Here’s the harsh truth – you can’t sell anything without advertising. So if you thought you could, then here is the harsh reality of selling. And this is just as true for offline selling as it is for online selling.

Regardless of what you are selling, in order to make those sales you have to create some form of advertisement to put in front of your target audience in order to produce those sales. This can be in the form of a classified ad, text ads in newsletters, a sales copy for the product, etc. And those advertisements determine the success or failure of your sales.

Before you even consider writing any type of ads you have to define your purpose. Ok, I know you of course want to make sales, but…

One of the best formulas to use when creating your ads goes like this…

Step 1 – Attract the “attention” of your audience.

Without the attention of your audience you have absolutely nothing. So you have to be creative when attracting the attention of your audience. This may include using keywords that stand out in your headlines, startling facts, attractive figures, etc.

Step 2 – “Interest” your audience in the product.

You can do this by introducing the features of your product and sharing the benefits. If your audience cannot get a clear idea of why they would need your product, then they are not going to be interested in buying it.

Step 3 – Cause your audience to “desire” the product.

You want your audience to desire your product to the point where they can’t resist spending their money on it. This can be accomplished in many ways, but some things that will definitely help is including some valuable bonuses, offering the product at a discounted price, stress how your audience won’t find your product elsewhere, etc.

Step 4 – Demand “action” from your audience.

You have to demand action or no one will take action. Demanding action from your audience doesn’t mean typing in capital letters. That’s just plain annoying. But you should do is use action words and phrases that will make your audience want to buy right away.

Using these four steps as a guide to creating your advertisements will definitely point you in the right direction as far as getting those sales. And if you want to step your copywriting game up then you need to know these fundamentals.

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1. Should Your Sales Copy Include a Guarantee?

Sometimes when you are trying to learn the ropes with copywriting it helps to have a visual of what you are trying to accomplish rather than reading something that tells you how to do it. So the best way to do this is to do a little research with Google.

Check out some products such as ebooks, reports, graphics, etc. that have a sales copy and take a look at some of the methods that are used in the writing. Also pay attention to how headlines are constructed, what power words are used, how the features or benefits are presented, etc.

One thing that I like to do is kind of put myself in the shoes of a potential customer, think of questions that a customer would have, and even pinpoint what information is more convincing than others. By doing this you will have a better idea of what customers are looking for and how to appeal to them.

Generally, you can tell when copywriters put more time into their writing than when they just throw up something they created in 10 minutes. And by being able to spot this you can often find mistakes that are made and ones that you want to avoid.

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3. Copywriting – Why Should I Consider It?

If you are reading this post right now that means that you have some type of interest in copywriting whether you are ready to get started right now, or you are reading out of pure curiosity. Regardless of your reason, you are interested. So I am going to start off by simply shinning some light on what your main goals should be as a copywriter.

Copywriting is a niche that continues to grow each and every year. And it has become a popular method for making money from home. Copywriting is a profession that requires a love for writing as well as words, because in this profession you words have true power.

There should be 3 main goals that you are aiming to achieve:

1. Interact and stay involved with your customers.
2. Show your customers the irrefutable benefits of the product you are selling.
3. Achieving your goal of selling the product.

Now achieving these 3 goals will take work, but if you keep yourself focused on achieving each goal one by one then you will be fine. Sometimes it helps if you create a checklist to keep yourself on track or you can simply write yourself little notes as reminders.

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1. Copywriting – Why Should I Consider It?
2. Copywriting – 8 Critical Mistakes You Make
3. Copywriting – 15 Sizzling Power Words that Demand Attention

A Copywriter is someone that uses their creative writing to persuade a customer’s buying decision. They know the right things to say, how to say it, and how to turn it into cold hard cash. If you have ever come across the sales page of a product online then you have seen the work of a Copywriter and if made you think about buying the product then it was a good copywriter that did so.

Now one thing that I need to be clear on is a copywriter shouldn’t be deceptive (although I am sure that there are some out there) but instead be so good at their craft that they could point out the benefits of any product even if it is crappy.

There are tons of writers online and offline, but copywriting is in a niche of its own. And with the number of Internet Marketers, Affiliate Marketers, and Infopreneurs steadily increasing, Copywriters are in demand.

The thing is there will always be a need for copywriters, because there will always be people selling things online or offline. And let’s face it some people just don’t have the words to convert prospects into paying customers. As a matter of fact, I have seen a few of those today lol. But if you are a writer and you are interested in doing some that pays good money you should consider copywriting.

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1. Copywriting – 8 Critical Mistakes You Make
2. Copywriting – 15 Sizzling Power Words that Demand Attention

Absolutely. Most people have this question cross their mind because they think in terms of having to give money back and they never actually look at it from the customer’s point of view. So check this out…

Let’s say you go to Walmart to buy a new microwave. You find the perfect steel microwave with a digital display, great power, a brand that you love, etc. And then you get to the register and the cashier says that you cannot return that microwave if it doesn’t work. Are you going to feel good about making that purchase?

HECK NO!

At least, I wouldn’t because the security in the buying decision and the security is being striped from the customer. And by doing that customers become skeptical all over again. So you can pretty much say that customer up to the point of the sale was a waste of time, right?

Well it is the same situation when you sale products online. And with selling things online people are already going to be skeptical because they are not able to actually see the product before hand. So you definitely don’t want to add to that skepticism.

You have to understand that most of just want that security behind them in case something is unsatisfactory, but they don’t actually want to use it. And if you are selling a quality product, then that will also decrease the chances of you having to give a refund.

Now on the other hand, there will be a few people that will try to take advantage of your guarantee. Now it doesn’t happen all the time, but it does happen every once in a while so you have to be prepared for that as well. And for the most part, there is not much you can do to the avoid this, but it won’t be a constant issue that you will have to deal with.

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Here are 8 critical mistakes that you may be experiencing with your copywriting…

1. Failing to learn as much as possible about your audience. It is extremely important that you learn everything that you possibly can about your readers, because if you don’t it will be like you shooting in the dark. And trust me, the results won’t be good. Learning your audience will tell you what they are interested in, give you clues on how to reach them, give you a great resource for learning how to keep their attention, and so much more. Don’t be lazy and don’t do your research, you will pay in the end if you do.

2. The use of crappy headlines. Now I hate to say it like this, but there are a lot of people out there that have use crappy headlines in their content and then wondered why they couldn’t keep their reader’s attention. Your headlines is like bait. You are trying to bait your readers to the hook (which is your information). You want your headlines to be attention grabbing and you want them to develop a curiosity in your readers in a minimal amount of words.

3. Using boring fonts. Let’s face it the same old boring font is going to put your reader’s to sleep. Have you ever wondered why curling up in the bed with a good book always seemed to put you to sleep? It’s not that the content was bad, your eyes were getting tired of seeing the same font page after page. It works for content that you write as well. Don’t hesitate to liven things up and use some bold fonts, play around with colors a little bit, or even change up your font types. That will keep your readers awake.

4. Not tapping into the reader’s emotions. Regardless, of what you are writing about you have to definitely learn how to tap into your reader’s emotions. One of the ways that I like to tap into reader’s emotions is by making the content personal through storytelling and the sharing of personal experiences. And if you can get the readers on the same page with your viewpoint, then you have it made.

5. Not leaning how to relate to readers. If you cannot relate to your readers, or you cannot write in a way that they can relate to you then you have no business writing. People don’t want to feel like they are reading something from a robot, they want to feel like they are reading something from a real human being that knows what they are talking about. To accomplish this, you sometimes have to walk in your reader’s shoe to see where they are coming from so that you can provide them with information that is going to be appealing to them.

6.Using technical terms that not everybody can understand. You definitely have to consider who your audience is when writing anything. Showing off your knowledge of technical terms is not going to do you no good if nobody can understand what the heck you are talking about. So that’s why you have to make sure that you keep things simple to where everybody can understand what you are talking about, but don’t do it to the point where you make your readers feel dumb.

7. Not setting yourself apart from your competition. You have to understand that this is a competitive world out here, even on the Internet. And if you cannot set yourself apart from the competition, then you have no upper hand to work with and you will get lost in the crowd. Be creative in setting yourself apart and show your readers what gives you the upper hand.

8. Creating a sales copy that looks like a huge ad. Doing this is going to scare more people away than anything. Here’s the bottom line people don’t like to feel like they are being sold, regardless if they are interested or not. You have to work your way up to a sale. So be friendly, answer questions that you now your readers will have, relate with readers through story telling, show examples and proof, use creative methods of persuasion, etc. By the time they get to the end of your sales copy they will be ready to buy.

Don’t set yourself up for failure. Make sure that you develop your copywriting skills and techniques in order to produce your best work.

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1. Copywriting – 15 Sizzling Power Words that Demand Attention

The things about words is that they have an power that a lot of people have yet to learn how to use. Words can evoke emotion in a person, persuade a person’s opinion or decision making,, and can even result in a sale. If that’s not power then I don’t know what is!

Here are some power words that you should use in your sales copy:

1. Secret(s) – who doesn’t like secrets? This word makes your customers feel like they are about to learn something that no one else knows, which plays on their curiosity.

2. Discover - gives your readers the feeling that they are about to get information that other people haven’t had a chance to get yet.

3. Guarantee - gives your customer the security in knowing that they have protection if a product turns out to be not as expected.

4. Profits/Money/Cash – are words that translate into the thought of money that your customer can put into their pocket.

5. Instantly/Quick/Fast- people don’t like to wait to get the information or product that they are seeking and these words will attract customers fast.

6. Easy – people don’t like things that take a lot of work on their part, so if you can provide an easy way for them to do something, then they are on it!

7. Free - do I really have to explain this one???

8. New – people are always interested in learning something new because they want to keep up with the trends.

9. Risk Free – people are scared of risks and reminding them that they are doing something risk free gives them sense of security.

10. Exposed – is a word that gives people the impression that they are about learn something that they are not supposed to know, which is always attractive to people.

11. Step-by-Step – this is appealing to customers because this means that the customer is going to receive thorough directions on how to do whatever it is that they are looking to do, and not being left hanging.

12. Unconditional – is a word that is usually partnered up with guarantee, and this relays that the customer is going to receive the guarantee without condition loopholes.

13. Critical – this word gives customers a sense of importance, urgency and demands action.

14. Professional - this word conveys the quality of a product or information, and quality is very important to customers.

15. Proven – this word tells a customer that the information or product they are getting has been tested and actually works.

This is a list of some power words that have worked for me, although there are tons out there.

If you would like to learn more about power words check out “50 Trigger Words and Phrases for Powerful Multimedia Content” by Brian Clark at www.copyblogger.com He is also on Twitter (@copyblogger) and he’s a great follow.

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