The A-B-C of Persuasive Writing

Is persuasive writing as easy as A, B, C?

I wish it were. In fact, it takes plenty of time and practice to become a persuasive writer. Plus, there are dozens of techniques and ninja tactics at your disposal.

However, keeping just these three things in mind will certainly help when you write for the purpose of encouraging a specific action from your readers.

A is for Audience

Effective communication begins with a good understanding of your audience. What keeps them up at 3 in the morning? What do they want? What are their biggest fears? What is their fondest dream? How do they talk? What do they think of the subject?

If you truly know and empathize with your readers, it will show in your writing, and they’ll pay attention. Your piece will call out to them. Also, by knowing your audience, it’ll be easier for you to write about…

B is for Benefit

What do you have to offer that will make your audience’s lives happier, easier and more enjoyable? How can your information, product or service change their lives for the better?

Don’t expect your readers to figure this out for themselves. Write it out.

C is for Call to Action

Now what? So you understand your audience’s problems and have the solution – what would you like them to do next?

Don’t assume they know the next step. Tell them what to do:

Please type your name and email address in the form below, then click the subscribe button. Wait for a confirmation email. When you receive it, click on the confirmation link in the email. Otherwise, you won’t get the information you requested. If you don’t see it, please check your spam box.

Please click here to learn more about this product.

Please email me at myname@domain.com to schedule a consultation call.

Please reply to this email to send me your questions.

Persuasive writing is more complicated than this. However, if you follow these A-B-Cs, your writing will become more compelling instantly.

Use it next time you write an email to your subscribers, a blog post, a Twitter tweet, even a video script.

Here’s Your Call to Action

Please leave a comment below to let us know if this post has been helpful to you. Thank you!

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The Power of P.S.

Remember when people wrote letters by hand and sent them through the postal service? If they made a mistake, they had to either erase or start over. And if they got through the entire letter and realized that they forgot something, they would add a post script, or P.S., to the end. Times sure have changed.

Or have they? If you’ve perused any online sales letters lately, you’ve probably seen several that have a P.S. attached to the end. Seems rather odd that a carefully planned sales letter would have an afterthought attached to the end, doesn’t it?

But most copywriting experts agree that a P.S. is one of the most important parts of any sales letter. And that’s not just a hunch – it has been confirmed over and over through split testing. The reason is deceptively simple: It’s because of its location.

Think about it. Have you ever looked at a sales letter that interested you, but not had the time or energy to read through the entire thing? What do you do? Chances are, you skim through it, or just skip straight to the end to see what is on offer and how much it will cost. And you’re certainly not the only one who does that. The Internet has a way of perpetuating short attention spans, and with so many sites out there competing for users’ attention, they’re usually looking to cut straight to the chase.

Since effective copywriting involves working with the reader’s natural tendencies, it doesn’t really make sense to try to keep the reader from skipping to the end of your sales letter. It’s much better to put something there that will draw him in and make him want to go back and read more. And that is where the P.S. comes in. Make it noticeable, and it’s almost guaranteed that it will get read.

How to Use the P.S. to Your Advantage

So now you know why the P.S. is so important. The next step is deciding what to put in it.

It definitely should NOT be an afterthought. In essence, that’s what the term “post script” means, but that’s not what it should be in a sales letter. It’s got to be something that will grab the reader’s attention and entice him to learn more.

One tactic that many marketers use is creating a sense of urgency. They mention that the asking price is only good for a limited time, or that the buyer will receive certain bonuses that may not be available later on. This encourages the reader to go back and see what else you have to say, or possibly even to go ahead and make the purchase.

Another strategy that is often used is reiterating key benefits of the product. You may have laid them out in the body of the letter already, but by mentioning them again in the P.S., you make sure that the skimmers see them.

A carefully crafted P.S. can keep your visitors on your site longer, and ultimately result in greater conversions. Try adding one (or tweaking the one you’ve got) and see if it boosts your sales!

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How to Get Effective Testimonials

Visit any sales page, and you’ll probably see at least one testimonial, and usually more. There’s a simple reason for this: they make sales.

Well, some of them do. Others? Not so much.

Some marketers are under the mistaken impression that any positive testimonial is a good one. No marketer is going to post a testimonial that says “This product sucks!” But a testimonial that simply says something to the effect of “This is the greatest thing since sliced bread” really isn’t much better.

In order for a testimonial to do its job, it needs to be more detailed than that. It needs to vouch for the benefits of the product, and tell specifically how it helped the customer. And perhaps most of all, it needs to be believable.

Anyone can say that a product is good. But it takes someone who has actually used the product to tell why it’s good, and what aspect of it benefited them the most, and how to best use it. Here are a couple of examples to consider:

“Joe’s Hot Sauce is very tasty!” – Sue

“Joe’s Hot Sauce is just spicy enough without being overwhelming. So far I’ve tried it on burgers, chicken and scrambled eggs, and adds a nice kick to them all. I can’t wait to try it in my baked beans!” – Jane

Which of those two testimonials would make you want to buy Joe’s Hot Sauce? Would you be inclined to think that maybe Sue just sent in a testimonial to get a link back to her site?

But I Don’t Write the Testimonials, I Just Collect Them

Maybe your customers have only been sending in very generic testimonials. After all, it’s not their job to promote your product. They just want to let you know that they enjoyed it. And depending on your target market, they might not know enough about how to properly promote a product even if they want to help you make more sales.

So if you want specific, convincing testimonials, you just might have to ask. The next time you get a testimonial that doesn’t provide enough information, write the customer back and ask for specifics such as:

• What specifically did you like about the product?
• How has it made a difference in your life?
• How and when do you use the product?
• What is your favorite feature?
• Do you have any proof of how the product helped you that you are willing to share (photos, check stubs, etc.)?
• If you don’t have them already, request the customer’s full name, location, photo and link to his or her website for greater credibility.

Most satisfied customers are happy to give more details about their experiences with your product. So just ask. The worst they can do is not respond, or tell you to stop being so nosy. And they might just send you a nice, detailed testimonial that will help you make more sales.

Editors Note: When collecting testimonials, do keep in mind the upcoming FTC guidelines on endorsements.

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The Art of Preselling

Do you hate “selling”? That’s a big problem when you’re actually in the business of selling something, whether it’s a product or service. Selling can feel sleazy, salesman-sy and dirty.

Here’s something that might make you feel better about selling your wares. Brian Clark of Copyblogger.com says that, in fact, “People love to buy stuff, but they don’t like to be sold to.”

The answer, then, is not to sell, but to presell.

What Is Preselling?

Preselling means getting your prospects in a buying mood. You’re not actually selling something, like a salesman does. Instead, you’re creating the desire to buy.

You get pre-sold all the time. For example:

• Your girlfriend calls you gushing about the new Italian restaurant that opened in town. You make a mental note to try it after your next movie.

• You’re looking for a breadmaker but don’t know which model to buy, so you read a blog which reviews and compares different models.

• Your brother tells you how he completely cleared his sinus infection by using a neti pot. Since you suffer from allergic rhinitis, too, you decide to go out and try a neti pot yourself.

In each of these examples, the people you interacted with did not try to sell anything to you. They were simply giving you information that you might find helpful. In fact, except for the blogger, none of them had anything to gain  from your purchase of the product or service in question.

This is what preselling is all about.

Preselling Principles

How do you presell effectively through content?

1. Start by providing useful content, which by itself, is valuable, useful and appreciated. At the same time, the content should point to the benefits of your product or service.

For example, if you sell organic yogurt, your content could be about the benefits of yogurt, particularly organic yogurt. If you’re selling an ebook of natural remedies for insomnia, your content could be about the harmful effects of sleeping drugs.

2. Your content should have a subtle “sell.” It should point to your product/service as a solution for your readers.

Relate the product or service to the topic. Say whom the product/service is perfect for. Finally, let your readers know how they can get the product or service.

3. Make sure there’s a product-to-market fit. No matter how skillful you are at preselling, you won’t succeed you’re preselling to the wrong market. So make sure to offer your content to those who will appreciate it.

Preselling is an important skills for affiliates. They can warm up their readers so that, when they reach the sales page, all they’re looking for is the order button.

If you’re the product/service seller yourself, then you need to presell as well. You don’t want all your content to be hard-selling all the time, after all.

Master the art of preselling and you’ll see an increase in your conversions. Your readers will be glad to have found the solution to their problems, and you’ll be happy with your profits.

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Freebie Tools for Better Response
from Your Writing

Here’s some handy free printables, courtesy of my IM Copy Makeover program…registration deadline is this Friday, so don’t miss it!

• Headline Tips: 11 tips and 11 headline starters.
• Sales Page Checklist: Know exactly what to include in your sales page…it’s a 17-point checklist.
• 115 Power Words: A handy, printable list to add more oomph to your writing.

Print ‘em and keep them as handy desktop references.

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How to Write a Good Review (That Inspires Action!)

Reviews make great content for just about any website or blog. They bring lots of search engine traffic, because so many Internet users look for reviews of things they’re thinking about buying. And if you’re in affiliate marketing, taking advantage of this tendency can seriously boost your conversions as well.

As you might imagine, not all reviews are created equal. You’ve probably run across a few that just weren’t very useful at all. More often, the review is helpful, but it doesn’t achieve the purpose that the writer set out to achieve. Specifically, it doesn’t result in sales.

Sound familiar? Perhaps you’ve written what you thought was a stellar review, only to be disappointed with its performance. Here are some tips to keep in mind for your next one.

1. Choose the right product. If you’re reviewing a product that doesn’t appeal to your audience, you can’t expect them to buy. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But some marketers review a little bit of everything in hopes of appealing to a wide variety of interests. While you might get some sales with a good review that doesn’t fit with your target market through search engine traffic, you’re better off sticking with things that your regular readers would like. That way you’ll maintain their loyalty and increase your chances of making repeat sales.
2. Review only products that you have tried out. Having your readers’ trust is crucial to making sales, and if you post reviews of products that you’ve only read about, they’ll pick up on that. You might even want to take it a step further and prove that you’ve used the product by posting photos or a video with your review.
3. Be completely honest. No product is perfect, and your readers know this. Admitting that the product you’re promoting has faults won’t scare them away. If the product meets their needs, they will buy it anyway, and you’ll get brownie points for telling the good and the bad.
4. Don’t overdo the SEO. Reviews can really pull in the search engine traffic, but that doesn’t mean that you should cram keywords anywhere and everywhere in them. Including the product name followed by the word “review” in the post title should go a long way toward bringing in interested prospects. You could include the same phrase in the text a couple of times for good measure, but don’t go sticking it into every sentence. If you do, those interested prospects will run in the opposite direction (if the search engines don’t penalize you and keep them away in the first place).
5. Include a call to action. If you were writing a sales letter, a call to action would be one of the most important aspects of it. The same is true for reviews if you’re looking to make sales with them. Don’t think of it as being pushy. Think of it as giving interested prospects a nudge in the right direction.

A good review should help the reader decide whether or not the product is right for him. And if it is, it should motivate him to make the purchase. By following these guidelines, you can create reviews that keep your readers happy and put money in your pocket at the same time.

EDITORS NOTE: And be sure to look into the recent FTC announcement about changes to guidelines when it comes to disclosing any compensation you receive or may receive for your review. To keep your reviews effective, transparency and honesty will be important. Readers who trust your opinion will still value it…so earn that trust.

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