Need Some Sales Help?
If you’re still struggling to turn your website visitors into paying customers, there’s a good chance your salescopy could use some “tweaking.”
After all, your sales copy is the part of your site that does the “heavy lifting.”
It needs to establish the problem you’re solving… carefully explain why you’re the best person to solve that problem…outline the benefits of your solution… all while gently leading the reader toward making that crucial buying decision.
So if you have low conversion rates on your site — and you suspect your copy is the culprit — here’s my list of six “must-have” copy elements that EVERY website should contain…
1. Write an attention-grabbing headline
A really good headline should emphasize the key benefit of your product or service. It needs to emphasize the biggest solution your product provides… generate curiosity and pull readers
further into your site.. and capture the main attractions of your product.
Make sure your headline clearly states the biggest benefits right away. You must show your visitors why they should stick around.
2. Establish your credibility
You need to provide some sort of information on your site that proves you’re a credible, trustworthy source. You can do this in two ways:
Provide your credentials — explain what makes you an “expert” in your field by providing information about your experience and credentials. Discuss your business experience, your achievements, your awards, and accolades.
Include customer testimonials — the best way to back up your claims is to prove that other people have already benefited from your product, service, or expertise. Make sure yourtestimonials are descriptive and list the customer’s full name, business name and URL.
3. Sell with BENEFITS
A feature is something your product has or does, while a benefit is something it does for you. Benefits are not “cheapest” or “top quality.” They answer the question “what’s in it for me?” or “why should I keep reading?”
Use the benefits of your product to solve the problems of your audience. Don’t try to SELL your product or service — try to HELP your visitors.
4. Transfer ownership
When you transfer ownership, you shift your focus so your reader starts to think of the product as their own, something they could imagine owning or using, or something they could benefit from.
Make sure your copy is full of phrases like “you will learn,” “you will receive,” “you will be pleased to hear,” etc. There should be twice as many “you” and “yours” in a salesletter than “I,” “we,” or “me.”
5. Remove the risk with a strong guarantee
On the Internet, skeptical buyers need the safety net of a guarantee to help them to decide to purchase your product or service. In fact, your customers will only feel comfortable buying from you if you remove the risk completely.
And if you’re worried about losing profits by offering an unconditional money-back guarantee, you should know that almost NOBODY will take you up on the guarantee, no matter HOW generous, so don’t be afraid to “go big!”
6. Build value
It’s extremely important that you build tremendous value FIRST, before stating your price. If you fail to let your visitors see how much your product is worth to them in terms of savings, perceived benefits, etc, you risk losing them at this stage.
You want readers to feel like they’re getting the deal of the century.
So how does YOUR site stack up to my list?
If you’re missing ANY of these elements, or you think you could be doing any of them better, I strongly urge you to get to work NOW!
The sooner you perfect your copy, the sooner you’ll convert
YOUR visitors to life-long customers!
And if you’d like any help with your copy, or have questions about your site, visit the Internet Marketing Center’s Internet Entrepreneur Club.
Good luck with your salescopy!
Derek Gehl, CEO
The Internet Marketing Center
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