This checklist, excerpted from Guerrilla Marketing on the Internet, contains the most important elements and devices to include in your sales letter. So, learn them, memorize them, and use them.

1. Identify your visitors’ most urgent problem

You can’t create an effective sales letter if you don’t know or can’t articulate your target audiences’ most pressing problem. So, before you do anything else find this out, otherwise your letter will be for naught.

Once you’re sure you’ve captured it accurately, dig a little deeper and see if there are one or two others that are weighing on their minds and jot them down as well. And remember, you’re the problem-solver, so make sure you offer the best solution.

2. Create an attention-grabbing headline (and subheadings)

The Internet is a very crowded place and your website will either be a momentum-gathering snowball heading down a steep mountain or just another snowflake in the blizzard. If you don’t want your website to get lost in the crowd your headline must instantly call out to your visitors and pique their interest. If it doesn’t they’ll leave. If it does, you’re over the first copy hurdle and they’ll stay a bit longer.
Simply put, your sales letter’s headline must contain your most compelling benefit, and worded in a way that arouses curiosity, and triggers their “hot buttons”. They can be short or long and can include a subheading or not.  Your headline should be positioned at the top and center of your webpage and be immediately noticeable.  You can accomplish this in a number of ways like using bigger font sizes, different colors, and bolding key words and phrases.

Your headline must be powerful enough to stand on its own – that is, you should be able to add your url or toll-free number and use it as a small ad.

People love cliffhangers, inside secrets, how-tos, and persuasive questions so use them to your advantage, as in the following paint-by-numbers headline templates.

•    LITTLE KNOWN SECRETS OF _______________ REVEALED!

•    LEARN HOW TO ____________  BEFORE NOON!

•    CAUTION: DON’T EVEN CONSIDER _____________ UNTIL YOU HEAR THIS!

•    DO YOU MAKE THE FOLLOWING _______ MISTAKES WHEN YOU __________?

•    WHO ELSE WANTS ________?

3. State their Problem

Now that you have their attention, you need to keep their interest. Affirm their problem and describe in colorful language how it feels to have that problem. Your visitors should be nodding and thinking, “You got it!  That’s exactly how I feel!” Keep in mind that guerrilla marketing is based on the science of human psychology and the truth is that most people are content with the status quo and need to be inspired to do something out of their comfort zone – so paint a vivid picture of their pain and inject a sense of urgency.

4. Offer the Solution

After you’ve accurately stated their problem, offer your solution and tell them why you’re the best person to solve it. Explain to them why it’s unnecessary for them to keep struggling with their problems when your product or service will alleviate it. You should begin with an introduction like this: “Hi, I’m John Smith and I’ve discovered a great way to _____.”

5. Resolve Their Concerns

Even after you’ve correctly communicated their problem and your solution, your visitors may still be thinking, “Why should I believe him?” Therefore, it’s important to tell them why they should trust you. The best way to accomplish this is by listing your credentials, offering social proof, relating your “been-there-done-that” story, providing privacy pledges, calming their fears about buying online, citing verifiable facts and/or alleviating their after-sale troubleshooting worries. For example, you can provide:

* Credentials: Copies of industry certifications or licenses, college degrees, years of experience, list of     notable companies you’ve done business with, or books you’ve written

* Social Proof: Customer testimonials, association memberships, write-ups in newspapers and magazines,

* Indisputable data: Verifiable facts and data that back up your claims, objective reviews or assessment from industry experts

* Privacy Policy: Your pledge not to share their personal information with anyone outside of your company

* After-sale Support: Set expectations for after-sale support and customer care

————————————————————————————————————————————

Want to become a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and brand yourself and your business with the best selling marketing series of all time? Our next program starts in September. Get the full story and hold Your spot here: www.GMarketingCoach.com

————————————————————————————————————————————-

6. Bullets that Resonate

Include a benefit-laden bullet-pointed list of the additional benefits they’ll receive. Don’t make the mistake of focusing on features – stick with the benefits.  However, many entrepreneurs have difficulty putting benefits into words.  For example, check out websites for ergonomic office chairs. By and large, you’ll see a picture of the product and descriptions like:

- All Leather, multi-functional chairs
- Ergonomic High Back
- Adjustable padded arms

These are fine attributes, but they don’t speak to the benefits.  In other words, they don’t answer prospects’ most pressing question, “Why should I care?” But there’s an easy way to list important features and turn them right into benefits, using the transitional phrase, “which means that.” In this case, it might read, “We sell all leather, high back ergonomic office chairs which means that you’re office will look great and you’re back will thank you!” The types of bullet-points that work well in sales copy are “top” secrets, big benefits in less time, how-tos, and “exclusives.”

7. Offer Something Irresistible

This is where the tire meets the road in your sales letter – the moment when your visitors think they would be foolish not to accept your invitation to act or just the opposite. The best online offers include valuable digital freebies, discounts, or add-ons such as, newsletters; e-courses; members-only area access; surveys; software downloads; white papers; e-books, and the like.

8. Justify the Cost and Build Value

Demonstrate the exceptional value your prospects are receiving by doing an apple-to-apple or even apple-to-oranges comparison of competitive offerings. The more specific you are, the better. Also, add bonuses that are related to your offerings, but don’t over-inflate their value or you’ll set off the hooey alarms.

9. Reverse the risk

Spell out your guarantee and provide them a risk-free way out. Even better, find out what’s standard in your industry and go one or two better. Contrary to what many believe more restrictive the guarantee, the more returns. So be as liberal with yours as possible! Then state it clearly and spell it out exactly.

10. Call ‘em to action

Do not assume that your prospects know what you want them to do; tell them using a very clear, complete and definitive invitation. This is not the place to be vague or subtle. For example, “Pick Up Your Phone, and Call Our Toll-Free – 1.800.000.000 – Number Now!” is much more effective than, “Call us to find out more.”

However, even if they’re sold on your company, offer, and products, there’s a better than even chance that they’ll do nothing. The fact is that people procrastinate for a host of different reasons like they’re too busy, too tired, or too distracted. But they’re less like to put things off if they’re given a good reason to act immediately. That’s where you come in.

Use these other effective techniques to motivate your visitors to act, now!

* Give them a head’s up.  Let your prospects know that you’re about to tell them what to do with phrases like, “Here’s how to opt-in…”

* Make it easy and convenient. Provide a live link to your order pages, toll-free number, directions to your location, and a speedy checkout process.

* Remind them. Pepper obvious “Buy Now” or “I’m ready to order” buttons throughout your page.

* Inject Scarcity. Limit quantities; invoke deadlines for discounts; offer add-ons or freebies on orders placed before a certain date; Place quantity or time deadlines; state a “first-come-first-serve” policy, and the like.  Offers that expire after a brief time period work especially well, particularly when consumers feel that it’s attached to a real bargain or free gift.

Use your call to action as a motivator, not a scam.  Never underestimate the intelligence of consumers – they know frauds when they see them and there’s a big difference between inspiration and hucksterism.

Here are some examples of effective calls to action:

“If you sign-up for our tele-seminar before _________(future date) we’ll give you access to the mp3 recordings and transcripts, free.

“We’ve only got 40 CDs left and when they’re gone, that’s it – there will be no more…”

“We will honor this price on all orders placed by 11:59 pm _______ (future date).  At midnight ________ (future date) our ___________ (product or service) will return to its original price.”

“I have room for ____ more students…”

Remind, Repeat, Recap and Reassure

Remember, your visitors skeptical, even if they’ve read through your entire sales letter and are thinking about taking the next step.  So, offer them additional reassurance that they’re about to make a wise choice and/or that they did, make smart decision, because many online shoppers get cold feet while their on a website’s order page!

Here’s are some tips for making them feel more comfortable:

1. Always add a postscript (PS): Reiterate your offer and guarantee, remind them to act now, and tell them exactly what to do.

2. Keep your order page consistent: Brand your order page and shopping cart with your logo and maintain your site’s look and feel. Also, reaffirm your prospects’ decisions to buy, remind the of your risk-free guarantee, and most importantly, offer clear instructions on what they should do next and what they should expect from you.

Now you know the most important elements and devices to include in your sales letter, go use them.

In 2008 I co-wrote and edited an excellent book on low cost Guerrilla Marketing strategies entitled Guerrilla Marketing On The Front Lines. In this book 35 Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coaches and Guerrilla Marketing experts contributed some of their best ideas for getting new customers without spending hardly any money on marketing (the hallmark of a Guerrilla Marketer).

In the coming weeks and months I will be excerpting some of the best contributions from this book.

Today’s excerpt is by Guerrilla Marketer Lorrie Morgan Ferraro where she illustrates the importance of building a “swipe file”. Enjoy.

Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero

So you’re ready to raise your hand and have a try at honing your own copy? Great! Let me take some of the guesswork out of it for you and pull back the curtain to reveal some time-tested copywriting tricks…the GUERRILLA WAY!

Guerrilla Tactic #1:  If  Writers Write, Do Copywriters COPY? “Yes!”

Believe it or not in the copywriting industry one of the fastest and most reliable ways to write copy is to start your own swipe file.

A swipe file is a collection of copy that has been previously field-tested. I want to be clear – the purpose isn’t to plagiarize other people’s copy. Swipe files are kept to not only inspire you, but they are helpful templates for your own copy. Study them and you’ll soon begin to see formulaic word patterns emerging.

What Qualifies As a “Swipe?”

Just as copy is everywhere there are words, swipes are everywhere there is copy. To be sure your swipe file is brimming with GOOD copy here are some places to collect it from:
•  Junk mail – There’s gold in that thar mail; don’t just toss it in the trash anymore! Millions of dollars are spent by mega-corporations on field-testing that copy. See what you can learn from it – especially the more prolific conglomerates like the credit card, airline, and phone companies. You should also sign up for mailing lists in your own industry.

•  Print ads – Go through the back pages of some of your favorite magazines and look for the word-dense ads. Those are the ones for your target. Again, big bucks goes into paying for those ads. If you see them reappear month after month, you know they are earning their keep.

•  Infomercials and radio spots – Even though these are verbal versions of copy, be sure to pay attention to them. An infomercial is like a long copy sales letter read aloud. It is designed to grab attention and work the listener into a frothy state of excitement. Radio spots are shorter and pithier. They also are written with excitement-driven language to get the prospect to take some sort of action.

•  Historical copy – There are classic examples of proven copy you should definitely have in a swipe file to model. For starters, look for ads by P.T. Barnum, Eugene Schwartz, David Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Claude Hopkins, Joseph Sugarman, Gary Halbert, John Carlton, and Dan Kennedy. This site has a pretty comprehensive collection, www.hardtofindads.com.  What worked 100 years ago continues to work today because as human beings we are still wired the same, regardless of our high tech world.

• Copy that made you buy –Something pushed your hot buttons to get you pull out your credit card and buy. Trace it back to the exact page, phrase, or sentence that got your juices flowing. If it’s good enough for you, it’s good enough for your audience.

Start collecting your own swipe arsenal and watch your copy improve tenfold!

Want to become a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and possibly be in the second edition of Guerrilla Marketing On The Front Lines?

Get The full Story

With a good headline, you stand a fighting chance of having anything from minimal to overwhelming success. But without a good headline, your chances of success are next to zero.

(The following content was excerpted from World Class Copywriter, David Garfinkel’s chapter in Success Secrets Of The Online Marketing Superstars by Mitch Meyerson)

Where Most People Go Wrong With Headlines

Headlines can make a tremendous difference in the dollars-and-cents effectiveness of any piece of copy.  Changes in a headline can easily double and triple closing rates.  I know one marketer who claims he increased his sales on the same ad 18 times just by changing the headline!

Most people, unfortunately, write really bad headlines.  It’s not necessarily that they use bad grammar or spelling.  The problem is that their headlines don’t “reach people where they live.”  These headlines don’t create interest, desire, and receptivity to taking action.  They don’t do their job, so they’re not good headlines.

Here Are The Three Main Underlying Causes of Headline Problems:

1. The Headline Doesn’t Pass The “So What? Who Cares?” Test. A merely factual headline doesn’t cut the mustard, because facts by themselves rarely stir people’s emotions.  Also, when there’s a promise spelled out that the prospect doesn’t instantly see as valuable, then the headline doesn’t have relevant emotional power – and it, too, fails the test.

2. The Headline Is Cute, Clever or Obscure. You see lots of headlines like this.  They include plays on words, sexual innuendo, attempts at humor, or displays of what the headline writer thought was exquisite sophistication.  While this approach may raise a chuckle and even get the prospect reading the rest of your Web page, unless what’s being sold in the copy is directly related to the cuteness up top, a headline of this type never sets the tone and puts the prospect in the mood most conducive for taking action afterwards.

3. The Headline Means Everything To The Business But Nothing To The Prospect. If your company has just celebrated its 25th anniversary, that’s terrific!  Very few businesses last that long.  But a self-congratulatory headline trumpeting that fact has no power to motivate prospects to take action… unless the prospect has a gnawing, burning need to do business with a 25-year-old company, and is already aware of that need before he or she reads the headline.

Most headline problems can be traced to the failure of person who wrote the headline to stand in the prospect’s shoes (mentally), and see things (in his or her mind’s eye) from the prospect’s point of view.  It’s a very valuable skill to learn.  And it’s key to writing good, powerful headlines.

Tip: Learn To Adapt Great Headlines

Here are a half a dozen time-tested headlines from How to Write a Good Advertisement by Victor Schwab.

Note: These headlines, modified for a particular product or service, still work like crazy today!  I’ll give you an example after each one:

1. The Secret Of Making People Like You

Example of Modification: The Secret Of Sleeping Well Without Drugs

2. Are You Ever Tongue-Tied At A Party?

Example of Modification: Do You Ever “Trip Over Your Own Tongue” During A Sales Presentation?

3. How To Win Friends And Influence People

Example of Modification: How To Create A Website And Make Money While You Sleep

Incidentally, you may think of original headline #3 as a book title.  It is; Victor Schwab wrote it for author Dale Carnegie.  But it was also a headline of a very successful ad used to sell the book!

4. Who Else Wants A Screen Star Figure?

Example of Modification: Who Else Wants ‘Killer Abs’ With No Hard Work?

5. Discover The Fortune That Lies Hidden In Your Salary

Example of Modification: Discover The Fortune That Lies Hidden In Your Basement And Attic

6. Here’s  A Quick Way To Break Up A Cold

Example of Modification: Here’s A Quick Way To Get Your Website Up And Running

Here are some key points to notice about all of them:

Each headline points to an end result, and that is what people are looking for most of the time.  Some of the end results in the original headlines:  “People Like You”; “(implied benefit: not being) Tongue-Tied At A Party”; “Win Friends And Influence People”

The headlines are made from short words.  Most are one-syllable words, and in all six original headlines, there’s only one three-syllable word: influence

These headlines both arouse curiosity and stoke desire. The copywriters probably thought long and hard about what people really want before they settled on the final version of the headline, and, they artfully arranged the words to make people reading them wonder “what’s this about?” as they felt an inner emotional tug moving them towards getting the end result.

——————————————————–

David Garfinkel is a business coach and marketing strategist.  Author or co-author of five books, David specializes in Explosive Growth Coaching, to help small businesses expand super-rapidly!  Find out about the five lanes of explosive business growth at World Copywriting Blog

If you found this post helpful we hope you will retweet.