If you have a really great offer, there’s only one thing that really stands between you and selling it: your words.
No pressure, right?
I often compare copywriting to a first date: you can spend hours getting ready, have a great outfit, maybe even have a killer personality, but if you suck at conversation, that date isn’t going to want a second one with you.
And as a full-time website and sales copywriter, I know how overwhelming it can be to write copy for your offer.
Lucky for you, I’m giving you my real-deal, best-possible tips for sales copywriting here.
(And no, it’s not going to be just plugging something into ChatGPT, because frankly, you and your offer deserve better.)
For context, I’m mostly talking about sales page copy, website copy, and emails here (since that’s what I mostly write!)
1. Be specific – like *really* specific
If there’s one thing you should take away from this blog post, it’s that specificity sells.
Which is maybe something you’ve heard of before, but if I’m placing bets, I’m guessing you could be even more specific in your copy.
Because, before you even get started writing, you should know:
- Who you’re talking to
- What they’re feeling
- What they want
- What they *really* want
- What they’re possible objections are
- What’s the best-case scenario for them
Even getting down into the nitty-gritty – like are they “frustrated” or “overwhelmed” with their current problem? (There’s a difference, and getting that feeling right really helps your copy convert.)
And when it comes down to selling your offer, you need to be really specific about what they’re getting and the benefits of your offer.
Like, yes, they may be “saving time” if they buy your services.
But instead, you could say, “save so much time every week that you can finally join that pottery class you’ve been eyeing for 3 years now”
…or whatever is most specific for your audience and why they’re interested in your offer.
2. Get clear on the benefits of your offer, not just the features
Both are important, but the benefits are what’s going to really compel them to buy.
Features: what your offer is, does, or includes.
Benefits: what people get out of it or the results they can expect from buying your offer.
So for example, my full website copywriting has features like:
- 7 pages of website copy written to convert
- SEO optimization for every page
- 60-minute kickoff strategy call
- Personalized onboarding questionnaire + market research
- Wireframe and/or collaboration with your designer
- 1 live review call
- 2 rounds of complimentary edits (if needed)
But the benefits are things like:
- Being able to position yourself as the go-to expert your soulmate clients are desperately searching for
- Get found easier in Google searches with SEO that feels natural, not forced or stuffed with keywords
- Charge what you’re actually worth with copy that communicates your value so clearly that price becomes secondary
…and A LOT more than that, but I digress…
The thing is, the features are necessary information, but it’s the benefits that will make people go “I want that!!” Be sure the benefits or your offer are given the spotlight in your copy.
3. Don’t hide the best information within your body text
This is a HUGE tip I barely ever hear copywriters tell people, but I promise you it makes all the difference in the world.
Too many websites are written like an outline, with headers like:
“Does this sound like you?”
“What makes us different”
“About us”
The thing is, none of these things are interesting to someone who is skimming your website or sales page (which most people do at first.)
Oftentimes, there’s really good information that comes right after these headers, so move that information to the big text so even people who are skimming your website in 5 seconds are compelled to keep reading.
Like this section on my homepage:
It’s kinda witty, but most importantly, it compels people to keep reading.
Non-basic headers are winning headers.
4. Make your copy easy to read by breaking it up strategically
You know what kills the sales vibe? Big blocks of text.
Unless you’re Sarah J. Maas selling the next ACOTAR book, people don’t want lengthy blocks of text to read through.
On the internet, people have short attention spans. Breaking up text strategically can help people read your copy and retain more of the information easily.
Use things like:
- Short sentences
- Varying lengths of paragraphs
- Bullet points
- White space
- Images to break up sections
- Italics, underlines, and bolded text
All of these help break up good information in a way that makes it easier to read (helping your amazing offer create more fans.)
5. Say the quiet part out loud for them
This is something I’m personally saying for all of my client projects: how can we say the quiet part out loud here?
The reason why is that people have a huge aversion to “salesy” copy these days. As in, you can’t rely on old clichés, trending buzzwords, or industry jargon and expect your offer to sell.
People are quick to lose trust, and quick to click away.
And “saying the quiet part out loud” helps you build trust and show that you understand them.
For your offer, this might look like:
- Addressing the objections they have head-on
- Saying what they’re too shy to say out loud
- Calling out frustrations within your industry
For my client Lacey at Personality on Purpose coaching, we determined that one of the main objectives her potential clients might have is that thinking investing in life coaching is “selfish.”
Is this something they would say out loud? Probably not. Is it something that they might feel when they’re busy taking care of their family, friends, and other obligations? Definitely.
So here’s the section I wrote to “say the quiet part out loud” for her people here.
6. Don’t forget to pinch the sales psychology nerve
Listen, I’m good at writing conversational copy, and that’s definitely the kind of copy that does well these days.
However, you do still have to rely on sales tactics to get people to hit “inquire” or “add to cart” instead of hitting “save this tab” only to forget about it for 5 months.
Here are just a couple things you can highlight in your copy to be convincing from a sales psychology perspective:
- Paint a positive word picture of what their future will look like when they get this offer
- Highlight your expertise to make yourself seem like someone they’ll defer to by default
- Show them the cost of *not* going with your offer (what they’re giving up)
On that last point, here’s an example from the sales page I wrote for a workshop I hosted with Klara from Mala Creative Studio on Branding and Copywriting
7. Make your Call To Action an easy next step for them
Last but not least, you CANNOT forget to have easy and frequent CTAs for people.
On a sales page, especially? Be generous with those CTA buttons baby.
Even if they don’t hit the first one they see (they probably won’t) you’re still planting the idea in their head that this is the one thing they should be doing next.
You’ll also want to make sure that you make this CTA easy to follow. That’s why a “join now” or “add to cart” button is so successful: people love instant gratification.
By the time people fall through with your CTA, they’ll feel so accomplished that they’re taking a step closer to what they want, that they’ll get a dopamine hit just by handing their credit card over to you.
And we love that, don’t we??
Having a great offer is one thing, but having the words to actually sell it is another – that’s where I come in
Listen, you can (and should) understand the basics around sales copywriting.
But if you’re thinking “wow, I really just need an expert to do this for me, so I can be sure it will be done well” I gotchu there.
If you need a sales page written, check out my Copywriting VIP Days to get high-converting copy for your offer in a single day.
Need help with a full website or a full launch effort? Check out my copywriting services.
Questions or have a custom project? Inquire here or email me at delaney@darkroastcopy.co
