Internet Copywriting - Writing Your Best Sales Copy

When the internet became such a popular tool around the globe, writing was revolutionized. Up to this point, if you were a writer and were looking to get published, you'd have to get an idea, research what mediums would be best to publish this idea in, query possible magazines for publication, wait and hope several weeks for a positive response, then finally send the completed article and wait weeks for payment. It's still just as important to research those that you've chosen to publish in, but many magazines will now accept online queries or even online submissions which mean faster publication and payment for your work. If you've decided to make a career of online publication through internet copywriting, there are some things that you should know and remember as you set out and do your writing.

When setting out to write an article, one of the first and main things you should have on your mind is those that will be reading the article. The audience for the articles is extremely important because it will decide how you choose to write the article. The terminology that you choose to include will heavily be decided upon by the audience. For example, if you're writing an article for beginners trying to learn about the sport of baseball, you'd hardly include terminology like "foul ball" or "outfielders" because beginners will not be familiar with these terms. On the other hand, if you're writing to athletes that make baseball their priority, the correct terminology will not only be appropriate but expected by the readers. Keeping your readers in mind should determine how you write your article.

"No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader's intelligence,
or whose attitude is patronizing."

E. B. White

In knowing your readers, you'll know how to better appeal to their emotions. Being able to do this will ensure that your readers will return for work that you've written time and again. Your readers will trust what you write because you produce your work in a way that appeals to them and their emotions. A person that is suffering because of the fact that they're having a hard time taking the catching position behind home plate will greatly benefit from an article that begins by discussing all of the typical difficulties of playing that position. That will make the reader relate to the article in a personal way and this reader will benefit from the suggestions that the article makes. Once you've been able to do that for a reader, if they see your name in other subjects that you've published in, they will be more likely read and recommend that article to others which will grow your reputation as a good and reliable writer whose suggestions are good and work well.

When you're writing in order to sell a product, there are two things that are heavily relied upon. Those two things are benefits and features. A benefit to a product lists all of the things that a product will do to produce a positive reason for owning the product. The benefits are all of the positive reasons why you should own a product. The features of a product are the things that are included in the product itself that produce the positive effects that make up the benefits. A product's features are things such as the air cleaning filter that is included in a humidifier. The benefit is the cleaner air that is coming out of the humidifier. If you are trying to sell a product, work to the product's benefits rather than the features. Buyers like to know about what a product features, but they're much more interested in what the benefits of the product are.

There are ten must do's when it comes to internet copywriting and writing sales copy on the internet. Those must do's are following ...

"Making the simple complicated is commonplace;
making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity."

Charles Mingus

1. Make sure that the writing is legible. Use black ink, a clear font such as verdana or arial, and keep the writing uncluttered. Keeping it readable should be the most important aspect of writing internet copy because of course, an article that's hard to read is not going to get much interest.

2. Your headline should match the topic of the article and it should grab the interest of the reader. The headline can simply tell the topic of the article, or it can grab the attention of the reader and leave them wanting to continue to read the article.

3. The sub headlines should be placed in an order that makes sense to the reader. Each sub section should relate to the whole topic of the article while making its very own point to the subject.

4. When writing sales copy, be sure to promote the benefits to the product. This will be more likely to sell the product over any other aspect.

5. When appropriate use testimonials to promote a product. Those that are shopping for a product and trying to make a decision are more likely to purchase a product that is given a testimonial by another owner of the product.

6. Try not to use links that will leave the page. If the article is being used to sell a product and will be placed with the product, the last thing you'd want to do is give a potential buyer a link to a page that they cannot buy the product from. There's a good chance they'll get distracted and not return to purchase the product.

7. Include a call to action in your article. This will make your reader feel that they must purchase the product or perform an action in order to accomplish a goal.

8. Using long copy will give you the ability to include all relevant information in one page. Short copy will give less information on a page and require several pages to include all relevant information.

9. A P.S. at the end of an article will add more relevant information while making the reader aware that you'd like to give them all information necessary.

10. Use split testing in order to improve your sales with your sales copy.

Following the ten above steps will improve your internet copywriting. Whether you're intending to do this as a career or a way to make some extra money, improving writing sales copy will bring more income your way. This will lead to a successful venture into the world of freelance writing which can only lead to positive things in your writing career.