7 Characteristics of Great Sales Copy

Most great gross gross sales transcript have seven characteristics that really separate it from run-of-the-mill copy.

Feature #1: Great sales transcript comes in a conversation that your prospect is already having with himself.

It gets with newspaper headline and gap transcript that computer addresses something that he's already thinking about or disquieted about or afraid of or excited about.

It's not about you. It's not about your product. It's not about what you think. It's about what he's interested in and what's waking him up in the center of the night.

We have got something around here we name "The Forehead-Slap Test." If I see a newspaper newspaper headline and I can't conceive of my prospect waking up in the center of the nighttime in a cold perspiration and slapping himself on the brow and saying, "Oh, my gosh --" and then saying that headline, I cognize there may be a better manner in.

So this conversation he's having with himself is everything. If you can demo him how to make something in his life work faster or easier to make or cheaper to do or better or healthier or whatever, now this is something that he's thinking about because he covers with these things every day. Or if you can get rid of negative emotions that are linked to jobs or challenges or obstructions or even just exasperations in his life, you've got it.

Feature #2: Strong transcript works out a current job – it doesn't merely forestall a hereafter one.

I make a batch of publicities for wellness products. One of my most exciting merchandises an unwritten chelation capsule. It incorporates EDTA that takes plaque from your arteries.

We have got got like 1,500 testimonies from people who have lowered their ain blood pressure, had docs call off unfastened bosom surgery, less their cholesterin and even recovered their sexual activity lives because they improved circulation throughout their organic structures with this product.

So what's our large promise with that product? Should it be, "Never have got got a bosom attack," or, "How to never have a stroke?" Or would it be stronger to take with lowering high blood pressure level level and cholesterin -- things that people are dealing with right now that are limiting their life?

If you're eliminating my high blood pressure right now, today, this is a current problem, I acquire the benefit immediately. I don't have got got to maintain taking those blood pressure level pills, don't have to maintain paying for the prescriptions. But if, instead, you state me 20 old age from now I won't have got a bosom onslaught if I take this merchandise every twenty-four hours for 20 years, that's not nearly as strong a motivator.

Feature #3: Strong transcript travels beyond just talking about the benefits that a merchandise supplies to recognizing the dominant occupant emotions that the prospect has, either about those benefits or the deficiency of those benefits in his life.

This is something that we've done an atrocious batch of work with. And we've establish consistently that when we turn to those emotions, we acquire much higher response rates than if we just simply advert a benefit in our copy.

Feature #4: Great transcript fully researches all the benefits the merchandise presents to the prospect. It go forths nil out.

When I work with immature copywriters, one of the first inquiries they inquire me is, "How long make you desire this to be?" My reply is, "As long as it takes to research and dimensionalize every benefit your merchandise presents and to turn out that it presents those benefits with testimonies and other credibleness devices."

See, what we make is a game of percentages. If one client in 100 bargains our product, typically we can all be very successful. That's 10 in 1,000. But if by leaving out one benefit, you lose one client or two clients who otherwise would have got bought, you've just cut your response charge per unit to nine-tenths of a percent.

If you're a copywriter, that tin acquire you killed if another copywriter explored those benefits and got the sale.

Feature #5: Great transcript fully dimensionalizes the value of the product.

It's really of import to compare the value of the benefit you present to what the job is costing your prospect.

Take my unwritten chelation product, for example: A batch of people are paying two or three hundred dollars a calendar month for bosom drugs and then they're getting side personal personal effects that cost them another couple of hundred dollars in drugs to handle those side effects. Plus, they're having to chill their heels in a doctor's business office two or three modern times a month.

Well, you know, there's a existent nest egg there if you can work out this job for 23 cents a twenty-four hours with a simple nutritionary supplement. So that comparing was really of import in our copy.

Feature #6: Great gross sales transcript minimizes the price.

Last month, for example, I sold a $25,000.00 merchandise online. I was very careful to minimise that $25,000.00 price. I broke it down by the figure of calendar months that they'll be receiving the service, the amount of money that the service have made other investors.

By the clip you finished reading that copy, it was sort of a no-brainer. You'd have got to be a sap not to purchase the merchandise because the value of what it delivered was so much greater than the price.

Feature #7: Great gross sales transcript makes an urgency to buy.

It doesn't make you any good to you absolutely convert the prospect that they necessitate to purchase this merchandise if you don't acquire the order right now. If you don't acquire the order immediately, you're probably never gonna acquire it.

So including an urgency factor in the gross sales transcript and in your offering is extremely important. And by urgency factor, I mean, for example, something other they acquire if they order immediately.

For one client, we added a clip clock to their web page and gave prospects 10 proceedings to do their decision. When the clock attains zero, that's it. The offering is over for them.

For another client, we created urgency by giving new clients the top-rated tech stock right now when they order by phone. They can hang up, phone call their broker, and within minutes, they can have that stock.

Think about ways that you can add urgency. Deadlines are great, especially on the web because you can make a countdown series, counting the years and finally the hours until the offering ends.

Limiting the figure of merchandises available under this offering is another manner to make it. We make that a batch in the investing market, especially with higher priced products. And, you know, just offering a premium, an other fillip if they order now.

I trust this helps!

Sex and Charisma - How to Write Copy that Uses it to Increase Your Sales

Picture this ...

One summer Sunday afternoon, four guys in their thirties were relaxing with a few beers watching the cricket at the local pub. They were having a great time "downing scooners", yelling out their own play-by-play commentary of the televised proceedings.

When the cricket match stopped for lunch, two beautiful, blonde, promotions girls walked into the bar. They walked up to the guys and the most scantily clad of the two leant over them and said, "Hi fellas. Having a great time?", with a big smile and a flirtatious look. "Would any of you like to buy a can of the new X brand Bourbon?"

Six sets of eyes popped out of their owner's heads and you could hear them all saying, "Yep. Yep. I'll 'ave one." (I've cleaned up the language a little).

After the girls had gone and all of the "ogling" had finished, one of the blokes said to the others, "Anyone want my bourbon? I hate the stuff."

The responses from around the table were ...

"Nahh mate! Can't stomach it either. It's rubbish."


"Nahh, not me either."


"Nope. I'll stick with me beer."

Now, why did six guys each buy a can of Bourbon when they each knew they didn't like the drink?

... because they were attracted to the person selling it.

I'm sure you've seen or been in similar situations before ... when you have bought a product or service simply because you liked the person selling it NOT because it was the best product for your needs.

It's true, sex sells every day of the week and so does charisma.

Have you ever been to a party and seen a certain person walk into the room and the whole crowd stops and takes notice?

Someone who owns the room. Someone who is captivating to listen to. Captivating to watch.

Someone who radiates this aura of power yet approachability and at the same time appears to be really "into you".

Everyone likes this person. You know the type of person I'm talking about.

Now - imagine that person is YOU as seen through the words you write on a page. Your copy exudes charisma.

Charisma is something that works really well in copy.

If you can make your copy so charismatic that your reader thinks of you as their new best friend, how many extra responses do you think your marketing material will produce? A lot.

With direct response copy YOU as the writer have the power to seduce your audience so they want to buy YOU and not just the product.

I'm sure you have seen charismatic or "sexy" businesses that draw in customers like ants to a breadcrumb.

You know the ones ... the businesses that have an intoxicating brand.


Virgin Blue and most of the Virgin companies have a sexy image. Many people want to be Virgin customers just because they love the Virgin brand. The product itself (in many cases) isn't that special. They're buying the cheeky, adventurous Virgin image.

How to Add Charisma to Your Copy

In the last lesson, we talked about how some sales occur purely because of the great level of rapport between the salesperson and the consumer (or in the case of the Bourbon ... sexual attraction).

Obviously, this only happens in some sales situations. In most situations, a combination of both happen ... the consumer buys the benefits of the product as well as the relationship with the salesperson.
In this lesson, you will discover why that is and how you can apply these secrets in your writing.

It's about building rapport on paper.

With that, I'd like to introduce you to the teachings of a man who has done more to influence the way we communicate tha anyone on the face of the planet. He was the father of the self-help movement. In fact, an industry began as a result of his efforts.

The man I'm talking about is Dale Carnegie, the author of the immortal book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People".

Through his public speaking and self-confidence seminars, Dale Carnegie taught people the art of getting people to like them ... the art of communicating in a way that gets heard ... of building rapport and showing respect for others.

Master these principles and use them in your copy and you will have your reader's undivided attention.

Here is an example of just some of Dale Carnegie's teachings as listed in his book (and yes, it's another "must read").

Six Ways to Make People Like You

Principle 1: Become genuinely interested in other people.


Principle 2: Smile.


Principle 3: Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.


Principle 4: Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.


Principle 5: Talk in terms of the other person's interests.


Principle 6: Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.

Source: "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, Chancellor Press

They make sense, don't they?

Pull away our masks and you will find that underneath it all, we are all the same. We all want the same thing.

After all, we want to know that we matter. We all want to be happy. And we all want to be loved.

As a copywriter, if you can show people that they do matter ... that you do care; you will have won a friend. Simple as that.

For dozens more articles on copywriting and a free copy of Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins go to http://www.wordsthatsell.com.au