New Age Copy

You might remember a while back I wrote post about how to write effective sales copy and gave you some pointers on where to get started.

This week I wanted to elaborate on this further but show you how to deal with bullets, headers, sub-headers etc.

1. Writing a powerful headline – the saying is you should always fill your headlines with benefits which are related to a desire. So instead of just saying ‘lose 1-5lbs’, you can top this by adding ‘drop a dress size and reclaim your wardrobe.’ Your headlines need to be emotive and focus on one specific theme. The point is you can’t sell to everyone, which is why you need to pick your ideal consumer and target them

   Your headline can also aggrevate your audience before providing them with a solution.

   One useful tip I have found beneficial is to theme your headline around one of the following: a) time/speed b) diaster story/pain or c)natural/purity

2. Sub-headers – the best copywriters are able to use their sub-headers to tell a story whilst providing your audience with an accurate summation of what is to follow in the next paragraph. The key is to make sure that the paragraph that follows leads from this subheading.
3. What is their reading age – it is important when writing sales copy to make sure that the language you use is understandable. It is for that reason that most newspapers and websites will treat their readership as though they have got a reading age of  11.
4. Don’t persume they know everything – if for example you work for a company that sells detox products enriched in antioxidants, it is important to assume that not everyone visiting your site will know what antioxidants are. Now whilst you can’t go overboard explaining it, giving a bried descriptions of how antioxidants impact on toxins and you will win a broader selection of sales
5. It is all about ‘you’ - it has been proven that integrating ‘you’ focused copy can produce more sales. Similarly keeping your tone converstational and personal will enable consumers to relate to you and your product/service
6. Include a P.S. – these are heavily understated but easily be used to re-iterate your products benefits, introduce a CTA or remind them of an important element. If you want to use a P.S. it is best to use the following formula:

- Time limit
- Main benefit – reiterate
- Guarantee

Never go above 4 as this can appear overbearing and will affect the potency of these P.S.’s as you get consumers to buy.