Write to Sell: Principles of Sales Copywriting

There’s really only one secret to success in business: Get better at sales. 

No matter how good your product or service is, if you don’t know how to sell it well, you risk leaving huge amounts of money on the table. 

And if there’s one skill that will grant you a license to legally print money, it’s this: SALES COPYWRITING. 

Whether you are persuading consumers to buy your product, book a discovery call with you, or subscribe to your newsletter, you need to write convincing and engaging copy. 

But how exactly do you come up with the words that will work wonders for your business? 

What separates good copy from bad copy? 

Can you just “copy” what your competitor is saying about their product? (See what we did there?) 

In the latest installment of Side Hustle Strategies, we will provide ANSWERS to all your SALES COPYWRITING-related questions and MORE!

What you can expect this week:

  • Principles of Sales Copywriting. Discover the basic principles of sales copywriting, and more importantly, how you can leverage them to give your business an edge over your competition!
  • Strategies for Effective Sales Copywriting. Find out what strategies successful businesses have employed in creating a persuasive copy. Plus, we give you tips on applying these techniques to develop your own effective sales copywriting strategy!
  • Tool of the Week. We bring you a tool that you can use to fine-tune your sales copywriting strategy for your product or service. It’s FREE, it’s PREDICTIVE, and it just might be a GAME-CHANGER for your brand!

Alright have you got your pencil sharpened? Let’s get writing.

There’s no doubt that the content of your sales copywriting matters. However, that’s not the only piece of the puzzle. You also need to make sure you present your writing well. Steer clear of overly complex language – your reader shouldn’t need a dictionary to decipher what you’re trying to say. Poor spelling and grammar are also a huge turnoff. 

Let’s take a look at some interesting statistics that influence whether your prospects give you a YAY or a NAY when they read your copywriting. 

Reading Level

The reading grade level of your emails has a dramatic impact on response rates. 

Believe it or not, emails written at a 3rd grade reading level perform the best. They got 36% higher response than emails written at a college reading level. 

Check out the graph to see how reading grade levels influence response rates. You can check your content’s reading grade level in the Word Count tool in most word processors or use an online tool like Grammarly.

Spelling and Grammar

This graph details the elements that are most likely to damage a brand on social media. 

Poor english and salesy updates are the two biggest complaints! 

This remains consistent across all age groups, except for 18-24 year olds. Younger age groups are far more concerned about how frequently a brand posts updates, and are much less worried about correct English.

Traffic Source

Now let’s take a look at how well your landing page is likely to convert based on the source of internet traffic. 

According to the data, landing pages that drive traffic from email (solely or in addition to other sources) convert on average at 13%. Almost 2% more than any other traffic source. That might not sound like much, but it can have a huge impact on your overall revenue.

Pros are sending shorter emails

PROS ARE SENDING SHORTER EMAILS

Nearly every business with an email marketing strategy wonders how to write the perfect email. You might find yourself questioning the length of your emails. (Short or long?)

With people receiving more emails than ever before, it makes sense that copywriters are sending shorter emails. If you want your emails to stand out and captivate your readers, shorter emails might be a good strategy for doing so.

Strategies 

Principles of Sales Copywriting

The greatest sales copywriters didn’t become great overnight. 

They actually had to go through endless hours of study and practice, some improvisation in between, and lots of mistakes that provided some needed insights. 

Yes, there is a method to the madness. The good news is that you can study the method without adopting the madness.

So read on below to learn the principles of good sales copywriting.

What is the Goal & Objective of your Writing?

Before drafting the first word of your sales copy, you need to ask yourself first: Why am I doing this? 

You need to be clear first about your goal and objective. If your goal is to improve your sales, then the objective of your sales copy is to convince consumers to make a  purchase.

If the aim is to expand your subscriber base, then the focus of your sales copywriting is to urge consumers to become a follower or sign up to your mailing list.

How This Relates to Your Branding

Knowing what you want to achieve is an important part of knowing your brand. This is crucial for side hustlers who are still trying to fine-tune their branding. 

A good place to start is by remembering that you’re essentially selling yourself. Then try to decode what makes you unique. Once you get this far, you will be on the right path to unlocking your brand’s USP (i.e., unique selling proposition, but more on this later, we promise!)

Who are you talking to? 

The next thing you need to ask yourself is; who am I talking to? 

Who am I trying to reach?

Sometimes things happen in reverse: You stumble upon a market segment by accident and end up developing your brand based on that segment’s specific needs.

But the bottom line is: You need to know the people you’re going to be communicating with. 

Of course, proper market research can help you better understand your target audience. Demographic stuff like age, sex, occupation, location, and interests are essential things to consider when profiling your ideal customer.

But for sales copywriting, you need to figure out two more things:

Language 

No, we’re not talking about love languages here. 

What we’re referring to is your audience’s language. Think about what language or dialect they use, how they speak to people with similar backgrounds, and what platforms they use for communication. You should also consider their cultural background, and their likes and dislikes.

Once you get a good grasp of these things, you’re now closer to pinpointing the exact verbiage to use when reaching out to customers.

Flex your empathy muscles 

Knowing your ideal customer’s language is not enough; you also have to empathize with their plight. 

In other words, feel their pain, man!

This involves being aware of their problems or the things that frustrate them.

Having this knowledge helps you become one of them, instead of being a corporate entity that will only patronize or exploit them. 

Meet your customer where they’re at 

Timing is everything, but it is often the most tricky part to figure out. So how do you gauge the perfect timing?

You’ll get a better idea if you know in which awareness stage your customer is (again, know your customer). 

Most marketing experts agree that there are 5 stages of awareness among buyers. These are:

  • 1st Stage: Unaware. They don’t know they have a need.
  • 2nd Stage: Problem Aware. They know they have a need.
  • 3rd Stage: Solution Aware. They know there is a solution for their need, but they don’t know you offer a product that solves their problem.
  • 4th Stage: Product Aware. They know about your product but haven’t decided yet whether to choose your product.
  • 5th Stage: Most Aware. They have chosen your product and even trust your brand.

If you know your customer’s awareness stage, you can make adjustments to your sales copy accordingly. 

Strategies for Effective Sales Copywriting

There’s much more to successful sales copywriting than just sitting and composing your perfect pitch copy. 

In fact, there are some things you need to take care of first, even before you do any drafting. Read on below.

Know Your Target Market

Yes, it bears repeating – market research needs to be competed properly. 

By knowing your target market inside out (not literally), your sales copywriting becomes more focused and deliberate.

While it’s true that a strike-anywhere approach can get you some hits, a carefully researched strategy has more accuracy and more mileage. And it is better for your sales conversion in the long run.

Read More Tips on Market Research Before Copywriting

Formulate a Plan

When you’re confident that you’ve adequately profiled your target customer, it’s time to formulate a plan. 

Work on your sales message by asking:

What is your product’s or service’s unique selling proposition? Why should consumers pick it over your competitors?

Is your message consistent with or contradicting your overall brand identity?

Is your offer worth it? 

Learn More About Formulating A Plan Before Copywriting:

Now it’s time to write 

When you’re in the process of drafting your sales copy, you can take full advantage of any (or a combination) of these strategies. 

Make sure, though, that the strategy you choose fits your brand, product, or service’s needs. Every business has different requirements, and you need to decide ultimately which strategy is best for you.

And don’t forget – it’s never about the quantity of words. It’s all about the quality.  

Tell a Story

Everyone loves a story. But surely you’d agree that the best stories are those that connect with you.

So when you’re writing the copy, don’t just sell every feature and advantage you can think of.

Instead, tell a story, share an anecdote, especially one that helps your target audience relate.

Expand Your Knowledge of Using Storytelling in Sales Copy:

Engage Emotionally, But Not At Reason’s Expense

One other purpose of storytelling is that it engages your audience’s emotions. 

And did you know that consumers are more likely to buy a product based on emotion rather than logic? 

That’s what marketing legend Gerald Zaltman claimed in his book “How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market” when he postulated that 95 percent of purchasing decisions happen because of emotional connections.

Image Source: Adaora Onyinye

Still, you don’t need to overly emotional during sales copywriting.

There should also be a healthy measure of logic. People aren’t fools. 

No matter how emotional the buying decision may be, there’s still some reason behind it. 

Discover More Tips on How To Engage With Your Audience Emotionally:

Be Credible

Yes, consumers buy due to emotional responses. But that doesn’t mean they’re not going to google your product or your brand.

Make an effort to be credible. Check your facts, and don’t lie. Be creative in your sales pitch, but don’t fabricate extra features. 

Because in this day and age, it’s so easy for buyers to bring the wrath of social media to your brand if you make things up. 

Check Out This Evergreen Resource on Making Your Copy Credible:

Social Proof is Powerful

Technically speaking, the term social proof refers to any evidence that other people have indeed bought and appreciated a product or service you’re offering.

Not sure what these could be? Think testimonials, referrals, and endorsements. 

Image Source: DevriX

Social proof can be provided or published by experts, movie stars, professional athletes, organizations, friends or family, and most commonly, regular buyers through consumer reviews. 

Pro Tip: Encourage customers to use your hashtag when posting social proof!

Not only does this give you a means for tracking feedback for your product or service, but it’s also a clever albeit subtle way of encouraging word of mouth. But make sure your hashtag is consistent.

Check Out Examples of Using Social Proof in Sales Copy:

Use CTAs with Urgency

Why are calls to action (CTAs) important in sales copywriting?

These “action phrases” are designed to generate a response or decision from your audience.  

Perfect examples include commonly used phrases like “Give us a call” or “Book a reservation.”

The most effective CTAs, however, are those that combine urge with urgency. Examples include “Order NOW!” or “Sign up TODAY!”

Of course, if you want to be extra effective, make sure your CTA is followed by quick instructions on how to order or subscribe.

Pro Tip: Use CTA buttons that stand out

One way to do this is to use a contrasting color for your CTA button. And it’s also a good idea to render your CTA button to look like a clickable button so your readers can’t miss it. Lastly, always test to ensure that the CTA button actually works. 

Check Out More Pro Tips When It Comes To CTA Buttons:

Leverage FOMO

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is real. Just ask anybody who hasn’t seen the latest Spidey film yet.

When it comes to sales copywriting though, FOMO can be really useful. As a matter of fact, FOMO marketing is something plenty of businesses are leveraging, especially on holidays and special occasions (here’s looking at you, Black Friday!)

Image Source: Business 2 Community

But you should be careful in using a FOMO-leveraging strategy, though. First and foremost, you can’t leverage FOMO if there’s not enough hype yet. Yup, people won’t fear missing out if they don’t know what there is to miss out on.

You may need to build some hype first (if none exists) and then ride that hype to fully maximize FOMO leverage in your sales copy.

Learn More Techniques When It Comes To Leveraging FOMO:

Make Your Customers Feel Special

No, you don’t need to go as far as baby-talking to your customers. But there are many benefits in letting them know that you care for them.

Number one: It’s a great way to start building customer loyalty. People are more likely to remain loyal to a brand if they feel that the brand is attuned to their needs.

Number two: It can create buzz for your product or service. There’s a decent chance that a pleased customer will talk about your brand on social media or through non-digital means (like, during family dinner).

For More Tips on Making Customers Feel Special, Check This Out:

Be Prepared for Objections

Unless you’re a Canadian actor playing a puppy-loving assassin, you just can’t please everybody no matter how hard you try.

Even if the copy you came up with is worthy of a Clio, you’re bound to get some less than enthusiastic responses from your target audience (that is, if they respond at all). 

So be prepared for negative feedback, but don’t lose your focus and carry on.

Pro Tip: Weaponize your FAQs 

Most negative feedback is borne of non-existent or lacking information. So ensure you have a ready link to your FAQs incorporated in your copy.

Get More Tips & Examples on How to Write Effective FAQs:

Format and Organize Your Copy

It’s getting harder and harder to get readers fully engaged. Either they’re just reading the top section before moving on or skimming through your content. 

That’s why it’s important now more than ever to format and organize your copy. 

Not sure how? Here are our best tips!

Create Proper Headlines

Since people are more likely to only read the headlines, give headlines special attention.

DO: Come up with headlines that are engaging, on-point, and curiosity building. 

DON’T: Write headlines that are too long or overloaded with jargon. 

Use Subheadings

Inserting subheadings organizes your body copy into neat parts. Additionally, subheadings allow you to place some strategic keywords to boost your page or ad’s visibility.

DO: Compliment your subheadings with bulleted or numbered sections to make your copywriting appear more organized (outlined look.) 

DON’T: Put super-long paragraphs under your subheadings. This is a surefire way to turn off your readers. 

Up Your USP Game

Make sure you know your product or service’s unique selling point (USP) and  express it clearly to get the message across more successfully.

DO: Focus on selling the benefits of your product and not the technicalities (specs, the technology used, etc.).

DON’T: Use too many HYPE words or exclamation marks! 

SEO That S**t

All that search engine optimization (SEO) stuff that you keep hearing about, like using high-converting keywords, conducting keyword research, or optimizing body copy – they do work. 

But again, proper application is key.

DO: Choose keywords that your customers actually use when searching via Google. 

DON’T: Forget about meta titles and meta descriptions.

Read More Sales Copy Formatting Tips:

Examples of Great Sales Copywriting

Let’s take a look at some examples of killer sales copywriting. Notice how these companies are incorporating many of the strategies we’ve already discussed.

Landing Pages

Check out how well-organized AWeber’s landing page is, and how effectively it makes use of headlines and subheadings, and CTA buttons:

Here’s an example of a well-organized landing page, but this time using bullets, courtesy of Landingfolio:

Moz’s landing page is direct to the point – the CTA button is immediately visible, while the main headline and subtitle already do a good job of summarizing the three selling points right under:

Image Source: InstaPage

You don’t always need a lot of copy to sell your brand. Take a look at Blogging Wizard’s landing page, which uses a lot of space in between its headers, minimal copy, and simple graphics:

Image Source: Moosend

Can you use storytelling techniques in your landing page? Indeed you can, as demonstrated by CopyHackers:

Image Source: ConvertKit

Other great examples of landing pages:

Facebook Ads

HelloFresh’s Facebook ad makes clever use of CTAs with urgency. The copy is clear, short, and direct, with excellent use of emoji as bullet graphics. The accompanying video adds more engagement for readers:

Meanwhile, Calm’s Facebook ads employ different strategies to great effect. The one below uses social proof:

While another one focuses on the brand’s unique selling proposition then supports it with facts for added credibility. As always, the company never forgets to close with an urgent CTA:

For another great example of using testimonials, check out Adult Acne Solutions’ Facebook ad campaign:

And this one too:

Emails

MeUndies’ email is a great example of an email campaign that knows exactly who its target market is (plus, clever use of social proof):

Image Source: Convertcart

Meanwhile, WhiskeyLoot’s emailer is perfectly in sync with its witty branding:

Image Source: Mad Lemmings

JetBlue’s email campaign is a great example of engaging emotions:

Image Source: weMail

For an example of sales email copy that’s perfectly organized, look no further than this email from Uber. The subheadings are impeccably crafted to make the email easy to read and understand:

Image Source: Southern Tide Media

Can testimonials work in emails? Yes, they can! As demonstrated by Magic Spoon here:

Image Source: Get Response

Yes, formatting is important. But you can actually still use a standard letter template and just be as engaging through your sales copy. Check out what Birchbox did here:

Image Source: OmniSend

Tool of the Week

Anyword is a copywriting platform that is powered by artificial intelligence. Combining natural language processing capabilities and AI, Anyword can generate copy for users or serve as a tool for optimizing existing copy in websites, landing pages, email campaigns, ads, and other types of content.

Anyword works by using AI to detect your mistakes when writing and avoiding those same mistakes in the future. It can be a tool for both advanced writers and novice writers.

The platform is user-friendly, with easy-to-learn features like the Content Score and Plagiarism Check. It also has features for generating outlines for web content.

To learn more about Anyword, you can read its official blog, or you can sign up for a free 7-day trial account.