If you’re anything like me, writing sales copy for your own business or blog can be a bit terrifying. 

It can be nerve-wracking to analyze and select words that promote our products but don’t make us sound like money-grubbing sleaze balls.

Or maybe I’m the only one who feels this way. 

But I don’t think so. Chances are you’ve struggled with your fair share of promo panic.

And today, we’re going to tackle this issue head-on!

 

The problem is that we’ve experienced the discomfort of other people overselling to us and, worse, using language that makes us feel trapped and pressured to buy. 

Do I take out my phone and pretend someone is calling me when the Best Buy salesman approaches?

No, but the temptation is real, my friend.

Sounding obnoxious with your sales copy is a legitimate concern! 

We don’t want to come across as though we are nurturing relationships with our audience for the sole purpose of squeezing money out of them.

I’m glad you don’t want to sound sleazy in your selling. 

But unfortunately, that fear can really hold you back. You can pull readers in with fantastic headlines, but if you don’t follow up with some stellar sales copy, you can find all your hard work is for nothing.

Instead, you end up whispering your sales and barely speaking loud enough for others to hear you’re actually offering something of value for a price.

This can dramatically hurt your sales. But maybe you already know that.

There’s a simple solution to this: Put your audience first.

Sales Copy Secret #1: Free Content!

That means delivering stellar, value-packed content for free and blessing your audience as much as you can. Your mindset isn’t “How much do I have to give before I ask them to buy?” 

Instead, your thought process is “How can I bless and serve everyone who comes to my blog/website/podcast/video without expecting anything back?” 

(And by the way, that’s step 1 of permanently banishing writer’s block from your business!)

This is crucial because, let’s be honest, people aren’t stupid. We can tell when someone is treating us nicely just because they want something from us. Let’s not do that to others. 

As your readers receive this kind of no-strings-attached treatment from you, you begin to gain one of the most valuable things you can get from a person: trust. 

Trust is the ultimate reason someone will not only buy from you, but keep buying from you. 

But what about people who consume your free content but then don’t buy anything from you after reading your sales copy? Isn’t that a waste? 

The answer is absolutely not.

Even if someone doesn’t end up buying from you, they will still respect you. Perhaps they don’t purchase because what you’re offering isn’t exactly what they need or they simply can’t afford it. But that same person may still drive others to your content because of the great experience they’ve had with it.

Blessing others is never a waste.

Now, please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying to spend all your time doing extra things for people who refuse to buy from you. There is a special experience that you should reserve only for your purchasing customers.

What I am saying is that the content you give for free should be so valuable and bless people so much that even if they don’t end up buying from you, they still walk away from your content feeling like they gained something special.

To me, that’s a win. 

Be Honest About How the Purchase Will Help Them

You believe in your product, right? Of course you do; otherwise, you wouldn’t have created it or offered it!

Whether what you’re selling is a product or a service, there’s a reason you’re selling it—you believe it will make a difference in people’s lives.

The key, then, is to tell your audience how what you’re offering will change their lives.

Don’t Fall Into the Trap of Focusing on Features First in Your Sales Copy

In other words, when my mom (who owns a small publishing company for homeschool families) promotes her American Literature Class, she shouldn’t start her sales copy by telling her audience that the book is 478 pages long and comes in both print form and a downloadable e-book. 

Instead, she should start by focusing on benefits. That means telling her audience how her American literature curriculum will impact their lives, their homeschooling, even their relationships. Here’s an example of some copy my mom could use to promote one of her American Literature curriculum:

American literature doesn’t have to be boring—not even for your rambunctious middle schooler! Our American Literature class combines living books and hands-on activities so that you and your children can work together, build stronger relationships with each other, and truly understand America’s classic literature and its cultural impact in a way that will not fade from memory a year later. 

Now, there are several reasons this copy works really well for my mom’s audience. (I’ll get more into some of those reasons in a bit.)

The first thing I want you to see, though, is that this copy focuses on benefits instead of features. Some features weave throughout the copy, such as the fact that the curriculum uses living books and hands-on activities.

But the features aren’t the hero of the story. The hero of the story in this example isn’t even the curriculum, really. It’s the customer’s family. The curriculum simply becomes the key so that the family can bond (benefit), deeply understand American literature (benefit), and retain what they’ve learned (benefit).

Speak Your Client’s Language

The second reason this example works is because it speaks the language of my mom’s ideal client. Every benefit you write about for your product or service should directly speak to your ideal client.

If your ideal client is a busy pastor looking for a virtual assistant, a benefit might be that his sermons will improve and his quality time with family will increase because he doesn’t have to waste time on administrative tasks he doesn’t even enjoy.

If you told that same client that hiring you as a virtual assistant would give him more time to build his client base, that wouldn’t resonate with him as much because … well … he doesn’t care about building his client base. He cares about his flock and his family. 

Focus on your ideal client’s deepest concerns, desires and fears. Allowing this to guide the benefits you write for your product or service will ensure that you speak your audience’s language and earn their ear.

The best way to learn these things about your ideal client is to actually listen to them. (Novel idea, right?)

That includes:

1. Interact with them online.

Where does your ideal client hang out online? Facebook? Instagram? Who do they follow? What Facebook groups do they belong to and participate in? Read the comments they post in these groups and pay close attention to the language that they use.

The more you hear them share their questions and concerns for themselves, the more you understand them and can speak to their felt need!

2. Talk to them in person or on the phone.

This can be as simple as talking to people who match your ideal client at places like networking events, social clubs or groups they belong to or—if you have a brick-and-mortar business—in your own store.

Another option is to ask a past client if they would be willing to speak with you on the phone. If they say yes, then take that time to ask them a few questions about their life as it relates to your service or product.

Let’s say that you sell an organic shampoo and conditioner. If you’re on a phone call with a satisfied customer, then ask them some questions about why they were interested in an organic shampoo and conditioner to begin with. What problem made them realize that regular shampoos and conditioners were no longer making the cut?

Ask them what their regular hair-care routine looks like; what their hair goals are; what stops them from really giving their hair the attention it needs and deserves. 

3. Listen for the more personal tidbits they share.

Chances are that as you ask these kinds of questions, pieces of the customer’s personal life will seep through. They may tell you that they want their hair to heal from the damage of coloring it for so many years, but as a working mom of two young kids, they hardly have enough time to wash it at all! When they spend extra time on themselves instead of their kids, they may feel guilty.

Next time you promote your product, you can share how your organic shampoo and conditioner will not only heal your prospective customer’s hair, but it will also add no extra time to their daily hair routine, wiping out any potential guilt they might feel about spending extra time on pampering.

You get the picture.

Practice!

The last piece of advice I’ll give you today is to simply practice. Try things out! Be adventurous!

Work on writing your sales copy as if you were best friends with your ideal client and were recommending a product or service to them that you know would change their lives. 

Just be you!

I encourage you to try one of these tips this week. And let me know how it works for you! Email me at jennyrosespaudo@gmail.com and tell me what worked for you and what didn’t. 

Happy selling!