Web Site Sales Copy – How To? – Part I
Perhaps one of the most difficult parts in preparing Web content for marketing your product or service would be the sales copy. This is because you have to take your visitor through the entire sales process without you being physically in front of him or her. Although people and made a career out of writing sales copy for other businesses and demand a lot of money, I will try and give you some tips on how you can create your own copy.
At the outset, you need to know:
(i) What product you’re selling
(ii) What problem is it going to solve
(iii)Who the intended audience is
(iv) How is the intended audience searching for solutions (keywords)
(v) What features and benefits does your product/service have
(vi) Why they should buy from you
(vii)How will you stand behind your product
Essentially, what am suggesting is that you know anything and everything that relates to your product. The more you know, the easier it will be to write good sales copy.
Even though there is no standard ‘format’ for writing sales copy, it is generally divided into long or short sales copy. As usual, there is always debate on which style you should use. The general suggestion is that if you sell just a single product or service, you need long sales copy. And of course, if you sell more than one product, you will probably need shorter sales copy. Remember, this is just a suggestion. Eventually, experience will guide you on what copy, format, style you should use on your web site.
Regardless of what length of copy you use, if you will almost invariably start with a bold statement. This is generally called a headline. A headline is always used to grab the attention of the user. Many people spend hours trying to get the right headline. This is because if the headline fails to capture the attention of your visitor, more often than not they will click the back button on the browser. Headlines are often used to leader generate curiosity in the user’s mind or give them a quick sense of what problem statement you’re trying to solve.
Right under the headline most web sites will typically put what is commonly called as a sub-headline. A sub-headline will aim to tell the visitor the second-biggest solution/benefit they will achieve by using the product/service.
A combination of the headline and the sub-headline should generate enough attention that the user is compelled to read further. This is why it becomes very crucial to instantly identify yourself with your visitor.
Now you will start building a relationship with your user. Even though, there are a variety of ways, perhaps the best way is to establish a level of confidence/credibility with your user. Typically, you will relate to the problem statement in your own experience or something very similar. This essentially tells the user why they should listen to you. Ultimately, you are trying to build a level of trust and comfort between you and the user.
When you start talking about the problem, you want to start using keywords that people are actually typing within the search engines. However, don’t go berserk and simply pepper your text with keywords. The text should flow easily and make total sense to your user. You may want to help with the relationship further by relating to the problem statements that you may have experienced yourself. A subtle dose of testimonials from existing satisfied customers will always help as well.
Ultimately, what you’re trying to achieve is the fact that the problem that you have identified relates so well to your target audience, that they sit and nod their heads in agreement as the read your copy. Essentially, they should see you as a means to help them solve their problems.
In my next article, I would proceed with how to conclude your sales copy.
Till then,
Elvin
At the outset, you need to know:
(i) What product you’re selling
(ii) What problem is it going to solve
(iii)Who the intended audience is
(iv) How is the intended audience searching for solutions (keywords)
(v) What features and benefits does your product/service have
(vi) Why they should buy from you
(vii)How will you stand behind your product
Essentially, what am suggesting is that you know anything and everything that relates to your product. The more you know, the easier it will be to write good sales copy.
Even though there is no standard ‘format’ for writing sales copy, it is generally divided into long or short sales copy. As usual, there is always debate on which style you should use. The general suggestion is that if you sell just a single product or service, you need long sales copy. And of course, if you sell more than one product, you will probably need shorter sales copy. Remember, this is just a suggestion. Eventually, experience will guide you on what copy, format, style you should use on your web site.
Regardless of what length of copy you use, if you will almost invariably start with a bold statement. This is generally called a headline. A headline is always used to grab the attention of the user. Many people spend hours trying to get the right headline. This is because if the headline fails to capture the attention of your visitor, more often than not they will click the back button on the browser. Headlines are often used to leader generate curiosity in the user’s mind or give them a quick sense of what problem statement you’re trying to solve.
Right under the headline most web sites will typically put what is commonly called as a sub-headline. A sub-headline will aim to tell the visitor the second-biggest solution/benefit they will achieve by using the product/service.
A combination of the headline and the sub-headline should generate enough attention that the user is compelled to read further. This is why it becomes very crucial to instantly identify yourself with your visitor.
Now you will start building a relationship with your user. Even though, there are a variety of ways, perhaps the best way is to establish a level of confidence/credibility with your user. Typically, you will relate to the problem statement in your own experience or something very similar. This essentially tells the user why they should listen to you. Ultimately, you are trying to build a level of trust and comfort between you and the user.
When you start talking about the problem, you want to start using keywords that people are actually typing within the search engines. However, don’t go berserk and simply pepper your text with keywords. The text should flow easily and make total sense to your user. You may want to help with the relationship further by relating to the problem statements that you may have experienced yourself. A subtle dose of testimonials from existing satisfied customers will always help as well.
Ultimately, what you’re trying to achieve is the fact that the problem that you have identified relates so well to your target audience, that they sit and nod their heads in agreement as the read your copy. Essentially, they should see you as a means to help them solve their problems.
In my next article, I would proceed with how to conclude your sales copy.
Till then,
Elvin
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