Writing Copy that Converts

Use Your Copy to Guide Customers Along the Path to Profits.

Effective sales copy is the MOST important component of your website. Your copy needs to give your readers information about your product or service and needs to convince them they must buy it! Your choice of words will therefore greatly impact your sales. The key to great copy is that it guides your customers through the buying process.

There are four pillars of good copywriting:

1. Attention – Capture your customers attention.
2. Interest – Spark you customers interest.
3. Desire – Create desire for your offer.
4. Action – Induce action (your most wanted response).

In this tactic, we’ll teach you how to use these four pillars to write compelling copy that will lead your customer to carry out your most wanted response. Let’s start with 3 basic rules to take into account when writing your copy.

The 3 Basic Copywriting Rules

Rule 1: Don’t Make Your Copy Look Like an Ad

As an offline or direct marketer, you are competing to grab your customer’s attention away from whatever activity they are currently doing, whether it’s watching a TV program, reading an article, or listening to music. Whatever form of offline media you use, such as TV, radio, newspapers, or magazines, your sales piece must scream “Hey! Over here! Look at me!”

Creating the Blueprint

Before you start writing your copy, you’ll need to determine your message. The following blueprint, developed by top copywriter Maria Veloso, works well to provide a framework.

Ask yourself these 5 questions:

• What is the Problem?
• Why Hasn’t the Problem Been Solved Yet?
• What is Possible?
• How Does Your Product/Service Make This Possible?
• What Should You Do Now?

Question 1: What is the Problem?

Identify the problem of your target audience and how it can be solved with your product or service. We’ll use this book and the problem we are trying to solve as an example.

Ecommerce is a highly profitable and growing field. However, it is also a field that requires commitment and a desire to learn and develop your skills. Without proper guidance many entrepreneurs could lose their savings or burn out before hitting profitability.

Existing guides offer tips and software reviews but do not offer a clear step-by-step framework that entrepreneurs can follow to take their sites from a tiny idea to a fully launched, profitable business that is geared for growth.

In addition, the field is changing and evolving so rapidly that people often have trouble keeping up with the pace of innovation and change. A $400 ecommerce manual you buy in September may be obsolete by December.

This is the problem we’re trying to solve.

The Headline

Use your headlines to grab the attention of your customers by aiming to solve their problem. You don’t need to take time to write an introduction, just get directly to the meat. Use short to medium length sentences with punchy, active words. Your headlines are what draw customers in, and the rest of the copy has to keep them interested.

Your headline must be catchy enough to make customers want to read the rest of your copy. Use “What if?” “Think back” or “Imagine what would happen if…” to introduce the possibility of something to customers and allow them to paint their own pictures and draw their own conclusions. Try this versus a straightforward factual claim like “You can increase revenue by 25%” which readers may not believe.

According to many copywriting experts, the headline is the SINGLE most important element of your page.

In another tactic about headlines we’ll provide a detailed framework to create a great headline and apply testing methodologies to make sure your headline works and converts well.

The Sub-headline

The sub-headline sits below the headline and further stimulates the customer to stay on the page. If you don’t use a sub-headline, be sure to make an impression with the first paragraph. This is crucial. Customers may not go beyond this.

Immediately demonstrate there are reasons to keep reading. It doesn’t have to be long—you can use short, punchy sentences as long as they keep the customer’s attention. A good strategy is to ask a question that will spark the interest of your customers and make them continue reading to find the answer.

And here comes the best part: