You know that writing good sales copy is important for success. You need to compel consumers to click on your ads. You need to persuade consumers to opt-in to your mailing list. You need to persuade to buy your products and services. You accomplish all of these things with your sales copy. How do you write good sales copy?
Good sales copy doesn't require a professional copywriter. You can write good copy yourself. Start by looking at examples from your competition. What do their ads and landing pages look like? You also need to test, which means tracking results and comparing variations in your ads and landing pages.
Copywriting comes down to one thing. You want the consumer to take an action. You want the consumer to register, make a purchase, etc. Good sales copy follows four basic steps to compel a consumer to take an action. These steps can be described in the acronym AIDA. It stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. You'll see what these steps are in terms of a landing page.
(1) Capture the consumers Attention.
This is the job of your headline, and perhaps the following sentence. You've to got to make the consumer want to read the rest of the copy when the consumer comes to your page. If you fail to do this in the online world, the customer will be gone in 5 or 10 seconds. Your headline needs to make the consumer stop and take the time to read the rest of your landing page.
For example, imagine your market is actors and you have a product to help them win roles from auditions. Your headline may be something like this.
"Do you know how to prepare in the ten minutes before giving your audition?"
(2) Create Interest in your Product or Service.
After you've got their attention, you need to make them interest in what you have to say. The common practice in sales copy is to describe a problem that the consumer may have that your product or service will provide a solution to. Then demonstrate how your product or service provides a solution.
Again, for auditioning actors, your copy might be like this.
"Most auditions are cold read auditions. A typical audition consists of you getting a side when you arrive an audition. You will have ten or fifteen minutes to read over the side and prepare to read in front of the casting director or agent. The casting agent will decide to call you back or not based on your cold read. Do you know what to do in those ten minutes to prepare for your audition?
- How should you develope a character in ten minutes?
- Should you try and memorize as much of the side as you can?
- What should you do if you are reading with the casting director or agent?
- What do you do if you are paired with another actor or actress?
- Does the scene require you to cry on command?
- Will you have to improvise parts of the audition?
- What will you do without props and proper setting? Is your character supposed to enter through a door?
Get the Productname now to discover the answers. The Productname teaches you how to deliver a great cold read. Delivering a great cold read is the most important step toward wining an acting role."
(3) Build desire for your Product or Service.
You created problem for the consumer, now you need to describe how you product is the solution.
You may have heard to list benefits instead of features. You never want to talk about features. Instead, you need to talk about what the feature will mean to the customer. Will it save them time? Will it make their task or life easier? Will it save them money? These types of things are benefits. This is what you need to concentrate on, telling consumer how they will personally gain from your product.
In addition, testimonials are often used at this stage. Many consumers place stock in testimonials from other parties, and they help build desire.
(4) Compel the consumer to take Action.
This is last part of the sales letter or landing page. Here to give the consumer the chance to take the action you've been leading them to.
Often you'll see a call to action used, like "click here now" or "get your copy now". This is appeals to the subconscious mind of the consumer, and telling them specifically what to do.
You may use tactics like creating a sense of urgency with an ordering deadline.
It is the accepted best practice to give the consumer only the option to take your action. Don't give them a navigation menu, or any other click. Create your sales letter so that they either take your action or leave.