Writing for the Internet > Writing and Copywriting > Tutorial Step 2: Writing Your Sales Copy

Writing and Copywriting Tutorial - Step 2: How To Write Your Own Sales Copy

The purpose of sales copy is to…sell, pure and simple.  So what sells?  Here are a few elements that go into every effective sales letter:

Good sales copy highlights benefits.

When you can tell your customer how your product will improve their lives or solve their problems, you’re well on your way to great sales copy.  Actually, when you sit down to write your sales copy, ask yourself “What problem does my product or service solve?

Will your product or service make people richer, smarter, prettier, more respected, thinner, or happier?  When you are looking for benefits it is often useful to make a list of your product’s features and then determine the benefits of each of those features. 

Once you understand the benefits of your product and the problems it will solve, you can begin go about telling your potential customers how you’re going to do solve their problems.

Good sales copy is credible.

Who are you more likely to buy an exercise program from, a person who has been training athletes for 15 years and has numerous testimonials to his credit or a person who sounds like she knows what she’s talking about but doesn’t have anything to back it up? 

If you want to be more certain you’re buying a quality product, you’ll probably purchase from the person with the experience and testimonials. 

It is fairly simple to add a little credibility to your sales copy. 

Use:
- high quality and true testimonials
- detailed case studies explaining exactly how your product will benefit them
- free bonus material such as an e-book or audio
- a money back guarantee

Good sales understands and speaks to your target customer. 

In the first lesson we spoke on the fact that good copy is conversational.  This applies to sales copy as well.  Good sales copy will feel personal and give the impression that you are talking to your audience.  In order to do this accurately, it pays to do a little target market research. 

Ask yourself some of the following questions:

- How old are your customers?
- Are they employed?
- What do they do? 
- Are they male or female?
- How much time do they have online?
- What is their income?
- What is their intelligence level?
- What do they do in their spare time?
- Do they have children?  How old?

Good sales copy inspires.

Inspiration comes in a number of ways.  You can appeal to your reader’s emotions.  You can also use strong words, aka -power words. 

Some powerful, high impact words and phrases are:

    - Exclusive
    - 100% guaranteed
    - Succeed
    - Proven
    - Award winning
    - Instant
    - Powerful
     
   
Good sales copy always has a call to action.

Don’t forget to tell your readers what you want them to do.  A sales letter will direct your readers to an action.  For example, Buy Now! 

The last, and often most important aspect of sales copy is your headline.  A good headline will grab your reader’s attention and not let go.  We discuss that in the next part of this tutorial.

> Highly Recommended: Free Ebook by Dr. Ken Evoy – Make Your Words Sell, The Simple Art of Persuasion – Is a must read for anyone who wants more sales from their business.

Next in our tutorial: --> Writing & Copywriting: How to Write a Great Marketing Headline