Lesson Two: Sales

Lesson 2: Sales

 

Welcome back,

 

When I visited the websites of the "gurus" as I first began my own adventure online, I found a wide variety of layouts and designs.  Graphically, they were very different, their choice of writing style varied, as did their offers themselves.  One thing they had in common, however, were sales letters that convince people to "click." These website sales letters have a purpose.  That purpose is to...

 

1. Convince visitors to "Click" on the order button and make an immediate purchase, or

 

2. Convince visitors to "Click" on the submit button to join an ezine mailing list or receive a free report or ebook, so they can follow-up and make the sale in the future.

 

Something conspicuously absent from these websites is ANYTHING that would distract the reader away from the purpose.  You don't find links that lead the reader off of their sites.  In fact, you don't find a lot of links period.  No slow-loading graphics that force us impatient folks to leave prematurely. Nothing that would distract the reader but a killer sales letter that consistently convinces people to "click." Let me tell you, at these guys' sites, there's a whole lot of clicking going on!

 

So, what is the big secret?  I will give you ten quick tips that you can begin using RIGHT NOW to improve your web page sales letter...

 

1. Write your sales letter with an individual in mind.

Go ahead and pick out someone, a real person to write your sales letter to, makes no difference if it is granny or your next door neighbour or your cat. Write your sales letter just like you are writing it to them personally.  Why?  Because when your potential customer reads, it then it will seem personal, almost like you wrote it with them in mind.  Too often, sales letters are written as if they were going to be read to an audience rather than one person.  Keep your sales letters personal, because one person at a time is going to read them.

 

2. Create an interest in the reader from the very first line. 

Your first line of the sales letter should immediately create a desire in the reader to want to know more.  Go back to the beginning of this article.  The first words were, "It's true."  I can guarantee you that either consciously or subconsciously you thought "What's true?"  Immediately, your mind wanted to know what I was talking about.  Before you even knew it you were right here, 8 paragraphs into this article.  Carefully craft your first line.  If you can immediately get them wanting to know more, you've got a winner.

 

3. Make your sales letter personal. 

Make sure that the words "you" and "your" are at least 4:1 over "I" and "my."  Your ad copy must be written about YOUR CUSTOMER not yourself.  I'm not sure how the old advertising adage goes, but it's something like this, "I don't care a thing about your lawn mower, I just care about my lawn."  Leads aren't interested in you or your products, they are interested in themselves and their wants and needs.  When you are finished with your sales letter and have uploaded it to a test web page, run a check at any of the free keyword count services (google them) and see what the ratio between "you" and "your" versus references to "I," "me," "my," etc. Make sure it's at least 4:1 in favour of the customer.

 

4. Use short paragraphs consisting of 2-4 sentences each. 

Long copy works...but long paragraphs do not.  Use short paragraphs that lead into the next paragraph.  Don't be afraid to use short sentences.  Like this one.  Or this.  See what I mean?  Shorter paragraphs keep the interest of the reader.  Longer paragraphs cause eye strain and often force the reader to get distracted.

 

5. Use similes and metaphors for effect. 

When the customer purchases your product, they will generate "a flood of traffic that would make Noah start building another ark."  If they do not order today, then they will "feel like a cat that let the mouse get away."  Use words to create a picture in the readers' mind.  When you think of Superman, what comes to mind?  Immediately, we remember that he is "faster than a speeding bullet."  "More powerful than a locomotive."  "Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound."  See how word pictures stick in our minds?

 

6. Focus on one product or service. 

Don't try to sell your customer multiple products at the same time. It only  confuses the reader.  A direct response website always works best. Keep your ad copy directed at one specific product or service.  Then, use other products and services as back-end products.

 

7. Be believable.

 "Earn £54,000 in the next 24 hours!!!!!"  Delete.  Good grief, do they think I am an idiot or something?  Get real.  Don't make outrageous claims that are obviously not the truth.  You'll ruin your reputation.  Let me tell you a simple universal fact that cannot be reversed.  Once you have been branded a liar, you will NEVER be anything but a liar.  It doesn't matter if you launch the most respectable, honest business available anywhere, people will always have doubt because they remember the crazy stuff you've said before.  Be believable.  Don't exaggerate, mislead, stretch or distort the truth.

 

8. Be specific. 

Don't generalize your information, but rather be EXACT.  Instead of "over 100 tips for losing weight" use "124 tips for losing weight."  By generalising information, it creates doubt and questions in the reader's mind.  "What am I really getting here?  Does he even know?"  When you use specific information, the reader begins to think, "This person must have counted.  I know exactly what I can expect."  "Platitudes and generalities roll off the human understanding like water from a duck," wrote Claude Hopkins."  "They leave no impression whatsoever."

 

9. Use headlines over and over throughout the sales letter.

A headline isn't just relegated to the beginning of your ad copy.  Use them frequently - but don't overuse.  A well-placed headline re-grabs the reader's attention, brings them deeper into the letter, and readies them for the next paragraph.  You will want to spend as much time working on your headlines as you do the entire sales letter.  They are that important.

 

10. Use bonuses to overwhelm the reader. 

One of the things that I have found very effective in writing sales letters is to include bonus items that OUT-VALUE the actual product I am offering.  For example at ideal home exhibition one company was selling a set of steak knives, but before they were finished, you had so many bonus items on the table it was hard to refuse.  Make sure you provide quality bonuses and not some worthless, outdated junk that damages the credibility of your main offer.

Ok that's sales copy dealt with - in the next lesson we will cover income generation.