’ll get it horribly wrong - you need to do some research. You’ll know people from all walks of life, many of whom could be prospective buyers. Have a chat with them; ask them their opinion on the product.

- What would make them buy?
- Why they would buy?
- What they would hope to achieve from buying it?

This new insight will help you understand why they would buy so you now need to incorporate into your copy some psychological triggers that will encourage them to get out their credit cards:

1. People love surprises – tell them they’ll get a surprise free bonus when ordering.
2. People want an easier life – make ordering easy and give easy product instructions.
3. People like security – tell them you provide a secure ordering process and privacy policy.
4. People like compliments – praise them for considering your product.
5. People are curious about how it will affect their lifestyle – use ‘Secret’ and ‘Confidential’ to pick their curiosity.
6. People like to invest in their future – use the words ‘invest in your product’ rather than ‘buy’.
7. People like to have the newest or latest things –use words like ‘new’, ‘just released’.
8. People want their problems solved – tell them what problems they have and how your product will solve them.

For most people, buying is an emotional action rather than a rational one. Using these triggers will make them want to buy your product. And if you can make them want it, they’ll soon persuade themselves they need it.

The result?

Happy customers.

The world is becoming more and more virtual every day. As a website copywriter it is my job to help you to create an engaging website that’s interesting, relevant and converts visitors into customers – no pressure then!

You might think your website already satisfies these criteria, but it is worth reading on just to check.

I’m sure you’ve come across many a website that has been unreadable. I’m not just talking about dodgy copy that has been over stuffed with keywords, or bad translations of foreign sites. What I’m getting at is those sites that are literally unreadable because of the layout and
colours.

I have put together a list of 8 tips to bear in mind when writing your website content. If you already have a site, once you’ve read this list go back to it and see if you have fallen foul of any of them.

Make it easy to read

Here I’m referring to the look of the text (the way it is written is an entirely different subject). Don’t use light coloured text on a white background, for example yellow on white, because it will be unreadable. By the way, the same can also be said for dark text on a dark background.

Get them in the mood

Colour can be used to great effect to create a mood – for example red will create excitement or urgency. But don’t over do it, rainbow text looks very unprofessional.

Attention grabbing

If you want your website to be read make sure you have a strong headline that will grab your readers’ attention and make them want to read on. Use different fonts and colours to make them stand out. 

Highlight important words

Important words can be your keywords and others such as super, fast, free, new etc. They should be highlighted in bold or colour. Be careful if using the underline as a way of highlighting text as this could be confused with a hyperlink. And your reader could get very frustrated
trying to click it. 

Font size

In website copywriting, size is everything. If it’s too small your reader will struggle to read it.

Spare the capitals

DON’T USE ALL CAPS AS IT WILL LOOK UNPROFESSIONAL AND AS THOUGH YOU ARE SHOUTING AT YOUR READER. Not good.

White space

A solid block of text is an instant turn off. Use white space to break it up into paragraphs with sub headings. These will make it much easier for your reader to navigate around your page and find the information that’s important to them.

To highlight your key points (such as your benefits) put them in a bullet point list to make them stand out.

Check and double check

There is nothing worse than a gorgeous looking website full of typos and grammatical errors. Always check and double check before publishing. If possible get someone else to read through it for you. 

This list of 8 tips is a great start to creating an eye catching website.

Ask any freelance copywriter what is one of the most essential elements in their marketing  armoury, they’ll say your call to action.

Your call to action is undoubtedly one of the most powerful parts of your copywriting.

Let’s assume your copy has been compelling enough to keep your reader engrossed to the very end, you have them in the palm of your hand, they’re ready to buy so you’ll want to make sure your copy ends on a bang not a whimper.

8 crucial desire drivers for your call to action

Your call to action has to convince your reader to take action - it’s your last opportunity to make them buy. To help you achieve this I have put together the following list of 8 desire drivers which will optimise your chances of making that all important sale.

1.    End on a high note – their lives will be so much better if they buy your product - use the most powerful benefit your product has as the example.

2.    End with a warning – this is the opposite of number 1 so tell them what will happen if they don’t use your product.

3.    End with a short review - repeat all the major benefits and features they will receive.

4.    End with a deadline – restrict your product with a limited time offer or closing date to create a sense of urgency.

5.    End with a guarantee – this will add peace of mind.

6.    End with a testimonial – use one or two of your customers’ testimonials but make sure they are believable and contain specific results.

7.    End with a free bonus – this could be a free sample or a trial period.

8.    End with a discounted price – further up in the body of your copy you can show your normal price but offer a discounted price if they order straight away.
These desire drivers are a simple but effective way of achieving a sale. Try them in your marketing copy and see how you get on.

The copywriting on your website is the one thing that will make it work.

“You would say that, you’re a freelance copywriter!”

Yes I am, but that’s not the reason for saying it. You see flashy graphics and animations might look pretty but it is the copywriting that will convey your sales message to your readers and make them want to buy.

If you don’t use the right words within your copywriting you will never convert your traffic into sales. Anyone with a website (or thinking of getting one) understands how important keyword research is and the effect it will have on your SEO, but there are also some other very important words that should be featured on your website.

Below is a list of 10 simple but vital words that should be incorporated in to your copywriting. Your writing will become more powerful and results-driven.

Ready?

You – too many websites use ‘we’ instead of ‘you’. Your readers are only concerned about how your product will benefit them. They couldn’t care less about your company. You can work out your website’s ‘we’ score here

Free – people love free and it helps build trust. It doesn’t have to be something big, a free eBook or consultation will do.

Guaranteed – a guarantee builds trust as it gives your buyer a safety net should things go wrong. Just ensure you can honour the guarantee!

Easy – everyone loves easy; enough said.

New – people love to have the latest gadgets so ‘new’ is very powerful.

Proven – show your customers proof that your product/service will do what you say it will do. If you can, use statistics or testimonials.

Results – show them results if you have them. When confronted by irrefutable proof that it ‘does what is says on the tin’, they can’t say no.

Save – this could be money, time, energy and trouble.

Maximize – this has the effect of showing your readers that ‘it couldn’t get any better’. But be specific – if it is a woolly claim they will just walk away.

Benefit – the main aim behind any copywriting is to let your readers know how they will benefit from your product/service.

If you already have a website take a look at it now and see how many of these words you are using. Oh, while you’re there, make sure you are not over using ‘we’ and you are using ‘you’.

You would think it is common sense to survey your customers now and again wouldn’t you. So why do so many businesses fail to do it?

There is only one way you’ll find out whether your products and services provide what your customers need and expect - by asking them.

Customer research is vital to keep ahead of the game in a competitive market place.

Sitting in your meeting room brainstorming about what you think your customers want won’t give you a true opinion. You are so much in love with your products and services you’ll see everything through rose tinted specs. The only people who can give you a true picture are your customers.

A good survey can tell you a lot about your market and the perception it has of your company.

10 very good reasons why your marketing and sales strategy would benefit from regular surveying

1.    Discover what your readers want to see on your web site to make them revisit and buy.

2.    Find out how your products can be improved opening up a whole new market for you.

3.    Get an insight into what products your customers would like to be able to buy in the future.

4.    Use the feedback to improve your customer service.

5.    Discover how you can make your DM and adverts more appealing.

6.    Raise your newsletter readership by discovering what type of articles people want to read.

7.    Improve the design of your web site to encourage visitors to stay there longer.

8.    Identify any non-related products your customers are interested in which could help you expand into different markets in the future.

9.    Discover how to optimise the price of your product.

10.    Discover the life styles of your customers - places they frequent. This could open up new marketing opportunities for you.

There is so much you from surveying.

Seize the initiative. Create and circulate your survey and soon you will be able to reap the rewards of enhanced customer relationships.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

One of the hardest parts of my job as a freelance copywriter is working out exactly what to say to make someone buy. Everyone is different, every product is different.

Wouldn’t it be great if you inherently knew exactly what to say to make someone buy from you?

Well, that is pretty much what I hope this article will do. You see, people have to justify their buying decisions, so all you need to know is how they go about it - simple!

How many times have you bought something you didn’t really need but you wanted? Come on, own up - I know I have one or two pairs of shoes I managed to convince myself I needed even though I didn’t?

To help you solve this particular problem, here is a list of 10 reasons why people buy products – see how many you recognise.

1.    To make money – more money makes them feel more successful

2.    To save money – maybe investing for the future to make them feel more secure

3.    To save time – hands up who wants to work less and have more leisure time to help them gain a better quality of life ( I know I do)

4.    To look better – perhaps lose a bit of weight or a nip and tuck to make them feel more attractive

5.    To learn something new – a new skill will make them feel more intelligent

6.    To live longer – by getting in shape and changing their diet they will feel healthier

7.     To feel better – finally getting shot of niggling aches will bring relief

8.    To be loved – no one wants to be lonely, everyone wants to feel wanted

9.    To be popular – whether it is to the degree of wanting to be famous or just to be liked it will make them feel admired by others

10.    For pleasure – by satisfying their inner most desires they will feel more fulfilled

Sound familiar?

Who doesn’t want to be more successful, more secure, have a better quality of life, feel more attractive, feel more intelligent, feel healthier, feel wanted, be admired or feel fulfilled? Isn’t that what we are all striving for?

Now you know what makes people buy all you have to do is convince your readers that buying your product will result in at least one of these ‘wants’.