• By Kevin Sinclair
• Published 05/6/2008
• Writing for the Web

Writing the sales copy is one of the biggest challenges you will have to face when selling your service or product on the Internet. You have to be able to put across the benefits of your product to the potential buyer, who with a bit of luck has already been trying to find the answer to their problem. It becomes your task to make them believe that what you have to offer will satisfy their needs. You need to show the customer that you believe in the product and endorse it fully. The price has to reflect competitiveness and you may wish to offer further incentives to secure the interest of the buyer. Bearing these things in mind you have to produce a concrete sales letter which will encourage your prospects to make a purchase from you. Although there are numerous ways to come up with effective sales copy it is clearly not a cookie cutter science. You have to become aware of the needs of your customers and let them know in straight forward talk why they would be best buying your product over anyone else’s. Keep the sales copy to the point and include some, if not all, of the following to make your letter stand out from the rest. Begin by asking yourself about the main focus of your sales letter. What is the USP (Unique Selling Position) of what your company is promoting? As yourself how your product or service can be of exceptional benefit to your customer. Once you have answered this question in your mind, you have the start of your sales message.

Your USP has to be something that your competitors cannot offer, or that your company can provide in a better way for your customer. It could be the cost or the superiority of the product, or maybe even the great after care service that you give. When you have decided exactly what your

USP is, stress this point in language which the reader is sure to understand. The guidelines to producing good sales copy should include the points shown below in the order in which they are best to appear. 1. Show the benefit in your headline by telling your customer exactly what advantages they will receive when buying your product. 2. Let your customers know your USP in simple to understand terms making them aware that you hold the unique solution to their particular need. 3. Suggest the many advantages of owning your product. This will encourage them to be more interested and read on to make sure it is really what they want to buy. You only need between three and five bullet pointed examples to create the necessary desire in the mind of the reader 4. Using just one line with a definite purpose, state again the main benefit, the one you mentioned in the headline of the sales copy. 5. Then draw the readers’ attention to a small list of the best bits of your product and what it has to offer. Mention a feature which makes your product special. This is very important as it is likely to make or break the sale for you. So now you have got the attention of your reader, the next part is considered by some to be the most important part of the sales letter. This is where the sale is made and an interesting incentive to close the deal is necessary. Use your judgment to decide what that offer should be but if chosen well it is sure to increase your sales conversion rate.

At the end of the day you are simply asking the person to buy your product. As elementary as this may sound it is a vital part of the process. Try different kinds of closing statements and see which one works best for you. Writing your own sales copy using the guidelines supplied here can lead to a healthy and profitable on line business.