Practice
Makes Perfect

One of the things you must remember in all of your copywriting is to focus on the benefits to your buyer rather than product features. 

Make a list of every feature that you can think of, and then take every item on that list and turn it into a benefit. 

So, for example, "available for download in PDF format" could be changed for much greater impact to "instant delivery so that you can use these killer techniques within minutes."

 Do that with every feature. 

Turn it into a benefit that the customer *cares* about.

Many copywriters teach that people respond better to moving away from pain than they do to moving towards pleasure. So your copy should make the prospect acutely aware of the pain he is in. For example, point out that without website visitors, nobody sees his website, and he ends up just sitting and waiting, with absolutely no sales. Then go on to point out how your product solves that problem for him.

Notice I said "to him." 

What I mean there is that your copy needs to read as if you are speaking directly to the reader. You are not writing for an audience of many. It's individuals that make decisions and consequently you must communicate with the individual if you intend to make sales. 

It may help to imagine that individual sitting across from you. Some copywriters actually have a photo of their ideal prospect hanging on the wall across from them as they works. This keeps them focused on "who" they are "talking" to.

Another important universal:  Have a guarantee that embodies complete risk reversal. All of the risk of the transaction should be on you. Your prospect should feel that there is no way he can lose. 

I do this with a full, one year, 
no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. 

That conveys the confidence that you know your product is good enough that it will deliver tremendous value. You should convey that if you don't deliver, you demand that the customer ask for his money back, and he gets to keep the bonuses or gets something extra for his trouble.

With guarantees, also avoid time-frames that are too short. If you only give your customer 2 weeks to decide whether or not he likes your software, he will quickly decide that he probably doesn't. If he's like me, he probably downloads it into a folder on his computer and may not even get to look at it in those two weeks. Give you customer time to feel ownership of the product and to see the benefit of using it.

Alex Mandossian (one of the great copywriters) teaches that you should also "teach your prospect to consume the product." 

You can do this with follow-up emails that point out how to get the most out of the software, or some type of training. If the customer is using and benefiting from your product, he is going to keep it!

The web is getting more important every day so chances are that if you continue to write that you will someday be writing for web surfers.  Bob Serling, one of the greatest copywriters I have studied has an excellent course on web copywriting. It's one of the few that I have studied that is devoted exclusively to web copywriting. 

Most copywriting courses I have taken are written for people in the offline, direct marketing industry. Bob's book focuses on what works on the web. I use it in writing the copy for all of the new sites I create and for sites I revise. Get Bob Serling's Book, "Power Copywriting For The Internet" at: http://PowerCopywritingForTheInternetByBobSerling.Com 

One more thing.  Use testimonials. 

Having someone else say how great your product is adds tremendous credibility. Having someone "just like your prospect" saying how great your product is shows your prospect that he too can benefit from it. Use testimonials from someone your prospect can relate to as well as testimonials from recognized experts or authorities.

Make it incredibly easy for your prospect to place his order. This means giving them as many options as practical. Don't force them to jump through hoops to place an order, because they want. Instead, accept as many forms of payment as possible, and give them as many different ways of submitting the order as possible.

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Issue a clear call to action 

Tell the customer exactly how to order. For example, if you want him to click on the link and use your secure order form tell him that. 

If you want him to print out the order form, fill it in, sign it, and fax it to you, tell him that. 

Don't make them guess what they need to do. 

People like to be told/reassured that they are doing it correctly.

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The other thing you seldom see discussed is "the offer." 

You literally want to make the customer an offer that he would be crazy to refuse. This requires a delicate balance though. 

If you make the offer too good, then the customer wonders why it's so good. 

For example, if you offer too many bonuses, that conveys to many customers that the basic product must not have much merit on its own. If you offer too many bonuses, it also sometimes conveys that the bonuses must be junk. Otherwise, why would you be "giving away" so many valuable items? 

So, use good judgment in crafting your offer.

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We've just touched upon a few things that you need to consider in revising your web copy. If you are pumping out copy every week but nobody is buying, then obviously your copy needs some more work. If you don't have the ambition to work on your copy, your results aren't ever going to improve. 

Yes, practicing is work, but it is not hard work. Keep going and keep testing. After while it even becomes fun to see if you can improve on your "control."

Practicing your writing is undoubtedly the greatest investment you can make in your writing career. Spend some quality time this week, practicing your writing. That is exactly what I will be doing.