A 24-7 salesman that makes you money and charges no commissions: | Copywriting

By ScottNelson
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Word Count: 693

A business owner who lives by conventional wisdom in the area of advertising and marketing, stands a high likelihood of getting lousy results. Conventional wisdom says to advertise and market by using big ticket media like radio and tv and to keep your written advertisements short and clever. In other words, entertain and they'll remember you. So why is this all wrong? Because it doesn't have work in most cases. Dan Kennedy, an internationally sought after business consultant calls good sales copy writing; "writing your own check". Yet most entrepreneurs are clueless about sales letters and definitely have no clue about what makes a good one.

By definition a sales letter is something in print that is meant to influence someone to buy your product. Without getting caught up in formality, a sales letter just has to work to earn the title of good sales letter. Most businesses never get around to even writing a bad one.

Fail to use the awesome power of well done advertising copy at your own risk. Don't be concerned about formality or following the herd of how it "should" be done. Just adopt the mindset that even bad copy is ok because it can be made great, often with minor changes.

First: Hit the library and go to the magazine area. You want magazines from the categories of sports, fitness, health, fashion and entertainment. From each category, pick a specific title and a more general title. For example, in beauty pick up Cosmopolitan and one of the magazines on hairstyles or something. Browse through them lightly and make note of the ads.

The sales letters are often full or half page. They sometimes can be half page. Many times they offer a free written or audio material when you get in touch with them. You'll notice that the sales letter focuses heavily on the service or product offered and not at all on the company name. It is an unfortunate false perception that the big corporations are masters of advertising. In reality, most have not clue about how to draft or use a good sales letter.

Trust me, you'll know really good sales copy right away. It is interesting to read and makes you interested in the product or service being sold. Put a book placeholder and go get two or three past issues. If you see the same or very similar ad in those back issues, the ad is very likely a successful ad.

The strategy of the big boys who throw their money around on the expensive ads is mass marketing to a mass market based on branding using singing polar bears and football playing frogs or whatever. It is highly likely that they have no idea of the ultimate effect of the millions spent. That's fine, they have that luxury in many cases. For the purposes of bringing your product or service to everyday people with choices, you need to bring them benefit and make it real clear up front what that benefit is.

So strategy #2 is have a way of conveying a benefit to your customer that is unique in your market. Right up front you want to answer the question: "Why should I be doing business with you v. my other choices for the same product or service?" Bluntly, what can you do for me , and it better be unique and more beneficial than the what the other guy can do for me.

It is widely documented that a simple USP can have a powerful impact on a business. When Tom Monaghan started Domino's Pizza, he basically took a fledgling mom and pop and turned it into an empire based on the USP: "Fresh Hot Pizza delivered in 30 minutes or Less, Guaranteed".

That simple USP frankly brought the big boys to their knees and had them playing catch up.

Strategy #1 was skipped intentionally? So what is it?

It's have a good headline for your sales letter. A whole different topic for a future discussion.

About the Author

When you learn the art-and-science of writing powerful direct-response copy for money letters, brochures, and ads, you can literally write any size check you wish. Visit this the Copywriting Clinic for 97 specific tricks-of-the-trade. Good copywriting = more money.

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