Internet Marketing the easy way

USP or Unique Selling Proposition is what differentiates you and your product from others. This is what states how and why you are considered as a leader in your field and why the reader would benefit the most by using your services or product. This is what tells the reader that there can be nothing better out there.

The most important goal of a great USP is to create a top-of-mind position in the mind of the reader. For example, when you think of unfailing courier service, you think of FedEx, when you think of great burger you think of McDonald, etc. You need to create that image in the mind of the reader – so when they think of the product or service you promote, they should think of you in exclusivity.

To have a great USP you would need to make it:

a. Compelling  - it should attract and hold attention
b. Valuable to the reader – they should want it because of the value addition it offers
c. Specific – the more focused it is, the better would the impact be
d. Contrasting to the competition – start with ‘unlike others….’ – it always grabs attention
e. Highlight the most important benefit – the faster you let the reader know how they would be profited the faster they would become your customers
f. Fill the gap – there are always gaps; find them, fill them and you cannot fail

The USP should be able to create a niche for your product or service where you are the best. The reader would have no other reason to choose you – therefore the USP should be used as your trump card.
 
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Copyright © Vad de Blower of http://softblower.com
Providing Internet marketing insider info and tools ( yes, free once too)

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Have fun.

Call to action – this is the most critical element of the sales letter.

The call to action of CTA is what the whole effort is all about. In the end you want the reader to become your customer and that is what the call to action would do; it would compel the reader to take action and opt in your email list as a customer.

The most crucial to the call to action is telling the reader what exactly they should do. That is why this is called ‘call to action’.

Therefore you need to use action verbs which clearly directs the reader to what they should do next, such as:

a. Click here to download….
b. Click on the link to sign up for ……
c. Type in your email id here so we could send you the free gift
d. Type in your email id and name below and avail of an amazing discount

The call to action should be compelling and should make the reader want the product urgently.

There are two reasons why the CTAs are important –

(i) to get a new customer – for which you need to have a ready order form;

and (ii) to get a new prospective customer – just in case the reader is still undecided, they should want to leave their email id so you could contact them later.

The CTA is one of the best ways to enhance your opt-in lists without which no website can survive.
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Copyright © Vad de Blower of http://softblower.com
Providing Internet marketing insider info and tools ( yes, free once too)

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Why is a guarantee needed in a sales letter?

A guarantee is like a mortgage. It assures the reader that if they found anything said in the sales letter untrue they do not loose anything.

At the same time you are stating that you are willing to stand firm behind your promise and believe in every word said in the letter. 

There are two types of promises made by the guarantee:

(i) money-back guarantee – which promises to refund the money the reader sent in case they were not fully satisfied with the product. This usually has a time limit in which the reader could try out the product;

(ii) full satisfaction guarantee – which promises that the reader would get what they are sold.

The guarantee often clinches the deal because it offers the reader a no-risk deal which could give them the solution they were looking for.

This is why most sales letter need to have a guarantee clause added. It inspires trust and it convinces the reader that they would have nothing to loose if they tried out the offer.

There is another great role that the guarantee plays – it blows off any indecision from the mind of the reader.

Generally when the reader sees a guarantee they lower their guard and accept what is written about the product faster.

The guarantee is for most, a true endorsement that the seller believes they are telling the truth and that they accept full responsibility for what they say.
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Copyright © Vad de Blower of http://softblower.com
Providing Internet marketing insider info and tools ( yes, free once too)

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Urgency – one of the most critical components of a sales letter is he urgency it creates.

The reader should want to not only learn about what you are selling but also to buy it today.

The body of the letter should use an arsenal of psychological tools to induce the reader to (i) read on, (ii) take action and (iii) commit to become a customer.

How do you build the urgency required? Easy.

Make offers that are irresistible and make them time bound. These could be any one or a combination of the choices given below:

a. Offer an attractive or surprise gift if they ordered now
b. Offer a discount
c. Offer free reports, e-books, software or other things that could be easily downloaded
d. Warn about raising price
e. Warn about limited stock
f. Warn about expiry of the best offer
g. Avail free trial

The urgency is also created by correctly worded testimonials which prove beyond any doubt that the solution is within the reach of the reader.

The more vivid is the picture of the outcome painted in the minds of the reader, the more likely are they to order for the product or services.

In order to do that, you need to identify the worst fears and scenarios that the target audience feels where your product can benefit them and play that up. 

The solution should be so clear that the reader should feel that they have already achieved what they wanted once they ordered for the product.
 
 
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Copyright © Vad de Blower of http://softblower.com
Providing Internet marketing insider info and tools ( yes, free once too)

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The first ting you should know about writing a sales letter is that web readers do not read on screen. They rather scan through the text. There are two major elements you need to pay attention here:

a. Readability – the text should be written in crisp English which a seventh grader can easily understand.
b. Small paragraphs – the paragraphs should not be more than six lines at best.

When you write your sales letter, the body of the letter should contain a dialogue with the reader. It should feel as you are talking to them.

Avoid clichés and business language. Communicate in an open and engaging fashion. Use information to get through to your reader in a compelling way. This is what sells your product/ service.

You would need to hold and enhance the interest of reader with the content of the body. This is done by:

a. Promising more to come – this would make the reader want to know what else is there? The first paragraph should whet the appetite of the reader to continue reading.

b. Write always in the first person; you need to bond with the reader

c. Use drop letters to keep the interest of the reader to the right points; drop letters are even better that highlighting in drawing and holding the attention

d. Give various pricing – reports show that more people respond when there is a range of price rather than one price

e. Have it long enough to say what you want; long sales letter sell better than short ones

f. Offer testimonials and endorsements
 
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Copyright © Vad de Blower of http://softblower.com
Providing Internet marketing insider info and tools ( yes, free once too)

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This is what would stop the reader long enough to pay attention to what you want to say. Therefore, it is imperative that it captures the soul of what you are selling. A good headline would be able to do 80% of the job; the rest of the sales letter job does only 20% of the job. That is how important is the headline.

The headline should not only grab the attention but also stop the reader from leaving the page. It should compel his/ her to want to know more about the subject; therefore it should convey the highest benefit that your target audience is seeking. These are basically two things, i.e. (i) achieve pleasure or (iii) escape from pain.

The best headlines would involve the reader and focus only on his/ her needs and desires. The most effective headlines would have one or more of the following elements:

a. A compelling promise
b. Showcases the best benefits to the reader
c. Is explicit and unambiguous in what it offers
d. It is emotional; it stirs the guts of the reader
e. It instigates curiosity about the product/ service
f. It announces a benefit for a particular target audience
g. It poses a counter-thesis question
h. It asks the reader for solution
i. It empowers the reader to find solutions

Remember, the headline is what actually gets the reader to stop and notice. Give adequate time and effort to formulate it well. The more compelling your headline it, the better are your chances to win over the reader and transform his/ her into your customer.
 
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Copyright © Vad de Blower of http://softblower.com
Providing Internet marketing insider info and tools ( yes, free once too)

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Let me start at the beginning. What does a sales letter do? Why do you write it? How different this is from web content? Once you have these answers clear in your mind, you would be able to understand what a good web copy is.

A sales letter is normally a direct-response advertisement. Nothing more, nothing less. This is a hook that is laid out there to lure in customers to the web through direct action. This vastly differs from web content which is meant to basically entertain and/ or inform the customer about different aspects of the product or services offered by the website.  A good sales letter is that which compels the reader to take action; action which would change these people from browsers to customers.

The Basics Of A Mastermind Sales Letter

Much to the contrary belief, anyone could write an excellent sales letter provided they know and respect the basic rules. For this you must get familiar with the concept of AIDA:

A - for attention  – you need to capture the attention of the browsing person and hold it
I   - for interest  - you need to get them interested in what you say
D – for desire  - you need to build desire in their minds for your service or product
A – for action   - you need to compel them to take action NOW

Now this is not so difficult, right? No, it is not. In fact it is the ‘how’ that is more critical than the ‘what’.

How To Write A Sales Letter?

1. Grabbing attention – you need to grab the attention well enough to hold it in the first five seconds that the browser glances at it. This is pretty tough. If you pass this hurdle, the rest is a piece of cake. For this you need an excellent punch line or a burning question that the reader would indeed want an answer for. This should make the reader stop and look for more.

2. Generating and holding their interest – the next step is to make an offer that cannot be refused. Use the best USP (Unique Selling Proposition) here because this is what would differentiate you from your competitors. Your USP should place you on the top of the list in the mind of the reader (for example, ‘Domino’s pizza – 30 minutes or free’ – this indicates that no one else can deliver a great pizza in 30 minutes).

3. Inflame the desire for what you sell – focus on the reader and only the reader. Play up the desires by highlighting the features and major benefits he/she could get from the product or service. Try using bullet points as this is fast to read and scan. The answer to their desire should be made so easily attainable that the reader should want to avail of it immediately. This is also done by adding testimonials where others express their agonies before they used the product/ service and their utter delight after they used it.  This is in many cases what clinches the deal, so be very painstaking when wording the testimonials.

4. Induce urgent action – you have already built the desire in the reader and he/ she is happy with what they have learnt about the product. Given the human tendency, they would be tempted to wait and see whether better offers would be available on the Net or elsewhere. Here you need to push for action now by:

a. A time limit high discount offer
b. Warning about fast dwindling stock
c. Offering a gift if singing in NOW
d. Warning about rising prices

You also need to keep in mind here that the call to action (CTA) should ask them to do something – such as ‘click here’, ‘type in your email id’, ‘clink on the link’, etc. The reader should know exactly what to do - so they do not have the time to think or change their mind while searching.

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Copyright © Vad de Blower of http://softblower.com
Providing Internet marketing insider info and tools ( yes, free once too)

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Reprint right: You have a permission to reprint this article
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Here are a few ideas how to locate JV partners.

#1.

Search engines.

Enter your “Targeted Keywords” into the search form your
favorite search engine provides and start going through the
results they list.

The first page of results will be a good start for you.

Just start clicking on the links within the results to see
if any of those sites would make a suitable JV partner.

If you find them suitable so, find their contact info and
send them an email.

#2.

Forums.

Forums are another good place to find and locate Joint
Venture Partners.

There are tons of forums on all kinds of topics.

Go to your favorite search engine and type this into the
search form provided:

example: forums + “your target keyword”

Target keyword is a time saver to locate your niche forums.
#3. Ezine directories.
These directories list hundreds of ezines on various topics.

Many of the ezines are desinged to accept JV offers. This
way they make money.

To find these directories simply go to your favorite search
engine and type “newsletter (or ezine) directories” in the search form.

#4.

Joint Venture membership sites.

Joint Venture membership sites are sites where people go
and join so they can find JV partners or offer themselves
as a JV partner.

Simply go to your favorite search engine and type “joint
venture membership sites” into the search form.

#5.

Give away sites.

This is the latest trend for 2007.
These are the sites where marketers list their products and
give away for free. To get a product vistors have to
subscribe to the product contributor’s e-mail list.

The majority of the contributors are in the Internet
marketing niche so if you are operating in this niche simply
locate contact info for those marketers who list the
products with your offer.

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Copyright © Vad de Blower of http://softblower.com
Providing Internet marketing insider info and tools ( yes, free once too)

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Reprint right: You have a permission to reprint this article
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