This is where the real meat of e-marketing begins.
You have a list of
hungry subscribers at your fingertips and now you
need to convert them
into customers. You want to send them the best offer
possible, presented
in the best possible light.
In order to accomplish this, you need to create
effective sales copy.
Good copy includes many elements: voice and style,
proper grammar, spelling
and punctuation, emphasis on benefits and much more.
Let's talk a bit about
each of these.
Voice/Style
Your messages should sound professional without
sounding "stuffy'.
You need to find your unique voice to connect with
your subscribers.
Pretend that you are sitting across the table from a
friend and write
as if you were speaking to them (leaving out, of
course, things like
swear words or references to your personal life).
You should also keep close watch over pronoun usage.
Talk directly to the
subscriber and avoid using the word "I" as much as
possible. Be personable,
but not too personal.
English 101
We all make mistakes in our writing at times. Your
subscribers will probably
forgive you for a few gaffes. However, you don't want
to send out horribly
written messages. Always run your copy through a
spell-checker. Brush up on
your grammar and punctuation skills if you've gotten
rusty.
Focus on Benefits
Never place your focus on selling the product or its
features alone. People
want to know what the product can do for them. For
example: will it save them
time? Will it save them money? Will it bring more
love into their life?
Remember that most consumers, even if they swear
otherwise, purchase
products that they desire, and not products they
need. Self-gratification
and self-improvement always lay behind the buying
impulse.
Offer Useful Content First
Are you giving your subscribers useful information?
You need to win them
over first with lots of high quality, free content
before you begin making
offers. Your sales pitches should be periodic in
nature.
It's a really bad idea to flood your list with offers
every single day of
the week. If you want, you can bury an affiliate link
or two in each
newsletter as long as it points to a useful resource
in the context of
your content. Just go easy on the special offers,
though.
The best way to prime your subscribers is through
scarcity. Your offers
should be something subscribers look forward to
receiving, rather than
something easily predictable.
Calls to Action
When you do finally send an offer to your list, don't
be shy about letting
your subscribers know what action you want them to
take. If you want them
to buy a product, sign up for a membership, visit a
site, etc..then offer
them the link and tell them to go for it.
Sprinkle your link several times throughout the copy
for maximum effectiveness.
About the Author
Dave Maschke is the owner of multiple websites, and lives in Ohio with his wife and daughter