Copy Sells -- Not Graphics:

Copy Sells -- Not Graphics:

Pictures have n*ver sold anyone anything. You must write to convince people to take action.

Here's a guide line to follow when writing your ad copy.

1. Write your copy as if you were talking with a customer face to face. Avoid talking at them, but rather, with them. Avoid using complex words or concepts. Find a balance that a fifth grade student would underst and without insulting anyone's intelligence. Try to talk with them, as if you would normally do, and avoid trying to be someone else. Just be yourself.

2. Try to stay away from using CAPS or Bold Caps, if possible. It slows the reader down and interrupts the flow of your message. Use bold to emphasize and bold underlined to really emphasize your points. Your copy will be much more effective!

3. Write your copy in an enticing fashion. Keep it compelling, and write to draw the person who reads it, to want more and more. You can use an interactive format, or an enticing format, or both. It does take some practice but just at the copy that sold you. That's always a good template to start with. Copy the way it was written and you'll have a foundation to start with.

4. Write your copy so each point flows smoothly to the next. This is very important otherwise, you'll l*se the reader. Don't be afraid of writing long copy. If you write it right, people will follow it all the way through. It's a myth that long copy doesn't work. It actually could work the best.

5. Look at several s*les pages that have good s*les lines that don't sound like hype. (Avoid writing hype, it only makes the potentialcustomer (s) shy away. Use lines that sound good to you, and inter-mix them into your copy. I have seen mountains of s*les letters (which I save), and I always find something I can use. I may change a few words, or rearrange the sentence structure, but in the end it's mine!

6. This is very important. Your copy must be fr*ee of errors. If you have just 1 misspelled word, 1 incomplete thought, you will be scratching you head wondering why your not getting results. Design your copy to be concise, because if it's vague in any way you will l*se s*les. By the way, if your copy is vague you will find out quickly because people will have ques*tions. If you are getting the same question over and over again, then you'll know what to fix. If you are getting sign ups, without any ques*tions, you've done a good job!

7.Write your copy one day and then go back to it the next day. Re-read it, out loud if you have too and you will probably discover you still have work to do. If it's written right, it will sound as if you just wrote it, but any professional will know how much work you really put into it. You will know how effective your copy is, when you measure it against how many people read it, verses how many buy because of it.

8. Try to keep your sentences and paragraphs as short as possible. It makes it easier for the reader. If they have a tendency to scroll downwards, before reading your letter, it won't look like such a bad thing to read through.

9. N*ver get caught up writing about just the features of your offer. You must explain the benefits. Example: "This widget will save you time, effort, and energy because of the built in features". Sell the sizzle... not the steak.

10. When your writing, include the words "you" and "your" as often as you can. The customer must see how this will benefit them... not you. By saying "Your jewelry will be sent overnight", or "you will discover", transfers ownership psychologically. This will pull the reader into reading more.

You better have 3-10 times the words "you" and "your",rather than "we", and "I", and "us", and "our", and "me" in your copy. The reader cares only about how they benefit...and nothing about you.

11. Always give your contact information, such as, your name and/or business name, and e-mail address. Providing contact information also demonstrates your willingness to perform customer service. By giving your contact information, you are making the customer feel at ease.

This is a list of words to avoid in your copy. These words will destroy s*les.

buy, contract, bad, death, loss, hard, worry, taxes, wrong, difficult, sell, deal, fail, liability, cost,oblig*tion, decision.

This is a list of words to include in your copy.These words create s*les!

fr*ee, love, amazing, safe, new, benefit, gain, m*ney, happy, glad, proven, guar*ntee, fast, results, discover, how you, how to, fun, value, easy, you, your, yours, you'll, healthy, natural, magic, sec*ret, proud, comfortable, secure, solution.

Writing An Ad For Your Website:

Each time you list your site on a Fr*ee For All Links page, a Fr*ee Classifieds site or with a search engine, you'll be required to enter what is, in fact, an ad. It pays to keep in mind that even though this might be called a "description", it's the first thing people will see about your site - so make sure you direct it to them.

What's in it for me?

As with all advertising, this is what people are interested in - how your product can improve their life - not the benefits it will bring to humanity or the environment, but "what's in it for me?"

Your opening words, then, must tell people how they will benefit from visiting your site.

You must also give people a brief idea about the nature of your site - what specific product or service is it selling, what fr*ee product or service is it offering, what can people expect to find at your site?

The Heading

On the web, there isn't time for cute headings - people want information and they want it n*w! So you need to let your readers know exactly what you're offering in your heading.

Your heading should be no more than four or five words - the fewer the better.

Fr*ee Software

Web Design

Improve Your Writing

Learn HTML

How to Relieve Pain

Words that Appeal

There are a number of words which have been shown to appeal to readers, some of these are:

Fr*ee New Proven Sec*ret Suc*cess Inst*nt Fast Simple How to Save Easy Limited time only

Always try to include at least a couple of these words in your Headline.

Some other good words to include in your letter are:

Absolutely.. Amazing.. Approved.. Attractive..Authentic...

Beautiful.. Better.. Big.. Colorful..

Colossal..Complete.. Confidential.. Crammed..

Delivered.. Direct.. Easily.. Endorsed..Enormous..

Excellent..Exclusive.. Expert..Famous.. Fascinating..

Full..Genuine.. Gift..Gigantic.. Greatest.. Helpful..

Highest..Huge.. Immediately.. Improved.. Informative..

Instructive.. Interesting.. Magic.. Mammoth..Miracle..

Noted.. Odd.. Outstanding..Personalized.. Popular..

Powerful.. Practical..Professional.. Profusely..

Proven.. Quality..Quickly.. Rare.. Reduced.. Refundable..

Remarkable..Reliable.. Revealing.. Revolutionary..

Scarce..Security.. Selected.. Sensational.. Simplified..

Sizable..Special.. Startling.. Strange.. Strong.. Sturdy..

Successful.. Superior.. Surprise.. Terrific.. Tested..

Tremendous.. Unconditional.. Unique.. Unlimited..

Unparalleled..Unsurpassed.. Unusual.. Useful..Valuable..Weird..Wonderful.

Give Ud The Facts:

Don't tell us that we'll make "thousands of dollars" with this program, tell us we'll "see a 20% increasein s*les within the first year" - and we'll be more likely to believe you.

Use numbers if possible - "101 Uses for Plastic Shopping Bags" is more likely to gain our attention,than "Things to do with plastic shopping bags".

Don't use adjectives and adverbs in your ads - save these for your poetry and love letters. An ad should contain plenty of verbs - you need to convey a sense of action and urgency if you want people to buy from you.

Don't be clever if it means some of your readers won't understand your ad.

Organization Of Ideas:

You should always start with the greatest benefit to the reader:

Expected improvements in finances, health, career, romance, appearance, security, self-esteem.

Removing worry

Eliminating unpleasant tasks.

Reducing physical, mental or physical pain

Avoiding risky undertakings, Introducing new experiencesto overcome boredom, End with an Appeal for Action

Always finish your ad by telling your readers what you want them to do:

Cl*ck h*re for more information

Act n*w

Only ten remaining vacancies, don't miss out - reply n*w

Forward this to all your friends

Order before the end of the month

Go to our secure order form

Go h*re to get in early

Proof Read, then re-read your ad and ch*ck that you've used words, which convey benefits to your readers. Pay particular attention to your headline.

*Try Not To Repeat Things. *Always Use Your Spell Ch*ck.

Keep Copies

Always keep a copy of your ads - that way, you can just cut and paste, instead of having to re-invent the wheel every time you need to insert a description of your site or place an ad.