Step one
of how to design a web page that sells, is to locate the right tools for the
job. Step two, is to make your site easy to use. And, without step three, the
first two steps will mean absolutely nothing.
The
difference between a site that sells and one that does not is ad copy (your
sales letter, headline(s), snippets, etc). AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire,
Action) is a common acronym that many people use to remember how to format
their sales letters.
Me? I'm
one for change, and if you want to succeed online, you'd better prepare
yourself to ride trends like roller coasters at a theme park.
Everyone
and their dog has written an article on the AIDA copywriting formula. So, when
the time came for me to produce something on the topic, a new acronym seemed
absolutely necessary. Here it is - the M.A.G.I.C. formula for writing a killer
sales letter!
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MAGNETIZE Your Headline
Draw
your prospect's attention and create a strong curiosity in what you have to
offer. This friend is the all-important "ad for the ad". If your
headline does not draw the reader into your offer, then you might as well have
a four-year-old child write your sales letter - because your response rate
will be the same either way.
"Okay,
so how do I get their attention?", you ask.
Well,
for starters, you aren't out to GET anyone's attention. You must RIVET their
attention, and at the same time appeal to the correct TYPE of person.
For
example, if you are selling flowers, do not write in all capitalized, bold,
italic font. You'll scare off all the kind, gentle people who enjoy sending
flowers to people for crying out loud. Use a soft color, and write from the
heart.
Listen,
I don't care if you are selling the latest hype-filled MLM product, French
bath oils, or Viagra. You must use an emotional vocabulary. Pierce the heart
and mind of your potential customer, and they will follow your words like a
dog on a leash. I know this, because a sales letter written by Joe Vitale does
it to me every single time. How does he do it?
The
answer is actually rather simple. He uses powerful, active verbs, highly
descriptive adjectives, and writes in a way that makes the person reading the
sales letter feel like they are being directly spoken to. The response he is
looking for most of the time is probably something to this effect:
"Oh
no! I have to read on, and find out how I can save my business by giving this
guy some money!"
And
right when you want to turn back, he will hit you with some sort of useful
piece of knowledge that any potential prospect of his will benefit from.
Telling your prospect something helpful that they didn't already know can be a
fantastic way to keep them reading.
I could
give you a listing of a whole crock of "power words", but honestly -
that's what a thesaurus is for! Buy one, and take it with you everywhere you
go!
##
ATTACK The Innermost Desires of Your Reader
Create a
sound emotional impact that will melt away the mental barrier between you and
the person to whom you are selling. That someone will want to know a few
things. First, they will wonder:
"What
does this dirtbag have that I want?", and secondly...
"Why
should I care?"
That is
a challenging question to answer. If you've tried your hand at dating (hey,
some people haven't!), you have some practice at this. Just put yourself in
the shoes of the most cynical person you can possibly imagine, and you will
know what it feels like to read your sales letter.
The next
most likely question will be, "Are the benefits going to outweigh the
price of this gimmick?"
And your
answer is:
Well, of
course the benefits will outweigh the price, stupid! ...or will they? Hmm,
good question. Let me lay it all out for you, so you can make the decision
yourself. Now for the next step. . .
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GENERATE Credibility
How does
the person who is reading your sales letter know that you are not just some
twelve-year-old grade school dropout, trying to make a quick buck?
Well,
credentials come to mind. Tell them who you are, what you've done, and why
they should believe you. It sounds tough, but if you can get a few
testimonials on your back, things will run smoothly in this area. Think of
them as character witnesses for an old-fashioned credit bureau.
Next,
you have to separate yourself from the competition. This is where the USP
(Unique Selling Proposition) comes into play. If you don't know what a unique
selling proposition is, I wrote an article on it recently.
Just
drop me an email (webmaster@webprozone.com)
if you'd like to give it a read.
I
suppose it can be boiled down to one sentence: Tell your potential customer
why they should buy from you, and not the competition.
##
INTEREST Your Potential Customer
...by
showing them how they will benefit from purchasing your product. This is where
the old "Features = Benefits" comes into play. You can tell them
everything that you have to offer, but if they cannot put two and two
together, and figure out exactly how they will benefit, your efforts will be
in vain.
For
example, let's say that you are a salesman, selling air conditioning units to
homes lacking this luxury. Well, first you would outline all the bells and
whistles, extreme ease of use, and a load of other bull. But what does it all
boil down to?
By using
an air conditioner, these people will never again have to set up giant buckets
of ice all over the house. Sweat will be a thing of the past! Living with air
conditioning will put a person in a better mood, therefore increasing their
quality of life. In turn, they will not smell bad, and women will fall all
over them, and so on and so forth.
##
CLOSURE
This is
where you give them a call to action. Tell your prospect what to do, or they
won't. This is simple psychology here. Don't just stick an order button at the
bottom! You must tell them to order your product.
Give
them a solid guarantee. This will take care of any uncertainties a person
might have about your product. I always offer a one year 100% money back
guarantee on all of my products, because I know that however many more people
return the product, it will be outweighed by the drastic increase in sales.
Another
trick I really like to use is to add a highly valued "surprise"
bonus that will hit them right before they order. I've seen sales ratios go up
by 50% after implementing this one simple tactic. The bonus itself does not
necessarily need to have an overwhelming value (although it helps quite a
bit), but any surprise bonus will be the straw that broke the customer's back.
##
M.A.G.I.C - Magnetize, Attack, Generate, Interest, Closure.
Whether
you remember the format of a sales letter using MAGIC or AIDA is up to you.
Times are a' changing and innovation is driving the world's economy. Are you
willing to follow the leader? Or are you going to get off your butt, and start
making your own decisions?
Followers
don't make money on the 'net - leaders do. Rome wasn't built in a day, and
your business is no different. It will be built over many days, tears of
frustration, late nights fueled by coffee and the drive to succeed. I know -
I've been there, shed the tears, and taken the many hard knocks to my esteem.
Do not ever give up, because those at the top are the ones who were patient
enough to trudge through the muck.
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Charles Lewis is editor of "The Creative Marketer", a weekly
newsletter dedicated to delivering proven online marketing techniques.