3 Simple Sales Copy Tips

Before we get into today’s lesson on top copywriting tips, there’s a Politically Incorrect Truth that you need to know about getting more traffic (as that was the #1 concern
voiced in our survey this week).

Traffic really isn’t any good unless you have copy that converts. And if you improve your sales conversion, you’ll soon have all the traffic that you need.

So if you want more traffic…

“Focus on improving your conversions.”

Let that sink in. Because I’m a little hard-headed it was literally years before I really grasped the point.

But it’s that simple.

If your website copy converts visitors into sales, then affiliates will be happier to send you traffic. More people will naturally talk about your site (leading to increased SEO rankings). Word of mouth will spread. You may even be able to profitably BUY traffic (with Facebook ads, etc.).

Good copy and conversion can lead to more traffic without doing any fancy SEO voodoo, or submitting 1000 articles to directories, or shooting 100 youtube videos.

And the good news is that it is easier for you to improve your copy than it is to double the amount of traffic you get.

When you work on your copy, the 3 most important parts that you want to focus on, and test if possible, are:

1) Your headline
2) Your offer
3) Your price point

That’s why I always encourage my students to write 30-50 headlines when creating their sales pages.

I also recently interviewed Robert Phillips, the head copywriter at Glazer-Kennedy Inner Circle (one of the biggest direct marketing education companies in the USA).

Here are some of the gems that Robert shared with me…

1) Create a Swipe File

A swipe file can literally be a file folder where you print off great webcopy or where you rip out pages from magazines.

Your swipe file should contain all of the best headlines, offers, and ads you’ve read, so that you can refer to it when you are writing your own ads.

NOTE: A swipe file is NOT a “STEAL” file. You can’t plagerize other people’s copy, BUT you can get inspiration from it.

(I keep a swipe file on my computer of the best emails and subject lines I get from email marketers.)

Here’s a great resource to get you started, it’s a link to the “100 Greatest Headlines Ever Written“.

Robert also suggests keeping a swipe file of metaphors. A metaphor allows you to explain complicated concepts quickly.

The example Robert gave me was from a health ad touting an antioxidant pill. In order to help readers understand the benefits of an antioxidant, the writers compared oxidation
inside the body to what happens when your car rusts.

The reader will immediately think, “A-ha! I know what my car looks like when it rusts…and I don’t want that happening inside my body…so I need this pill.”

Metaphors are powerful, and you can find them in almost every piece of copy. Keep your eyes out for good ones to add to your swipe file.

2) The #1 mistake people make is not…

…asking for the sale.

Robert says he reviews a LOT of copy, and most people write a decent headline and make a great offer, but then really “wimp out” when it comes time to ask for the sale.

So make sure to keep a swipe file of the best closes, to see how the masters get their prospects to take action.

3) Average copy plus a great list plus cosmetics = Success

Two things that can boost the success of “average” copy are:

a) Sending it to the right list

b) Adding “cosmetics”

When you send great copy to people who aren’t interested, you won’t make many – if any – sales. But if you send “okay” copy to a hungry marketplace, you’ll make a LOT of sales.

This is called having the right “message to market match”.

And it’s a really important mindset to have when building your list and creating offers for that list.

Adding cosmetics simply means adding photos, subheadlines, different fonts, bolding text, and using images like red arrows and yellow highlighting to point out the key parts of the copy that your prospects must read.

Now I know what you’re thinking…”Cosmetics make copy UGLY. I hate those websites with highlighting and bold text.”

Yes, I know, “everyone” hates those…but they work. We’ll debate copy length and cosmetics another time. I’m definitely out of space for today.

In the meantime…

If you need more help with copywriting, make sure to review this resource that I posted on the blog the other week:

=> Ad Copy Teleseminar

And I’ll be back tomorrow with our weekly QnA mailbag.

Conversion is key,

Craig Ballantyne

“Timid salesmen have skinny kids.” – Zig Ziglar