The Basics of Good Copy

Writing good copy is a skill that many people should learn, regardless of whether they actually want to be a copywriter or not. If you send a lot of emails then these same skills and tactics apply to you as well.

The following list is a quick overview of what it takes to write good copy.

Understanding your target audience - it is much easier to write to someone when you have a little background on them. You should try and come up with a mental or written image of who your target audience is. What their age is, where they live and their average income, plus their likes and dislikes.

You always want to know the answers to these two questions.

1) Why should your customer buy this product and

2) what's in it for them?

Try to find a way to make your copy stand out from others. Look for similar sales pages and look for an angle or hook that is different.

Have a specific purpose to your copy - yes you want customers to buy. But think about helping to solve problems by offering solutions.

Take the time to write a good headline - if your headline is weak the customer will most likely not read all the way through on your sales page. If you are writing emails then this section pertains to your subject line. Give your reader a good reason to open your email.

Use headings and sub headings - these help to first break up your copy but they also help to highlight the benefits of the product.  Remember that 'what's in it for me?' question.

Avoid using filler or fluffy words - don't use words such as maybe, hope, wish, try could and perhaps. Instead you want to create concise sentences that are short and contain words such as will and can.

Always write your copy in the present tense. Instead of saying 'was chosen' use the word 'received'. Using the present tense really helps to add strength to your entire copy.

Use testimonials or customer quotes - this really helps to add proof to your copy and if possible try to include a photo of the person. If you can make these people seem real to your potential customers, the better your copy will convert. It also helps to add where the person lives by city or state, always get permission first before adding testimonials.

Once your copy is finished always read it out loud. Either you can do this or have someone else read it for you. When you read your copy if you stumble over a section, go back and edit it. If someone else reads it see if they are compelled to purchase it, if not, tweak it!

By applying these basic concepts to each piece of copy you right you should have no trouble in converting readers into customers.

Advantages and Disadvantages of E-mail Marketing

Aѕ іѕ quіtе apparent frоm thе term, email marketing іѕ аbоut using email аѕ а marketing tool tо advertise оr promote а brand, service, оr product. In оthеr words, іt's а type оf direct marketing, utilizing electronic mail аѕ а way оf conveying commercial messages tо people. Althоugh іn іtѕ most comprehensive sense еvеrу e-mail thаt іѕ sent tо аn existing оr potential customer саn bе regarded аѕ e-mail marketing, nеvеrthеlеѕѕ, thе term generally signifies thе following:

E-mails sent tо promote thе loyalty оf thе customer аnd tо enhance thе relationship bеtwееn existing customers аnd thе merchandiser.

E-mails sent іn order tо get new customers оr tо convince current customers tо purchase ѕоmеthіng again.

Advertisements оr marketing messages placed іn thе e-mails sent bу оthеr merchandizers.

Businesses аrе generally depend оn referrals frоm current customers, utilize а subscription service, оr pay аn e-mail broker а fee tо acquire thе e-mail addresses оf thе customers thеу want tо target wіth thеіr e-mail marketing messages. Most companies, аѕ expected, make uѕе оf а combination оf thе аbоvе methods.

Advantages

Thеrе аrе several reasons fоr thе popularity оf e-mail marketing wіth businesses - here аrе ѕоmе:

One оf thе best advantages іѕ thе capability оf distributing marketing message tо large databases оf possible customers rеlаtіvеlу affordably. Fоr example, whеn compared tо investments іn оthеr media like printed newsletters оr direct mail, іt іѕ muсh cheaper.

E-mail marketing allows thе advertiser tо send thе message tо thе targeted audience, unlіkе а website thаt muѕt wait оn thе chance оf thе customers dropping bу.

Alѕо, а marketing strategy саn involve sending а number оf e-mails successively, building оn one аnоthеr. Fоr example, thіѕ method іѕ often used fоr targeting specific dates thаt mау bе upcoming, like Christmas, Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Valentine's Day, аnd ѕо оn.

Unlіkе advertisements thаt аrе mailed, messages аrе practically instantaneous. Whеn аn e-mail іѕ sent, іt arrives аt іtѕ destination wіthіn seconds оr minutes.

Thе Return On Investment, оr ROI, саn bе tracked accurately, аnd whеn done properly has proven tо bе highly effective. It іѕ said thаt аѕ аn online marketing strategy, e-mail marketing іѕ second оnlу tо search engine marketing.

E-mail marketing efforts аrе easy tо keep track оf bу using click-throughs, read-receipts, un-subscribes, bounce messages, web bugs, аnd ѕо оn, whісh саn bе used fоr assessing negative аnd positive responses, open rates, аnd correlating sales wіth marketing.

Strategists have access tо considerable numbers оf e-mail subscribers whо have consented, оr opted іn, tо get thе e-mails оn subjects thаt thеу аrе interested іn.
Business іѕ generated affordably аѕ wеll аѕ automatically.

Disadvantages

One оf thе main disadvantages оf e-mail marketing іѕ spam, whісh аrе unsolicited e-mails thаt аrе sent іn bulk. Thіѕ rеаllу hampers genuine efforts, since thе sheer bulk оf spam e-mails саn bе ѕuсh а put-off thаt people саn often mistake genuine commercial e-mail, ѕuсh аѕ а mailing list thаt thеу mау bе subscribed tо, fоr spam.
Spam has led tо users putting spam filters, whісh again has а negative effect оn genuine marketers, bесаuѕе thеіr commercial e-mails often get filtered оut bу thеѕе spam filters.
Aраrt frоm spam, аnоthеr drawback іѕ thе sheer volume оf commercial e-mail thаt people get іn а day, ѕо muсh ѕо, іt саn often result іn thеm deleting thеm wіthоut even а glance.

Thе advent оf e-mail marketing has transformed thе way business іѕ done. Sure, thеrе аrе ѕоmе disadvantages, even ѕо, іt muѕt bе said thаt thе impact оf thіѕ instantaneous marketing has hаd оn business іѕ largely positive, having а clear edge оvеr оthеr types оf marketing communication. Hеnсе, e-mail marketing іѕ here tо stay fоr а long time іndееd.

Creating a Great First Impression on Social Media

Today it is important for all business owners to have some type of presence on social media. This includes using sites like Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. What is important to remember is that each time you post content you are effectively advertising your business. So pay attention to what you write.

Try to keep your personal and your businesses separate on these sites. On Facebook you can create a Business Fan Page and on Google+ these are just called Pages. Your goal of using social media is to create awareness and brand yourself and your company.

It is vital that you brand yourself in the same manner across any social media sites that you choose to use. Use the same profile picture, add your business logo and use the same user name. This way when someone visits one of your pages they will instantly recognize you. They unconsciously associate your company with your logo or by your user name.

Social media is widely used and you can potentially reach new customer and clients each day. Keep this in mind and always conduct business so that you are always creating a good first impression.

Another thing about sites such as Facebook is that allows people to leave real time reviews and comments on your business page. You may get unfavorable comments or comments that make you angry. If this happens don’t immediately start creating a negative post back as this does not look professional.

Instead what you want to do is to take the time to evaluate the comment and then think about the best way to proceed. If you respond immediately with insults you are portraying yourself as angry and abusive and this can stop people from doing business with you.

The best course of action is to contact the person and get all of the details and then respond appropriately in a professional manner. Other users on the site will see that you responded with courtesy and this helps improve your branding. 

While yes you can go back and edit posts once your post is live it could be seen by lots of people almost immediately. Don’t let any situation get out of hand in the first place.

When posting content on any social media sites remember it is a reflection of you. One good tip is to ask yourself if you would mind if your grandmother reads the post, if not, don’t post it.

Why You Should Pay Attention to Your Sentences

This is something that all good copywriters do on a regular basis. They focus on creating short sentences that make a statement. If you are accustomed to writing fiction you may be used to adding more fill to each sentence. Adding descriptions to evoke pictures of the characters or scenery for example.

Good copy needs to be short and sweet. A good piece of advice is to use the 5 W's. Who, What , Where, Why and When. Then on top of this you want to add facts to these sentences. When you add facts or more specific details you are reinforcing ideas to your readers.

If you are new to copywriting then you should start collecting examples of sales pages so that you can study them. Specifically you want to look at the use of sentences, bullet points, headings and sub headings.

Bear in mind too, that people will be reading your sales copy on their computers and their mobile devices. Some will have smaller screens that do not display as much text. So you need to have text that is easy to read. You have probably experienced trying to read a large, never ending paragraph of text. Most likely you got fed up or bored and stopped reading. This is why short, clear sentences are important.

When writing your copy you want to connect and evoke emotions in your readers. The best way to do this is to try and dig down and bring their problems to the surface.

You want to address this fear, they may be worried about losing their job, they may be worried about their health or finances. Make sure you bring this up in your copy.

After addressing these fears you want to promise solutions to these fears. By doing this with your sentences you are giving them hope. After all they are potentially buying your solution to their problem.

Now all of this sounds quite simple but it does takes practice to hone your copywriting skills. If you can just remember to write short sentences you will be half way there.

We suggest that you practice writing out lots of short sentences that are concise. In addition to the sentences work on writing out short headings and sub headings. Adding these headings to your copy breaks up your text and makes the copy easier to read, plus it make it more pleasing to the eye.

The Benefits of Being an Affiliate Marketer

Just about the biggest benefit to being an affiliate marketer is that you don't have to worry about creating any products and managing them. Instead you can focus on finding the best products to promote that will net you a good commission.

But you do still have a job to do as an affiliate marketer. First you want to ensure that you are only promoting good products to your list. If you begin to promote every product under the sun, good and bad. Your list will learn to not trust your judgement.

So it is vital that you take the time to research good products to recommend. If necessary ask the vendor for a review copy of the product, or purchase it yourself if you can.

The attraction of being an affiliate is the simplicity of the process. As we mentioned you don't have to be the one creating products all the time. Creating your own products can be costly and time consuming. It is often easier to just send traffic to an offer and reap the rewards.

As an affiliate your job is to direct traffic to a vendor's offer. If you can do this successfully you can build a great relationship with the vendor. They will appreciate your efforts and may even reward you with a higher commission rate. They will be happy to provide you with copies of their new products for review, as they know you will bring in many sales for them.

Gaining a good relationship with vendors is important as they will often recommend you as an affiliate to other vendors. In return this can help increase your income substantially.

Don't forget that you also want to develop a good relationship with your customers. You have to agree that it is much easier to earn an monthly income if you know that you have lots of repeat buyers on your list. It means you actively have to go out and find fewer customers.

This relationship with your customers is built upon trust and respect. This is accomplished by only recommending products that you have researched in depth. Or products that you personally use yourself.

While you may be tempted to promote higher priced items, keep a look out for special offers and deals that benefit the people on your list. After all they are your customers and are responsible for you making money from affiliate marketing each month.

A Good Letter Can Make You a Fortune in Direct Mail

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Now we go back to Maxwell Sackheim.  Sackheim is also well known for originating the "Book-of-the Month" club.   So what can you learn from Sackheim's Book-of-the-Month club? More than you think.  People are lazy.  Getting people to take any sort of action is not easy. That's why much of advertising uses deadlines and limited time offers.Sackheim used this human characteristic to his own advantage. Every month, members of his book club would be notified of that month's book selection and unless they replied that they didn't want the book - it was assumed that they did and it would be subsequently mailed out to them.  Clever!

Sackheim originated the idea and now every "of-the-month" club operates like this. Have you experienced this?

Perhaps you're thinking: "this wouldn't work for me" or "my business really is different" then you're missing the point and just not being creative enough.

You can use Sackheim's "Negative Option Plan" to  your business.  If, for example, you have a web based business, you can have a member or subscription site which brings in regular, monthly income.

Your customers' credit cards can be charged each month for their renewal of membership.  People being lazy will rarely cancel their subscriptions bringing you a nice recurring revenue stream.

Sackheim's Negative Option Plan forces people to take action to cancel their renewals. Many just can't be bothered. you can take advantage of this little bit of human psychology.  Of course, you will have to provide a good product or service that gives value for money.

In 1917, Sackheim met a young man called Victor Schwab who he hired as his private secretary. Schwab, working alongside Sackheim soon developed himself into a good copywriter.

Maxwell Sackheim also wrote a great book on marketing called: "My First 60 Years in Advertising".  This book is now out of print (as are most of these classics) but if you're interested in the works of Maxwell Sackheim there is a book available by Jerry Buchanan called:  "Billion Dollar Marketing."  You should be able to get this from your high street bookstore or on Amazon.

On similar lines to the "character" formula is what is called the "open letter" technique.

1921  Publisher A.W.Shaw collected 5,063 letters that had made big sales for their originators.  The publishers whittled this list down and published 72 of these letters.  These 72 were analysed and dissected.  The result was their publication: “72 Letters and What Made them Pay.”

This book contains sections on letters that open doors; letters that increase sales;  letters that turn prospects into your friends; in fact, letters for many occasions.  72 of them.

There are examples of letters that pulled 18% to 20% returns.  Letters that gave 61% returns. What would you give for returns like that?

Take for example this opening sentence:  "There is a man in Boston who has a unique way of making a living."

Now who wouldn't be interested in that?  Most people, and that's why they keep on reading the rest of the letter.

Even if you have to give something away to entice your prospect to reply, the letter still has to be effective.

Within the above opening sentence was a sufficiently good "hook" to get the prospect to read further.  But the letter sooner or later had to reveal the "Big Idea".  Suffice it to say that this particular letter did get the results (a 61% return) and the pulling power of such a letter makes it well worthy of study.

"72 Letters and What Made Them Pay" will help you put together a persuasive letter for any situation, no matter what line of business you are in.  And you can get tis book at: http://LongLostMarketingSecrts.com

1923  John Orr Young and Raymond Rubicam form Young and Rubicam in Phildelphia.

1928  BDO merge with Garry Batten Co. to form BBDO with billings of $32m.

1928  Victor Schwab and his partner took over Sackheim's agency after Sackheim decided to 'call it a day'. He was responsible for creating ads for Dale Carnegie; Charles Atlas; and Sherwin Cody's courses (as was Sackheim).

His famous works included the best selling 1930s classic:  "How to Win Friends and Influence People".

He wrote a series of articles called: "How to Write a Good Advertisement" and introduced a 5 step formula.

His series of articles were later turned into a book, also called: "How to Write a Good Advertisement."

1930  James Webb Young worked as a professor and used his lecture notes to publish his first book:  “How to Become an Advertising Man.”

1930  Advertising Age is launched in Chicago

1934  Another master writer was Robert Collier.  He went to work in New York for his uncle’s publishing company.    His first successes were that he sold many thousands of the Harvard Classics. These were books put together by Dr.Eliot of Harvard and sold by Collier as what became known as the "Famous Five-Foot Shelf of Books."

Collier had an idea of writing a set of books on psychology.  He worked day and night to get them finished.  The books were titled:  "The Secrets of The Ages."  He sold over 300,000 sets of that title and went on to write more self-help titles and books.

He was a prolific writer but his best abilities were in writing killer sales letters.

In 1934 he wrote, the now famous: "The Robert Collier Letter Book."

Here are just a few of his secrets to writing sales letters.

Collier became famous for one letter in particular.  His: "Will you do me a favor?" letter. He conceived this idea when he read about a manager who asked one of his competitors for a favor - he wanted to know how to handle customers that took advantage of their terms.  And this technique helped to bring the two companies together.

Collier thought that this technique may well work in print.  He wasn't wrong!

One of his letters was responsible for selling 20,000 raincoats and over a dozen other products.

The letter contains some strong psychological principles.

Also, people like to help.  Just as Collier knew all those years ago, people like  to give opinions.

If you operate your business off-line, ask in your direct mail or your letters for people's opinions.

If you operate on-line, a good technique to use is polls.  If people aren't yet ready to buy, they do love to give their opinions.

It becomes even stronger if you give them something for free in return.  Something of value, like a report with some useful information.  But what ever you give them, it has to be useful.

Now you may be thinking, OK, his letter were written over 70 years ago.  surely, this technique is out-dated.  Think so?

Just before his death in 1950, Robert Collier was asked to pick his 15 most powerful and hypnotic letters. These were compiled and sold as: "Robert Collier's Million Dollar Sales Letters."

What is Affiliate Marketing?

You may have heard the term affiliate marketing and have been told that it is a great way to make money from your computer. You might still be feeling a little confused about how it works, why it works and how to get started.

Affiliate marketing refers to a marketing method where you are basically becoming an online sales person. A vendor will own or create a product that they wish to sell. Of course, it is much easier to sell when you are surrounded by sales people. So the vendor sets up something called an affiliate program. When affiliates join this program they are promising to advertise certain products in return for a commission.

Payment Methods

Commissions are normally percentage based and are paid in cash. They can also be paid as free products or you may be given coupons, discounts or even advertising space on a popular website.

There are other payment methods that you need to be aware of. The first one is referred to as 'pay per sale' which gives the affiliate a reward every time a product is sold. 

This is normally the percentage payment method.  To earn money with this method the affiliate needs to use a special link (affiliate link) and posts this links in blog post, articles, on social sites and even on their own advertisements.

The second type of method is known as 'pay per lead' this is where the affiliate gets paid each time they refer a lead to a company. Credit card companies use this type of program a lot. They recruit affiliates to advertise for them and each time a person fills out a form and becomes a lead the affiliate gets paid. Products that offer trials will also use this method.

The third type is called 'pay per click' and affiliates are given a commission for each time one of their links is clicked upon.

Benefits to Vendor and Affiliate

Affiliate marketing really does benefit both the vendor and the affiliate. Many times a person decides to promote a particular product because they have expertise with it. You may decide to promote woodworking because it is a hobby you enjoy. So, obviously, you have lots of experience to draw upon when it comes to writing or blogging about this topic. In turn this means that visitors to your site will connect with you, recognize your authority and be more willing to purchase items that you recommend. The vendor is more likely to see lots of sales coming through your affiliate links - a good thing.

For the affiliate the benefits include being recognized as an authority in their niche. It also means seeing regular income  and being rewarded from the vendor with free products and possibly higher commission rates. A good vendor will appreciate their top affiliates and have no issues in rewarding them.

Good affiliates can easily help a vendor improve their reputation and increase their sales. Good vendors will appreciate their top sellers and be happy to have products that are selling well. Affiliate marketing really is a win-win situation for both sides.