Introduction
Regardless of the type of website you‘re working with, one thing is constant… you’ll always need to provide some sort of content.
With a sales letter site, where you’re specifically promoting one particular product, your focus will be entirely on causing the viewer to ultimately make that purchase. In that case, killer sales copy is the only content required.
Content driven websites are a whole different story. The task is and always will be to provide ongoing relevant information. At the same time, of course, you’ll be building the size of the website by creating additional subject-relevant (and hopefully keyword-rich) pages.
Then there’s the Adsense website. Although it’s primary purpose is to gain revenue from targeted Google ads, content will always be a major factor in generating viewer traffic. Not just from the start but as a continuing process whereby additional traffic and revenue are achieved.
For the most part, there are three specific categories of content… sales copy, articles, and RSS feeds.
Sales Copy………………………………………………………………………………
In order to gain sales copy, you have three options:
- Hire a professional copywriter.
- Use sales letter creation software.
- Write the sales copy yourself from scratch.
Option # 1:
Hire A Professional
When it comes to hiring a professional copywriter, you have two choices (that’s assuming you don‘t already know a dependable and qualified copywriter). You can randomly locate someone through the search engines or use a private service such as Elance (http://www.elance.com).
If you plan to go the latter route, you need to be very cautious. These types of services are generally a viable source for locating programmers, but not necessarily for projects that require good language skills.
That’s not to say you can’t find quality copywriters at places like Elance. You can. It’s just that the majority of members will be located in countries where the English language is secondary.
Whether you locate a qualified copywriter through independent search or through a service like Elance, here is what you need to consider in order to get your money‘s worth:
- Make certain you can see other sales copy they’ve written. Ideally, you want to review content that is similar to what you’ll be needing.
- It’s important that you have the option of actually discussing your project with them. If they can’t (or won‘t) talk to you over the phone, cross them off your list.
Option # 2:
Sales Letter Creator
Using sales letter creation software can be a great asset. That is, assuming you’re willing to adjust and fine-tune the final results. In other words, you use the software to create the overall sales content, then go back and manually tweak, refine, and improve what the software initially provides.
While it’s true that sales letter creation software can do a pretty decent job of writing a basic sales letter, it’s not necessarily a good idea to publish the results “as is”. That’s because the results are somewhat generic, at least with respect to the overall nature of the content.
You fill in a few blanks, providing specific data about your particular product. Based on that information, a “finished” sales letter is then created.
Although this is an effective system for generating sales letters, it also has the ability to produce content that might seem rather cookie-cutter in nature. Of course, that’s the benefit of this type of software as well.
There’s a specific and proven sales letter formula that works most effectively. And that’s what the software program does. Using information you supply, it shapes your sales letter using that formula as the basic foundation.
One of the best products for accomplishing this kind of shortcut method of sales copy writing is the Sales Letter Creator ( http://www.salesletterscreator.com ).
Of course, no matter how good this type of software is, it’s still a sound idea to perform at least a minimal amount of rewrite to polish and refine the content. And in order to do that, you’ll need basic sales writing skills.
For that, you can use the information that’s included in Option # 3.
Option # 3:
Write Your Own Sales Copy
Whether you’re using letter creation software or writing your sales copy from scratch, the following components – ones that are most relevant to superior content – will help you achieve the best results.
The Headline
Your first objective, of course, is to grab the viewer’s attention.
Remember, from the time someone lands on your sales page, you’ve only got a few seconds to capture their interest. So you’ll want to start with a compelling headline, something that will result in the following two reactions…
One, the headline immediately stops them from passing on through. Second, the headline causes them to quickly and eagerly dive into the content of your sales letter.
Here are several types of highly effective headlines:
- The Question
How Would You Like A Foolproof Method That Will Automatically Boost All Your AdWords Conversion Ratios To The HIGHEST Level?
- The Problem Solver
Now You Can Get All Your Web Pages Spidered And Listed In Google’s Search Results Without The Risk Of Having Your Site Banned
- The News Bulletin
Colorado Truck Driver Gets His First Website Ranked #1 In Google For A Highly Competitive Keyword Using Only ONE Simple And Little Known SEO Technique!
- The Insider Information Hook
Learn The Secret To Getting MAXIMUM Financial Results From All Your Adsense Campaigns – One That You Can Benefit From Almost Immediately
- The Curiosity Ploy
Ever Wondered How All Those Top-Level Marketers Consistently Generate Tens Of Thousands Of Dollars Each And Every Month?
- The Direct and To The Point Approach
Find Out The FASTEST, EASIEST, And Most EFFICIENT Method Of Adding *TONS* Of Quality Content To Your Website!
Regardless of what type of headline you use, make certain you’re conveying a message that will not only keep the viewer from leaving your website but will give them the desire to find out more information.
In other words, MAKE them read your sales copy.
course, getting them to start reading the sales copy is one thing. Getting them to finish reading it (and then take the desired action) is quite another. The best way to do that is to address the overall “tone” of the sales letter.
The Tone
No matter what type of product you’re promoting, you should always keep the tone of your sales copy light and personal.
Basically, you want to talk to the viewer in a casual and conversational manner, just as you would if you were sitting across from them at a dinner table.
Share a story with them that relates to the product or service you’re promoting. It doesn’t matter whether it’s something you personally experienced or someone else did.
There’s nothing more effective than drawing your prospective customer into a scenario they can actually become part of.
Use phrases that are based on concepts such as…
“Imagine what it would be like if you…” or
“Think about how you would feel if you could…” or
“Envision what kind of lifestyle you and your family could enjoy if only…”
The most powerful aspects of sales copy are the ones that clearly touch people’s emotions. If you can incorporate that into your writing, if you can successfully reach your viewer on an up close and personal level, you’re already halfway to making that sale.
The Framework
The framework of a sales letter is equally important.
One, the framework establishes a means of leading the viewer from point A to point B. That is, it creates a trail that leads from the initial contact (the headline) directly to the desired action (placing the order).
Second, the framework gives sound structure to the sales content. For the most part, it acts similar to an outline. You’ve got several primary areas of information (sub-headings). And within each of those areas are more detailed subject areas (blocks of information, lists of features and benefits, product details).
Third, the framework allows the viewer to easily scan the entire sales copy and still attain a solid batch of key points of information (problem, solution, product, benefits, bonus, price, order link).
At the very least, every sales letter should have a solid start, an interesting body of content, and a powerful closing.
Naturally, the start is your headline. The interesting body of content which follows that headline will be comprised of various components…
The first component should be a strong secondary headline and/or solid opening line or paragraph. This is most likely going to be something that’s directly associated with the headline.
For example, here is the headline, secondary headline, and opening line of the Article Equalizer ( http://www.articleequalizer.com ) sales copy…
The headline:
Finally… the FASTEST, EASIEST and Most EFFICIENT Method of Adding *TONS* of Quality Content to Your Website!
The secondary headline:
Have you ever wished you could simply snap your fingers and content
that’s specific to YOUR website subject matter magically appears?
The opening lines:
Well… wish no more my friend because that’s exactly what you’re about to receive.
We’re talking about page after page after page of well-written content. We’re talking about the kind of quality content that was previously only available to top writers and marketers on the Internet.
But the best part of all? It can all be available to YOU with just a few clicks of your mouse!
If you think it sounds too good to be true, then listen up…
Next comes the main body of the sales copy. This will contain anything and everything you want the viewer to know.
Although the components of this area of content will vary depending on the product or service you’re promoting, they most often include…
- presenting a problem
- offering the solution
- introducing the product
- highlighting consumer benefits
- wrapping things up (the closing)
- describing any bonuses
- pricing and order information
- emphasizing a call to action (placing the order NOW)
Those are the most common components. Beyond that, you could also present testimonials. These are most effective if you scatter them throughout the sales copy rather than group them in one specific area.
It’s also a good idea to match each testimonial with the content that’s being discussed. For example, if you mention how much traffic the product will produce, the testimonial just below it should be from someone who mentions the kind of traffic they experienced after having used the product (or some similar relevancy).
If you happen to have a large number of testimonials, use the most impressive ones throughout the sales copy and then create a link that leads to a separate “more consumer testimonials” page.
Last, but certainly not least, is the PS. This will be either one or two postscripts at the very bottom of the sales copy and it will serve two purposes…
In the event the viewer merely scans the page initially, it will cause them to go back and read the entire sales copy.
Secondly, it hits the viewer with one last compelling reason to take action, to make that purchase right now.
As an example, here are the two postscripts at the bottom of the sales letter for Article Equalizer ( http://www.articleequalizer.com ).
P.S. Here’s a real eye-opener… in the time it took you to read this letter, other webmasters have added dozens (if not hundreds) of new content-rich pages to their websites!
If they haven’t already done so, that PS gives them reason to go back and read the entire sales copy from top to bottom.
P.P.S. The clock is ticking – get your own copy of Article Equalizer and start adding quality content to YOUR site right away!
This one emphasizes a solid and immediately call to action.
Overall, the framework establishes a logical structure of sales content. Beyond that, it’s important to draw attention to key areas of that content.
Creating Emphasis
Considering the amount of text information that will be included, there’s no doubt that sales copy can quickly become rather monotonous. You have this volume of text that you’re dealing with. If you’re not careful, areas of content can blend together in one continuous blur.
To prevent that from happening, you need to periodically break up bodies of text with bulleted lists and sub-headings.
Additionally, you’ll want to use accent techniques such as bold, italic, and highlight and background colors. What you want is to make the most relevant and key points within your sales content stand out.
What you don’t want is to get carried away, using so many accent, bold, and highlight techniques that the entire sales copy is compromised. In this particular instance, less is definitely more.
Start by accenting only the most important words and phrases throughout the sales content. Then scan the page. Were you able to get a good gist of what the offer entails? Did you get an overall sense of what you’ll receive by purchasing this product?
If so, then you don’t need to bold or highlight anything else.
On the other hand, if, after scanning the sales copy, you felt there were key areas that were left out or didn‘t have the impact they should, then go back and emphasize them.
But again, don’t get carried away. You just want to hit the viewer with key points, not blind them with neon lights.
Articles……………………………………………………………………………………
Using articles for website content has recently jumped up to the top of the list with regard to both site development and generating traffic.
When it comes to the articles themselves, there are three categories…
- articles that you write yourself
- articles that someone else writes for you
- articles that belong to others but are free to publish
Articles you’ve written yourself are always the best bet. At least, with regard to the ultimate benefit you’ll receive from them.
Rather than just provide content for your website, they can be used as viral marketing and SEO tools. That involves…
- writing the articles with specific and highly searched keywords in mind
- including your own resource box (which has information about you and a link to your website).
- announcing that the articles are free for distribution provided your resource box is not removed
- submitting the articles to online directories
- compiling articles of a similar theme into an ebook, including links and information to your website, and then offering the ebook for free (with or without requiring a name and email address prior to download)
Of course, the primary problem with writing your own articles is finding the time to do so. You might get a few of them knocked off, but attempting to produce new articles on a regular basis for any length of time would most likely prove futile.
That’s where having articles written for you comes in.
If you don’t already know of a professional ghostwriter, conduct a search. There are plenty of good writers out there. But don’t rely entirely on their “credentials” (for example, they’ve published their own novels). Just because someone can write well doesn’t necessarily mean they will write your articles well.
If they’re not able to show you similar articles that they’ve written (oftentimes they’re not able to do so because of confidentiality contracts they have with their clients), have them send you a small sample writing based on the topic you’re looking for. That gives you the ability to see firsthand what kind of result you can expect.
Other than conducting a random search, you can simply submit a writing project at places like Elance. As previously mentioned, however, you need to be cautious about who you hire from those types of services. In many cases, English is not the person’s first language.
Once you find someone you can rely on to create quality articles – ones that you would be comfortable signing your own name to – it’s merely a matter of having them create as many articles as you want and need, as often as you can afford.
To gain a large volume of content (without any expense whatsoever), you can simply go to online article directories and snag articles that are relevant to your particular topic or subject matter. Just make certain that you always include the required resource box.
The only problem is the time and effort that’s involved in gathering a large quantity of articles from various directories. A good software program that will save you a whole lot of time and effort is Article Equalizer ( http://www.articleequalizer.com )
All you have to do is set up your project by filling in a few blanks and then choose a data source and category. Based on that information, the program will then collect up to one thousand articles.
At that point, you can select whatever articles you want to use and then have the program generate HTML web pages for each of them.
You can upload the pages the way they are but it’s better if you copy and paste just the article part of the code into your own web pages (so any additional article pages become a natural extension of the rest of your site).
RSS Feeds……………………………………………………………………………….
This is by far the easiest form of adding fresh and ever-changing content to your website.
The only thing you have to do (aside from choosing what RSS feeds to include on your website) is copy and paste some code. The feed itself does the rest, providing new and valuable content on a regular basis.
The information content – what actually appears on your web pages – can be anything from URL links to full articles, and everything in between.
Since the objective is to add substantial content to your web pages, feeds that merely supply URL links would not be sufficient. They’re fine, assuming you don’t rely solely on them. Instead, use them to supplement other feed content.
A better choice would be URL links that also provide descriptive paragraphs about each of the links. That way, you’re adding true text content.
Either way, the links would lead to the website where the information originates. For example, if you added a news feed, the links might take you to the MSN website where the viewer would be able to read the complete article.
The best feeds are ones that supply text content. That is, something more substantial than merely a link or brief description. It could be articles, it could be a small portion of information content, or it could be current blog postings.
Implementing Feeds
In order to include RSS feeds on your website, you have three choices…
One…
You can simply add code that’s provided by the website where the content originates. Most often, this is accomplished through a line of JavaScript…
<script language=”javascript” src=”http://somesite.com/feed=news”></script>
This type of RSS feed system is one you don’t EVER want to use, not if you’re trying to gain any form of SEO benefit.
Why? Because most search engine crawlers (spiders) will never “see” the content itself. The only thing they’ll encounter is the line of JavaScript code like the one shown above. And that means you don’t score any points for actual content.
The best method for remote content access is that which is associated with server side includes. The code would look like this…
<!–#include virtual=”/content.html”–>
In that particular instance, the content will in fact display, both on the page itself and within the page’s source code. You have fresh content, and you have the ability to impress the search engines.
Unfortunately, the JavaScript method is what most websites utilize in order to make their RSS feeds available. The other – SSI – is more commonly associated with syndicated articles. Even so, it’s the better of the two choices.
Two…
You can implement a more advanced RSS feed system through the use of independent php based installation. One of the most popular choices for this type of service is called CaRP ( http://www.geckotribe.com/rss/carp/ ).
What CaRP does is convert RSS to HTML so it can be customized and integrated into your web pages. Plus, it allows you to choose how often you would like your site updated. They even offer a fully functional free version.
With this type of system, you can benefit from search engines, knowing their spiders can access and then “reward” you for supplying updated and valuable content to all of your web pages.
Three…
You can implement software that allows you to actually target your RSS feeds to specific keywords. From a search engine point of view, definitely the best choice of all three possibilities.
Let’s say, for example, you’ve got numerous pages devoted to finance and loan information. And each one of those pages is based on a specific popular keyword.
Rather than settle for the usual random and somewhat general finance information, you could display keyword-targeted content on individual pages.
If the page is targeted toward “debt reduction”, the RSS feed would automatically provide content that is based on the topic of debt reduction.
If the page is targeted toward “home equity loan comparison”, the RSS feed would automatically provide content that is based on the topic of home equity loan comparison.
And so on, and so on.
The best way to handle that type of job – automatically placing specific and highly targeted keyword related content on each of your web pages – is to use a program called RSS Equalizer ( http://www.rssequalizer.com ).
Aside from allowing you to add fully dynamic theme-related content, there‘s advanced keyword tracking built right in. You can also build groups that will act as a single RSS feed. And you can use multiple instances of RSS Equalizer on any given web page.
Using this type of program, you not only have the ability to include fresh new content on a regular basis, it’s keyword specific. That means you can improve the search engine listing and/or rank for any of those pages as well.
The best part, of course, is the fact that you only have to set up RSS Equalizer once. From that point on, it’s all hands-free operation, allowing you to concentrate on other areas such as marketing and promotion.
Checklist
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Sales Copy
- Services like Elance are better for finding and hiring programmers than projects that require good writing and language skills. Choose carefully.
- If you use sales letter creation software like the one provided by Sales Letters Creator ( http://www.salesletterscreator.com ), it’s important that you manually tweak, refine, and improve what the software initially creates.
- You’ve only got a few seconds to grab your viewer’s attention. Do that by starting your sales letter with a very compelling headline, one that stops the viewer in their tracks and causes them to eagerly begin to read the main sales content.
- Keep the overall tone of your sales copy light, personal, and conversational, as though you’re actually speaking to that person while sitting right there in front of them.
- Develop a sales letter framework that leads the viewer from initial contact to order link, creates a sound structure for presenting information in a clean and clear manner, and allows the viewer to scan the page and still acquire all the relevant and important points.
- Use bulleted lists and sub-headings to provide and accentuate important and relevant points of information as well as break up the lengthy expanse of solid text areas.
- Emphasize important words and phrases throughout the sales content. But don’t get carried away. Only use bold and highlight in order to draw the viewer’s attention to what’s highly relevant to the overall message.
- Incorporate the most powerful testimonials throughout the sales copy, matching each testimonial with the content being discussed.
- If you have a large volume of testimonials, include a link that leads to a separate “more consumer testimonials” page.
- Add one or two postscripts that prompt the viewer to read the entire sales copy and to take the desired action of making a purchase.
- Create emphasis of key words and phrases using bold, italic, highlight and background color.
- Only use emphasis where you specifically want and need to draw the viewer’s attention. Overuse of bold and highlight accents will cause the entire sales copy to have little or no impact.
Articles
- Writing your own articles gives you the added benefit of being able to use them as viral marketing and SEO tools.
- Always include a good solid resource box that leads back to you and your website.
- Allow others to freely distribute your articles with the stipulation that they leave the resource box in tact.
- Submit your articles to as many online article directories as possible.
- Compile articles that have a similar theme or topic into a free distribution ebook.
- You can save time and effort by paying a ghostwriter to create articles for you (locate someone through random search or through a service such as Elance).
- Gather large quantities of articles by using online article directories.
- Organize and streamline your content management tasks by using a software program like Article Equalizer.
RSS
- If you plan to use JavaScript code to add RSS feeds to your pages, be prepared to lose any value associated with search engine reward for supplying fresh content.
- Using server side includes means the search engine spiders will be able to “see” the content. But it’s associated more with article syndication than RSS feeds.
- Services like CaRP convert RSS into HTML so the content can be customized and integrated into your web pages.
- The most beneficial method for adding RSS feeds to your web pages is through the use of a program like RSS Equalizer which automatically displays keyword-targeted content.
Resources
Elance
http://www.elance.com
Sales Letters Creator
http://www.salesletterscreator.com
Article Equalizer
http://www.articleequalizer.com
CaRP
http://www.geckotribe.com/rss/carp/
RSS Equalizer
