As a copywriter I am frequently asked by my clients to write direct mail sales letters.

These are quite an art form in themselves and can be quite complex to write.

But the work begins long before you actually put pen to paper or finger to keyboard.

In fact this is true for just about any form of copywriting. If you launch in without a lot of thought, you are very unlikely to produce something that will be strong enough to sell. There’s a lot of ground work to get through before you should even consider writing.

The first stage is to know your market. How can you convince someone to buy something if you don’t know what they want? But not only do you need to understand who you are writing to, you also need to identity why you are writing to them in the first place.

Yes, I know you are writing to them because you want them to buy from you, but unless you are 100% clear about the reaction you want to evoke, you may not get the response you are looking for.

Basically you are looking to identify:

What you want your reader to know

The key here is to ensure your writing is benefit-led and not feature-led. Obviously you’ll need to tell your reader some facts about what you are selling so that they can then justify their buying decision, but the benefits must come first. Also resist the temptation to tell them all about your company, they are really not interested. All they want to know is what you are going to do for them.

How you want them to feel

Getting an emotional response is the best way to get them to buy. Make sure your sales letter makes them feel they’ll be missing out if they don’t buy. You are offering them a fantastic opportunity and they must act NOW!

What you want them to commit to

Even if you write a really strong sales letter, omitting your call to action will make the whole exercise a complete waste of time. It can be as simple as ‘buy now’, ‘recommend a friend’ or perhaps ‘book an appointment with an advisor’. Just make sure it is specific and direct. You must leave them in no doubt whatsoever about what they should do, how they should do it and when.

These three simple rules will help you write stronger, sales orientated copy that will get your readers taking notice.

Welcome to the copywriter’s laboratory.

This is where perfectly chosen words are put together in a magical formula that will have your readers spellbound and ready to buy.

In just a few moments I will show you a few of the words that I as a copywriter use to persuade my readers to buy my clients’ products.

It might seem hard to believe that such innocent looking words could be so powerful, but they do work – time and again.

But before I show you those, I want to share with you a few little tricks you might like to try within your copy that will add extra oomph to your sales writing.

1. Broken lists – When you see a list of 3 promises, it’s human nature to read all 3. So, to encourage your reader to read on, split your list over 2 paragraphs. They’ll just have to read the second paragraph to satisfy their curiosity.

1. Teasers – End your paragraph with a teaser such as ‘But that’s not all…’ or ‘And here’s why…’ or even ‘So why subscribe?’ Your reader will want to know what comes next.

1. End pages mid-sentence – If your sales letter goes beyond one page, finishing the first page mid-sentence will again make your reader carry on reading.

1. The promise more – This is especially useful when writing long copy. Adding a sentence such as ‘In a moment, I will reveal to you the five most important conversion techniques to increase your sales. But first…’ It is like dangling a carrot in front of them.

If you’re going to use that last one, make sure you do deliver what you promise.

OK, I’ve made you wait long enough. Here are the 6 magic words I promised. Weaving these into your sales copy will help you cast your spell over your reader:

1. Easy – Everyone wants the easy option.
2. Quick – Aren’t we all impatient?
3. Free – Whatever you do, don’t kill this one by adding ‘absolutely!’
4. Now – This one is multipurpose. It can be used to show something is new when used in a headline, it’s very effective in the CTA, and it can turn a problem into a solution within the body of your text.
5. Please – The magic word that always works.
6. Guarantee – This will allay fears and uncertainty.

It really can be as simple as that. Next time you write some copy why not try these out for size and see how you get on with them.

Writing articles is a great way to promote your business and to position yourself as an expert in your field.

But it does take time which puts off many people.

But what would you rather do? Spend loads of money on ineffective advertising or spend a bit of time putting together some articles which will drive traffic to your website and elevate your position within your industry?

As a copywriter I have been using article marketing for quite some time. As a result mine is a known name within my industry and approximately 80% of my work comes directly through my website – not bad.

So just in case you’re still wavering about whether to try your hand at article marketing or not, here are just some of the benefits you’ll enjoy if you take the plunge:

Free advertising

The submission of articles doesn’t cost anything, only time. But because they’ll remain on the sites forever, they’ll drive long term traffic to your website therefore lasting much longer than any advert will.

Expert status

As well as promoting your business, your articles will also be promoting you. Your name will become synonymous with your field – something that money simply can’t buy.

Attract sales

Although your articles shouldn’t be direct adverts, they will generate traffic which in turn will generate sales. Hyperlink your keywords within your article to send people to your sales site.

Build your mailing list

The potential readership for your articles is vast. By adding your link within the body of your article or your author biography, you can encourage people to sign up to your newsletter therefore building your in-house mailing list.

Opening doors

The sky’s the limit. Publicising yourself and your business through articles could open the door to all sorts of opportunities for you. Joint ventures, new projects and new partners could all be possible. But if you don’t write about what you do or your industry, how will they know you exist?

So there you do, writing articles is a valuable marketing tool for driving traffic to your website and raising your own profile. The more you write, the more you’ll enjoy it and the better your articles will become.

Everyone is feeling the pinch right now, but there are some things that really shouldn’t be cut back on – especially if you are running a business.

You are in business to sell, right? And the most powerful tool in your sales armoury is marketing. Marketing needs words; words that sell. So unless you happen to be a freelance copywriter as well as a business owner, why are you trying to do it yourself?

If you car breaks down you take it to a mechanic, if you are unwell you go to the doctors, if your pet needs some TLC you take it to the vets. You wouldn’t try to do any of those things yourself, so don’t try and write your own sales copy.

No one knows your business like you do

I’m not going to argue about that because it’s true – no one knows your business like you. You know your product inside out and back to front. But that doesn’t mean you know how to sell it in writing.

It’s quite easy to spot a piece of copywriting that’s been written by the company. It’s all about the company, it lists the product’s features and it crammed with ‘we’ with very little ‘you’ – basically it doesn’t talk to the reader; it doesn’t engage with them.

Because you know your product so well, your writing becomes descriptive rather than powerful sales writing. For example if you were selling shoes, as a business owner you’d mention their quality and range of colours – but that won’t make someone sit up, pay attention and buy.

But a copywriter would look at your product and produce compelling copy that would tell your reader your shoes are the latest must-have item for the savvy woman about town – they’ll make heads turn. This kind of copy reaches the emotional side of buying – the side that will make them want your product.

At the end of the day your readers are only interested in what your product is going to do for them:

• Is it going to save me money?
• Will it save me time?
• Is it going to make me look successful?
• Will it make me feel like a million dollars?
• Is it going to make me the envy of my friends?

So invest in the services of a good copywriter and make your sales copy work harder for you.

What do the Spice Girls and copywriting have on common? Not an awful lot other than the girls know how to:

“Tell ‘em what they want, what they really, really want.”

Where as most of the sales writing produced doesn’t.

If you’ve tried to save money and produce your own marketing copy I can guess what it looks like. Let’s go through the process you probably followed. You’ve been involved with your product or service since day one. You therefore think it is the best thing since that fantastic Space Dust stuff that crackled on your tongue (I loved that as a kid, didn’t you?). It was you that smoothed out the wrinkles and tweaked until it emerged as a finished article. You are so close to it, your writing was all about its amazing features and what it does.

Am I right, or am I right?

Thought so. In a way you are right, your readers will (at some point) want to know about its features. But their primary concern is what it will do for them. And that’s where a freelance copywriter comes in.

A copywriter understands that to create great copy that sells, you have to understand what your reader wants to know. To give you a clue, it’s not about your company, your car, your staff or a list of features. They want to know what benefit they’ll get – what’s it going to do for them? Why should they spend their hard earned cash on your product?

As an example let’s take a pair of rugby boots, mainly because I seem to be buying them regularly for my rugby mad son. When we’re looking at boots, if there’s a pair that states:

• These boost are made from leather
• Their studs are tipped with titanium
• They are available in a range of colours

I can guarantee my son will wander off. But if the sales copy announced that by buying these rugby boots their game would improve dramatically and they would help him kick like Jonny Wilkinson, he’d be at that till faster that Usain Bolt.

Why? Because in his mind the those points are all benefits. He wants to improve his game and he wants to play like his hero, Jonny Wilkinson.

So remember, when producing sales copy forget about what you want to write about and concentrate on what your reader’s will want to hear. Just one word of warning – whatever claims you make, please ensure they are genuine and you can follow through with them.

Let’s get one thing straight from the start – a copywriter writes to sell.

Pure and simple.

Of course, their sale writing also has to be interesting enough to make someone want to read it in the first place.

That’s all well and good, but how can you ensure your reader will actually buy your product when they land on your website?

Well, there are no guarantees – everyone is different and their motivations for buying are different therefore no one can guarantee sales.

But what you can do to maximise your chances is to put yourself in your readers’ shoes. Imagine yourself browsing the web. You come across a web page. It looks quite attractive, it has some good images, the copywriting is persuasive but your not completely sold on the fact that the product is for you.

What do you do next?

I’m guessing you go back to your search results and take a look at another site. Would you return to the first site you landed on? Probably not.

Therefore if your reader navigates away from your website it is highly unlikely they’ll come back. So to get your visitors to buy as soon as they land on your website you must create a sense of urgency to make them buy rather than wandering off to browse other sites.

How you can create a sense of urgency

One of the easiest ways of creating a sense of urgency is by including a time limited offer.

No one likes to think they are missing out on something whether it is a discount, free bonus, stock availability or even getting in quick before the price goes up.

If you hear there is a time limited offer on an item you instantly start to think that it’s going to sell out very fast – so it must be really popular – so it is the thing to have – the thing all my friends will have – I SIMPLY MUST HAVE IT NOW!

Below are a few illustrations of time limited offers:

• Get your order in now before August 11th’s price increase
• All orders before midnight on 13th July will get a 30% discount
• Place your order before October 10th and get your free bonus worth £25
• Order now while stocks last. After October 2nd we can’t guarantee availability for Christmas

Recognise some of them?

As I said earlier, there are no guarantees – just because someone lands on your website doesn’t mean they are going to buy from you. But if they are interested, the addition of a time limited offer will usually get them reaching for their wallet.

Give it a go and see what different it makes.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter (Briar Copywriting)

SEO copywriting is a copywriting niche that continues to grow in importance.

As the number of internet users continues to grow and with the recent increase in local search, more and more companies are relying on it for a higher percentage of sales. 

Why?

The number of searches done on the Internet is in the hundreds of billions annually.

Most internet users will use one of the various search engines to find service providers. Therefore organic search is hot news and, unless your website has been optimised for your keywords, it is increasingly difficult for you to get found. 

Websites have become the new black – everyone has got one these days. Therefore competition for good rankings is increasing daily. If your site isn’t SEO friendly, you’re going to have a hard time coming up in the search results which means that you won’t achieve the sales results you want from the internet.

Of course, you can always buy traffic by using Google Adwords (pay per click), but it can be expensive and you’ll be missing out on an important piece of the sales ‘pie’ by not focusing on organic traffic.

How?

Great organic results come from a well designed site, great SEO copywriting and plenty of back links. 

You can find our more about how to improve the SEO of your website here:

Does SEO Copywriting Work?

Basic Search Engine Optimisation

How to Improve Your Website’s SEO

SEO Myth Buster

As a business owner, you know people aren’t going to buy from you just because you tell them how marvellous your product is. If they did there would be no need for freelance copywriters like myself (a very bad thing) even though it would make your life easier.

To get someone to come to that all important buying decision, you have to make them believe your product is the greatest thing since Concord. You have to persuade them that it will make their life easier, it will be more fulfilling and quite possibly it will make them richer (but only promise things you can deliver).

Great! That’s simple then.

No? OK, to give you a helping hand, here are a few things you can try to help them make the ‘right’ decision.

The main thing people want is something that will make them feel better about themselves. Whether it’s the perception of others they are concerned about or their own lifestyles, what they need most is usually something intangible.

To illustrate that last point, here are 10 things people might want along with a way you could sell your product to meet their needs.

1. To get the approval of other people – tell them how their friends will admire them if they buy your product.
2. To associate with like-minded people – give free membership to a membership site if they buy.
3. If they’re environmentally conscious – donate a percentage of your profits to green causes.
4. They enjoy food – give away vouchers for restaurant meals if they buy your product.
5. If they’re looking for information – give away a free eBook when they buy.
6. They want to get rid of pain – guess what? Your product will take away their pain.
7. Looking for pleasure – your product will provide them with it.
8. No one likes to think they’re going to miss out on something – tell them the price is time limited and will soon be rising.
9. People want to be healthy – provide free taster sessions at a local gym if they buy.
10. If they want to be part of a select group – give away free membership to your associated club when they buy your product.

Using any one of these examples will help add persuasion to your writing. You’re dangling a carrot in front of them – they buy from you, you’ll give them something amazing.

All you have to do is work out what your customers are looking for. If you can identify that and tailor your sales copy accordingly, how can they possibly say no?

Probably one of the most effect, and yet the most under used forms of marketing tools available to businesses ins the press release.

Over the past 12 months, how many press releases have you made on behalf of your company?

20…15…..10…..3….?

None?

When’s the right time to issue a press release?

At one time or another your company will go through some sort of change. Although it may seem fairly mundane to you, it could be news to others. Therefore it is at times like these when you should release a press release.

Below are just a few of these scenarios that would be considered news worthy.

• When you launch new products or services on your web site
• The results of an industry survey that you’ve conducted
• A forthcoming seminar that you’re hosting that you want to publicise
• The launch of your new website
• If you win an award
• The inception of a new online forum
• Product endorsements, especially if by someone notable
• To publicise an eBook or report that you’ve written

They are just for starters. I’m sure now you have these you can come up with many more. You may even have something right now that fits the bill that you can issue a press release about.

The golden rules of press releases

To get your press release published, you’ll have to ensure it conforms to certain standards. I have listed below a few pointers to maximise your chances of publication.

• Make your press release read like news, not an advert
• Keep it one page in length
• The top of your press release should contain your heading, contact information and release date
• Use short, simple sentences and double space your lines
• Make sure your headline and first few sentences grab your readers’ attention
• The body should be like a story mentioning your business, product or service
• Proofread your press release for grammar and spelling mistakes
• Proofread your press release for grammar and spelling mistakes
• Proofread your press release for grammar and spelling mistakes

By the way, that last point was meant be repeated three times because I can’t stress how important it is. Sending out a press release with errors will reflect badly on your company.

Ultimately, if it’s new to you, it will probably be valuable news to someone else so shout about it.

These press release tips are brought to you by freelance copywriter Sally Ormond.