Even though most people say they hate sales material, it’s funny because everything on the net is sold using sales copy and material. There are so many ways to produce ineffective copy, and that’s why it’s important to have some awareness of the different kinds of copywriting mistakes.
Every well-trained copywriter knows that good copy talks about benefits rather than features. It depends on the product because sometimes you have to present features, such as with software, but they need to be immediately turned into the benefits the end-user will experience. Benefits are more effective because people are selfish, and they want to know what is specifically in it for them. So if you’re not clear about what your product has to offer, you won’t see a very strong response from your target audience. It takes some practice, but one thing you can do is list out every conceivable feature you can think of, and then translate them into the benefits. If you can get good at that, then your benefits will be clear and strong, and then your copy will be a bit better for it. A lot of times good benefit bullets can tip the scales in your favor.
Reading a long sales letter can take a toll on your prospect, so don’t make the mistake of writing in large paragraphs that are hard to read.
You need to use a lot of white space in your sales copy so that it’s scannable. Your prospects will feel suffocated and simply leave if they feel that the copy isn’t that readable. So just like in English class, each paragraph supports a single idea and no more. You need to maintain the flow and keep all the content relevant, because sometimes you tend to stray away. A good idea is to write the sales copy like you’re telling a story. A great story can do tremendous things for your copy, so just make it relevant and weave it into your copy as smoothly as possible. The format for the paragraphs holds true for the entire length of you sales letter.
The location, or introduction, of the price of your product or service matters a lot. Never put your product price too early in your sales copy.
But what’s wrong in that? It just tends to bring down the interest level of the reader. The most optimum location to reveal your price is near the bottom after the product and benefits are introduced. After your research is performed, then relax and write – you can always edit later, so don’t worry about how the first draft comes out. When you do spell out the price, don’t be shy about it because it needs to be clearl and visible. Don’t unconsciously attempt to ‘slip it in’ with all the other text because there should be no reason to feel like you need to hide it.
All in all, copywriting is an art that takes time to learn and cultivate. It’s always smart to learn about common mistakes because if you just avoid them then you’ll be writing better copy. That’s why we presented this article, so you can learn from others and improve.
