Copywriting - Sell It with Words

A copywriter writes advertising or publicity copy. That should be the clue that illustrates its double-faceted characteristics. Copywriters are not only writers, they are salespeople, too.

Using spellcheck, good salesperson can usually write good copy. A good writer is not necessarily a good salesperson. It follows, therefore, that the most important aspect of copywriting is, surprisingly, not the writing, but the selling!

Here are some points from the experts, proven to be reliable guideposts for good solid copywriting that sells:

Build immediate rapport through the use of casual language. Use "thanks" instead of "thank you," and "it's" instead of "it is." Choose active instead of passive verbs, and discard intellectual-sounding phrases that do nothing but feed the author's ego and say "Look how smart I am!"

Find a 'hook.' Often, a simple question, rather than a statement, will hook the reader's interest.

Keep your sentences short and pithy, and don't be afraid to use the white space between them. There's too much other copy out there competing for the reader's attention not to get to your point...fast.

Determine the purpose of each page, as if it were a thesis statement. Make each page follow the simple outline of an introduction that states the problem, the body of text that conveys the solution, and the conclusion, summary, proof or 'closing.'

Write the last text on each page with this thought in mind: How do I drive the visitor onward, to take the next step?

That's the basic job of the copywriter.

Sources
http://noriainternational.com/copywritingsite/
http://www.smallbusinessnow.com/how-to69.htm
http://www.insiderreports.com/storypage.asp_Q_ChanID_E_MR_A_StoryID_E_20000088
http://www.nickusborne.com/excessvoice9