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The Top
10 Things That Turn Affiliates Off
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2 – The Sales Copy Doesn't Sell
Most affiliates can get anyone to go to any website, and the really
good ones can get people so excited to buy a product that they already
have their credit card in hand before they even get to its site,
but…
The site still has to close the
deal.
Having a site that looks professionally designed isn’t enough.
It’s the words
on the site that do the selling. Words sell,
pictures don’t.
If the sales copy on your site isn’t pulling its weight, affiliates
won’t bother with it.
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Copywriters
are the word pros, the true masters of “salesmanship-in-print,” but few
of us can afford to pay a professional copywriter to turn our website
into a selling machine.
The good news is just about anyone can learn how to
write copy that sells.
The best guide I’ve found on how to write copy is “Confessions of a
Website Copywriter.” While it’s geared toward writing
sales
letter websites, everything you’ll learn applies to all your marketing
efforts – writing website copy, PPC ads, banner ads, articles, resource
boxes,
forum signatures,…
You’ll learn:
- How to write every element of a
sales letter – from the headline all
the way down to the P.S. at the bottom (and why that P.S. is so
important),
- How to get around people’s
objections and resistance so they’ll click the “Buy” button,
- How to use the findings from
studies done on how people’s eyes move
when looking at a website so you can design yours more effectively, and
- Everything you need to know to
write copy that sells!
Get this ebook! Read it!
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Every headline, every word, every image on your
site has
to grab the visitor and push them toward the “Buy Now” button.
Once you have them, don’t let go.
The first thing people see is your headline. It has to grab their
attention, and if it doesn’t, they’ll leave.
So how do you get your visitor’s attention and keep it?
Make your headline speak to
what the visitor really wants.
Check out this screenshot from Apple’s website:
I’d be willing to bet that those 15 words reel in
tons of sales.
Same goes for SiteSell’s headline:
E-business Success. Simple. Real.
Just four little words. Very powerful.
And its sub-heading:
"Why Just Build A Site
When You
Could Build A Business?"
And this one from SEO Elite:
"Who Else Wants To Finally Get
A
#1 Google Ranking In As Little As 7 Days..."
And this one from SEO Cockpit:
Are
Your Rankings Rising Or Falling?
[That'll send a
shiver of fear through any online marketer!]
And they have a great sub heading, too:
The
Fastest And Easiest Way To Monitor And Analyze
All Of Your SEO Stats In One Place
Why are these headlines so powerful? Because
they speak to what their target customer really wants.
What Does Your Target Market
Want?
What problem do
they have? How can your product or service solve it?
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Now is a good time to talk about…
The Golden Rule of Marketing
You’ve seen ‘em. The websites that say, “We offer…,” “We can…,”
“I’ve been…”
Who cares?
People only want to know one thing:
That’s just human nature.
Look at every advertisement you see: buy their cell phone and you
get the network; buy this shampoo and you get smooth, shiny
hair; buy this home gym and get the body you want, etc., etc.
Advertisers know the secret to getting
people to buy. Here’s how to make it work for you:
Whenever you write anything your potential customers will see – your
website copy, articles, your blog, etc. – take out all the “I’s,”
“me’s,” and “we’s” and rewrite it so it says “you”…
Make it all about them, and
that, my friend, will be the secret of your success.
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What makes a headline really effective?
Powerful, action words, like these:
“Unstoppable Flood of
Traffic”
“Discover the Closely Guarded Secrets”
“Your Way to Lazy and Enormous Profits”
“Underground”
“Unleash the Truth”
“Now You Can Legally Steal This Behind The Scenes…Blueprint And Give
Yourself An Unfair Advantage Over The Competition”
"Give me 7 ½ minutes - and I'll show you the secrets to making
more money... working fewer hours... and having a lot more fun with
your online business - Guaranteed!"
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Here is a list of enticing, powerful words for your
copy:
Advantage
Affordable
Answer
Available
Bargain
Bottom Line
Breakthrough
Cash
Certain
Committed
Committment
Competitive
Comprehensive
Created
Crucial
Daring
Dependable
Deserve
Difference
Different
Discover
Discovery
Easy
Effective
Exclusive
Expert
Find
Formula
Free
Guarantee
Health
Hot
Hurry
Improve
Improved
Innovative
Intelligent
Latest
Lifeblood
Love
Maximize
Members
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Money
Need
New
Now
Only
Opportunity
Powerful
Professional
Promise
Protect
Proven
Quickly
Rapid
Recognized
Remarkable
Results
Revolution
Rewards
Rich
Richer
Richest
Right
Sale
Save
Secret
Show Me
Simple
Slash
Soar
Solve
Survival
Test Drive
Tips
Ultimate
Unlock
Vital
Warranty
Word of Mouth
Yes!
You
Your
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While headlines have the most important job on a
website, sub-headings,
descriptions, and all the rest of the words play important parts too.
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FACT:
People buy on emotion, not logic, so use
every element of your site to stir up those emotions.
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While checking out Overstock.com, I saw this couch and have been drooling over it
ever since, but its product description doesn’t stir up any emotions
for me:
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Monica Sectional Sofa
Product Description:
• Get style and convenience with the fashionable Monica sectional
sofa
• Living room furniture boasts hardwood frame construction
• Elegant sofa is a must-have for any home décor
Pictured ottoman not included
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[Yawn]
Maybe they should steal Victoria’s Secret’s
copywriters – check out this screenshot from their website:
See? Sprinkle in the right words and even sweaters can be
delectable.
Oh! And the part that says:
Pictured ottoman not included
As a potential customer, that’s not what I want to hear. I WANT
IT!
Wouldn’t it be smarter to include it as an upsell? Something like:
Get the pictured ottoman for just $XX
Speaking of descriptions…
“Sell the Benefits, Not the
Features.”
I’m not sure which marketing guru said that, but when it comes to
selling your product or services, truer words have not been spoken.
To really understand what that means and how to make it work for your
site, check out top copywriter Michael Fortin’s blog post
on benefits and features here.
A good,
what’s-in-it-for-you example is the sales copy on DLGuard’s site:
“Secure single product sales” doesn’t pack much of a punch until you
read:
“Secure your digital
products
quickly and easily. DLGuard provides you with a secure sales link
that
helps to prevent people skipping your credit card processing
system.
DLGuard will then make sure a valid payment was made…”
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“Automatic mailing list sign-up” doesn’t spark my
interest, but this does:
“DLGuard will automatically
add your customers to your mailing list after a sale is made. No
more
manual submissions, no more annoying your customers by asking them to
jump through hoops. Just easy, instant, and invisible auto
responder
signup.”
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Their copy highlights every thing the product does
and what’s in it for you.
Do you know how copywriters learn to write copy?
They study what other copywriters have done. They study junk
mail, they study ads in magazines, they even study junk email.
When you go to websites, really look at them to get ideas for
your own site. What pulls you in? What doesn’t?
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FACT:
Most people don’t read everything word-for-word on a website – they
scan – so use bold text, highlighted text, colored text, and bulleted points so they’ll see
the important points you want them to see.
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A perfect example of this is 1-800-contacts's site. It practically
pulls your eyes to the key points they want you to see.
Go to this site and see how
the bold, highlighted and colored text draws your eye and keeps you
moving down the page.
What Else Makes People Buy?
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Proof |
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Go to this site and scroll down to the image of
the money he makes
every day. Now, picture an average guy with some crummy job
looking at those numbers thinking, Man! This bozo makes
more in
one day than I make in a week! If it worked for him, maybe it’ll
work for me.
[ Did you check out the powerful headline that’s loaded with action
words? ]
If you make a bold claim that what you’re selling works, like this one, you have to
prove it or else your visitors will never believe you.
For fitness products, like The Truth About Abs, use ‘before’ and
‘after’
pictures showing what your customers looked like before they discovered
your product, and how they look after.
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Testimonials |
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Any time we need a plumber, an
auto mechanic, the name of a good
restaurant, or a hosting company, we ask for recommendations. We
all do it because we want to pick the right one and not get screwed.
Testimonials are recommendations. People see them and think, If
it worked for them, it’ll work for me.
Testimonials sell!
So, how do you get glowing testimonials? Just ask.
Ask your current customers. Or if you’re just starting out, go to
a forum, or discussion group, where your target market would hang out
and ask for a few volunteers willing to try your product in exchange
for a testimonial.
If your product or services helps other businesses, getting a
testimonial from other business owners is easy. Having your
site’s visitors see
their name adds to their credibility and they score another link to
their website.
But you may find that some people are too busy to write one for you,
and some just don’t know what to say, so then what do you do? You
write it yourself. As long as that person approves of what you
wrote and agrees to put their name on it, you can use it.
And then some people don’t want their name splashed on a website so
offer to just use their first name and last initial. You have to
respect their privacy.
You’ve probably seen sites that have pictures of the person who gave
the testimonial. This helps show that a real person said
it. If they’ll give you a picture, great!
The best testimonials are a kind of ‘before & after’ – what problem
they had and how you fixed it for them.
Sprinkle testimonials throughout your site.
[Those 'Customer Reviews' you see on sites, like Amazon and Buy.com – those are testimonials too!]
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Only
use glowing, “how-did-I-ever-live-without-this?”
testimonials. If you get one that's just a lifeless, ho-hum,"Your
product's
ok" – DON’T USE IT!!!!
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Free Trial |
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Is it any wonder why booksellers,
like Amazon, let you read the first
chapter of any book they offer? Because they know that when it
comes to getting people to buy a book, it’s more effective than the
back cover blurb, the reader reviews and all the other info
combined. Once you get a little taste, they’ve got you, and
you’ll want it even more. Smart ebooks sellers do this too.
It works.
The same goes for software products. Quickbooks offers a free
version of their software but it only allows you to have 20
contacts/vendors [Anyone who’s ever used Quickbooks knows those 20
slots fill up fast!], so once people get to see how fantastic this
product is for their business, they'll upgrade to the full-blown
version –
and that’s the whole idea.
Most software companies offer a free 30-day trial, but as a potential
customer, I get busy and sometimes forget that I downloaded it and the
30 days run out before I even got a chance to play with it. And
this doesn’t make me want to buy the product.
I like it better
when they count by uses, not days, like Keyword Excavator. That way I get
to see what I can do with it and how it can help me, and I end up
buying it.
Tease ‘em! Dangle your product in front of them. Let them
get a little taste. They’ll whip out their credit
card.
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Free Bonuses |
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Have you ever bought a
product just because you really wanted one of
the free bonuses that came with it? People do it all the
time. Free bonuses help sell products. Check out all the
cool, free bonuses that come with this.
You can find free-to-use products you can give away at TheBestGenius.com (Click on the 'Free
Members' link or join to get
unlimited access to all the products) or by searching online.
Have you ever bought an ebook or software that came with free
bonuses? You might be able to give those bonuses away too.
Open each one up – most will tell you on the first page or two if you
can give them away or not.
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Choose bonuses that compliment
your product
If you’re selling an ebook on starting a home-based business, a free
ebook on fly fishing would not entice a potential buyer, unless, of
course, your main product was on how to start a home-based, fly-fishing
business.
Only choose products that your target customer would love to have that
are related to the product you’re selling.
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But
the best products to give away are the ones you create
yourself. You’re trying to show your credibility so what could be
better than a Special Report with your name on it? (Plus, if you
tell your buyers they can give it away to anyone they know, it could
bring you more traffic and more potential customers!)
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TIP:
To give it value, make sure you put a good-looking cover on it and a
price (“a $47 value”).
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What could you write a
Special Report on? What does your target
market really want to know? Here are some ideas to get you
started:
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The Secret to… |
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The Top 10… |
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5 Myths… |
Write it, put
a good-looking cover on it, convert it to a PDF
and you’re
done.
Don’t forget to include a link to your site in it!
That’s the whole point!
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TIPS:
- Be sure to proofread it – one
boo-boo can damage your credibility!
- Make the layout attractive – use
wide margins, headlines and
sub-headlines, and lots of white space to make it easy on the eyes
(We’ll talk more about this in a minute).
- Watch the file size. You
don't want it to take a long time to download for folks using dial-up.
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You’ll also see exclusive privileges offered
as bonuses for buying the product, such as:
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Coaching/mentoring for a limited
time (one month, six months, a year), |
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Free lifetime product upgrades,
and |
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Access to a private, members-only
forum. |
Free
bonuses help sweeten the deal.
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Tantalizing Offer |
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If you want your visitor to reach
for their credit card, remember that little thing they want to know:
“What’s in it for me?”
First, make it crystal clear what they’re getting:
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You get ProductXYZ ebook |
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You get Bonus 1 |
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You get Bonus 2 |
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You get Bonus 3 |
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You get private access to the
members-only forum, |
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You get 24/7 lifetime support
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You get free upgrades for life
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Then hit
‘em with an irresistible, gotta-have-it, tantalizing offer:
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We guarantee that if you don’t
grow a full head of hair, have a red
Ferrari in your driveway, score a date with [insert your favorite
celebrity here], and rake in six figures within the next 60 days after
you read ProductXYZ, we’ll give you every dime of your money back. |
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Some sites, like The Rich Jerk’s,
try to antagonize their visitor into buying the product. While
this approach works for some, it’s probably not a good idea to use for
your own site. [Plus it’s already been done] If you looked
at your entire target market as a whole, how many potential customers
are you willing to lose forever because they thought you were offensive?
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But what
if your site is a squeeze page trying to capture the visitor’s name and
email address, like this?
All the same rules apply.
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