When writing sales copy, you’re swimming in a big pool filled with facts, figures, testimonials, offers, guarantees, and everything else that’s part of your promotion.
That’s why so many people get overwhelmed at the thought of sitting down and writing a coherent and persuasive message. Juggling all of those details can be difficult, and often leads to heavy, boring sales copy.
To combat that, I have two quotations on my wall that have proven to be very useful (and profitable!) over the years:
“You can’t bore people into buying your product.” – David Ogilvy
“People will read what’s interesting to them, and sometimes it’s advertising.” – Howard Gossage
Now that you have a goal when you begin to write… to be interesting for your prospects… it’s much easier to control all of those details and have them contribute to your sales message instead of dominating it.
A quick and easy way to generate interest in your readers is to tell your own story. To do this, you simply explain to your readers why you’re in the situation you’re in. Here are a few examples of the type of story you can write:
How and why you created the product or service you’re offering
Hi, my name is Jane Doe. Two years ago I was going through the darkest period of my life. It was more difficult than anything I could ever imagine… so bad that I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
In a moment I’m going to share with you how I was able to escape that terrible situation. More importantly, I’ll also share how my experience can help anyone transform their lives from the misery of pitch black to a life of happiness, light, and fulfillment.
How the product or service you’re offering has changed your life
I’m Bill Smith, creator of Product X. In just a few moments, I’m going to show you how I was able to go from a complete woodworking novice, to a respected expert craftsman in just one short year.
Why you’re making the product or service available at such a tremendous value
Hello, my name is John Doe, President and CEO of Company A. I’m writing to you today with a very special opportunity that my company has never made available before. Pure and simply… the reason we’re able to offer this to you at this time is because the economy is in the toilet.
With these simple “tell your story” templates, you’ll be able to catch the interest of your prospects – and also make the task of writing your sales letter much easier!
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Mike Denison is a freelance copywriter with over 20 years experience in direct response marketing, including print advertising, direct mail, online sales letters, and email campaigns. More info at www.logikmarketing.com
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Internet Business will grow in the years to come as more and more people get online. I also invested in an online store.*’-
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Sterling (Jeremy Frandsen) Reply:
Agreed!
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I just saw this really effectively done with the release of a new video game beta.
They took a camera and interviewed the engineers about the process of making the new game, why they were excited about it, what they were hoping the players would enjoy most etc.
It gave a lot of new meaning and excitement to the process.
Plus it was really cool to feel like I was seeing the inside scoop…behind the scenes. I found it entertaining. Then I realized that I was definitely more sold on buying it after I had watched that video.
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Copywriting is also a skill that takes years of practice to become very effective in advertising what you are selling and -;`
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Don’t forget that the opportunity to tell your story comes each time you meet someone. The “elevator speech” tells your story, including what’s in it for them in 30 seconds. As a small consulting firm, I get most of my local business leads this way. Writing it and refining it took almost a year to get it right, but it’s so much more effective than saying, “I’m an internet marketing consultant.”
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Jay (Jason Van Orden) Reply:
Very good point, Jack.
I like to start my story with a phrase that really pique’s the interest.
The one we use is…
“I’m a cubicle escape artist.”
Then the story unfolds from there. It tends to really get people’s attention.
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Copy writing is something I only recently discovered but have since read several books on and started to implement on various sites with measurable success.
One challenge I’ve run into is that writing online copy can be much different than print copy. However, I like your approach of telling a story – this is a technique I use when public speaking because an audience will embrace and remember a story much longer than a bunch of powerpoint slides.
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This reminds me of the conversation I had with my manager several years ago. I was an Engineer with Motorola and my manager was one of Motorola’s top salespersons.
“I want to move into management,” I said, “what do I need to do?”
“Well, over 80% of Motorola management comes from the Sales departments. Your odds are not good,” he replied.
When asked why, he gave me the following quote.
“Engineers spend their lives talking to machines, salespeople spend their lives talking to human beings. Who would you rather spend your time with?”
Now that I am a manager, I realize the truth in his comments.
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