Copywriting Strategies For Internet Marketing Profits

Web 2.0 has revolutionized the way people use the internet. And in doing so, it's changed the face of internet marketing.

At the same time, copywriting for marketing and sales sites has had to change as well. It's a lot harder to get high conversion rates with the traditional long-copy sales letter.

Of course, that doesn't mean that traditional direct-response techniques have all become invalid. It's still cruicial that your website do all the things the best long-copy letters have always done: command attention, stimulate desire through benefits, give all the reasons why you can fulfil your promises, and close the sale with a call to action.

What's changed is the way those copywriting elements are presented, and how the reader/ website visitor interacts with them.

You put a lot of time and/or money into bringing traffic to your website. And there's nothing more frustrating than seeing that traffic "bounce" away before ever engaging in your sales message.

You have a tiny handful of seconds to capture the attention of your visitor before she clicks away in search of other options. Somehow, during those seconds, you have to do something that convinces her you just may have what she's looking for.

Until now, this was most often done through copywriting alone, with a killer headline -- and of course, your headline is still crucial no matter what else you do.

According to eye-tracking studies by Jakob Nielsen, users will first scan the top of your webpage, then (if that captures their attention) they'll begin to move down the left of your copy looking for information that jumps out at them.

But having just a headline, no matter how laser-targeted, can still scream "sales message" if you're not careful. Other studies by Mr. Nielsen show that readers avoid anything that looks like a sales message.

Today's internet users want a little more interactivity. They really don't want to be shouted at or lectured to, no matter how relevant the message is. Which is why video is working so well as an attention strategy.

If you've been involved in internet marketing for long, you're probably familiar with Frank Kern's Mass Control course. He created a firestorm of buzz around the launch in early 2008.

Take a look at this screenshot of Frank's landing page. Notice what's missing -- above the fold, anyway. Instead of a traditional headline, theres a huge video player.

When you land on Frank's site, the video starts automatically. And if you're even remotely in his target market, what the video says immediately captures your attention.

See how this is so much more effective than landing on a static page with a big red headline? Instead, it feels more like a dynamic experience. You hear Frank's voice, and it almost feels like he's having a conversation with you.

What's more, he doesn't go into an overt sales pitch. Instead, he starts to tell you a story -- a story you (as part of his target market) are very interested in. He lets you see what it will be like to get the results he's promising.

Frank's video works brilliantly for several reasons:

• Every word he says was planned and written in advance. He knows his target market intimately well, and uses sound copywriting strategies to stimulate their interest and desire

• Rather than taking an adversarial stance and trying to convince you to buy his product, he merely shows you the product in action and lets you decide for yourself

• By showing the results his product has gotten for others, he implies that you can get similar benefits. But by making these results part of a story -- and by constantly referencing "problems" encountered along the way -- he subtly makes promises that would otherwise seem too good to be true, but in this case seem utterly believable

As you watch the video, you feel like you're hearing a juicy story. You don't feel like you're being sold. But that's exactly what's happening.

What kind of story could you tell on your website? What does your product or service actually do for your customers? Create a video that shows it in action and use it to open up your site.

Once you've captured your prospect's attention and whetted her appetite with your video, she wants more information.

Always remember the basic reason people use the internet: they're looking for information. They have a problem and they want to know how to solve it.

Now it's time to draw your prospect further into your web page. If your video has done it's job, she's at least accepted the possibility that you have the solution to her problem. But she needs a lot more before she'll be ready to buy from you.

Below the video, or somewhere close by where it will be immediately seen, your web copy must:

• Show how your product or service delivers the benefits you promise, and show conclusive proof that it will do so

• Recognize every objection your prospect will have and overcome it

• Create a bond with your prospect and make her feel she knows you and that you can be trusted

• Continue to feed the flames of desire for the solution you're offering, building it into a force that cannot be ignored or denied

But you can't do this in a way that is pushy or salesy. The best web copywriting (just like good offline copy) provides value just for reading. And in doing so, subtly lets the prospect convince herself that she should make the purchase.