Sunday, June 28, 2009

How To Research Online To Write Great Web Copy

By Stephen Beck

A common mistake is to assume that a good product is all that you need to be successful. Your product can be great but without good marketing no one will know about it. One vital component to good marketing is good copywriting. If you want to make more sales for your product you must use good copywriting to do so.

You cannot promote online business opportunities successfully without good copywriting. At one time I believed in coming up with products on a regular basis. I failed to realize that even though I had a new product every month those new products failed to guarantee more money. Once I realized that it is the selling of these products that make money, I shifted my focus. Now my focus is on having good copywriting for my business as oppose to a bunch of products.

Joe Sugarman, a master copywriter states that the job of good copywriting is to get a person to give up their money in return for the product or service you are offering. This is what your copywriting should do. Here are some tips on how to write copy that does this.

1. Research

Failure to research means failure to write good copy in promoting your online business opportunities. What does research consist of? It begins with researching the prospective customer. You want to know as much information about the customer as possible including frustrations, fears, concerns, etc. When you take the time out to research and identify the ideal customer for your product this will help you to write good copy.

As part of your customer research find out if you can identify specific vocabulary the customer uses and biases the customer might have. For example, engineers tend to be very analytical about making decisions. They also use a vocabulary that is unique to their profession.

By researching your customer this results in sales letters superior to the competition. Personalization sells and this is what you are doing.

In addition to researching your customer you should also research your product. Point out the features and benefits that your product possesses when promoting online business opportunities. Keep a list of them nearby so you can point them out in your copywriting. The features list what the product does. The benefits list how the features help the customer. To identify the benefit, read the features and ask how each feature helps the customer. This is what your customer thinks when he or she reads your sales letter, so make sure you address it.

2. Index Cards

When writing good copy you should recall your school days and bring back index cards. The use of these cards is great when copywriting. Use the cards to help track the answers to the questions your customer has in his or her mind. This will give you the information you need about your customer to write better. Also, include the features and benefits of your product on the index cards.

When you create each card make sure you put on them sentences that you can add to the sales letter. This will help you get started. It does not have to be worthy of the final draft; it will just help you get started.

Taking the time to use index cards to prepare is a very effective tactic. In fact, Dan Kennedy himself uses this tactic when writing copy.

By utilizing these strategies for writing copy for online business opportunities your marketing will be more effective. If you fail to take the time to research you will fail to make the sale to the customer.

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