It’s arguably the most important word in the copywriter’s arsenal. It ranks right at the top with words like “free,” “new” and “savings.”

I’m talking about “you.”

“You” is the word that gets your prospect’s attention and keeps them involved. As Herschell Gordon Lewis says in The Art of Writing Copy, “Unless the reader regards himself as the target of your message, benefit can’t exist. Benefit demands a ‘We/You’ relationship.”

While the “We” in the “We/You” relationship is important, it’s better implied than communicated literally. If your goal is to put prospects first, then it’s best to have the “you’s” far exceed the “we’s.”

It’s the “you’s” that matter to prospects. They’re your workhorse for communicating your message and include all derivatives such as “your,” “yours,” “yourself,” “you’re,” and “you’ll.”

Powerful ‘You’

What makes “you” so powerful? For one thing, it addresses your readers directly. In effect, it says “Hey you,” which is much harder to ignore than “Hey somebody.”

Say “Hey you” in a crowded room and a lot of heads will turn. Say “Hey somebody” and a few heads might turn.

While your copy won’t actually say “Hey you,” it can clearly identify to whom you’re talking. Once you have your audience’s attention, use “you” to help keep it.

Personal ‘You’

Why does “you” get and hold attention? For one thing, it’s personal. It’s used in personal conversation every day. What do you think? How was your weekend? You’ll be glad to know …

When people say these things to you, they’re bound to get your attention and involvement. After all, they’re interested in your opinion. They’re interested in the things you do. They have something to tell you that will make you happy.

That’s the goal of you-oriented copy. Address your audience directly, personally and in terms of their interests. Be conversational and “you” will pop up in the copy naturally.

Counting ‘You’

It was mentioned earlier that “you” is a workhorse. A classic example is contained in “The Do-It-Yourself Direct Mail Handbook” by Murray Raphel and Ken Erdman. They highlight a “Newsweek” magazine subscription letter used for nearly two decades.

The subscription letter was written by direct mail expert Ed McLean, who used “you” nearly 30 times on the first page alone. More than 100 million copies of the letter were mailed, a testament to its effectiveness.

Try counting the “you’s” (and “you” derivatives) in your copy. Compare them with the number of “we’s” and first-person derivatives. If the “you’s” don’t outnumber the “we’s,” consider reworking your copy.

Excessive ‘You’?

Can you overdo “you”? Yes.

If you load your copy with “you’s” but forget the benefits, your message will have a phony ring.

“You” can’t save you if there’s nothing meaningful to offer your audience. Likewise, it will help put you over the top if there is.

(c) 2005 Neil Sagebiel

If the best way of communicating with prospects and existing customers was through sign language, we’d all have to learn to sign. Or if the best method of communication proved to be some kind of mutually understandable code, we’d all have to learn that code in order to say anything. Thankfully, our communication process is much more simple…or is it?

A sales person has the benefit of meeting his prospect face to face, and will be able gauge his pitch according to visible response signs displayed by his prospect. An experienced salesman will instinctively know from the facial expressions and body language of his prospect, whether he’s hitting the right buttons. This is usually indicated by the prospect’s head nodding up and down combined simultaneously with a beaming smile and wide-eyed appreciation.

A telesales person has much less to go on. They can only judge response to their sales pitch through the prospect’s answers to questions and the actual tone of their voice. Most telesales people find their job easier when they try to imagine the look on their prospect’s faces while they’re talking to them. But, the deciding factor will almost always come down to the tone of voice deployed by both parties.

The Internet and Direct Mail Marketer have no such advantages over their prospects. They can’t see them and they can’t hear them. Their only weapon in their armory of sales pitches is their written word.

How we communicate through our written words holds the absolute key to successful selling online and offline. Whether it’s a sales letter, an email or ad, the written words must convincingly convey the sales message directly into the prospect’s mind. But first, you have to get your prospects to actually read your message, and usually this very first hurdle will claim many, many casualties.

Getting someone to read your sales pitch will almost certainly depend on your headline. Your headline is your introduction. Your ‘hello’, your ‘hey you’ and your ‘listen up’. If your headline doesn’t grab the attention of your prospect within two seconds, it’s goodbye and farewell.

Other important aspects of a ‘killer’ sales message are sub-headings. Sub-headings are generally used to maintain interest throughout the copy. But they’re also included for the benefit of prospects that first scan your message before deciding to read it in full. To some degree, they’re almost as important as the headline itself.

Then there’s the body copy. It’s here that your copywriting talents and skills should really shine through. Here you have the opportunity to use any words in the English language to describe and explain in fine detail, the benefits and features of your product or service on offer. And the English language is positively rich in adjectives, so there can be no excuse.

But the real secret to creating captivating copy is to use ‘sense’ words. That is, words that arouse the senses. Touch, see, smell, taste and listen is what we instinctively do every day. They represent our human survival mechanisms and for the most part, we trust them. Other mammals rely on them totally.

When you use sense words in conjunction with emotionally fuelled trigger words, you can elicit all kinds of responses, which can be carefully channeled into the heart of your message for maximum impact. Harnessing words for profit in this way is a skill, and it’s a skill that every online and offline marketer needs to fully comprehend.

Learning to write outstanding and emotionally charged sales copy is not an essential requirement for business success, but recognizing the effectiveness is.

Never underestimate the secret power of words.

If the best way of communicating with prospects and existing customers was through sign language, we’d all have to learn to sign. Or if the best method of communication proved to be some kind of mutually understandable code, we’d all have to learn that code in order to say anything. Thankfully, our communication process is much more simple…or is it?

A sales person has the benefit of meeting his prospect face to face, and will be able gauge his pitch according to visible response signs displayed by his prospect. An experienced salesman will instinctively know from the facial expressions and body language of his prospect, whether he’s hitting the right buttons. This is usually indicated by the prospect’s head nodding up and down combined simultaneously with a beaming smile and wide-eyed appreciation.

A telesales person has much less to go on. They can only judge response to their sales pitch through the prospect’s answers to questions and the actual tone of their voice. Most telesales people find their job easier when they try to imagine the look on their prospect’s faces while they’re talking to them. But, the deciding factor will almost always come down to the tone of voice deployed by both parties.

The Internet and Direct Mail Marketer have no such advantages over their prospects. They can’t see them and they can’t hear them. Their only weapon in their armory of sales pitches is their written word.

How we communicate through our written words holds the absolute key to successful selling online and offline. Whether it’s a sales letter, an email or ad, the written words must convincingly convey the sales message directly into the prospect’s mind. But first, you have to get your prospects to actually read your message, and usually this very first hurdle will claim many, many casualties.

Getting someone to read your sales pitch will almost certainly depend on your headline. Your headline is your introduction. Your ‘hello’, your ‘hey you’ and your ‘listen up’. If your headline doesn’t grab the attention of your prospect within two seconds, it’s goodbye and farewell.

Other important aspects of a ‘killer’ sales message are sub-headings. Sub-headings are generally used to maintain interest throughout the copy. But they’re also included for the benefit of prospects that first scan your message before deciding to read it in full. To some degree, they’re almost as important as the headline itself.

Then there’s the body copy. It’s here that your copywriting talents and skills should really shine through. Here you have the opportunity to use any words in the English language to describe and explain in fine detail, the benefits and features of your product or service on offer. And the English language is positively rich in adjectives, so there can be no excuse.

But the real secret to creating captivating copy is to use ‘sense’ words. That is, words that arouse the senses. Touch, see, smell, taste and listen is what we instinctively do every day. They represent our human survival mechanisms and for the most part, we trust them. Other mammals rely on them totally.

When you use sense words in conjunction with emotionally fuelled trigger words, you can elicit all kinds of responses, which can be carefully channeled into the heart of your message for maximum impact. Harnessing words for profit in this way is a skill, and it’s a skill that every online and offline marketer needs to fully comprehend.

Learning to write outstanding and emotionally charged sales copy is not an essential requirement for business success, but recognizing the effectiveness is.

Never underestimate the secret power of words.

HEADLINES are one of your biggest weapons for getting MORE PEOPLE TO NOTICE YOUR ADVERTISING, for whatever medium you choose to use. Now you are using headlines, aren’t you? And NOT your logo - that’s not a headline. Only one person cares about your logo, AND THAT’S YOU.

Whereas a headline is something every single one of your prospects will be glued to like a kid on a cartoon. Whatever you’re writing, you’ve GOTTA HAVE A HEADLINE. But here’s the deal, there a are good headlines and bad headlines, so I’m going to give you an absolute killer template headline that you should use THIS WEEK in your business.

Remember, a headline’s goal is to do one thing only - STOP YOUR PROSPECT IN THEIR TRACKS AND LOCK THEM ONTO YOUR AD, and some people say you only have 1.5 seconds to catch their attention, so you need to make it good!

Master copywriter David Ogilvy has said… “On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent 80 cents out of your dollar.” So if you’re using your own logo at the top of your ad, you could improve your response IMMEDIATELY, just by sticking ANY kind of headline up instead!

So would you like to know one of the great secrets for writing headlines that literally slap your prospect in the face and demand they open their wallet?Good, well here it is for you… MODEL HEADLINES THAT ALREADY WORK!!

Don’t try and reinvent the wheel, the best way to come up with fantastic headlines is to take what already works, and adapt it to your own business.Isn’t that simple?

Here’s an absolute knock-’em-dead blockbuster template for a headline:

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR HOMEOWNERS:

Don’t pay another phone bill until you read this…

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR WOMEN:

Don’t buy any makeup products until you read this…

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS:

Don’t run another ad until you read this…

Do you see how powerful this is? And I’ve shown you 3 different versions, so all you have to do is apply it to your own business and you could easily double or even triple your responses! How about these headlines:

Do You Make These Mistakes With Your Money?

Do You Make These Mistakes Playing Golf?

Do You Make These Mistakes In Bed?

Do You Make These Mistakes Baking Cakes?

I could go on, but I’m sure you get the idea. This particular headline works on your curiosity. It gets the reader to say to themself, “maybe I’d better read on and find out.” The main thing you really want your headline to do is to get your reader to be interested enough to see what else you’ve got to say. MAKE AN IMPACT! Remember the old saying ‘first impressions last’? Well that saying still applies today.

And now that we are bombarded with up to 5,000 advertising messages each day, it is more important than ever to stand out and BE NOTICED! If you have a headline that literally screams out, READ ME, then you’ll be more than half way to having an effective advertising campaign that starts making profits for your business! Remember the 80 cents out of each advertising dollar? Well now you know how to focus your efforts to have the maximum impact!

Obviously, if you’re paying to advertise your business, you want people to read your whole ad, so they know what you’re offering and can make an informed decision about whether to do business with you, don’t you? Here’s a few ideas you can use in your advertising to keep your reader interested:- conversational short sentences, subheadings, break up long text into short paragraphs, using bullets to speed the reader through your copy, problem-solving copy the reader identifies with, talking in “What’s in it for me?” terms, educational copy, and not revealing price til the end.

Firstly, you need to be aware of the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) concept. What that means is you need to constantly tell your customer what’s in your ad for them, because if they’re reading your ad it’s only to find out something that they want to know about. YOUR ADS NEED TO BE THE ONES THAT REWARD THEM (while your competitors’ BORE them). This also means you should understand the difference between benefits and features.

Let’s say you sell a colour TV with a 90″ screen - that’s the feature. But the benefit of this is that the screen is so big that it makes your lounge room feel like a cinema! That’s the benefit, ok? Let me now introduce you to two powerful words which will automatically suck out the benefit of any feature;

“WHICH MEANS”

In the example above, in order to put it into WIIFM terms, you could put it together like this - “This sensational TV has a whopping 90″ screen, which means you can virtually turn your lounge room into a cinema!”.

Another powerful tool you can use in your copy is bullets. Why? Because you can package up your most exciting and riveting benefits into short little bursts. In fact, the effect of bullet after bullet of really amazing benefits can actually cause nervous tension in your reader. They can get so excited that they literally can’t read any more and go straight to the ordering details. That’s how powerful they are!

Here are some examples of how intriguing bullets can be in your advertising (then you can just adapt them to your own business)

* Why the advertising you’re probably running right now is wasting you thousands of dollars, and what you need to do to turn that loss into cash

* How to get movie and TV stars to help you sell your product or service

* How to get hundreds of prospects to seek YOU out

* The one mistake 99% of businesses make which loses them tons of credibility… and thousands of dollars in sales

* The secret about human nature which expert salespeople use to make their fortune

* 11 simple ways to make your business the “king” of your industry

In fact, each bullet point you write in your advertising should be just like mini headlines that promise something of value to the reader. You might have 25 or 50 bullet points in a long sales letter, if each of them are like a mini headline, then you may only need one to stand out to your reader and make them say “Yes, I need to know more about this!”

And this is also where educational copy comes in. You can’t assume that people know as much about your business as you do. You work in it every day, and possibly been doing it for years, and often you can get frustrated because you don’t think your customers respect your value. But the reality is, THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND YOUR VALUE.

So you need to educate them about the value you offer. If you tell them something about your company, then your job is to explain why that’s important for them. Let’s say you sell an expensive mountain bike, for example. In order to get people to buy the bike you’ve got to justify why they should spend $2000 on your bike. You’ve got to tell them the reasons why, which is what educational copy is all about.

Like that the bike has better suspension to handle rough terrain, a comfy seat that you could ride the bike for hours without getting sore, and maybe it has 50 gears for easy riding, and a GPS so you never get lost. These are all just examples of course, but notice how it’s talking mainly in benefits to the reader, how it will help them!

Obviously, if you’re paying to advertise your business, you want people to read your whole ad, so they know what you’re offering and can make an informed decision about whether to do business with you, don’t you? Here’s a few ideas you can use in your advertising to keep your reader interested:- conversational short sentences, subheadings, break up long text into short paragraphs, using bullets to speed the reader through your copy, problem-solving copy the reader identifies with, talking in “What’s in it for me?” terms, educational copy, and not revealing price til the end.

Firstly, you need to be aware of the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) concept. What that means is you need to constantly tell your customer what’s in your ad for them, because if they’re reading your ad it’s only to find out something that they want to know about. YOUR ADS NEED TO BE THE ONES THAT REWARD THEM (while your competitors’ BORE them). This also means you should understand the difference between benefits and features.

Let’s say you sell a colour TV with a 90″ screen - that’s the feature. But the benefit of this is that the screen is so big that it makes your lounge room feel like a cinema! That’s the benefit, ok? Let me now introduce you to two powerful words which will automatically suck out the benefit of any feature;

“WHICH MEANS”

In the example above, in order to put it into WIIFM terms, you could put it together like this - “This sensational TV has a whopping 90″ screen, which means you can virtually turn your lounge room into a cinema!”.

Another powerful tool you can use in your copy is bullets. Why? Because you can package up your most exciting and riveting benefits into short little bursts. In fact, the effect of bullet after bullet of really amazing benefits can actually cause nervous tension in your reader. They can get so excited that they literally can’t read any more and go straight to the ordering details. That’s how powerful they are!

Here are some examples of how intriguing bullets can be in your advertising (then you can just adapt them to your own business)

* Why the advertising you’re probably running right now is wasting you thousands of dollars, and what you need to do to turn that loss into cash

* How to get movie and TV stars to help you sell your product or service

* How to get hundreds of prospects to seek YOU out

* The one mistake 99% of businesses make which loses them tons of credibility… and thousands of dollars in sales

* The secret about human nature which expert salespeople use to make their fortune

* 11 simple ways to make your business the “king” of your industry

In fact, each bullet point you write in your advertising should be just like mini headlines that promise something of value to the reader. You might have 25 or 50 bullet points in a long sales letter, if each of them are like a mini headline, then you may only need one to stand out to your reader and make them say “Yes, I need to know more about this!”

And this is also where educational copy comes in. You can’t assume that people know as much about your business as you do. You work in it every day, and possibly been doing it for years, and often you can get frustrated because you don’t think your customers respect your value. But the reality is, THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND YOUR VALUE.

So you need to educate them about the value you offer. If you tell them something about your company, then your job is to explain why that’s important for them. Let’s say you sell an expensive mountain bike, for example. In order to get people to buy the bike you’ve got to justify why they should spend $2000 on your bike. You’ve got to tell them the reasons why, which is what educational copy is all about.

Like that the bike has better suspension to handle rough terrain, a comfy seat that you could ride the bike for hours without getting sore, and maybe it has 50 gears for easy riding, and a GPS so you never get lost. These are all just examples of course, but notice how it’s talking mainly in benefits to the reader, how it will help them!

Seek and Ye Shall Find?

Sometimes finding a good writer can be harder than finding a soul mate because writing and copywriting are subjective arts and if you are not a writer, you can not see the difference between a good writer and an excellent writer. If you are looking for a writer on the Web by searching on terms such as writer and copywriter, there are few things you should look for once you find a writer’s website:

Excited, Delighted or Uninvited?

Excellent writing entertains and excites, quickly and concisely. When you read the writer’s website you should be drawn in. Does she ask the reader questions? Does he understand what you want? Does she seem friendly? Does he have relevant experience? Does she list what kinds of services she offers?

Location, Location, Location

Often businesses hiring a writer want to look for someone nearby so they search, writer, Los Angeles if they live in Los Angeles, if the writers don’t show an address or location where they work, you’ll never find then. You’ll be able to get a general idea of where the writer is by either the contact page or by references to work completed.

A Bad Writer Ain’t Hard to Find

If you notice grammar and spelling mistakes you are probably on the wrong page. Also if the style and design of a writer’s website looks bad, even if their writing looks good, you should be wary. Good writing is neat and pleasant looking.

Ample Parking and Samples

Excellent writing on the Web, gives the reader plenty of potential to stop, park, click and look for a while. If the writer doesn’t link to more writing and industry resources, she/he is less professional than the ones who do know that linking is best form of networking around. You ought to find several kinds of writing samples. If you don’t find the kind of samples you like, e-mail or call the writer and ask for exactly what you want.

RSVP

Response is also important to you and the writer. Although a few second e-mail response-time is possible, a day or overnight return time is reasonable. If you want a faster response, be sure to tell the writer that you are in hurry and on a deadline. When writers don’t respond in a timely manner, they miss out on your work.

Check References

Once you locate the name of the writer, do not hesitate searching for other references of the writer on the Web. Type the name in a search engine with an appropriate word such as writer. For example, when I searched my name Lynn Walford with the word writer, along with my website .freelancewriternow.com, a photo of me standing next my former editor Michael Goldstein at a Justice Magazine party appeared. I never saw the photo until I searched my own name! Of course writers and authors names should also appear on magazine articles and bylines in other media. I also found myself in an article on naming books by Robin Quinn at the PMA website.

Titular Savvy or Tense—What’s in a Name?

Look at the title of the writer’s website. Is it catchy? Memorable? Does it Make Sense? Of course when someone is born Anna Matto Poeeah, (pronounced just like onomatopoeia, the poetic word for when something also sounds like its name such as whispering or clang) you can’t hold it against her. However, when writers don’t take the time to name their websites appropriately they can’t write a title for you.

The Price is Write

Some writers charge by the hour, by the piece or by the word. Whomever you choose, she/he should be able to give an estimate on how much your project will cost. Vagueness usually means no experience.

Rewrite Right?

Most excellent writers and copywriters will give a free rewrite if you don’t like what they do. Always ask if they will rewrite it for you if you don’t like it.

Test, Quiz

If you are planning a major project such as a white paper, which can be expensive, look for a writer in advance and ask him/her to write a small project for you first, then you can see if you can work with him/her and also test knowledge.

Well, Well, Well.

Writing well is a precise art with a sense of urgency and a taste of the divine. You should be able to tell good writing when you find it. It comes to life, sings and shines. When you read something like ” Avoid cliches like the plague,” found on 26 Golden Rules for Writing Well you are definitely in the wrong place.

HEADLINES are one of your biggest weapons for getting MORE PEOPLE TO NOTICE YOUR ADVERTISING, for whatever medium you choose to use. Now you are using headlines, aren’t you? And NOT your logo - that’s not a headline. Only one person cares about your logo, AND THAT’S YOU.

Whereas a headline is something every single one of your prospects will be glued to like a kid on a cartoon. Whatever you’re writing, you’ve GOTTA HAVE A HEADLINE. But here’s the deal, there a are good headlines and bad headlines, so I’m going to give you an absolute killer template headline that you should use THIS WEEK in your business.

Remember, a headline’s goal is to do one thing only - STOP YOUR PROSPECT IN THEIR TRACKS AND LOCK THEM ONTO YOUR AD, and some people say you only have 1.5 seconds to catch their attention, so you need to make it good!

Master copywriter David Ogilvy has said… “On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent 80 cents out of your dollar.” So if you’re using your own logo at the top of your ad, you could improve your response IMMEDIATELY, just by sticking ANY kind of headline up instead!

So would you like to know one of the great secrets for writing headlines that literally slap your prospect in the face and demand they open their wallet?Good, well here it is for you… MODEL HEADLINES THAT ALREADY WORK!!

Don’t try and reinvent the wheel, the best way to come up with fantastic headlines is to take what already works, and adapt it to your own business.Isn’t that simple?

Here’s an absolute knock-’em-dead blockbuster template for a headline:

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR HOMEOWNERS:

Don’t pay another phone bill until you read this…

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR WOMEN:

Don’t buy any makeup products until you read this…

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS:

Don’t run another ad until you read this…

Do you see how powerful this is? And I’ve shown you 3 different versions, so all you have to do is apply it to your own business and you could easily double or even triple your responses! How about these headlines:

Do You Make These Mistakes With Your Money?

Do You Make These Mistakes Playing Golf?

Do You Make These Mistakes In Bed?

Do You Make These Mistakes Baking Cakes?

I could go on, but I’m sure you get the idea. This particular headline works on your curiosity. It gets the reader to say to themself, “maybe I’d better read on and find out.” The main thing you really want your headline to do is to get your reader to be interested enough to see what else you’ve got to say. MAKE AN IMPACT! Remember the old saying ‘first impressions last’? Well that saying still applies today.

And now that we are bombarded with up to 5,000 advertising messages each day, it is more important than ever to stand out and BE NOTICED! If you have a headline that literally screams out, READ ME, then you’ll be more than half way to having an effective advertising campaign that starts making profits for your business! Remember the 80 cents out of each advertising dollar? Well now you know how to focus your efforts to have the maximum impact!

Seek and Ye Shall Find?

Sometimes finding a good writer can be harder than finding a soul mate because writing and copywriting are subjective arts and if you are not a writer, you can not see the difference between a good writer and an excellent writer. If you are looking for a writer on the Web by searching on terms such as writer and copywriter, there are few things you should look for once you find a writer’s website:

Excited, Delighted or Uninvited?

Excellent writing entertains and excites, quickly and concisely. When you read the writer’s website you should be drawn in. Does she ask the reader questions? Does he understand what you want? Does she seem friendly? Does he have relevant experience? Does she list what kinds of services she offers?

Location, Location, Location

Often businesses hiring a writer want to look for someone nearby so they search, writer, Los Angeles if they live in Los Angeles, if the writers don’t show an address or location where they work, you’ll never find then. You’ll be able to get a general idea of where the writer is by either the contact page or by references to work completed.

A Bad Writer Ain’t Hard to Find

If you notice grammar and spelling mistakes you are probably on the wrong page. Also if the style and design of a writer’s website looks bad, even if their writing looks good, you should be wary. Good writing is neat and pleasant looking.

Ample Parking and Samples

Excellent writing on the Web, gives the reader plenty of potential to stop, park, click and look for a while. If the writer doesn’t link to more writing and industry resources, she/he is less professional than the ones who do know that linking is best form of networking around. You ought to find several kinds of writing samples. If you don’t find the kind of samples you like, e-mail or call the writer and ask for exactly what you want.

RSVP

Response is also important to you and the writer. Although a few second e-mail response-time is possible, a day or overnight return time is reasonable. If you want a faster response, be sure to tell the writer that you are in hurry and on a deadline. When writers don’t respond in a timely manner, they miss out on your work.

Check References

Once you locate the name of the writer, do not hesitate searching for other references of the writer on the Web. Type the name in a search engine with an appropriate word such as writer. For example, when I searched my name Lynn Walford with the word writer, along with my website .freelancewriternow.com, a photo of me standing next my former editor Michael Goldstein at a Justice Magazine party appeared. I never saw the photo until I searched my own name! Of course writers and authors names should also appear on magazine articles and bylines in other media. I also found myself in an article on naming books by Robin Quinn at the PMA website.

Titular Savvy or Tense—What’s in a Name?

Look at the title of the writer’s website. Is it catchy? Memorable? Does it Make Sense? Of course when someone is born Anna Matto Poeeah, (pronounced just like onomatopoeia, the poetic word for when something also sounds like its name such as whispering or clang) you can’t hold it against her. However, when writers don’t take the time to name their websites appropriately they can’t write a title for you.

The Price is Write

Some writers charge by the hour, by the piece or by the word. Whomever you choose, she/he should be able to give an estimate on how much your project will cost. Vagueness usually means no experience.

Rewrite Right?

Most excellent writers and copywriters will give a free rewrite if you don’t like what they do. Always ask if they will rewrite it for you if you don’t like it.

Test, Quiz

If you are planning a major project such as a white paper, which can be expensive, look for a writer in advance and ask him/her to write a small project for you first, then you can see if you can work with him/her and also test knowledge.

Well, Well, Well.

Writing well is a precise art with a sense of urgency and a taste of the divine. You should be able to tell good writing when you find it. It comes to life, sings and shines. When you read something like ” Avoid cliches like the plague,” found on 26 Golden Rules for Writing Well you are definitely in the wrong place.

Copy makeovers can work magic.

Perhaps all you need is a little medicine… and not major surgery. Take whatever sales copy you have now and modify it. Recast, rework and repackage what you’ve got.

Chances are you’re sitting on some solid (yet hidden) sales material. Often simple copy makeovers can work wonders in terms of response. So, before you crumple it up and toss your sales letter in the trash, try tweaking it first. You might be surprised at the result.

Here are 3 simple steps to complete copy makeovers…

Copy Makeovers — Strategy #1: Create A More Compelling Headline.

This is critical. The headline is the first thing your audience sees. It either “grabs” prospects by the jugular… or it doesn’t. If the headline fails, nothing else matters much because it won’t even get a fair reading.

Make your headline and/or sub-heading alluring. Talk to your prospect about what is most important to her. Think in terms of the BIG BENEFIT your product offers and deliver it in a captivating and compelling way.

Craft a handful of words that attract attention, identify specific target markets, and deliver enough interest and intrigue to pull true prospects inside. If you’re struggling with your headline, just think about the greatest advantage your product offers and promise it right up front.

Copy Makeovers — Strategy #2: Take The “YOU” Point Of View.

You’re weight-loss story might be admirable, but what does it mean to your reader or prospect? Talk about yourself and the audience turns off. Talk to your reader one-on-one about something important in her life… and you’ve got her undivided attention &ndash at least momentarily.

If you could re-shape your story… if you could express it in a way that was more meaningful to your individual readers, you’d quickly capture their interest.

There’s a difference between telling your audience that you lost X number of pounds… and telling them how they can lose X pounds, enjoy the process, and feel terrific about their slim, new look.

Remember the old marketing phrase “What’s In It For Me?” Everything your prospect reads gets filtered through this frame of reference. With each statement you make, your audience is thinking… “So What? What does this have to do with me in my situation? How does this help me?”

If the answer isn’t obvious immediately, off they go and you lose the sale. Many times the decision to stay or go is made in the blink of an eye &ndash and often unconsciously.

Copy Makeovers — Strategy #3: Turn Your Bullet Points Into Irresistible, Benefit-Packed Mini-Headlines.

Make each bullet a “grabber” in its own right. Prospects tend to scan certain segments of an ad or sales letter, to determine if it offers something they really want.

While many marketers use bullets in their sales letters, most settle for weak bullet point copy — copy that lacks enthusiasm and passion.

If you’re going to employ this powerful sales tool, you might as well make the most of it. Craft your bullet points with the same emotion and magnetic appeal, as you’d inject into a major headline. After a while, this gets easier to do.

Bullet points are one of those sales letter components that have the power to quickly stimulate intense reader interest. Use them for all they’re worth by making each point justify itself. Each and every bullet point should be capable of compelling the reader to read on — with heightened desire and interest.

Before you do anything else, try implementing these simple copy makeover strategies. You just might notice an immediate improvement in your conversion rate.

More Resources at .makeyoursalessoar.com