A great sales letter can stand between you and a small fortune. By getting the content, tone and sales pitch right you could open up a whole new world of customers. But writing the perfect sales letter isn’t easy.

In my post Copywriting – The Sales Letter I talked about the mechanics of the sales letter and its 3 main components – the headline, the offer and the call to action,

These elements are vital but there is something missing – your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). I came across this post recently written by Jonathan Young of Decodefy: What’s Your Unique Selling Proposition? Have a read, perhaps it will help identify your products USP’s and in turn strengthen your sales letter.

What’s your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?

Also known as the unique selling position or unique sales position, the USP is often one of the most misunderstood elements of a good sales letter. It’s what separates your product or service from your competitors. Let’s take a quick look at some unique selling propositions for a product itself:

Lowest Price

If you’ve got the corner marketed on budget prices, flaunt it. Tesco has made this USP famous lately, but it’s not new to them. In fact, selling for cheaper has been around as long as capitalism itself. Personally, I’m not crazy about price wars, because someone can always come along and sell for cheaper. Then it’s time for a new strategy…

Superior Quality

If it outperforms your competitor’s product or is made with higher quality materials, it’s a good bet that you could use this fact to your advantage. For example, compare Ben & Jerry’s to their competitor’s. From the packaging to the wholesome superior ingredients, the quality is evident. It may cost a little more than their competitor’s ice cream, but for their market, it sells.

Superior Service

If you offer superior service over your competitor’s, people will buy from you instead. This is especially true with certain markets that are all about service: long-distance, Internet service providers, satellite television, etc.

Exclusive Rights

My favorite! If you can legitimately claim that your product is protected by a patent or copyright, licensing agreement, etc., then you have a winner for exclusive rights. If you have a patent, even the Queen must buy it from you.

Ok, what if your product or service is no different than your competitor’s? I would disagree, because there are always differences. The trick is to turn them into a positive advantage for you. You want to put your “best foot forward.” So what can we do in this scenario?

One way is to present something that your company has devised internally that no other company does. Look, there’s a reason why computer store “A” offers to beat their competitor’s price for the same product by X%. If you look closely, the two packages are never exactly the same.

Company “B” offers a free scanner, while company “A” offers a free printer. Or some other difference. They are comparing apples to oranges. So unless you find a company with the exact same package (you won’t…they’ve seen to that), you won’t be able to cash in.

But what if you truly have the same product for sale as the guy up the road?

Unless your prospect knows the inner workings of both your and your competitor’s product, including the manufacturing process, customer service, and everything in-between, then you have a little potential creative licensing here. But you must be truthful.

For example, if I tell my readers that my product is bathed in steam to ensure purity and cleanliness (like the cans and bottles in most beer manufacturing processes), it doesn’t matter that Joe’s Beer up the road does the same thing. That fact that Joe doesn’t advertise this fact makes it a USP in your prospect’s eyes.

Want some more USP examples?

• We are the only car repair shop that will buy your car if you are not 100 percent satisfied with our work.
• Delivered in 30 minutes or it’s on us!
• No other furniture company will pay for your shipping.
• Our recipe is so secret, only three people in the world know it!

As with most ways to boost copy response, research is the key with your USP. Sometimes your USP is obvious, for example if you have a patent. Other times you must do a little legwork to discover it (or shape it to your target market).

Here’s where a little persistence and in-person selling really pays off. Let me give you an example to illustrate what I mean:

Suppose your company sells beanbag chairs for kids. So you, being the wise marketer that you are, decide to sell these beanbags in person to prospects before writing your copy. After completing twenty different pitches for your product, you discover that 75 percent of those you visited asked if the chair would eventually leak.

Since the chairs are for kids, it’s only logical that parents would be concerned about their youngster jumping on it, rolling on it, and doing all things possible to break the seam and “spill the beans.”

So when you write your copy, you make sure you address that issue: “You can rest assure that our super-strong beanbag chairs are triple-stitched for guaranteed leak-proof performance. No other company will make this guarantee about their beanbag chairs!”

Now, get to work and start creating your, soon-to-be, world famous USP.

Press releases are something I touched on in an earlier post Is Your Press Release Newsworthy?

They are one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your business. Online press release sites provide an excellent opportunity to get your company’s news out into cyberspace. So why do so many entrepreneurs ignore this type of promotion?

Quite simply, because they don’t know how to write a press release but trust me, it is well worth learning. It’s important to promote your online business with press releases because of the media all over the internet. There is a vast amount of advice and information available on the web showing you how to write a press release, but below are some common press release writing tips:

• Your press release must sound like news not an advert
• Only send your press release to the media related to the topic of your release
• Keep it to one page in length
• Make sure your header, contact information and release date are at the top of your press release
• Use short, simple sentences
• Grab your reader’s attention with the header and first few sentences
• Tell a story briefly mentioning your business/product/service in the body of the press release
• Proofread it many times to ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors

Of course, there is another reason why entrepreneurs don’t use this method of promotion. Because they don’t know what’s newsworthy. Well, here are a few suggestions of what is considered news – I think you’ll be surprised and you’ll probably find something that relates to your business right now.

• New products/services you’re offering on your website
• Results of an online survey you’ve completed
• A virtual trade show or seminar you’re hosting
• A free chat room class that you’re running
• The launch of a new website
• An online award your business/web site has won
• A free e-mail newsletter you’re launching
• A free trial/service/product that you’re giving away
• An online business club you’re starting
• An endorsement from a famous person you have received
• A major joint venture you’re starting with another business
• The launch of a new eBook you’ve written
• A fundraising event you are doing

The list is endless but I hope the above has given you an idea of what counts as news. Do you have something that fits the bill? If so, write a press release and get it out there and start driving some traffic to your website.

Frequently I am asked by people to give them an analysis of their website copywriting. Again and again I see the same mistakes so I thought I’d write this post about it to help you review your own site.

Believe it or not, the appearance of your website text can actually have an impact on your sales. Its readability can affect your reader’s buying decision. Many companies place more importance on the design of their site than the words it contains – big mistake! It is the words that will sell not the graphics.

To give you a helping hand I have listed below 7 basics to make your website readable:

1. Easy to read

This covers everything from simple words and sentences to the colour scheme. Use a light coloured text on a light background and your copy will be unreadable; the same goes for using a bright coloured font on a dark background.

1. Attention grabbing

If you want to get their attention, use headlines. Make sure you work your keywords into the headings too. Break up your text with plenty of sub-headings. Not only will it make it more attractive on the screen (a huge block of text is a major turn-off) but they will also act as sign-posts so your reader can find the information that’s relevant to them.

1. Highlight your keywords

Emphasize words that are important to your reader by making them bold, italics or a different colour. Things like free, fast, free delivery and your key selling points.

1. Font size

Don’t use text that is either too small or too big. Save the larger text for your headings and sub-headings.

1. CAPS are bad

If you use all capital letters in your copy you’ll come across as unprofessional plus it’s very hard to read.

1. Spacing

A well spaced page of text is a readable page of text. Use plenty of white space, headings and sub-headings to signpost the important sections. Show your benefits as a bulleted list so they stand out. Whatever spacing format you use, make sure it’s consistent throughout your site.

1. Check and re-check

Breaking grammar rules can be very effective in sales writing, but sloppy spelling and punctuation isn’t. Mind you that’s not to say that your grammar can be sloppy – it should always be used correctly unless you are trying to get a point across. There is nothing worse than a website full of typos – it’s very unprofessional.

This list is by no mean exhaustive and I could go on for hours about. Take time out to review your website. It is your company’s online shop window. Review every section of text from its appearance to its factual content – is there too much detail or too little, are there any call to actions?

Your website shouldn’t be viewed as an optional extra in your marketing campaign. You don’t have one just because it’s nice to have or because everyone else has one. Your website is there to sell – use it.

If you are a follower of my blog you would have seen recent posts giving you copywriting secrets that sizzle and 8 Psychological Triggers of Copywriting. Whatever form your sales writing takes, it is vital that it works hard to make your readers want your product or service rather than just describe it to them.

You probably think there can’t possibly be anything else I can cover about how to make your copywriting as compelling as possible. Well, you’re wrong – I could keep going forever because I can’t stress enough how important the content of your web sites, ads, newsletters etc., is if you are going to convert readers into customers.

What else do we need to do?

The following list provides you with details of what techniques you can employ to make your readers buy.

I’m not giving you a guarantee that by using all of these every person who comes across your ad will buy – mainly because people are fickle creatures – but they will give you the best possible chance of maximising your sales opportunities.

• Make your copy read like a story – this will create interest, make it more readable and that way will create more interest in your product.
• Surveys help you ensure your product/service is tailored to the needs of your customers. Give away a freebie if they complete you survey.
• Highlight keywords in your copy using colour, bold or underlining (use the latter sparingly otherwise readers could get frustrated thinking they are hyperlinks)
• Give them plenty of choice – give them several ways to get in touch with you and to order your product.
• Design your site with your reader in mind. What they want to see is far more important than what you want to see.
• Stuck for ideas? Join online forums and participate in chats. You’ll learn a lot from other online marketers.
• Create a sense of urgency by limiting offers by time, or give away something free with their order again making it a time limited offer.
• Offer extras at point of purchase – i.e. batteries, glasses cases etc.
• Compliment your reader – making them feel good about themselves will help them reach that all important buying decision.
• Create up sell and cross selling opportunities by selling products that compliment each other.

We all know the old adage that you have to make seven impressions on a prospect before they buy. We also all know that it doesn’t always happen because we are fickle creatures and we all have different motivations that make us part with our hard earned cash.

Ker…ching!

That is one of the best sounds when you’re in business.

Happy customers are customers who come back again and again and spread the word about your company. But how can you be sure they’ll  remember your name when they need your services again? Let’s face it, it could easily be a year or more and time does have a tendency to
erase the memory.

The answer is simple…

How effective is your newsletter?

I am assuming you send out a newsletter.

You do, don’t you?

If not, you’re missing a great marketing opportunity. Not only does your newsletter act as a reminder to your customers that you are there whenever they need you, but it also acts as a great sales tool.

Of course to get people to sign up for your newsletter you’ll need to offer them something. It could be anything from a free eBook to tips and advice. But whatever it is, it has to add value to the buyer-seller relationship.

Don’t become a one-trick pony

Don’t use your newsletter purely as a sales tool – that will just lead to a flood of unsubscribers. Use it as a way of adding value to your relationship with them:

1. Give tips and advice
2. Tell them about the other services you offer
3. Use it to convey special offers
4. Provide information they may find of interest

An offer perhaps once a quarter is enough, any more frequently than that and they’ll get fed up, unsubscribe or just stick you in the junk mail.

Of course, the biggest problem any business faces with this kind of marketing is finding the time. If your newsletter is going to be effective it needs to be regular. The odd intermittent issue will leave your readers wondering what’s going on. Of course, running a regular newsletter requires:

• Time
• Content
• A creative flare for putting it all together in aninteresting way

You may already have this covered by a member of staff, but if it is one of those jobs that is constantly pushed to the bottom of your ‘to-do’ pile, perhaps you should consider outsourcing and leaving someone else with the monthly headache.