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!

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 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!

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When writing sales copy, it is important to keep in mind that you are not writing for your client, but for a potential customer. Research the product that you will be writing a sales letter for. Study its features and benefits.

As you begin, don’t stress about your headline. You’ll spend lots of time on this, but first, compose the body of the letter. Later, you’ll spend time fine-tuning a great headline to draw the reader in.

Then, imagine that you are selling the product to a friend. Draft your sales letter as if you truly are trying to sell your product to a good friend of yours. Really try to get into their head, and show them all the ways that they can benefit by purchasing your product now. Don’t worry if your draft isn’t perfectly professional - that’s why they call it a “rough” draft.

Once you have the basic ideas you want to convey, go back and compose the basic sales letter. Format it so that you have the proper structure, call to action, etc. Again, keep the customer in mind as you compose your letter. If you were considering purchasing a widget, would your sales letter convince YOU that you had to have this super shiny green one? If not, why not? Continue to rework your letter until you, and your imaginary friend are convinced.

Again, when writing the body of your sales letter, remember that your job is not as simple as selling a product. You have to get inside the mind of the potential customer, and convince them to BUY the product, which is a very different animal. Treat the customer as you would a friend, and you’re on the way to sales letter success.

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