[dropcap style=”2″] B [/dropcap]usiness owners and professional.. if you are like many of us who are absolute pros at what we do, you know that just being great at your profession or making a great product is not enough to make you money. You have to bring in the customers to buy your product or service. Period!
Whether you are a top rated jeweler, insurance professional, attorney, accountant etc, or you own a business that makes outstanding physical products, you have certainly discovered one thing:
There are legions of great services that go unused, great products that collect dust on shelves because very few people know about them. On the other hand, you have probably seen less than stellar products being sold at massive quantities and if you are a service professional, you have seen people less qualified than you turn into sales superstars.
What is it that makes the difference between business success and failure? It’s the marketing!
No matter how good your product is, you gotta market it for all it’s worth!. Sadly, most people who are good at a profession or at making a product, are seldom good marketers. They advertise with mediocre results at best, and that can be financially devastating and a total bummer to boot!
If you find yourself in the camp of those that could use a boost in sales; Here are 5 simple strategies to make your ads pull your customer by the collar and drag them to your product or service offer:
- Use stories in your content; nothing sells better than a story people can relate to and forms an affinity with your product or service.
- Use POWER words and ACTION VERBS. Use words that imply action, force, movement or confidence. Write in an active voice, avoid flowery adjective and overhype. Write in a direct and to the point conversational style. The most powerful sales copy is that which resembles a one on one conversation with your ideal prospect, where you are looking at him/her directly in the eye and sharing how your product or service will solve a problem they have.
- Apply the “So What” test after each short section of your sales copy. Act as if you were a third party reading your sales message, get into the mind of your prospect.
- Read your copy out loud, ideally in front of an impartial listener. Copy needs to flow easily, like a leaf being carried downstream. Make your tone conversational, sound like you, the real you. Inject your personality and whatever you do, do not sound like a sterile textbook.
- Practice, Practice, Practice… and study the great copywriters. Creating great sales copy is a skill that can make the difference in a business’ success or failure. Without customers who buy your product or service, you have no business. Period.
Here are some great resources to get you off into the right direction if you wish to improve your ability to capture the attention of your prospect and turn them into paying customers.
http://www.CopyBlogger.com is a great place to get familiarized with the concept of copywriting. Creating sales messages that convert prospects into buyers.
http://abraham.com “The 9.4 billion dollar man” Jay Abraham is a living legend in copywriting circles. His sales letters have been responsible for over $9,000,000,000 in sales… yup.. nine bills. His website has a lot of great content you can read and watch so you can get a grasp of the magnitude of the impact that a well crafted sales letter or message can have on your bottom line.
http://www.john-carlton.com Another living legend- John Carlton is behind loads of phenomenally successful sales letters, web sites, direct mail campaigns etc. A true master of the art and craft of sales copywriting.
http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com Regarded as one of the greats that ever lived. He leaves behind a great legacy of success in the field of copywriting. His name, principles and concepts live on at this website. An absolute must see for anyone interested in learning how to create compelling sales messages.
There are many more top notch copywriters you can study, David Ogilvy, John Caples, Dan Kennedy, etc. Research, learn, apply the principles of great copy and you will notice your sales and bank account growing larger. Guaranteed to work if you work it.
