SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOL OF COPYWRITING
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    • Copywriting Lessons from David Ogilvy
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    • 8 Copywriting Lessons from John Powers
    • Scientific Advertising: 10 Copywriting Lessons from Claude Hopkins
    • A Review of Current AI Copywriting Tools
    • Top San Francisco Ad Agencies
    • Learn How To Write Conversationally To Engage Your Audience
    • Top Skills for a Copywriter
    • Launch A Career In Advertising With These Top Portfolio Schools
    • UX Copywriting and Short Copy ​
    • Discover How To Write Killer Copy That Converts
    • What is Copywriting? >
      • What Alternative
    • 10 Great Headlines from Classic Ads
    • Why Tone Can Make or Break Your Copy
    • How to Use Statistics, Facts and Quotes to Craft Compelling Copy
    • Great Copywriters Use Verbal Imagery to Tell a Story
    • Master the Art of Headline Writing!
    • Here’s How to Get Portfolio-Building Copywriting Gigs
    • What Volkswagen’s ’Think Small’ Teaches Copywriters
    • 5 Brands with Amazing Copywriting Teams
    • Master Hard and Soft CTAs for Superior Sales Writing
    • The Ultimate Checklist for Blog Copywriters
    • 10 Mistakes Even Experienced Copywriters Make
    • Read These 4 Books to Become a Better Copywriter
    • Sales Writing: How to Create Attention Grabbing Headlines
    • How to Create Persuasive Sales Copy
    • Proven Copywriting Methods Emotional Advertising
    • How to Write Good Copy : Preparation Techniques
    • Copywriting Secrets: 8 Powerful Ways to Add Proof and Credibility
    • Copywriting Cheat Sheet: Write Powerful Copy Quickly and Easily
    • Copywriting Insights: How to Test Ad Copy for Best Results
    • Write Effective Ad Copy: No Fail Secrets and Tips
    • What Never to Do When Writing Compelling Copy for Sales
    • How to Write Copy That Sells – Use Benefits
    • 7 Ways to Improve Your Copy Immediately
    • A Day in the Life of a Copywriter
    • Coffee, Copywriting, and Freedom
    • Copy is Everywhere
    • Direct Response Copy Sells
    • The Pros and Cons of Copywriting Part–Time
    • Three Tips to Write Copy that Converts
    • Two of the Biggest Mistakes Beginning Copywriters Make
    • Why Copywriting Makes a Great Second Career
    • Why I Love Being a Copywriter
    • Landing Pages that Work - Copy that Converts
    • The Next Big Idea: Creative Advertising Ideation
    • Copywriting Certificates: Online Copywriting Classes
    • The Advertising Museum Tokyo: Copywriting Fun
    • How to Tell a Great Brand Story
    • 20 Great Headlines from Classic Ads
    • Top London Ad Agencies
    • The Top 10 Best Copywriting Books
    • Copywriting Courses & Resources
    • Copywriting Formulas to Write Faster: AIDA, Problem Solution and More
    • Sales Letters: Broken Down by Parts
    • Copywriting Research Tips, Tricks and Secrets
    • How to Grow Your Email List
    • What is Creative Advertising
    • Ideation and How to Find the Next Big Idea
    • Creative Advertising Methods and Madness
    • Paths to Becoming a Copywriter
    • Great Print Ads - Creative Advertising That Rocks
    • Great Outdoor Ads - Creative Advertising That Works
    • Underground Ads - Creative Advertising in England
    • 10 Great Email Subject Lines
    • Email Marketing Types: Long, Short, Creative and More
    • Email Copywriting Tactics
    • How to Grow Your Email List
    • Autoresponder Copywriting: How to Do It Write
    • Copywriting Examples: Social Media
    • 6 Free Copywriting Courses
    • Where You Can Get a Copywriting Certificate Online: Copywriting Training
    • Top American Ad Schools
    • 10 Ad Schools for College Graduates
    • These Direct Response Letters And Campaigns Delivered Great Results - Yours Can Too
    • How To Break Into Advertising
    • The Creative Advertising Bible: The Value Of Great Guerrilla Ad Campaigns (With Examples)
    • Content Writing Vs. Copywriting: What's the Difference?
    • SEO Copywriting: How Does Search Engine Optimization Factor Into Copywriting?
    • Show and Tell: 7 Ways to Write Strong Video Copy
    • Short, Sweet, and It Sells: How to Trim the Fat From Your Sales Copy
    • Digital VS Print Ad Copy: How to Write the Difference
    • How to Craft the Ultimate Product Description
    • B2B VS B2C Sales Copy: 6 Crucial Differences You Should Know About
    • The Next Big Idea: Creative Advertising Ideation
    • Email Marketing: 12 Tips for Getting It Right
    • Landing Pages and Lead Magnets: Everything You Need to Know
    • How to Do Better Creative Advertising: Why and How It Works
    • Where to Take Copywriting Classes in the San Francisco Bay Area
    • Why San Francisco Business Owners Need to Know Copywriting
    • How to Break Into the Copywriting Industry
    • What Everybody Should Know About Online Advertising Portfolio
    • Copywriting for Beginners: 10 Quick Tips
    • Don’t Let Imposter Syndrome Keep You from Writing Great Copy
    • How to Design Great Digital Ads
    • Ad Campaigns: Nike Just Do It
    • Copywriting Examples: Google Ads
    • Best Copywriting Resources: Magazines, Organizations and More
    • How to Practice Copywriting
    • How to Build a Brand With Copywriting
    • Copywriting Grammar Review: 10 Common Grammar Mistakes
    • Copywriting Grammar Review: When to Use Commas
    • Our Top 10 Conversion Rate Optimization Copywriting Tips
    • Urgent, Useful, Unique, Ultra-Specific: How to Boost Your Copywriting with the Four U’s
    • Great Ad Campaigns: Apple 1984
    • Great Ad Campaigns: “Mikey Likes It”
    • Great Ad Campaigns: "When EF Hutton Talks"
    • Great Ad Campaigns: "We Make Money the Old Fashioned Way"
    • Great Ad Campaigns: Daisy
    • Great Ad Campaigns: Absolut Vodka
    • Top San Francisco Ad Agencies
    • Top 6 1960s Ad Campaigns and What You Can Learn From Them
    • Top 10 1970s Ad Campaigns and What You Can Learn From Them
    • Top 7 1980s Ad Campaigns and What You Can Learn From Them
    • Top 10 1990s Ad Campaigns and What You Can Learn From Them
    • Why Does Creative Advertising Matter?
    • How Can AI Copywriting Tools Make Me a Better Copywriter?
    • Why Should You Enter Advertising Contests as a Copywriter?
    • 10 Tips for Writing Captivating Social Media Copy
    • Tips for Improved Direct Response Copywriting
    • Copywriting Pro-Tip: Highlighting Benefits Over Feature
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How to Create Persuasive Sales Copy ​

Winning sales is the goal of all marketing people and it’s highly likely that you will once you understand how to create persuasive sales copy.

In this article we are going to look at what you need to know about being persuasive and how to apply that to your copy to make sales.

As usual we’ve got the take away steps for you to follow at the end of the article so that you can create your own sales copy persuasive at a professional level.

Knowing how to communicate persuasively is what will make the biggest difference when it comes to the success of your sales copy.  In this article we are going to look at how to be persuasive and then how to apply that to your copy.

Elements of persuasion
Knowing what it takes to persuade people in writing is what will win you the sales that you are looking for and it will also improve your copywriting immensely. Let’s look at what you need to know and do:
  • Know who your audience and target market is

  • Craft your message about the reader, about what he is interested in, not about what you like or want

  • Make it clear and easy to understand what benefits he will receive in exchange for doing what you recommend

  • Provide supporting facts for your ‘argument’

  • Stick to one idea at a time. It will keep your reader on track and you’ll deliver a more powerful message.

Who is your audience?
When it comes to marketing the first step always has to be to understand more about your target market.

It’s vital that you understand who your target market is, and what makes them tick. Without considering the answers to these questions, you’re going to find it very hard to be able to make the sales that you are looking for.
  • Where do your target market live and what is their average income?

  • Are they male or female?

  • Where do they hang out in their spare time – both online and offline?  What television programs do they watch and what are their hobbies?

  • What is keeping these people awake at night? Is it their business, the safety of their family or the fact that the neighbours have an excellent looking lawn and theirs looks like a piece of scrub land? Or…..?

  • What current trends are affecting them right now? Have government policies been put into place that are squeezing these people financially for example. Is there anybody who they are angry with and if so, what are they angry about?

    Has somebody been trying to rip them off in the industry or is there a huge supermarket who wants to build just down their street and it’s going to negatively impact their street parking?

  • What frustrations are they met with on a daily basis? You’ll need to name three of them to get into their ‘thinking’.

  • What do they secretly desire? To look good in front of their neighbours? To look better than a colleague or a competitor?

  • What language do these people use?

One of the ways to get into the minds of your target market is to read the same publications that they do. You’ll be in the know when it comes to current trends and what is influencing their buying decisions.

Craft your persuasive sales copy for your reader
This is where many people go wrong. They start writing with themselves in mind. They want to convey the message about how great their company is but that is not what the readers wants to hear about. They want to see clear benefits of why they would use a company.

Let’s look at an example for a moment – supposing that your offer was a service to fix baker’s ovens. You would need to write your copy so that it empathizes with the problems that bakers suffer when their ovens are out of action.

They’d be likely to experience:
  • Frustration at their oven not working and not being able to manufacture their products to sell – ie bread

  • Frustration at relying on the engineer to come to fix it – will he turn up when he says that he will?

  • Frustration waiting for parts – depending on the model they could take a week or more to arrive

Ideally your service would be able to offer a solution to all of these frustrations. Your engineers would arrive within the hour or they wouldn’t pay, they would also arrive with a variety of parts that you keep in stock so there’d be no more waiting for parts to arrive.

Benefits – Why he should do what you are suggesting?
The benefits need to be spelt out clearly so that the reader can imagine what life would be like if they bought your offering. ‘Spelt out clearly’ means that they need to be appear tangible to him in a way that he can relate them to his own individual circumstances and clearly see the gain.


Communicating the benefits clearly is the big hook for your consumer, it’s what will be the only reason that he is going to buy from you – so help him see the outcome of doing that. It’s what is going to put the ‘persuasive’ into your sales copy.

Provide supporting facts and evidence for your ‘argument’
Building trust and credibility is essential when it comes to selling. Without your evidence you’re going to have a pretty hard time convincing people to buy your offering.

Using numbers works particularly well and for some reason, precise and odd numbers work better. They confirm that it’s the quirky results from an actual piece of research. Or course whatever you write will need to be true and verifiable.

Most consumers buy on emotions, so your copy should be written with that in mind. However, it’s essential that you provide some statistics, photos and testimonials that will confirm to the buyer that he is in fact making the right decision when it comes to buying your offering.


Stick to one message at a time
Presenting one message that has the support of a lot of evidence is going to be way more powerful than presenting several messages. You don’t want to dilute your message or confuse the readers. Stick to one message, provide them with the benefits and the evidence and then give them a clear and direct call to action.


And keep it simple
Humans are naturally lazy. They don’t like anything complicated, they don’t want to and won’t put the work in themselves and you really do have to spell everything out for them.

Don’t expect them to start imagining how your product or service is going to help them. You need to list out the benefits for them. You also need to convey that information in a way that is easy for them to read. Your formatting should contain:
  • Bullets
  • Short sentences
  • Short paragraphs
  • Add a capital letter to the beginning of each word of your headline
  • Simple explanations
  • Vision friendly fonts
  • Make it easy to purchase by offering telephone number, fax, email, shopping cart etc.
  • Make it easy for the consumer to afford today – you could offer installments, take credit cards or even buy now, pay later options
  • Use black writing on a white background
  • Use language and words that can be read by a high school student

Websites that use less than graduate language actually perform better than those with complex language. At the end of the day, the average IQ is 100 – not even 130! Writing in a highbrow style is only going to be suitable if the people that you are selling to are highbrow themselves.

f you are selling to the general public, then be sure not to exclude potential buyers and prospects through the use of your language.

If what you are selling is technical and you are selling it to technical people, then they will be looking for the technical details in the language that they are accustomed to.

Your language style needs to match that of your target market.

Understanding how to persuade people and how to apply that to your copy is going to get you the sales that you’re looking for. Follow through our steps to apply it now and create your own persuasive sales copy.


Action Steps to Take to Create Persuasive Sales Copy
  1. Write a list of the type of people who  would be interested in your product or service. Where do they live, what is their average income, which publications do they read and where can you find them when they aren’t working. If you are selling to a business  you’ll need to know about their industry.

  2. You also need to know about what the concerns are of your customer and how your service or product will solve a problem for them.

  3. Craft your message in conversational tone using You, You’re and Your as part of your content. Only use one message so as not to dilute it and don’t write about yourself write to your client and about him/her and the benefits to them of your offer..

  4. Spell out the benefits to the reader of buying your service or product. Which headaches will they no longer have to deal with, what will they gain, what will life be like once they have your service or product.
    ​

  5. Add supporting statistics and facts regarding your product and the industry/topic area. Use testimonials from other happy customers and pictorial proof in photos and video to back up your claims.
FREE COURSE
  • Home
  • Courses
    • Copywriting 101
    • How to Create an Advertising Portfolio From Scratch
    • Direct Response Copywriting
    • 360 Copywriting Online
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • BLOG
    • Copywriting Lessons from David Ogilvy
    • 9 Copywriting Lessons from Robert Collier
    • 9 Copywriting Lessons From John Caples
    • 8 Copywriting Lessons from John Powers
    • Scientific Advertising: 10 Copywriting Lessons from Claude Hopkins
    • A Review of Current AI Copywriting Tools
    • Top San Francisco Ad Agencies
    • Learn How To Write Conversationally To Engage Your Audience
    • Top Skills for a Copywriter
    • Launch A Career In Advertising With These Top Portfolio Schools
    • UX Copywriting and Short Copy ​
    • Discover How To Write Killer Copy That Converts
    • What is Copywriting? >
      • What Alternative
    • 10 Great Headlines from Classic Ads
    • Why Tone Can Make or Break Your Copy
    • How to Use Statistics, Facts and Quotes to Craft Compelling Copy
    • Great Copywriters Use Verbal Imagery to Tell a Story
    • Master the Art of Headline Writing!
    • Here’s How to Get Portfolio-Building Copywriting Gigs
    • What Volkswagen’s ’Think Small’ Teaches Copywriters
    • 5 Brands with Amazing Copywriting Teams
    • Master Hard and Soft CTAs for Superior Sales Writing
    • The Ultimate Checklist for Blog Copywriters
    • 10 Mistakes Even Experienced Copywriters Make
    • Read These 4 Books to Become a Better Copywriter
    • Sales Writing: How to Create Attention Grabbing Headlines
    • How to Create Persuasive Sales Copy
    • Proven Copywriting Methods Emotional Advertising
    • How to Write Good Copy : Preparation Techniques
    • Copywriting Secrets: 8 Powerful Ways to Add Proof and Credibility
    • Copywriting Cheat Sheet: Write Powerful Copy Quickly and Easily
    • Copywriting Insights: How to Test Ad Copy for Best Results
    • Write Effective Ad Copy: No Fail Secrets and Tips
    • What Never to Do When Writing Compelling Copy for Sales
    • How to Write Copy That Sells – Use Benefits
    • 7 Ways to Improve Your Copy Immediately
    • A Day in the Life of a Copywriter
    • Coffee, Copywriting, and Freedom
    • Copy is Everywhere
    • Direct Response Copy Sells
    • The Pros and Cons of Copywriting Part–Time
    • Three Tips to Write Copy that Converts
    • Two of the Biggest Mistakes Beginning Copywriters Make
    • Why Copywriting Makes a Great Second Career
    • Why I Love Being a Copywriter
    • Landing Pages that Work - Copy that Converts
    • The Next Big Idea: Creative Advertising Ideation
    • Copywriting Certificates: Online Copywriting Classes
    • The Advertising Museum Tokyo: Copywriting Fun
    • How to Tell a Great Brand Story
    • 20 Great Headlines from Classic Ads
    • Top London Ad Agencies
    • The Top 10 Best Copywriting Books
    • Copywriting Courses & Resources
    • Copywriting Formulas to Write Faster: AIDA, Problem Solution and More
    • Sales Letters: Broken Down by Parts
    • Copywriting Research Tips, Tricks and Secrets
    • How to Grow Your Email List
    • What is Creative Advertising
    • Ideation and How to Find the Next Big Idea
    • Creative Advertising Methods and Madness
    • Paths to Becoming a Copywriter
    • Great Print Ads - Creative Advertising That Rocks
    • Great Outdoor Ads - Creative Advertising That Works
    • Underground Ads - Creative Advertising in England
    • 10 Great Email Subject Lines
    • Email Marketing Types: Long, Short, Creative and More
    • Email Copywriting Tactics
    • How to Grow Your Email List
    • Autoresponder Copywriting: How to Do It Write
    • Copywriting Examples: Social Media
    • 6 Free Copywriting Courses
    • Where You Can Get a Copywriting Certificate Online: Copywriting Training
    • Top American Ad Schools
    • 10 Ad Schools for College Graduates
    • These Direct Response Letters And Campaigns Delivered Great Results - Yours Can Too
    • How To Break Into Advertising
    • The Creative Advertising Bible: The Value Of Great Guerrilla Ad Campaigns (With Examples)
    • Content Writing Vs. Copywriting: What's the Difference?
    • SEO Copywriting: How Does Search Engine Optimization Factor Into Copywriting?
    • Show and Tell: 7 Ways to Write Strong Video Copy
    • Short, Sweet, and It Sells: How to Trim the Fat From Your Sales Copy
    • Digital VS Print Ad Copy: How to Write the Difference
    • How to Craft the Ultimate Product Description
    • B2B VS B2C Sales Copy: 6 Crucial Differences You Should Know About
    • The Next Big Idea: Creative Advertising Ideation
    • Email Marketing: 12 Tips for Getting It Right
    • Landing Pages and Lead Magnets: Everything You Need to Know
    • How to Do Better Creative Advertising: Why and How It Works
    • Where to Take Copywriting Classes in the San Francisco Bay Area
    • Why San Francisco Business Owners Need to Know Copywriting
    • How to Break Into the Copywriting Industry
    • What Everybody Should Know About Online Advertising Portfolio
    • Copywriting for Beginners: 10 Quick Tips
    • Don’t Let Imposter Syndrome Keep You from Writing Great Copy
    • How to Design Great Digital Ads
    • Ad Campaigns: Nike Just Do It
    • Copywriting Examples: Google Ads
    • Best Copywriting Resources: Magazines, Organizations and More
    • How to Practice Copywriting
    • How to Build a Brand With Copywriting
    • Copywriting Grammar Review: 10 Common Grammar Mistakes
    • Copywriting Grammar Review: When to Use Commas
    • Our Top 10 Conversion Rate Optimization Copywriting Tips
    • Urgent, Useful, Unique, Ultra-Specific: How to Boost Your Copywriting with the Four U’s
    • Great Ad Campaigns: Apple 1984
    • Great Ad Campaigns: “Mikey Likes It”
    • Great Ad Campaigns: "When EF Hutton Talks"
    • Great Ad Campaigns: "We Make Money the Old Fashioned Way"
    • Great Ad Campaigns: Daisy
    • Great Ad Campaigns: Absolut Vodka
    • Top San Francisco Ad Agencies
    • Top 6 1960s Ad Campaigns and What You Can Learn From Them
    • Top 10 1970s Ad Campaigns and What You Can Learn From Them
    • Top 7 1980s Ad Campaigns and What You Can Learn From Them
    • Top 10 1990s Ad Campaigns and What You Can Learn From Them
    • Why Does Creative Advertising Matter?
    • How Can AI Copywriting Tools Make Me a Better Copywriter?
    • Why Should You Enter Advertising Contests as a Copywriter?
    • 10 Tips for Writing Captivating Social Media Copy
    • Tips for Improved Direct Response Copywriting
    • Copywriting Pro-Tip: Highlighting Benefits Over Feature