How to Write Expert Online Sales Copy

By Donna Knight

Try to win the love of a man by wearing a pretty dress, and you’re in for a major heartbreak. Likewise, try to get a sale by posting just a product description and picture, and you’ll get your heart broken every time. Winning a man’s heart and winning a customer’s trust requires the same process, salesmanship. With winning the one you love, unconscious salesmanship may work; he may like you for characteristics you never knew were lovable. In selling a product, however, passive salesmanship won’t work. You have to consciously take steps to win over a customer.

The painful truth is products don’t sell themselves, no matter how good they are. You, the marketer, have to tell the prospect why they need your product. You must convince them of why they will love your product. You have to let them know they must buy now or they will miss out on an opportunity they may never have again.

While selling products online and offline have some similarities, there are some major differences you need to know. Online you don’t have the benefit of your potential customers seeing your trustworthy face and winning smile. People are much more resistant to parting with their hard-earned money to a faceless stranger or company.

Copywriting is the key to making a sale online and offline. The sooner you take this to heart, the sooner you’ll be making more sales than your little heart ever thought possible. Most people think the product is the most important element to getting a sale. The fact is even a mediocre product can sell boatloads with great sales copy backing it up. Good sales copy can convert an undecided prospect into a successful sale.

If you try to write sales copy on your own, without knowing anything about copywriting, you will fail miserably. All it takes is one word to win or lose a customer. That’s why many business owners willingly fork over $10,000 to an expert copywriter just to write one sales letter. They know that winning sales copy will earn them their investment back in no time.

If you don’t have hundreds of dollars to hire a copywriter, don’t worry. All is not lost. You can learn to write sales copy that sells. You just need to know some proven direct response copywriting rules.

Here is a step-by-step formula for writing killer sales copy to increase your conversion rate:
1. Write an attention grabbing headline. There are 3 parts to a winning headline:
      A.   A line that sets up the main headline.
      B.   The main headline, using the biggest font you’ll use in your entire sales copy. Preferably it should be in a different color and in bold text. Most expert copywriters swear by red as a color that draws the most attention to the headline. Blue is another color frequently used by copywriters. It must be readable, i.e. no lilac.
      C.   A line that elaborates on your main headline.

Here is an example of a headline that uses this method:

Would you like a website that will make you money even while you sleep?

“FINALLY! A FULLY AUTOMATED WEBSITE THAT WILL HAVE YOU READY TO MAKE SALES IN ONLY 7 DAYS. DON’T TRY TO BUILD A BUSINESS OFFLINE THAT FAST. YOU CAN’T!”

Take Orders and Deliver the Product Without Even Touching Your Website!

2. Write an introduction that your readers can relate to. The most effective way to do this is to write about a problem that your target market has. Examples include baldness, acne, or lack of money.
3. Tell them why they should trust you. Tell them who you are and what are your relevant accomplishments. This helps establish your credibility and trustworthiness. Most people are wary of buying online. This section helps put a face on your product.
4. Now tell them about your product. The mistake many people make is they talk about the product before they explain what problem the product will solve and why they should buy from you. Internet users hate sales pitches. If you mention a product right from the start, they’ll be onto the next site so fast it will make your head spin.
5. Let them know why your product is effective. Here are two ways:
      A.   List statistics with sources related to the need for your product.
      B.   Show testimonials from satisfied customers who have already bought your product. To make testimonials most convincing, include:
        i. The customer’s full name
        ii.  City and state or their website URL

6. List the features of your product. Don’t use technical jargon. Don’t always assume someone looking to buy your product is familiar with the technical terms associated with it. You can lose a customer just by using words they don’t know, no matter how badly they need your product.
7. Describe the benefits of your product. While all of these steps are important, this is one of the most important sections of the sales letter. This is usually where the sale is made.
8. Add valuable and unique bonuses. Tell the value of each bonus. Bonuses make customers feel like their getting way more for their money. They might even feel like they’re stealing from you. Some people will even buy the product just to get the bonuses.
9. Give them a reason to buy now. Ways to do this include:
      A.   Threaten a future price increase
      B.   Tell them bonuses are available for a limited time only

Whether you’re getting 100 visitors a day or 10,000, traffic will do you no good if you don’t know how to convert the visitor into a sale. I’ve had customers literally begging to buy a product that was not even available for sale just because of copy I wrote telling them what the product would do for them. Using these simple rules, you too can transform disinterested website browsers into customers who crave your product.

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Donna Knight is a Website Promotion Specialist who has sold everything from digital products, including ebooks and software, to hard goods such as computers and medical transcription equipment. For more tips to help you sell your product or service, visit her Internet Marketing Tools and Reviews blog at http://www.DonnaKnight.com
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Copyright (C) 2005 Donna Knight. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to post this article in newsletters, free ebooks or websites as long as the article and resource box remain intact. For product reviews, you may substitute your affiliate referral link for the product URL.
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