Sales copy for a business website requires certain elements for it to be its very best. Most visitors to a site just skim through the items, looking for something interesting. This means, of course, good copy has to be interesting enough to catch the attention of a skimmer. Not only that, it must continue to be interesting, so the reader will read every word, and hopefully buy something at the end. Try these tips to make more successful sales copy for a website:
Draw in the Readers
1. Find the best keywords to describe the product or service featured on the web page. Try to consider keywords that potential buyers would use to find the product. There are tools available to find the words most searched for on the internet.
2. Use a powerful headline to capture the attention of a reader, while giving a clear impression of benefits of whatever is being sold on the site. This is crucial. If the headline is not interesting enough to pull readers, they will never read anything else.
3. Hold the attention of the readers with an opening paragraph that speaks directly to whatever need the product serves. Set up the writing so readers can see that the product serves that need better than any other solution.
4. Sales web copy should have a personal touch. It should not be formal and business-like, but written in a familiar style to engage the reader. Use the second person to personalize the writing, referring to readers with words like “you” and “yours.”
5. Use sub-headers all throughout the web sales copy to break up the text into smaller and more readable bits. This makes it look better and gives the opportunity to add more headlines that will continue to draw the readers in. This is ideal for scanners who tend not to read every word.
6. Testimonials are a good way to show the effectiveness of a product and give it credibility. If someone else used the product successfully, it makes a reader more secure in considering a purchase.
Convert a Reader into a Customer
1. The copy should end with a plea for the reader to take action of some sort. Make sure the offer is clearly explained in the text, so the reader is sent to an order page, or to a page with further information. The process should be clear, broken into easy steps that anyone can follow. All links should easily identified as links.
2. The purchases should include some sort of freebie. Customers who feel as if they are getting a little more for their money will be more likely to be repeat customers.
3. Make it seem as if time were of the essence. All the best offers should have a time limit. An expiration date will motivate a reader to act before time runs out.
4. Offer a way for customers to get their money back if they are not satisfied. This can be a thirty, sixty, or ninety-day guarantee.
5. Display contact information in a place that is easy to find. A customer will feel more secure if a means to contact the sellers is available. It also gives the company more credibility.
Joe Praveen Sequeira is an award winning, best-selling author, speaker, educator and professional Internet Marketing Consultant focused on helping businesses of all sizes, increase their online sales, boost web site traffic and strengthen their overall brand through established online marketing strategies. He has overseen hundreds of Internet marketing campaigns for fortune 500 companies and is the Founder & CEO of The eMarketing Pro, a thriving Internet marketing and eBusiness consulting firm.
