Do you sometimes forget the ingredients needed to cook up great sales content? Writing quality content is the only way to convince people to buy your products. If you sell soccer boots and just write, "red soccer boots", next to a picture, all you'll be doing is showing bones. And that's scary.
Give your sales copy some skin. People want details so give it to them. You also need sales so here is a simple list to help you remember how to write your copy.
1. Picture your audience: You need to have a clear mental picture of who your audience is, the problems they have and how you think your solution will help them.
2. Talk to them: Not about yourself. Your "About" page is there to say everything about your business. Your sales content is supposed to have "you" and "your"; directly referring to anybody who reads it (in this case, your target audience).
3. Emotions trigger action: People act on two basic emotional principles:
- They take action on their fears
- They take action on their pleasures
With this knowledge, you can use words that spell out your reader's fears and couple it with the joy (pleasure) they'll get after using your product.
4. Spill out the benefits: What benefit does your product offer? People read about products because they want to know what it does so add some detail.
5. Spark imaginations: Make your content memorable by sparking the reader's imagination. Some people read content with half-dead minds so you need to awaken them by taking them to Wonderland. Use phrases like, "imagine you ...", "think about the benefits." Etc.
6. Where's the proof?: Has your product helped many people already? Has it won any awards? Are people saying anything about it? Where's the proof? Show it. It will help you get more conversions.
7. Any offers or bonuses?: Do you have any bonuses to offer? Do you have any discounts? What are they? This is not a necessity but it helps in conversions.
8. Where's the call to action? Your content needs an enabler and that is what a call to action is for. After reading your content, people want to know what to do next. Tell them what you want them to do: buy a product, fill out a form, etc.
9. Say your last words: Your post script (P.S.) is a great tool for summing up your content. It's a way of reminding the reader of what they'll be getting or why they need to act fast.
10. Go over it: Your letter is not perfect yet. Go over it and see if it sounds right. Does it convince you? You can also show it to your family or friends you trust. Does it convince them? To find out, ask them if they'll take action if they were to be your audience.
All you have to do now is to save this list somewhere and use it when you write.
Did I leave anything out? What do you use to spice up your sales copy? Let me know.