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Make Your Sales Copy Believable
Author : Linda Offenheiser
You read all kinds of articles telling you which power words and
"triggers" to use in your sales copy. These words are assumed
to be "magic bullets" that will immediately put your prospects in
the mood to buy whatever you're selling.
How could anyone fail to purchase your "amazing" product that's
"proven" to "explode" their sales, especially when they can try it
"free"?
Do they work? Yes and no. We all know there are certain words
and phrases that will get our attention and this, of course, is what
we want to do with our ads. Before we can hope to sell anything
to anyone we have to get our market to read what we have to
say. These "magic bullets" do this.
But there's one ingredient sales copy must have if it's to be
successful ~ it must be believable. You can fill your copy with all
the "triggers" you want but if it doesn't ring true it will fail.
Hype won't cut it . . .
The climate on the Internet is one of skepticism. Why wouldn't it
be? We all get bombarded with hundreds of ads every day. Each
one claims to provide the best, "can't live without" product,
program or service ever known to mankind. Each of them promises
to solve our problems; make us wealthier, healthier, happier or
wiser.
Now let's get real here! Think about how you react to these
messages. Most of the time you're thinking, "yeah, right", aren't
you? Why would your prospects be any different?
How about a little honesty?
Our mothers always told us, "Honesty is the best policy". Nowhere
is that truer than in copywriting. It isn't enough to claim that your
product is the best thing since sliced bread, you have to show
proof that it is.
And what's more, you have to include that proof right up front.
Don't hide it way down in the body of your sales copy somewhere.
Always fire your biggest guns first. If you write a headline that
not only makes a claim but also provides proof of that claim,
you've got a winning combination.
Let me give you an example. Which of these headlines would you
be more likely to respond to?
"Sore Muscles Slowing You Down?"
or
"What Do Olympic Athletes Use for Sore Muscles?"
In the second example, you've built immediate credibility for your
product. If it's used by people whose careers depend on them
being in top form, wouldn't it solve your problem?
Give them something they can believe . . .
Everyone is searching for something or someone they can believe
in. If your competition is trying to dazzle the market with hype and
you offer a believable alternative that strikes a chord with your
prospects, who will end up the winner?
The next time you sit down to write sales copy, give it the litmus
test . . . is your claim something you would believe or is it just
another example of overblown hype? Provide your prospective
customers with a solution they find believable and your sales will
"explode" with "amazing results."
About the Author
Linda Offenheiser is the owner of Stress-Free Copy, a
copywriting and editing service designed for small home
businesses. You'll find the write words at the right prices.
She also publishes a weekly free ezine, All the Write Stuff!,
that's informative, friendly and fun! You can visit her at
http://www.stress-freecopy.com or subscribe at
http://www.stress-freecopy.com/subscribe.htm
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