Generating sales is the most important thing in every industry. Salespeople are continuously pitching their products and services to the people. In an online space, copywriters with a skill of writing a great sales copy do the heavy lifting of pitching people to buy a product or a service. It is vital to have a persuasive sales copy for every online business in order to make sales and grow their business. This is why writing a killer sales copy is the most sought after skill for any online business. A well-written sales copy has the power to evoke emotion and take the necessary action amongst people. This is the reason that a good copywriter makes the maximum amount of money as compared to other people in an organization.
What makes a great sales copy?
For creating a good sales copy, you need to understand human psychology. But every person thinks and reacts differently in different situations. This is why it is important to have a Customer Avatar clear in your mind before creating a sales copy. Once you know about your customer’s goals, their pain points, their language, and their trigger words, then you can use this data to your advantage while writing a sales copy. With your sales copy you must be able to INSPIRE, GUIDE, PERSUADE and TRANSFORM your customers.
So how do you start creating an INFLUENCE on your friends, colleagues, team members, and your customers?
You have to make them say “YES” to you. Whatever you say or whatever services you offer, people around you must say YES to you. Making people say YES to you is a skill that can be learned like other skills or tools. When people say YES and agree with you, it creates trust for you amongst them.
Now let’s dive in deeper to see what are the triggers in our brain that compels us to take action. There are 7 triggers of INFLUENCE, we will discuss that 1 by 1:-
1.SOCIAL PROOF – We are influenced by the wisdom of the crowd. This is why reviews and testimonials work so well, as we get proof of other people buying a product and trusting the seller or a website. For eg. If you go to a restaurant with a group of friends and every one of them is ordering a particular dish or drink, you will be compelled to try that even if you didn’t think of ordering it in the first place. Similarly, if you see a lot of people buying an online course and sharing their results, you will be convinced that the course provides great value and you will also be able to get similar results as other people.
2. SCARCITY – When there is plenty of time available to take action, we get relaxed. We think that we will do proper research and then make up our mind if we need this product. Resulting in – our mind gets deviated and we forget about the product. So it is very important to create a scarcity such as ‘Limited Period’, ‘Limited seats available’, ‘Few hours left’ etc. so that it creates an urgency amongst people to take fast action.
3. RECIPROCITY – It is the formula of ‘give and take’. When we get something from someone, we feel obliged to return the favor. Like when some friend or a relative gifts us an expensive product, we try to gift them back of similar value. For eg., if you go to an ice cream parlor like Baskin Robbins or Giani’s, and taste different flavors of icecreams and then don’t buy anything, you will feel guilty. Since you got the free samples, on some levels you are influenced by it.
4. AUTHORITY – When someone is known for a specific skill in the market and everyone in the market recommends him, he has the authority in that niche and you are bound to trust him. Building authority is a must by sharing your knowledge with customers. Before coming to your sales page or reading your sales copy they must recognize you as an expert in the niche.
5. COMMITMENT – People are more likely to take action when they are committed to it. Ask them to say ‘YES’ for a smaller thing. You can do that by offering a low ticket product in the beginning so it becomes a no brainer for them to buy. After they buy your cheaper product, they are more likely to invest in your higher ticket products too. Most likely those people will become loyal to your brand as compared to your competitor. Robert Cialdini did an experiment that is mentioned in his book ‘INFLUENCE‘. His team went to a city where they wanted to get a donation for cancer patients for their foundation, but before going to people straight away asking for donations, they distributed ‘Yellow Ribbons’ to them and asked them to tie in their hands which was a sign of care for cancer patients. Everyone did it, as it was a small commitment for people to tie a Yellow Ribbon in their hands. Then next week they went again and asked for donations from those people. Then it became difficult for people to say ‘NO’ to them as they already wore a Yellow Ribbon in their hands to show care for Cancer patients and now if they say ‘NO’ to donation it will show a conflict in their interest. This is how you get a commitment from people.
6. LIKING – People must like you if you want them to buy from you. All things being equal, people are likely to do business from people they like, respect and trust. So how can you get people to like you? By being AUTHENTIC. We are continuously trying to fit in with people because we are afraid of being left out but in order to do so, we are not able to stand out. So leave the fear of being left out and don’t try to fit in. Because that will bring out your real personality and your uniqueness. If you are faking it, people will sense it and you will not be able to build trust. The more authentic and real you are, the more people will follow and like you.
7. FEAR – If people are worried and they fear of missing an opportunity, they will take action. It is not same as scarcity, that they have to take quick action. They have to take action because they fear losing out. For eg. ads of cleaning detergents are based out of fear, that if you don’t use it, you will be exposed to bacteria. Similarly, if you are not installing a power-saving unit, you will get more electricity bills. Health insurance is also bought for the fear of avoiding hospital bills.
If you follow these 7 triggers of creating an influence, you will be able to inspire and guide them.
There are few important pointers to include that will help you create a persuading sales copy
Story Telling – Stories create interest and engage users. So take advantage of storytelling in your sales copy. Tell the story of your success. Talk about the struggles you faced, the experiences you had and how you overcame the struggles to be at the position where you are now. With the help of stories, people are able to relate to you. When they relate to you, they are more likely to like you. As we discussed in the point above, it is important for people to like you.
Handling Objections – Identify your customer’s common objections that they may have in buying your product. When you know their pain points, you also know the common objects that people might face before making a purchase decision. Address their queries and give them a solution or an answer to those. This way they will know that you are not hiding anything from them, and they will trust you more.
Call to Action – Once you have convinced your prospects with your copy, it is important to have an attractive Call to Action button at the end. It should be easily spottable to make the checkout process easier. You can also :-
- Strike the original price and write the discounted price to offer.
- Include a timer that will create scarcity.
Conclusion
Create influence by using the 7 triggers mentioned above on your target customer. Once you have the warm audience who trust you and ready to take action, use storytelling, objection handling and Call to Action in your sales copy to convert them into buyers.
Author’s Bio
I am Ashish Nagpal. I run a Photography & Video Production house. I help people to grow their brand and business with the power of videos.