30 Top Copywriting Tips For Beginners
1. Importance of A Good Sales Letter
Your sales letter is your sales person, this is what your potential customer will see when they come to your website to check out your product or service. It is critical that you have a well written persuasive sales letter or you will not be able to sell your product, or service.
2. Sales Letters-3 P’s
The 3 P’s of good sales copy are being professional, persuasive and personal. These 3 points will help you write good copy that sells. When you keep your copy professional it will increase your credibility. To be persuasive is to create a desire to buy. Being personal will build good rapport and develop a good relationship with your reader.
3. Designing Ads
This is an important part of creating an ad. It should have a compelling headline. You should use strong benefits to create curiosity and get the click through. Then you should use a direct and simple call to action. When you put these 3 sections together you can start with a small ad and later expand into longer copy.
4. Split Testing
Split testing is critical to your success in writing ad copy. This means you will be able to test 2 ads or sales pages at a time and see which ones are the best. You can then use the best copy to get the most effective results. This testing is best done with small classified ads. You can also use 2 different sales pages.
5. Weaving The Storyline
A storyline is used to draw your reader into the rest of the sales page. it serves to keep people interested. It can also be used to empathize with your reader by showing them that you have also experienced their problems. This helps to build a good rapport with your potential customer and develop a relationship with them
6. Headlines
Headlines are one of your most important parts of your sales letter. They are in effect your mini sales person. Headlines are what grabs your potential customer’s attention and makes him or her want to read your sales letter. It must be well targeted to your buying market and bring attention to their particular problem. You should give extra care and thought to your headline.
7. 3 Questions
This is a common opening for a sales letter. It’s a very successful way of getting your reader involved in your sales message, right from the beginning. It’s a way to make quick contact, and begin building a relationship with your reader. When you do this you will be able to increase sales and conversions.
8. Getting Inside Your Readers Mind
It is important to have a thorough knowledge of your potential buyer and know how to get inside your reader’s mind. When you do this you uncover people’s hot buttons and also make your copy more effective. When you uncover your prospects needs and wants, you will sell more and increase your profits.
9. Your USP
Your USP is your unique selling point, also called your unique selling proposition. This is what allows your product or service to stand out from your competitors and persuades your potential customer to buy exclusively from you. You must be sure to state this clearly and simply for your reader’s to understand. You will do this when you describe your product and when you expand with benefits.
10. Mistakes To Avoid
There are several mistakes to avoid in copywriting. One of them is not to personalize. This can cost you sales as your message will come over as cold and impersonal and readers will be deterred from doing business with you. Substitute the impersonal we with you and greet your reader with dear friend to achieve personalization.
11. Benefits VS Features
One of the most common mistakes in copywriting is to confuse features with benefits. Features address how your product might look. Benefits will tell the reader how your product will help them. This is what your reader wants to know “so what’s in it for me?’ benefits answer this important question features do not.
12. Guarantee
A guarantee is very important for creating confidence in the prospective buyer. When they see that you are prepared to back your product 100% with a risk free guarantee people are more inclined to buy, because they know that they will not be risking their hard earned money and will be able to get a refund if the product is not what they wanted.
13. Bonus Pros And Cons
A bonus is a nice thing for the customer but is rather like the icing on a good cake. It does not always sell the product it just makes it look a little more attractive. You can sell products and services without bonuses almost as easily as with them. So if you do not have any bonuses you do not really need to be concerned.
14. Call To Action
Your call to action is the pinnacle of your sales page. It should be clear, simple and direct. You are done persuading and are now ready to ask them to buy. The reader should have no doubts about what to do and how to purchase. Short simple words like buy now or click here to purchase are good calls for action.
15. Building Customer Relations Through Your Copy
Customer relationship marketing is a very powerful way to sell. It is very important that you build a good rapport or relationship with your potential customer. When you do this you will make them want to buy from you and put them in a good mood for purchasing. You will do this in several ways. One of them is personalization.
16. Hot Trigger Words
There are certain words that will create a good feeling with your prospective buyer. There are in fact many of these words but research has narrowed down the most effective. These words are called trigger words as they trigger certain emotions in your reader. It is good to replace ordinary words with these words to make your copy more persuasive.
17. Negative Words
These are words that creative sad, or negative feelings in your prospective customer. When potential buyers have these types of emotions they are disinclined to buy your product or service. It is important to avoid these words in your sales copy. Try to create an upbeat mood with your sales copy as this will give you more sales conversions.
18. Sales Letter Layout
It is important to have a good layout for your sales letter. This allows you to write logically and your letter will flow well. A good sales letter layout is better for your reader, as they will simply go from one section onto the next and be drawn into the copy. This will allow them to be more focused on your message.
19. The Vital Elements of Selling
It is important to be aware of the vital elements of selling when you write sales copy. You need to know the things that will persuade your potential customers to buy, and how to close the sale. This takes a little knowledge and practice. It is good to study the master’s to understand these techniques.
20. Testimonies, Endorsements
Testimonies and endorsements are a very valuable part of your sales page. They provide real proof of your credibility and of course prove to your prospective buyer that your product or service will get the job done for them. They should be genuine and be able to instill confidence in your reader. Testimonies are powerful back ups for important sales points in your sales letter.
21. Empathy
It is very important to empathize with your potential customer. When you do this you will be building a good relationship with them and increasing your chances of them buying your product or service. you will also be showing that you understand their problem and your reader will be interested in your solution, your service or product.
22. Introductions
There are many types of introductions that can be used for your sales letter. The most common are the three questions and the story. Both of these introductions serve to bond with your reader and draw them into your sales letter. The important part of the introduction is to make immediate contact with the potential customer and begin to build a relationship with them.
23. Learn By Example
One of the best ways to learn copywriting is to study the masters of copywriting. See how they have written their sales pages and what techniques they are employing. Never copy and paste, as this is a violation of copyrights. However do learn from their ideas to create your winning sales pages. This is how the experts themselves have learnt.
24. Purpose of The Sales Letter
It is important to understand the purpose of your sales letter. There are three main purposes, a free gift, which will pre sell your main product or service, a product or a service. if your purpose is a free offer you can usually write shorter copy. For services testimonies and endorsements are good, as they increase credibility and show examples of your work.
25. Ways To Close The Sale
There are several ways to close the sale. Two of the most powerful are the guarantee and the testimonials. Your “risk free guarantee” will give your customer more confidence in you and your product and people will be more inclined to buy. Testimonials will provide positive proof to back up what you claim.
26. Common Questions Your Potential Customer Will Have
There are a few common questions that your customer will have. It is important for the success of your sales page that you answer them all. If you fail to answer all of these questions your sales page is not doing its full job, and you may not make as many sales.
27. Sub Headlines
Sub headlines are like beacons that guide your potential buyer through your sales page. They highlight the sections and allow your reader to focus on your message. When they can see clearly how each section unfolds they will understand and be persuaded by your message. Sub headings should entice and excite your reader to read more of your sales letter.
28. Long Letter Or Short
There is some controversy about long and short copy. Usually long copy is more effective. This is because you can address all the issues that your potential customer might have and close the sale more effectively. You can also add more benefits, so that your potential buyer can understand better how your product or service can help them.
29. The Art of Postscripts
Postscripts (P.S.) are an important part of your sales letter or Solo ad. The reader often looks at these first. They are important to remind the reader of an important benefit. You can also use postscripts to create a sense of urgency for a timeline or a limited amount of people. This gives the reader the impression that if they do not buy now they will miss out forever.
30. Originality
It is important to make your sales copy stand out from the crowd. You can do this by making it original and unique. If you make your sales page similar to others you will not get your reader’s attention and will very likely lose sales.
Tailor your sales copy to your market and put your unique creativity into it.
