1. Know Your Product

This is the cornerstone of good copy writing. Know your product and be passionate about it. Believe in it. If you don’t, you shouldn’t be selling it. It is not only unethical to sell something you wouldn’t buy yourself, but also difficult and unpleasant.

If you have a product that you *know* will change your customer’s life for the better, then copy writing becomes much easier. You’re doing them a favor – offering this product at this price – believe that yourself first.

After that, killer copy comes naturally.

2. Know Your Customer

Before you write the first word, create a profile customer.

• Is it a techno-peasant housewife or an IT company executive?
• Income range?
• Age?
• Sex?
• In a hurry?

Select your words and page length to suit your reader – not yourself.

Then, once your web site is tailor made for their unique needs, it is time to test… Find about 3 people who more or less fit your profile customer’s specs and let them loose on the site. Give them tasks like finding your e-mail address, getting to the order page, finding information on a specific product etc.

See how easily they find it and ask for general comments as they go.

Testing is absolutely vital.

My own sales copy always looks good to me – but I wrote it, so I know exactly how it’s structured. Someone else might find it tedious or even confusing.

Confusing web sites is the NUMBER ONE reason people leave.

Swear at them if you must, but don’t confuse them.

That is why you have to test.

3. Stress Benefits

Whatever you do, DON’T put you mission statement on your homepage.

We just don’t care.

We want benefits! What can your product do for me? Right now!

• Can it make me rich?
• Can it save me time?
• Can it entertain me?
• Can it make me feel better about myself?

That’s what people want.

Your product’s greatest benefit should be right in the top header in bold red letters. Your first three or four words should hit them between the eyes.

You never read everything on every page you visit. You scan – you look for something that seems interesting.

Statistics show that you have 10 seconds to grab your visitor’s attention. If you don’t, they’ll move on. No sentence starting with “Our goal is to…” has ever grabbed my attention. I don’t care about you. I care about me. What does your site/product do for me? Right now!

I know this seems harsh, but you’d do well to take it seriously. It’s been proven many times. E-consumers are very back-button-happy. It’s a big web with lots to see. You HAVE TO give them a reason to stay on your site.

4. Establish Trus

On the Net you don’t have the advantage of speaking face to face with your customer, so you have to load as much credibility into your words as possible.

How?

Offer a free trial, a money-back guarantee, testimonials, put your e-mail address, physical address and phone number at the bottom of every page, show a (small) photograph of yourself etc.

Most important: Speak to your visitor. Don’t ramble about technical specs of your products. Imagine sitting down with a friend and telling them about something that can really enhance their life.

5. Use Headings Like This One

Break it up.

Short paragraphs.

Few people will read your entire page. Make it scannable.

Each heading should do 2 things:

• Grab their attention
• Give them clues about the content of the next two or three paragraphs.

Remember that reading from the screen puts extra strain on the eyes. Make the read easy, quick and informative.

6. Words (not) To Use

Good words:
Free; proven; discover; breakthrough; learn; you/your; benefit; first; complete; exclusive etc.

Bad words:
If; but; should; could; etc.

Powerful words:
Why say “If you want to get to the top of the Search Engines…” when you could say “Nail the search engines in five easy steps. Read on… “.

As a rule of thumb, assume that your visitor couldn’t care less about you. Don’t use “I” or “me” more than “you”.

7. Keep It Short

I mentioned page-length up there at #2. The key is to keep it as short as you can. When you’re done writing your killer copy, see if you can say it in half the words. Don’t sacrifice quality though. Make it as long as it needs to be without dragging it out.

8. Create Urgency

Throw in something special for the first 100 subscribers or make it “this month only”. Your word selection is important here. Don’t say “Subscribe now!”. Put a specific time limit to it – “Subscribe during July and I’ll give you… “.

Try to get them to buy on their first visit, because chances of them returning later are slim. Also see the next rule & my article on increasing your conversion ratio for additional tips.

9. Get A Response

Hook’em the first time.

If they don’t bookmark you, they probably won’t find you again. Have a back-up response ready.

For example:
Let’s say that you have a visitor that just can’t make up her mind. With a bit more convincing, you’ll hook them, but they’re at the end of the page and thinking about the dreaded back-button.

So give them something – like a free subscription to your newsletter or a trial download. That way you survive in their memory and you get another opportunity to persuade them.

10. Spelling, Grammar and Formatting

I won’t tell you that a typo will kill your sales effort. The same applies to grammatical errors. Use a spellchecker of some sort. I make a habit of pasting my text in MS Word and running a spell-check. It saves a lot of time later.

EASY ON THOSE CAPS AND EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!!

They look unprofessional. Use bold text and color to highlight important points.

A Confession..

I learned almost everything I know about copy writing in Joe Robson’s “Make Your Words Sell” ebook. It sells for under 30 bucks last time I checked and it comes with an unconditional money-back guarantee.

Nothing to lose and so much to gain.

If you’re serious about selling online, this is a must read. Joe is a copy writing wiz and the book does not waste your time. Just real, step-by-step advice you can use from today to turn more of your site visitors into customers.

This article is © Copyright, Pandecta Magazine. Want to reproduce this article on your site / in your newsletter? You can, as long as you (1) copy everything from the green title above up to and including this notice and (2) don’t – apart from formatting – change any of it.

The first thing that has  to be done, is a wonderful product needs to be made. The optimum product   would be something you have made and can be given to customers over the Internet.   It is not as hard as it sounds to make your very own product. What you know  already can be invaluable. What you know a lot about can be what you use as your product.

You need a product that is unlike anything else out there. You also need to be able to deliver what your customers are seeking. For the greatest success, make a product that is needed by your potential customers.

Don’t forget about your target market. It is smart to make a product that people from any country would need, since this will increase your chances of success.

Some of the big sellers today are Internet services, various forms of information, private sites, and software. Before you make your product, discover exactly what people are needing, and then make your product to answer those needs.

Making your website- When  you are building your website, remember that what it is meant to do, is sell   whatever it is you are selling. While the right words can give you tons of sales, the wrong ones can have people running before they even really looked at your site.

What you write on your site is the foundation of your online business. All of the things that are on your site should increase awareness for the reader, making them want to go to the page where they can order your product.

When writing your copy, be sure to tell your readers how this product will make their lives better, and make them feel as if they cannot live a day longer without it. Add in all of the benefits to your product, and why the reader needs to have it.

Your marketing strategy is next. You need to have long term and short term plans to make it. Short-term   plans are designed to give you more traffic for a certain period of time. These   are things like search engines, advertising, and forum posting. Although   they are important, they are not the only thing you need to think about.

Long-term strategies are things that can bring in money in for an indefinite length of time. Some of these are things like blogging, opt in lists, giving away free things, article marketing, and social networking sites. When you can use both short and long-term marketing, you can start to see a steady amount of visitors and cash coming to your site.

Although Internet marketing can be overwhelming, when you take it step by step, you will see the fruits of your labor before you know it.

There are Thousands of Affiliate Sites all over the Web

One of the great  things about Internet marketing is the fact that you do not have to have your own materials and sellable resources that will serve as your primary source of income. Instead, you partner up with companies that need marketing assistance. One major concern is finding the right affiliate company that best fits your target audience. You do not have to worry too much because there are literally thousands of affiliate sites offering different products and services. There are also many sites that cover similar themes which are also good so you can compare affiliates and choose the one you can relate best to. You may also get involved with multiple affiliate programs once you get the hang of Internet marketing. With this fact, you do not have to worry about competing with other affiliate marketers since there are so many things you can get into.

Training Resources for All Levels are Easy to Find

Many expert marketers are willing to share free basic tips that can help new marketers get started. You can find these guides in forums and article directories and since they both have high page rankings, a simple web search should bring you to them. Most of these people share free materials to promote their marketing courses and seminars. You will notice these if you see any links after the articles that lead to another site where there is an opportunity to “learn from the pros”

These marketing courses cost money, so beginner marketers may want to pass considering all the free information out there, but for people that want to take their marketing to the next level, consider these options because many courses involve video tutorials and personal coaching from the professional marketers themselves. Some tutorials can be software-specific which is extremely useful as you can learn new convenient marketing tools to make your work easier. It is also a good way to find some of the better affiliate programs that professionals use.

Internet Marketing isn’t a Job

There are some companies that might be hiring Internet marketers to work full time, but most of the time, people stick with Internet marketing because they can manage their own schedule without bearing any weights in making commitments or signing contracts. Your skills in Internet marketing allow you to create your own online business using affiliates as your source of income.

Internet marketing is definitely for you as long as you have time to learn the basic tips and more time to set up your website and market it to the masses. Income will start very slow-paced, but it will pick up as you improve your Internet marketing skills.

Some people are able to sit at a computer, and words just seem to flow out of them and onto the page so naturally. For others, like me, there is some sort of mental freeze that makes all the words in my mind disappear.

Well, take comfort in the fact that you are not alone.

Here are a few tips that I’ve used, that might help you overcome that mental block and get those creative articles in your head into written form.

When confronted with the “blank screen paralysis”, I get up and walk around the house and just verbalize the article out loud, sort of like telling a story to myself (and if your family gives you a strange look, don’t worry about it, they’ll get used to it). This helped to clarify the article layout, what main points that were going to be presented, how it was going to start, how it was going to end, etc.

Then when I got back to my computer and opened up the Word document, BOOM! Everything in my mind just disappeared. It was as if looking at that Word document just wiped my brain clean.

Now, never being one to give up easily, I purchased one of those little hand held recorders, like a little dictation machine, and I when I went on my article verbalization rampage, I would just record it all, and when I got back to my computer I could just replay the story and the words seemed to magically appear on the Word Document.

You can take this recorder with you when you go out (or if your family throws you out), I personally keep it with me all the time, because you never know when the creative juices start to flow and you don’t want to miss a good article or Blog post.

One last thing, recently I have been trying out “speech to text” software that allows me to dictate the article to my computer instead of keying it in (don’t you love technology?), so when I return from my article “walkabout”, I can replay my recorder to refresh my memory, repeat the story to my computer, and there is my article (a little editing may be required).

Now, wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could just plug my little recorder into my computer and let it transcribe what I had recorded…well, guess what… you can! There is a speech recognition software program that will do just that, with 97% accuracy (see below for links), now there are no excuses left not to write that wonderful article or Blog post.

If you use Windows Vista (good luck!) or Windows 7, speech recognition software is supplied FREE.

See this link for information about the free and paid speech recognition software.

http://www.consumersearch.com/voice-recognition-software (this is NOT an affiliate link, it’s just free information).

Good luck and happy article creation.

1. Quality – Branding builds recognition for a product, but that product must still have the quality needed to impress customers. You simply cannot gain positive brand recognition unless your products and services offer the kind of quality needed to elicit trust in your customers.

1. Excellent service – Customer service is everything in business and has been for a long time. When building a brand, customer service can boost word-of-mouth advertising. This, in turn, boosts referrals and helps a brand grow even more. Even in businesses where no product or service is sold directly, such as blogging for a living, customer service still matters. People will trust the authority of a blog if posts are written with authority and integrity. These things can also be built upon with timely and well thought out responses to comments from readers.

1. Value – This is a big buzz word with customers these days. If your product or service comes at a price, make sure buyers get the value they are after. Value doesn’t mean “cheap;” it means quality for the price point. Even free blogs that host advertising can have “value.” In this case, the information shared needs to be accurate, informative or entertaining. In short, readers need to feel like they haven’t wasted their time by visiting.

Branding simply builds on all the key ingredients in a successful business and puts them in a package customers can readily identify. When you offer solid service, high quality and value, your products will begin to speak for themselves. New products or services will be more likely to have instant footing in the market simply because of the brand. In short, branding enables you to build on previous successes to grow your customer base and launch new offerings more effectively.

Traits that distinguish good Blogs.

While not every blog is alike, most share a few common threads that help distinguish them from other Web sites on the Internet. Some of the basic features found in many blogs include:

1. Short posts – Blogs are not generally designed to accommodate long posts. In most cases, blog entries run between 200 and 1,000 words. This makes them fairly easy to update and provides readers with information in a quick fashion.
2. Frequent updates – Well-run blogs tend to contain a lot of content (articles or posts). These posts are updated regularly to give visitors reasons to keep coming back for more.
3. Conversational style – While some blogs are written in a more formal, newsy manner, this format is ideal for the conversational style, as well. In branding, the conversational style can greatly help build a feeling of direct communication with readers (customers), which can help build a sense of loyalty and a connection.

1. Commenting ability – Not every blog enables readers to post comments and ask questions of writers, but many do. For branding efforts, this can prove quite valuable. When comments are enabled, readers and the branding company can open up two-way dialogue, which can prove extremely useful for developing rapport.

Other Features found in Successful Blogs

Blogs can vary greatly in specific style and inclusion of special features. Other features that can help make them more appealing for readers and useful for branding efforts include:

1. Photo images – Full color images are often used to support individual posts. These can be especially helpful when working on a branding effort. When the products and/or services in question are put out on the Internet in full color, recognition for the brand can grow.
2. Videos – It is not at all uncommon for videos to also be used within the blog format. In branding, videos may be used to show off a product or service or even demonstrate how it is used.
3. Forums – This takes standard blog comments sections to the next level. Rather than limiting communications to small fields, an auxiliary forum can promote an even more open exchange of information.

1. Newsletters – Some blogs are supported by the creation of newsletters that are e-mailed directly to visitors who subscribe. The inclusion of a newsletter signup on a blog is an excellent way for a person to gain its own preauthorized e-mailing list. It is also excellent for backing up branding efforts with one more communications tool that is affordable

There is no set-in-stone format for what a blog should be or must be. That’s part of the beauty of this type of vehicle. Companies, organizations or individuals who are

Blogging is an effective and excellent way to get the word out about a brand. When this format is used to its greatest potential, you can reach out and literally tell people and show them why your brand is worth trusting. In turn, thanks to the two-way communication offered in the blog format, your followers can also add to your brand’s credibility and help boost its reputation even more through their own contributions.

“The act of marking livestock with fire-heated marks to identify ownership”

OK, we’re not going to discuss that definition today, maybe another day.

“The application of marketing techniques to a specific product, product line or brand”

Yea! That’s the one were going to discuss (I know the other one is probably more interesting, but it won’t make you a better internet marketer)

Making your business, product or service stand out from the pack as a trusted name is the key to success. When people automatically purchase your products or services and try new offerings because they have learned to trust what you have to offer, your path is assured.

Putting yourself on this path calls for building your brand. This is more than a logo. It involves building up a trust and an instinctual belief in the quality of a product or service based on the brand name behind it.

When you recognize a product from its logo (who knows what the Apple logo looks like?) or are willing to go out on a limb and try something new because a company you recognize sponsors a product, that’s the result of successful branding. It is a proven, effective way to build rapport and trust with customers and gain repeat business.

While branding does involve a number of facets, today’s Internet-based world has given rise to a new tool to get the word out and make the connection with clients. A blog can serve as an tool to help you reach out to customers on a more personal level as you seek to gain and build upon their trust.

Many companies large and small have turned to the Web to boost their own branding efforts. Blogging is one of the most powerful ways available on the Internet to add to branding efforts for a few key reasons. When these blogs are used to reach out to customers and potential customers a sense of connection is obtained. When the general public feels “connected” to a product or service, or person they tend to bring repeat business.

Creating your own blog to boost your company’s brand is not a terribly difficult task. It does require a minimal amount of technical savvy, solid planning skills and a willingness to reach out beyond the traditional boundaries of conventional advertising.

Blogging itself has gained immensely in popularity over the last few years. Where only a few blogs existed on the Internet in the 1990s, the blogosphere is now filled with thousands of sites. Blogs today are written for a wide variety of reasons. Some bloggers write simply to connect with their own friends and family, others share political views or discuss hobbies, still others use this unique tool to promote their brand and foster a connection with readers (customers). When the latter is the focus, a well-defined plan can ensure that this less formalized means of reaching out to people serves the purpose and builds the brand, its reputation and its popularity.

It honestly does not matter what type of brand you are trying to build, blogging can serve as a vital component in a marketing plan. When a blog is well written, updated on a consistent basis, promoted properly and contains useful information for visitors, brand recognition will go along with it. Businesses of all sizes are using blogs in growing number to connect with their own clients and you can, too.

If you’d like to learn how to create a blog to promote your own brand, you’re going to need a plan to make it happen successfully.

To fully understand the potential power of a well-developed blog, it does help to have a handle on some of the key components of this format. When a blog is used to its full advantage it will not only enable you to reach out to clients and potential clients, but it will give them the ability to reach back. This two-way communication can serve as a powerful means for developing rapport, trust and repeat business.

Blogging is a very effective way to boost an overall branding plan. In later posts, I will explain some of the most common methods to brand yourself and your product.

My regular job is in the computer programming industry, but nothing to do with websites and all those funny programming languages that they use, but I knew my way around a PC. I did a lot of research on marketing on the web and “Affiliate Marketing” kept appearing and sounded like it would be a way to earn a living, so I handed over some money to someone who said I could become a millionaire overnight (ever had that happen to you?).

It was actually a course on CPA marketing, not Affiliate Marketing, but at the time I didn’t know the difference, it was all selling something online, right?…Wrong! Although the course did show how to build a website it was not very detailed on what exactly I should do, but I persevered. My first website was a disaster. I still look at it every now and then just to see the progress I’ve made.

As the months went on, I bought the latest system that promised to show me the path to financial freedom….guess what?

I would put up a website and then stand back expecting something great to happen, I thought people would flood to my site and pour money into my bank account. I checked my stats every morning…but nothing…I was really starting to get discouraged.

It’s funny how everything else I wanted to learn in life, I found someone who could teach me how to do it. My golf game would be the same as it was ten years ago if I hadn’t got the proper instruction, and now I play a mean round of golf with an eight handicap, thanks to some really good teachers.

So, I decided to apply the same principle to my internet marketing business and find someone who could teach me the rules of the game…that’s when I found Alex Jeffreys and his coaching course. I have been a student of Alex for about a month now, but oh the difference he has made in such a small amount of time. Whereas before, I had lots of different pieces of the puzzle, I didn’t know where they all fitted, or even if I was missing any pieces to the puzzle. A good coaching program can show you where you should be spending your time, how to get organized, how to plan your future. A roadmap to success is better than lots of different pieces of a puzzle that you can seem to fit together.

So, if you’re reading this post, and you think that you’re in the same boat, hold on to your dream.

As I progress through my training program I will share my experiences with you and help us both become the internet marketers we want to be.  We can do this together.

Please feel free to leave comments on this post, let me know what type of content you would like to see and I will do my best to bring it to you.