Copy Life

Product Description
A San Francisco insider reveals, with wit and humor, hundreds of ideas for free or ridiculously cheap goods and services…. More >>

The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to San Francisco: Secrets of Living the Good Life–for Free!

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Thrifty readers will discover where to have all kinds of fun, experience the city’s culture, and fortify themselves with grub and brew, all for a pittance…. More >>

The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Boston, 2nd: Secrets of Living the Good Life–For Free!

• ISBN13: 9780762747702
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Product Description
This book catalogs the endless free opportunities available in the Big Apple, from theater, concerts, and museums to yoga classes, haircuts, and massages–for native and visiting cheapskates alike.
… More >>

The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to New York City, 4th: A Native New Yorker’s Secrets of Living the Good Life–for Free!

• ISBN13: 9780762750238
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Chicago, 2nd: Secrets of Living the Good Life–For Free!

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THE SEVEN EPISODES INCLUDE THE ENERGY CRISIS, TURBO CHARGING, THE GOOD LIFE, STRESS RESILIENCY TIPS, THE FITNESS CONNECTION, RECHARGING REST & SOUL FOOD…. More >>

EAT WELL, LIVE WELL–7 SECRETS OF LIVING THE GOOD LIFE with PAMELA M. SMITH, R.D.

Product Description
A San Francisco insider reveals, with wit and humor, hundreds of ideas for free or ridiculously cheap goods and services…. More >>

The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to San Francisco: Secrets of Living the Good Life-for Free!

Writing good sales copy is an art. Unless you’re a professional copy writer it takes a bit of crafting to compose a sales letter that drives huge sales.

That doesn’t mean it can’t be done. The craft of writing sales copy that sells means effectively relating to your visitors, properly selling them on your product’s benefits and creating trust.

Here are 8 secrets on how to write sales copy that’s sure to draw plenty of interest:

1. Use an Attention Grabbing Headline & Sub-Headline

You sales copy must grab attention immediately or you can kiss them goodbye. Web surfers are skimmers so you need to draw them in quickly if you want them to continue reading. Your headline should be in bold fact type with words that create curiosity that persuades them to read further.

Follow your headline with a sub-headline that highlights the best benefits of what your product is about. Use color to stimulate the reader’s senses by creating your headline and sub-headlines in different font colors.

Test your headlines often. Changing just one word can increase a reader’s interest by over 1000%. Do this by creating a few good headlines and test them to find out which ones create the most interest.

2. Create a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Your USP is your angle or sales position that you use to help your products stand out from the rest. For example, offering free delivery, a money back guarantee or a bonus offering can make you stand out among your competition. Offering something that helps you make your business ’special’ is what you need to find. Once you find it, emphasize it in your sales copy.

3. Prove Your Credibility

The internet is full of false claims and untrustworthy scammers, so internet surfers want peace of mind that you are a trustworthy business and are going to make good on your claims. Additionally you will want to move out ahead of your competition. To accomplish this, your sales copy need to include the following:

- Brief explanation of your background along with how and why you are knowledgeable in your field

- Include testimonials from existing customers

4. Emphasize the Benefits

Display proudly the benefits of your products. Do this with concise and to the point bullet points. There are items that convey how your product or service will benefit your potential customer.

For example, let’s say you sell a running shoe that has a special arch support, the feature would be the arch support and the benefits might be more comfort and longer endurance. Effectively communicating the benefits will give you the edge over your competition.

5. Instill an Element of Fear

Here’s where emotion can make an impression. Your reader has arrived at your sales letter because they need help. It may be to resolve a problem, make life easier, find more time, earn more money, whatever it is; they are looking to you as a possible solution. Determine what it is the reader will face if they don’t resolve their problem and spell them out in bold letters.

6. Include a Guarantee

Always offer a guarantee. A buyer is much more likely to make a purchase if they know they can recover their money if not satisfied. It eliminates the risk to them. This means offering a 100%, no-hassles, no-questions asked, money-back guarantee. If you offer a quality product and project confidence in its value, you won’t have many returns.

7. Offer at Least one Good Bonus

If you can over-deliver in value your customers are more likely to buy. Seal the deal by including a few good bonuses that make your product offer more appealing.

8. Initiate a Call to Action

Make that call to action. Tell your visitors what to do. People want to be directed on where to go. For example, use phrases like:

“For more information click here”

“To get your free trial click here”

“Order here”

If you simply make a suggestion or make it hard for them to figure out what they should do next, you could potentially lose sales.

9. Include Your Personal Handwritten Signature

In closing your sales letter, add your own personal handwritten signature. This adds a personal touch and projects a sense of sincerity. You can do this by scanning in your signature to a separate file and adding it to your sales copy. It’s also a good idea to include it on your website and/or blog.

10. Use a Postscript (P.S.)

Below your signature include a P.S. that restates your main offer and add to that a ’special bonus’. Your special bonus should include a time limit. This adds urgency to your viewers buying decision.

Studies have shown that after reading the headlines, a viewer will often skim to the bottom of the sales letter and read the P.S. first, so displaying your offer information along with a time sensitive bonus is not only appealing, it will also capture the skimmers.

Most Network Marketing companies encourage their distributors to purchase lots of pre-designed flyers and brochures from their catalogues. They promote the fact that it takes a lot of the guess work out of doing it yourself. All you have to do is buy them, hand as many out as possible and wait for your phone to ring off the hook! Sounds great…but does it work? Not really.

Companies make millions of dollars on their literature alone. It’s basically another product they get you excited about. The reason it doesn’t work to help you grow a business is because no matter how fancy and slick the message looks on card stock, it won’t work unless your target audience has a connection with it.

There is an art and science to writing the kind of compelling copy that attracts your target audience. I’m talking about the people who have a want, need or desire for what you have to offer. Not everyone wants your product, but if you know how to craft the right message, you can easily attract the right person. Keep reading to find out how it’s done.

Hidden Secret #1: You need to understand your target audience. Who is your market? It’s not your next door neighbor or the person standing in front of you in line at the grocery store who is going to want to reach out and grab your product from you. What are their fears and desires? What makes them tick? Knowing who they are is the only way to write the kind of ad copy that will make them want to call you.

Hidden Secret #2: Determine what you are trying to accomplish. Do you only want to get a few people who are serious about doing a business, or do you want to get a lot of people who can give you a lot of retail sales? The more hoops people have to jump through to get to you, the more serious they will be. Let your copy do the funneling for you. The more specific you get, the less time you will spend weeding through people who aren’t serious.

Hidden Secret #3:  Keep the price out of your copy. The more you elude to it, the fewer the response you will get. Instead, focus on the pain your prospect has that will make them want to contact you and try your product. Create a picture of how it will make their life easier and more enjoyable. Marketing is about solving specific problems of the consumer. Don’t let the attraction of money steer you away from helping people.

Hidden Secret #4:  You need to make extensive lists of the benefit of your product or service. Write them all down. The more specific you can get, the better. You should be focusing on the word benefit so much that you almost get sick of hearing it. That is how important it is to writing compelling ad copy. How is your target audience going to specifically benefit from taking your products.

Hidden Secret #5:  Be Specific.  If you are in the weight loss industry, losing weight is not specific enough as far as benefits go. Think of other things that can happen to your prospect if they use your product to lose the weight. Is it all- natural? Will it solve other health problems along with the weight loss? The more specific, the more serious your prospect will be.

Hidden Secret #6:  The end of your copy should totally resolve your prospects problem with your benefit. You found the solution, and it starts with getting a free report or expert guide. You are the expert and the more they know that, the better your results will be. Never end with a price. Just show them how they can get even more information from you.

Hidden Secret #7:  Do not focus on gimmicks just to get people to call you. You will waste all of your time trying to convince them to use your product instead of helping people who really want it. Ads highlighting free samples or coupons will only generate people looking for hand-out. They might generate a few sales, but you won’t find the kind of people who will explode your business.

96% of all network marketing distributors wind up quitting because they do not get proper marketing education. My business didn’t grow until I learned the right techniques, and they weren’t taught by my company or upline. Attracting the right audience comes from practicing the art of writing ad copy, not buying pre-designed flyers. Apply the secrets above and you’ll be well on your way to making your home-based business a success.

Congratulations, you’ve finally finished your ad copy. You’ve
gotten feedback and it all looks good. Now do something to make
your copy even better. For instance? Well… 1. Use a hand
written letter on your ad copy instead of text. Write the ad on
a piece of paper, scan it and publish the ad on your web page.
Adding a personal touch will always increase your sales.

2. Publish a list of famous and respected customers who have
bought from you on your a copy. People will think that if these
people bought from you, they should also trust your business and
purchase your products. Make sure to get their permission first.

3. Show before and after photos for your products on your web
page copy. Show the problem picture and then beside it, show the
picture of the resolution to the problem when they use your
product.

4. Include an article or review that has been written about you
or your business with your ad copy. This will show people that
your business is respected and will increase your credibility.

5. When you offer free bonuses in your ad copy, also list the
dollar value beside each bonus. People will feel they’re getting
a good deal and it will increase the value of your product.

6. Hire a famous person to endorse your product or service. Make
sure the person is well known to your target audience. Include
their picture and statements on your ad copy.

7. Include your own picture on your ad copy. This will show
people that you’re not hiding behind your ad copy and will
increase their trust. Also, include your contact information
below the picture and a brief statement or quote.

8. Tell your potential customers on your ad copy that you will
donate a percentage of their purchase price to specific charity.
This will show them you really care about the people. They may
just buy your product to donate to the charity.

9. Ask your potential customers plenty of yes and no questions
in your ad copy. The questions should remind them of their
problem and make them think about what will happen if they don’t
purchase your product.

10. Tell your potential customers they will receive a free prize
if they find the five words in your ad copy that are misspelled
or spelled backwards. The longer you can keep someone reading
your copy the greater chance of them purchasing.

No there’s no substitute for good ad copy. But remember you can
always use your imagination to add to your ad copy. Bad pun
intended.