How To Get Better Results From Your Marketing Budget

As a business professional I thought you would be interested to hear some practical advice that has the power to literally transform your marketing…

​​And this advice is relevant to all your marketing materials, whether it’s an email, a sales letter, customer statement, social media post or Ad, or your web site.

 

So to help you sharpen up your marketing, and focus on generating good quality sales leads, or more loyalty and repeat sales form your existing customers, please read on to discover:

 

5 Secrets for Writing Sales Copy that Sells

 

What is the number one factor that will determine whether or not your marketing gets the response you desire?

 

Effective copy. Don’t get me wrong … creative design and images have a role to play, but any form of advertising that merely entertains, does not sell. Your perfectly targeted audience are just like you and I; they have certain triggers that must be pushed in order to complete a sale.

 

Without good copy, they will never be educated as to the full range of benefits your service offers. They will never be forced to act on an initial interest and will instead become the customer of your competitor who provides the information and reassurances they are looking for upfront.

 

Does that concern you? Then follow these 5 secrets to writing sales copy that sells.

 

1: Make your copy readable

 

Even highly relevant copy can look boring or hard going.

 

Make short, sharp statements that are no more than 8-9 words long. These are easier to remember.
– Paragraphs should be a maximum of 3 lines or sentences long.
– Present your key benefits as bullet points
– Use subheadings and bold treatments

 

Test: Scan your web pages or emails, and read only the headings, underlining, bold and italics. Does this copy tell the complete story? If not, your message is unlikely to be committed to the reader’s memory.

 

– Use a Serif-type font for hard copy e.g. Times New Roman. It is easier for the reader to keep their place on the page. Arial (or sans-serif) fonts work best for on-screen copy.

 

2: Present the call to action early – and often

 

If the reader thinks they are being sold to, they are less likely to read the whole message – at first. They skip and skim for the main points, and then decide if they are interested. So it’s critical to include a compelling call to action as early as the second paragraph and repeat it often.

 

Utilise the P.S. to provoke action. Did you know that 71% of readers read this part of a letter before anything else?

 

3: Link features to benefits

 

In direct response copy, it is important to remember that readers actively seek meaningful benefits in order to justify a purchase. So spell out the main benefits of your service and always relate them to the prospect. Another valuable tactic is to position the benefit at the front of a sentence, for example:

 

Wrong – “Our guarantee gives you complete peace-of-mind in the service you will receive”
(Feature before benefit)

 

Right – “Have complete peace-of-mind with our 7-step customer service guarantee”
(Benefit before feature)

 

4: Sell the benefit of responding to your offer

 

Think of a good offer: Free information pack; Free Report: “Discover the five most expensive mistakes people make when heating their homes – And how to avoid them”; Introductory discount voucher; Free cook book when you spend over £100 etc.

 

Sell the benefits that responding to the offer will have on their life. Alternatively, you can employ a ‘risk of loss’ strategy that presents the negative consequences of not taking action. (e.g. the inconvenience of running out of oil).

 

Why is a good offer important? Because, in the majority of cases, it is unrealistic to expect the reader to commit to a purchase (or change supplier etc.) as early as the first point of contact. However, by encouraging the reader to indicate an interest in your company, you can form a long list of warm prospects that can be followed-up by your sales team.

 

5: Include a headline

 

A powerful headline is the number one selling tool on any piece of digital copy or direct mail. So why do so many business owners get it wrong, or fail to include one altogether?

 

An effective headline will literally force your potential customers to learn more. It will instantly ignite a certain emotion and intrigue them to read on.

 

Here are five proven techniques for writing compelling headlines:

 

1: How to

 

“How to Increase Your Home Energy Efficiency By Over 42%”

 

Headlines beginning with ‘how to’ are very successful. Home and business owners have a strong desire to learn. A headline beginning with ‘how to’ immediately grabs your potential customers’ attention and forces them to read on.

 

2: Question

 

“Are You Sick and Tired of paying too much for your heating?”

 

Headlines written in the form of a question are very effective, as they appeal to your potential customers’ emotions. When they read a headline written as a question, they’ll answer the question in their mind. If the question identifies a specific need, want or desire, they’ll read on.

 

3: Command

 

“Double Your Income Within the Next 12 months — Guaranteed!”

 

A command headline focuses on the most important benefit your product or service has to offer. It instantly demands your potential customers’ attention and intrigues them to read on.

 

4: News

 

“Announcing a Brand New Breakthrough in Self-Publishing”

 

News headlines are very effective and used to announce new products and services. They are written in the form of an announcement or introduction and create curiosity.

 

5: Testimonials

 

” Marketing Advisor is Pure Genius — Our Sales Have Increased by 39%!”

 

Headlines written in the form of a testimonial are very effective, as they instantly begin building trust.

 

By learning the art of writing headlines that focus on the basic human needs and emotions, you will increase your sales considerably.

 

Can you see the importance of well-written sales copy?

 

Employ just one of these tactics and you will see a marked improvement in the response your marketing budget generates. However, include them all, and you have the potential  see a huge return on your investment, time and time again!

 

Understanding how your prospect’s mind works and writing copy that sells, is the single most effective tactic in generating new sales leads and growing your profits.

 

Remember, good marketing will have more influence on your business success than any other single factor.

 

Questions, thoughts, comments? Please get in touch, below!