"What's the Only Kind of Copy that Sells Today?"

Even some of the best copywriters miss the boat on these proven ways to reach customers and convert them into loyal fans of your product or service ...  

by Diane Eble, author, editor, copywriter, publicist, CEO of Words to Profit

 Do you have a web site or other marketing vehicles you use to persuade people to take action of some kind? Maybe you’re trying to sell something, or get people to sign up for your newsletter so that you can follow up with them.

If so, let me ask you this: Are you happy with the amount of traffic you’re getting on your web site? Are you thrilled with the response rate you are currently getting to your mailings?

If your answer to either question is no, then please read every word of this article. The answer to why your site or other marketing materials are not working—and what to do about it—will be found here. Plus, you will find out how to get a free copy of a ground-breaking eBook that will not only change the way you do business, but will dramatically improve your persuasion skills.

What Your Customers Want from You

Why are you in business?

Of course you want to make a profit, but your customers or clients don’t care about that, do they?

So what do they care about?

Exactly the same thing you care about now as you read this article: “How can you help me solve my problem?”

What problem does your product or service help your customers solve?

Whatever your answer, the first way you begin to do that is by giving them information that they want and need.

You know the world is deeply entrenched in the Information Age. People crave information—information on how to solve their problems.

Your business is to provide the kind of information your customers/clients want and need, in the way they want it, when they want it.

That  is the secret to building and growing a successful business. Your market is hungry for the solutions to their problems, solutions that you help solve. All you need to do is find ways to connect with your market and begin providing your solutions to their problem. Give them the information they want, and they will come back to you. They will tell their friends about you.

Keep  giving them the information/solutions they need, and you have a customer for life. Or at least as long as they continue to need your product or service.

And that is exactly where I can help you most.

I take a specific, proven approach to providing the kind of information my clients’ customers want and need. This approach will skyrocket your sales, boost your response rates, and position you as the leading expert in your field.

The Proven Way to Market These Days

The specific approach is what is called information marketing or editorial marketing. It is based on the premise that, especially in today's climate of advertising oversaturareion, "hard sell" copywriting doesn't work. This is especially true on theWeb, where people are mainly looking for information, not to be "sold."

When people go online, they are either 1) checking their email or 2) looking for information.

When you are the one giving them the information they want first and foremost, and you get their permission to continue hearing from you, you begin to build a relationship. As that relationship progresses, both you and your prospects have the opportunity to discover if what you offer is what they want.

This is the essence of the kind of marketing that works today. If you know how to harness it, technology provides a wonderful way for customers to come looking for you. It's the equivalent of having a store that sells one thing, but draws thousands of customers per day who are hungry for that one item.

Copywriting that Works

Copywriting that makes the most of this marketing environment provides wanted information, establishes trust and credibility, and makes it easy for the visitor to buy.

This kind of copywriting is client-centered, focusing on their needs and desires, not how great you are. It is conversational in tone, not "corporate speak."

It is based, in fact, on knowing your customer and the frame of mind he or she is in during each contact with you. When you tailor your communication to this, each step of your sales process will unfold in a very natural way. It will be natural to you, and natural to your customer/client.

This approach does not need to rely on “hype.” This method of marketing underlies all the copywriting I do. This kind of copywriting has been proven  to be the most effective in today's marketing climate. It is used by all the most successful marketers and copywriters:

• It is the cornerstone of the approach taken by Jay Conrad Levinson , known as the father of "Guerilla Marketing." 
• This approach was refined for the Web by Mark Joyner , an early Internet marketing pioneer who was able to test everything that did and did not work on the Web.  
• Michael Masterson,  developer of the American Writer's and Artists Institute (AWAI) Copywriting courses, used this model to build a $80 million-dollar business in six years.  
• It is also the approach taken by all the top copywriters--Clayton Makepeace, Ted Nicholas, and Maria Veloso  (director of Web Copywriting University), to mention three of my mentors who are the highest-paid copywriters in the world. 
• It is based on the latest research on persuasion . 

Tap Hidden Ways to Reach and Serve Your Customers

Chances are, by not understanding or using this proven approach to marketing, you're leaving lots of money on the table that you don't know about.

I've found that many businesses don't begin to take advantage of all the opportunities they have with their customers. I enjoy brainstorming strategies to not only increase the number of clients/customers you have, but to serve them in new ways that may not have occurred to you. Ways that not only create loyalty on their part, but also additional stream of income for your business.

For instance, if your company currently does Powerpoint presentations, that presentation could be turned into an ebook or Special Report or even a "real book" that could be added as a product or a bonus for people who do business with you.

Or you could interview happy customers about how they use your product or service, how their lives have been enhanced, and put their stories in a little Special Report that can be printed up. If they're written in a format of "real stories by real people," other potential or current customers would want it and likely, pass it on. As you undoubtedly know, "word of mouth" is the best and least expensive form of advertising.

Taking creative new approaches like this also sets you apart from your competition. Business comes to you when you are seen as a trusted source of valuable information.

Specific Ways I Can Help You Grow Your Business

I specialize in web copywriting and creating information products designed to boost your credibility as well as begin that all-important relationship with a prospective customer. That’s why my copy focuses on more than throwing up a sales page on a web site (which is what most copywriters will do). The most effective Web marketing approach includes:

• an opt-in offer of some kind that is so enticing the visitor will give you his/her email address in exchange for it  
• web copy that captures your visitors' attentionimmediately and engages them so that they become happily involved in your sales process . The copy must speak to the needs of the visitor and makes them want your product or service (or at least desire to keep hearing from you). 
• a series of follow up messages (via e-mail, postcard, and/or some other device, such as an e-course or DVD) that allow the customer to sample your product/service in such a way that trust is built and the sale can be made.
• an order page designed to clinch the deal. (Without the 6 elements I use, you would lose 30 percent or more of your potential buyers at point of order.)  
• the right offer  presented in the right way, with the right bonuses, guarantee, testimonials to support your claims, etc.to maximize your sales 

For some samples of copy I've written that incorporates the above approach, click here.

With all this in mind, here are some of the ways I might be able to help your business:

• rewrite your web site copy so that it begins that customer relationship and elicits a higher conversion.
• brainstorm new ways to market your business and bring in revenue , especially if you don't currently have a mailing list or a Web presence. If I am unavailable to help you execute the plans, I may be able to point you to people who can (other copywriters, audio and/or video experts, designers and the like).
• create new information products that will set you apart from the competition, generate extra streams of income, and allow you to charge higher prices because you're seen as the expert. These products might include articles, white papers or Special Reports, eBooks, printed books, audio programs, teleseminars, seminars or special events, audio/video programs of events you've already done, newsletters.
• develop a direct mail campaign for your product/service that gets you the results you want.
• generate publicity for your business that translates into the equivalent of thousands of dollars in free advertising

Note that I do not do any ghost-writing of books (articles I do), but I can help you find a reputable one if that is your wish.

How to Contact Me

If you want to contact me for any of the services mentioned above, please email me at 

  or call me. Give me a brief description of what you want me to do for you. I will then reply and ask you to fill out a questionnaire about your business, which will lay the groundwork for us working productively together. If it looks like there's a match, we will agree on terms and I will schedule you in. It's that easy!

To your success,

Diane Eble

P.S. I truly enjoy working with business people to grow their business, using these proven copywriting techniques. If you're dissatisfied with how your business is going, if you want to squeeze every ounce of value out of your marketing/advertising dollars, if you want to create assets that will bring revenue into your business month after month, even year after year--contact me. Let's see what we can do to grow your business!