An essential part of copywriting is the offer - what you can give your customer. By presenting your product as an irresistable offer, you give the client a reason to buy. Follow this three  step guide to create an offer that’s too good to refuse.

 Step One : Provide an Offer that Fills a Need

If you are writing your own copy, be sure your offer is one that meets a need by doing market research before you begin.  If you’re writing for a client, be sure to ask them questions about their target market. It won’t do any good, for example, to market 101 quick recipes for chicken to a crowd of vegetarians. Be sure that your product meets a need, and then build an offer around it.  In the chicken example, you could offer busy moms 101 quick and easy ways to build dinner around chicken breasts. Offer to show them how to have dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less, and you’ve got an offer they can’t refuse!

Step Two: Offer a guarantee 

A guarantee allows buyers to purchase without fear or risk. If they don’t like the product, or it doesn’t work for them, you give them the option to get their money back. Guarantees are essential to good copy - a bulletproof guarantee is sure to increase conversions.  In our chicken example,  you could offer “101 30 minute chicken recipes - guaranteed to bring your family to the dinner table or your money back”.  Busy moms want family time, and they want quick easy meals. If they don’t get this from your product, they’ll know that they can get their money back, which will make them more likely to buy.

The catch to the guarantee is that you have to be prepared to back it up! Don’t promise 100% hassle free returns, and then make it difficult to return your product for a refund. The increase in sales will more than make up for the people who ask for a refund.

 Step Three: Make Your Offer Clear

All too often, sales copy wanders from point to point without ever giving the reader a choice to make. Be sure to include a call to action. Give the reader a choice to buy your product or not, but make it seem like it’s the easiest choice in the world. By filling a need and offering a guarantee before you call them to action, you’re making the choice an easy one.  Be sure to make a clear offer, and allow your customer to decide.

Popularity: 18% [?]

As a copywriter, you are literally given the option to write your own paycheck. Even a beginning copywriter can make a great supplemental income, and as your skills improve, your rates can go up. The sky is the limit when it comes to writing advertising copy, and no matter the economy, you’ll never run out of clients. Someone is always selling something!

If you are just breaking into copywriting, it is incredibly important to learn to get inside your customers’ mind. Psychology is of the utmost importance to a copywriter. Copywriting is the subtle art of persuasion - your job is to manipulate the readers’ emotions - without them feeling manipulated! Once you master this skill, you’ll have a never ending income stream. Copywriting is an extremely lucrative field - where else can you double your paycheck from month to month?

Take the time to learn about the psychology of emotion. Get inside your customers head, and find out what makes them tick. For example, if you’re marketing a money-making service or product, be sure to emphasize the nice things money can buy, how good it feels to be independent, how the product may help them to be debt free. Subtlety is the key, however - don’t simply say “Buy this product - it will make you money!” Be sure to appeal to their emotions - the desire for money, the shame of being poor.

An emotional appeal separates killer copy from so-so copy, so be sure to spend time on this important part of your next project. Remember - get inside the customers’ mind, and use their emotions to your benefit!

Popularity: 18% [?]

 Hard hitting copy is focused like a laser - pinpointing the features of the product and keeping the readers attention right to the closing offer. For this reason, it is important to achieve tight, clean sentences and paragraphs.

Far too often, I see copy that meanders weakly from point to point, never showing the reader the benefits of purchasing the product. Occasionally, I see copy that tells all about the product - without telling anything at all! The reader is left wondering not only why they should purchase, but what they are being asked to purchase - not a good way to close a sale

For powerful copy, each part should have:

A main idea -Be sure the reader understands what they are reading about, and why they should be purchasing your product. If your sentence has no topic, or your paragraph has no main idea - cut it! Filler is not only unnecessary, it is damaging! You’re aiming for clear, focused sentences that are short and to the point.

A purpose - Each line of your copy has one goal- to convince the reader to buy your product. Be sure that each sentence you add fits this purpose - other wise it is unnecessary. Add emotional appeal - show your reader how your product benefits them.

A destination- Long, rambling copy kills sales. Find a point, and get to it. Make your point over and over in different ways, but be sure each sentence follows the same path. Your headline, intro, and body are all leading to call to action - be sure that you don’t stray from this path. Random diversions are distracting, and can lose you sales.

Be sure to include these three details in your copy. Keep the readers’ attention, and make sure they are ready to ACT by the end of your sales letter. By writing clean, focused copy, you’ll increase conversions, and that makes for happy clients!

Popularity: 17% [?]