The Top 5 Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Sales Copy

Before I learnt to be a copywriter I wrote sales copy for my own business. Bad sales copy. Sales copy that never got the phone ringing or my email inbox bulging, except with SPAM, despite all my desperate attempts.
It was because of my frustration that I decided enough was enough and I ought to learn to write proper copy. Back then I had no idea that I would enjoy it so much that it would spawn a new career for me.
Would you like to avoid the mistakes I made in the early days? To be honest I wish I had read a quick fire guide but perhaps it was all meant to be. After all, I now make my living helping other companies to get more clients.
So, my top 5 mistakes then.
1) Firstly, and this one strikes an uneasy cord with me because I used to do it all the time, don’t provide a lengthy description of your product or service. Huh? What I have learnt is that people are more interested in what you or your product/service can do for them. How you/it can make their life better,easier or simpler. Example: We provide a tailor made training experience for you. WRONG. A better alternative would be: With our courses you train at times to suit you. No more sitting in rush hour traffic to get to the course on time.
2) Don’t go on about yourself and your company. You know the sort of the thing…”we started trading in 1996 and then in 1997 we won our first major account, we were so proud that we had a big party to celebrate”…yawn. Prospects want to know you’re credible and aren’t going to disappear overnight but few people actually ever bother reading the company’s history. Far better to summarise your achievements like winning major accounts and how you turned their company around
3) Resist the temptation to make your copy too long Yes, write loads if you want to but then edit, edit, edit. Better still get someone else to read it and edit. Ask them the question do you get why it’s good to hire me or use my products and services? If they answer no, then you’ve got more work to do.
4) Don’t fill your copy with loads of jargon and technical information. Effective written sales copy should sound just as good if you read it aloud. In other words it’s in a conversational style. I was particularly prone to doing this and used to fill my copy with long, clever words. Perhaps I thought it made me sound more knowledgable, and maybe it did, but it didn’t get me any more sales.
5) Finally, it’s not about you, it’s about your prospects/customers. It’s no good thinking about what you like, what you think is good, what you want and need. Unless, of course, your ideal client is you, which is doubtful. I used to do this all the time. I would read my copy and think yes, this would appeal to me. Who cares? Am I buying from me? No. The question to ask is would this appeal to your ideal client? And how do you know if you haven’t bothered to find out who he/she is? The remedy to this situation is…you’ve guessed it…to spend some time getting to know your ideal client.
Well, that’s it. I could probably go on and on describing the various mistakes I used to make when writing copy. I will resist that temptation as I have covered, what I consider to be, the most important points.
Good luck with writing your sales copy. If you pay attention to the 5 mistakes outlined in this BLOG you will be well on your way to writing great copy.
Thanks for reading.