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Anatomy of A Sales Message – A Step By Step Writing Guide

Now that you’re familiar with the philosophy behind effective marketing, let’s get down to more practical matters:  writing a sales message.

Every sales or marketing message has the same basic structure.  Whether it’s an advert in the Sunday paper, a postcard, an online sales letter, a television commercial, or even a flyer stuck under the wipers of a car, an effective sales pitch will almost always include:

• Headlines – attention-grabbing words that convey the biggest benefit of using your product or service. They should be emotive and have impact.
   

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“On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.” - David Ogilvy

Any advertiser or copywriter will tell you that the headline is the most important part of a written ad. But what exactly is a headline? Read the rest of this entry »

Going the Direct Mail Route

Depending on the size, price, and complexity of your product, you may want to present your message in a traditional direct mail pack with these elements:

• Envelope
• Sales letter
• Brochure
• Response device
• Reply envelope

The envelope, properly used as a copy carrier with an intriguing teaser, can generate excitement and interest to see what’s inside.  The whole objective of using the envelope is to get the letter opened. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been two weeks since The Copy Box changed format from a static website to a Wordpress blog, and the results have been encouraging. Not only are we enjoying working with the new site, but pages seem to be getting indexed very quickly by Google and we’ve had scores of new people sign up to our mailing list - which bodes very well for the future.

My own personal conclusion is that Wordpress is definitely the way forward for everything from personal blogs to corporate websites. The system is so flexible and powerful that even a novice can use it, while experts can achieve some truly great results building their own templates and plugins etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Introduction

Welcome…and congratulations.  You’re about to embark on one of the most exciting, interesting, and important missions of a business owner:  the quest for effective sales copy.  It’s a grand quest and one that can last a lifetime.

Don’t be alarmed.  While many people can and do spend their lives perfecting the art-and-science of copywriting, you don’t have to.  In this book, you will find all the information you need to create sales letters, postcards, newspaper advertising, online sales messages, etc. in no time.  It’s a streamlined, step-by-step, process-oriented approach that makes it easy for even the most word-challenged entrepreneur to put together effective sales and marketing messages. Read the rest of this entry »