Category: Blog

Before you ever write a word of actual online copy, it’s essential that you develop a powerful offer few customers in their right minds could resist.

The offer that you make can have a tremendous impact on your sales. We’ve seen tests of the same copy with different offers where one offer pulled two 2 to three times as many cash orders.

In fact, one of the key services we perform for our clients is creating powerful offers to go with their existing copy. By changing just their offer, we can almost always increase their sales by a minimum of 30% – and often much more.

The best offer to suggest to our customers is one that eliminates as much of the risk on their part as possible. We’re always amazed by offers of a 15 day guarantee, especially for information products.

Who can possibly do a thorough evaluation of something in just 15 days, with the type of schedule most people lead?

When we see a company offering a 15-day guarantee, it tells us two things. Either they don’t understand how to write maximum profit sales copy or they have so little confidence in the quality of their product, they want to keep the guarantee period as short as possible.

While we’re talking about guarantees, let’s look at the effect of offering a much longer guarantee period for your product. The first thing a longer guarantee does is shift the majority of the risk from your customer’s shoulders to your own shoulders.

This gives you a powerful selling advantage. Your customer wants to be certain that they can buy with complete confidence – and know that if your product doesn’t live up to your promises, they can return it without any aggravation.

Second, a long guarantee period gives the message that you believe in your product. If not, you’d be offering a shoddy 15-day guarantee just like all your competitors do.

Third, and most importantly, it signals to your customer that you put their interests ahead of your own. You’re not just in it to make a quick buck, you’re there to make sure they gain every last benefit you promised.

Here’s a list of powerful components that can go into an exceptional offer:

- Guaranteed lowest prices
- Guaranteed satisfaction
- Liberal payment terms
- Discounts for special groups
- Discounts for larger quantities
- Time-limited discounts
- Bonuses. Especially bonuses that the customer gets to keep even if they return the item they ordered
- Free trials
- Free samples
- Free shipping, or express shipping for a minimal charge
- No obligation
- Toll-free number
- Generous quantities
- Free or inexpensive upgrade to another product at a later date
- Free credit for a specified period of time
- No money down. Pay nothing for a specified period of time
- Limited availability
- Exclusiveness

Alright, now let’s look at some examples of actual offers that rocketed sales through the roof.

Here’s an offer from a space ad of mine that ran in a direct marketing trade journal. The offer is contained in the headline and validated by the sub-header. The ad is written as a testimonial from one of my satisfied clients.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
How To Get A Maximum Profit Copywriter
To Kick Your Sales Into High Gear – Risk Free!
….I should know. His concepts and copy
increased my income on one project by 917%!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

What elements are at work in this offer? First of all we’ve eliminated all of the customer’s risk. They’re promised a risk-free deal.

Second, there’s the tantalizing offer of huge rewards – verified by our endorser’s actual experience. This is a powerful offer that worked extremely well. We were overwhelmed with a barrage of new clients wanting us to create a winning package for them.

Here’s an offer we promote for one of our clients. The challenge was to pump some life into a very mundane product – a home equity line of credit.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Announcing READY EQUITY
As a Preferred Customer
You Can Get A Substantial Line Of Credit
Based On the Equity In Your Home
– and You’re Pre-approved
up to $50,000 with no fees!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

There are quite a few powerful elements at work here. First of all, there’s the appeal of exclusivity. You’re part of a limited, select group of people who can get this.

The terms are easy. You’re pre-approved. It can’t get any easier than that.

The fees are discounted. No fee at all. That’s as deep a discount as you can get!

Plus, generous quantities. The customer is promised a substantial line of credit based on the equity in their home. The minimum they can count on is $50,000. A very generous figure that puts real teeth into the promise made by the offer.

And finally, an implicit promise of no risk. That is, you don’t have to risk being embarrassed. You can’t be turned down. You’re pre-approved so all you have to do is sign on the dotted line for a minimum of $50,000.

Your offer will often determine the flow or the tone of your copy. Plus, knowing how you’re going to position your product (by means of your offer) can have a major effect on the key points you highlight in your sales copy.

Cast this rule in stone: ALWAYS write your offer at this stage in the process. Don’t even think about jumping ahead. If you do, you’ll seriously compromise the quality of your sales copy.

Benefits are the meat of all online advertising copy. What exactly can you do to make your customer’s life easier, better, or more enjoyable? What crucial problems do they have that you can solve? What do they desperately want that you can deliver? How can your product make them feel recognized, special, or appreciated?

Here are the two best ways to build an all-encompassing list of benefits. First, write down all of your customer’s main concerns. Price, performance, quality, reliability, efficiency, delivery, availability. Then state each of these in terms of a benefit your product delivers.

Next, take the list you compiled of every feature, fact, and figure. How do these translate into benefits? Use the examples I gave you earlier as a guideline for restating features/facts/figures as benefits.

Once you’ve completed your list of benefits, put them in order. Prioritize them according to how important they are to your customer. Then choose the benefits that are the most important – that will really compel your customers to do business with you.

The most compelling benefits are the ones you’ll stress in your sales copy. Showing your customers how they can save time or money, achieve a worthwhile goal, avoid or solve a crucial problem, and make their lives easier and better is what sells products and services.

The key to controlling an ongoing source of consistently high sales is having credibility. If you promote the products which have more credibility from customers, more people will pay your products.

This might sound vague or mysterious at this point. But we guarantee that after you’ve been in a marketing-intensive business for a few years, you’ll come to live by this principle.

We know of dozens of businesses that have customer lists of 2,000 to 3,000 customers. These businesses are making small fortunes year in and year out because they have built flawless credibility with their customers.

Think about it. Profits of $300 per year per customer comes to $600,000 on a list of 2,000 – and $900,000 on a house list of 3,000. Once you understand this simple principle of gaining and leveraging credibility, you begin to see how easy it actually is to create a highly profitable business.

Here’s another example. I have a consulting client who has produced exceptional results by leveraging their credibility. Our efforts together to sell information products to their house list of under 300 customers resulted in sales of over $175,000 last year – the first full year they were in business!

Take my word for it. A high degree of credibility with your house list is worth far more than anything else you could possibly imagine. I’ll show you everything you need to know to get, use, and maximize credibility in all your web marketing later in this course.

When we’re done, you’ll have everything you need to cash in by leveraging your own credibility.

2011 has come. Most companies prepare to launch or promote their services and products. If you are an affiliate, you may bother what products or services in affiliate network marketplace can generate profit to you. We can say “You Must Choose A Quality Product”. This might seem obvious, but from what we see being offered in the marketplace, a lot of businesses overlook this crucial concept.

There are a number of important reasons why you must choose a quality product (or service). First, promoting a quality product substantially reduces returns and unhappy customers. Even with all the attention that’s supposedly given in today’s marketplace to creating quality products, we know of companies that experience return rates as high as 70% of all orders! Obviously, that’s a financial disaster.

An inferior product kills repeat sales and referrals to other customers. This is another severe financial limitation, because repeat sales are where the true wealth is for any business. And referrals are extremely profitable since you have no marketing costs to make these sales.

There isn’t anything more basic to your success than choosing quality products. Without quality products, you really don’t succeed in affiliate marketing.

Rest and Percolate are vital to your success. In order for your mind to sort, dissect, order, reorder, examine, flip flop, and manipulate all the raw information you gathered – then convert it into powerful copy ideas, you need to get some distance from the material.

Here’s how we recommend you do this. The research process will take anywhere from one day to a few weeks. Once you’ve gathered all your research information, sit down and quickly read through everything you’ve collected. Then take a major break.

Let your mind work its magic before you ever start writing copy.

More importantly, research will uncover those crucial nuggets of information that can make the difference to making the sale or losing it. Regardless of how well you might think you know your market, research will uncover vital information you might never have considered.

We always try to gather enough research information to create a stack at least two inches thick. We keep all my notes, scraps, and printed material that we’ve gathered in a manila folder that’s specifically for that one project alone.

For this particular sales piece, our research included the following items:

1. Articles written in a dozen trade journals on marketing professional services.
2. Interviews with our clients who sell professional services to find out what problems they have and what goals they want to achieve.
3. Interviews with other marketing experts on the subject of marketing professional services.
4. Books on setting up professional service practices and specifically on marketing professional services.
5. Magazines and newsletters from trade associations for service professionals.
6. Web based research on web sites that cater to service professionals.
7. Web based research on forums and discussion lists for service professionals.

This research yielded the raw information that was critical to creating one of my most successful sales pieces ever. It helped me build my list of features, benefits, bullet points – and every other component of my sales piece.

But most importantly, this research revealed four critical pieces of information we never would have discovered without it:

1. Although the majority of service professionals recognize the importance of marketing, they feel very uncomfortable about anything that even hints at “selling.”
2. Most service professionals live from paycheck to paycheck, despite the fact that they have excellent skills and get paid high rates for their services.
3. Colleges teach service professionals that the key to success is having the best skills possible – and give almost no attention whatsoever to the subject of marketing.
4. The few books available on marketing professional services are very weak.

Business‐to‐business copy persuades readers by giving them useful information about the products being advertised. The more facts you include in your copy, the better.

When you have a file full of facts at your fingertips, writing good copy is easy.

You simply select the most relevant facts and describe them in a clear, concise, direct fashion.

But when copywriters don’t bother to dig for facts, they fall back on fancy phrases and puffed‐up expressions to fill the empty space on the page. The words sound nice, but they don’t sell because the copy doesn’t inform.

Here’s a four‐step procedure we use to get the information we need to write persuasive, fact‐filled copy for my clients. This technique should be helpful to copywriters, account executives, and ad managers alike.

Step #1: Get all previously published material on the product.

For an existing product, there’s a mountain of literature you can send to the copywriter as background information. This material includes:

- Tear‐sheets of previous ads
- Brochures
- Catalogs
- Article reprints
- Technical papers
- Copies of speeches
- Audio‐visual scripts
- Previous Online Compaign
- Press kits
- Swipe files of competitors’ ads and literature

Did we hear someone say they can’t send us material because their product is new? Nonsense. The birth of every new product is accompanied by mounds of paperwork you can give the copywriter. These papers include:

- Internal memos
- Letters of technical information
- Product specifications
- Engineering drawings
- Business and marketing plans
- Reports
- Proposals

By studying this material, the copywriter should have 80 percent of the information he needs to write the copy. And he can get the other 20 percent by picking up the phone and asking questions. Steps #2‐4 outline the questions he should ask about the product, the audience, and the objective of the copy.

Step #2: Ask questions about the product.

- What are its features and benefits? (Make a complete list.)
- Which benefit is the most important?
- How is the product different from the competition’s? (Which features are exclusive? Which are better than the competition’s?)
- If the product isn’t different, what attributes can be stressed that haven’t been stressed by the competition?
- What technologies does the product compete against?
- What are the applications of the product?
- What industries can use the product?
- What problems does the product solve in the marketplace?
- How is the product positioned in the marketplace?
- How does the product work?
- How reliable is the product?
- How efficient?
- How economical?
- Who has bought the product and what do they say about it?
- What materials, sizes and models is it available in?
- How quickly does the manufacturer deliver the product?
- What service and support does the manufacturer offer?
- Is the product guaranteed?

Step #3: Ask questions about your audience.

- Who will buy the product? (What markets is it sold to?)
- What is the customer’s main concern? (Price, delivery, performance, reliability, service maintenance, quality, efficiency)
- What is the character of the buyer?
- What motivates the buyer?
- How many different buying influences must the copy appeal to?

Two tips on getting to know your audience:

- If you are writing an ad, read issues of the magazine in which the ad will appear.
- If you are writing direct mail, find out what mailing lists will be used and study the list descriptions.

Step #4: Determine the objective of your copy.

This objective may be one or more of the following:

- To generate inquiries
- To generate sales
- To answer inquiries
- To qualify prospects
- To transmit product information
- To build brand recognition and preference
- To build company image

Before you write web copy, study the product ‐ its features, benefits, past performance, applications, and markets. Digging for the facts will pay off, because in business‐to‐business advertising, specifics sell.

Every copy should include testimonials. Testimonials build credibility, and show that other people are using your product or service and have achieved exactly what you promised. Without testimonials, your offer is being based on what “YOU” alone have written, and why should they trust you? Testimonials are great instruments of social proof.

It’s very important that you start collecting as much feedback as possible from your past clients and surveying them to be able to use their statements in your copy. An offer without testimonials can read very flat, especially if the reader is expecting to read what others have said.

For a testimonial to be truly believable, it’s best to use the name of the person; and to do this, you need their permission. A full name instead of an abbreviation will look far more credible than just listed initials. We’ve seen testimonials that simply state “A.S” or “J.B” and to me that means absolutely nothing.

We generally prefer to see a full name, and even a location such as “Jim Johnson, Michelle, Georgia”. I do not expect to see a telephone number and exact address as that leads to privacy rights, but at least a full name and city/state helps in validating the testimonial.

With the ever-increasing investigations into companies, it’s also important that every testimonial you list is actually backed with proof. This is in case you are ever investigated. Keep all your testimonials on file, whether they are testimonials sent in through the mail or email. If you are quoting something that was said on the phone, then that’s harder to track unless you have the recording.

There is not much more to be said other since it is self-explanatory. If you do not have any testimonials on file, then do not fake any. It’s better to not have any testimonial than to fabricate one.

Specifics: Being Precise

Being specific is very important. When you request your testimonials from your customers, ask them to be as specific as possible concerning the benefits that they have received. You do not want someone who said, “You really did a good job!” “Good” doesn’t tell us anything in particular. They must be very specific on how the product has helped them.

When writing your copy, provide exact figures. If you are offering a moneymaking report, people will tend to believe you if you input the exact figure you’ve made instead of providing a flat number. For example, if you’ve earn $2,342.46 per month utilizing the techniques outlined in the product you’re offering, then by all means input that exact number instead of rounding it down to $2,300. If you input exact figures, it seems more believable than rounded figures. If you have a statistic to offer, instead of stating 65% of people are shown to do… you can instead say 65.7%. Always use the exact figure; it’s very important in building credibility.

Use of Sub-Headings

This can be overlooked but the format of your copy is also very important. It’s always wise to have your copy divided into sub-headings for easier reading, with the most important words or benefits being the title of the testimonial. Not only will this make it easier to read, but it will also allow you to highlight important points that you want to stress upon.

Location

You need to put testimonials at certain strategic points within the body of your copy when you are making a certain point in your copy that goes along with something from a testimonial.

You need to use a testimonial that has something in it that directly overcomes a particular buyer’s objection or skepticism. For example, if you think that customers might be doubtful if your product can produce results within 10 days as you have stated, include a testimonial of a customer that has experienced such results within 10 days or less.

The use of illustrations is another often overlooked technique with copywriting.

Illustration can be in the form of charts, graphs, or graphics. Integrating an appealing graphic with your copy can enhance the overall feel and appearance of your copy.

Let’s take a look at magazines that have advertisements embedded. As good as your headline may be, an eye catching graphic integrated with it will get more eyes being glued to your page.

Remember that your goal is to first get people to actually view your ad, so you have to do whatever it takes to attract them, and one excellent way is by using graphics or illustrations.

Illustrations are also great for showing statistics. If your copy entails showing users why it’s important that they act now, showing some graphical data could be a great selling point. For example, if you are selling auto insurance you can show statistics on how much money users have saved by switching to your auto insurance company.

People like to see “proof”, “stats”, and actual “figures”. Utilizing this technique will build more credibility and trust, and you’ll come off as more serious with your offer. Good ad copy is not just about hype, but also facts; so illustrations can indeed help.

We’ve found that using photos help, especially if the photo is of an actual person or the item that is being sold. This visual stimulation is important, as it feels like they are now talking to a real person, and can actually see the product.

You can transform a good copywriting piece into a great one, by simply adding a few graphics, photos, and statistics. If it’s possible, always try to integrate some graphical elements into your copywriting.

If you’re not good with graphics, consider having it done professionally or by your graphics department if you have one. The more professional appeal your copy has, the better chance you’ll have in converting readers to customers.

When you’re thinking like a customer, you’ll be able to come up with questions that you know they’ll want answered. You can incorporate these questions into your copy by writing statements that discredit the objection.

If you are a car dealership and your parts are a bit more expensive than the local auto shops, then make note that you only used genuine certified parts. This justifies your higher pricing and shows you set a standard of high quality.

If your labour costs are higher, make note that your staff is certified mechanical engineers and were trained specifically for the model of the vehicle being serviced. Its adding statements such as the ones mentioned that would bring credibility, but also indirectly answer some questions regarding the difference in price from your competitor.

That’s a simple way of overcoming objections or questions without addressing the question directly. Another great way of overcoming objections dealing with the pricing of your product is not to compare yourself to your competitors. For example, if you were selling a CD that discusses “overcoming anxiety,” then you can compare the price of your CD with the price of attending counseling sessions or attending your seminar live.

Obviously counselling sessions and seminars are higher priced than being able to listen to it on CD; therefore, when you compare the two prices, the price of the CD seems more reasonable, and you’ve justified your pricing.

If again you are faced with an objection, you should consider incorporating all the benefits and features of the product and have an option of listing them. The more benefits and features you list, the more valuable your product will be perceived.

When you are writing your copy, remember you are trying to solve a problem. If you focus on how you can solve that problem, along with mentioning other issues that can arise from the problem you are solving, the potential buyer is more inclined to ignore the price just to be able to resolve the issue.

There’s nothing worse that exposing one problem, and then finding other issues arise due to this initial problem. The more problems your product can solve, the more valuable it becomes, and the lesser that price becomes a factor. Keep in mind that people want solutions, and will pay if you can indeed deliver as promised.

We once read an ad copy that focused its entire copy on “if you will join the winner’s bracket or the losing bracket.” Their goal was to strike an emotion with the reader that if they don’t follow what they’ve said in their copy, that the chances of them being on the losing end skyrockets. This works well for any business. If you’re selling Life Insurance and your copy is to get the reader to sign up for the insurance for the security of their family, you can paint two scenarios. Scenario 1 is ensuring your family is totally secured if there was ever a death that the life insurance policy will have them fully covered and financially secured.

Scenario 2 is if you do not take out the coverage and your family is left to suffer with little to survive upon since you were the breadwinner of the family.

That’s what is meant by the winners bracket and losing bracket. The example is a bit morbid, but it brings across the point of showing the user why it’s important they take advantage of your offer.