Wahm Budget Ads

When you embark on copywriting, it usually involves a product, person, service or concept that you want to deliver content about in a persuasive manner the reader feels compelled to read. If you are selling anything, or if you want your users to sign up for an opt-in email list, you’ll need to master some basic copywriting principles to achieve your goals.

1. Persuasive is the name of the game when it comes to headlines. You want to grab your reader and hook them in that first three seconds they’re reading. By the time they get to the end of that headline, they need to want to read more. If you can’t do that, your headline has failed. It’s got to be catchy, challenge, entice or exploit some current event. The headline must lead the reader directly into the rest of the text on the page. The hook must make them feel compelled to read the rest of the text on the page.

2. After grabbing the reader, your body copy should convey a casual and informal tone that is both conversational and confident. As the reader goes along, he should be shaking his head mentally in agreement. Just like you would talk to a friend, it is all about building rapport. Watch your grammar and punctuation, however, because the fastest way to break a mood is by misspelling a word that jumps out or misplacing a punctuation point. You can emphasize sections by using the one paragraph - one line approach.

3. There should be one section that clearly outlines in bullet-point format the major advantages of the service or product being offered. Each point should be kept brief giving the impression of speed and confidence.

4. The writing needs to be kept clear, concise and easy to understand. You never want to confound your reader with words and phrases they need to stop and go look up on dictionary.com. In other words, avoid humungous words, long sentences and anything that equals confused message delivery. This is not the place to demonstrate how many sentences you can string together by combining commas and semi-colons.

5. The copy should reflect what the reader is looking for - their desires and wants. Keep your ego in the closet. Put yourself in your readers’ shoes when copywriting. Keep asking yourself, why would they buy this or even, why are they still reading your copy.

6. There has to be a commitment or a promise made early on, preferably before the end of second paragraph.

7. We’re repeating this again: The flow of the paragraphs must be smooth and logical. If there is any dither, the reader will quickly lose interest. Remember, web visitors are not famous for their patience or perseverance.

8. Your claims have to be supported by proof. If you say your product contains a magic ingredient, then there should be a testament by a leading authority certifying the value of the ingredient. If you mention your product can help people achieve something, then it must be backed by testimonials, and so on.

9. Once you reach a point when everything sounds persuasive and is backed by adequate testimonials, you must make an offer. Understand that the buyer is only interested in a good deal - so, if you make him a good offer he cannot refuse, you will strike gold.

10. Make the end so irresistible that it compels the reader to take action. Maybe you can offer some freebies with your product, maybe you can offer a free newsletter or a software download, whatever. Just remember spice up the end.

These principles will get you off to a good start when starting to copy write and build sales letters. Some of the best teachers for good copywriting are in your face as you surf. When you come across a particularly compelling piece of copywriting, bookmark it and study it. The best and brightest are all around you. You simply have to stop and look.

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- Kale McClelland