Timing your Website Sales Copy

Help your prospects fill their need. There is a wallstanding between your product and your prospect and that isthe prospects inhibitions. The mind is skeptical,pessimistic, sour, untrusting, doubtful, hesitant, cynical,and suspicious as soon as it realizes that it is getting asales pitch.

Unfortunately, on the Internet the mind's inhibitions gointo being precautious; "You shouldn't buy things on theinternet; there is a chance that someone can steal yourcredit card information." "You are just going to get rippedoff, you can't trust people online, they are all scamartists." "This deal is too good to be true." "It's way toomuch money, you have bills to pay, and you don't need thisright now. You've heard it before right?

Your sales copy is the ladder, so to speak, that allows theprospect to overcome the "wall" of inhibitions his or hermind creates which stop him or her from buying the solutionto their need that you are offering.

There are two kinds of sales copy. One is to fascinate thereader with claims on just this side of believable. Theother is to draw the reader in with valuable, interestinginformation while having them realize a need and offering asolution to that need.

I find the other to be more effective for most products anda properly balanced combination of the two to be even moreeffective. A successful piece of copy has the readernodding his head in agreement. It allows the mind to weighthe benefits of the product and it's inhibitions and tipsthe scales in favor of the benefits offered by the product.

Without being pushy and/or unbelievable, a successful pieceof copy has the reader excited about having found thesolution to their problems, excited about finally knowingthat they won't have to worry about that problem again.They feel excited in general, without over hyping. "Hype"will lower your credibility and may drive otherwise willingprospects away.

It's a real turn off to consumers when it's obvious theyare being "pitched" and they won't believe your "wild,unbelievable claims." Even if they do end up purchasing outof curiosity when they find that you weren't able todeliver on your outlandish claims they will never purchasefrom you again and may even create negative word of mouthfor you.

You must gain the readers interest with a comment,interesting point, benefit, headline, or question and thennudge them closer to the sale. Say something that bringsthem closer to buying. This may cause your prospect to drawback into their inhibitions and consider leaving. Byimmediately stating something that revolves around them isgoing to keep them interested enough to buy.

The sales copy must be written almost immediately after youhave come up with the idea for your product. There is noother time at which you will be more emotionally chargedand able to write passionate copy that is from the point ofview of your prospect. It must be done before you start onyour product.

Right now, at this point in the process, you are writingsales copy for a fantasy product as a person with anunfulfilled desire. If you choose to write your copysometime in the future, after starting or worse, completingyour product, you will be writing as someone who isoffering something that already exists.