How to sell more by writing less

Have you ever sat at your keyboard, scratching your head, because you wanted to sell a product or service but didn’t know what to write?

It takes time to write a sales letter or affiliate recommendation. Not only that but, if you don’t get it right, you can annoy your readers, lose your credibility … and … feel like you’ve wasted your time and effort.

Fortunately, there is a quick, easy and painless way to write persuasive articles and blog posts etc that get your reader’s attention, holds them spell bound, and moves them to the point of buying the product or service you are selling.

Further more, even if your readers don’t buy, they may thank you for writing about the product when you use the method I’m prescribing here.

It’s one of the methods I use to write email marketing letters. And in any given week this method can produce as much as $9,000 or more in annual recurring income.

Here are the steps:

Step #1: The first step is to promise your reader they will achieve a desired result after reading your letter, post, article or ad.

A good format for your promise is what I call the “what you get, how long it takes” headline. For example, if you are selling piano lessons … your headline might read:

“How to play all your favorite songs on the piano – in as little as 7 weeks!”

Step #2: Next, you tease your reader with a little glimpse into what life will be like once they get the promised result.

For example, for the piano teaching course you might say:

“Now, for busy people who don’t want to spend hours banging away at the keyboard — in just 7 weeks — you can be playing songs you only dreamed of playing before. Songs you hear on the radio come to life as they flow like a river of silk from your fingers. Friends smile in amazement as they recognize their favorite tune. Finally you’re doing what you wanted to do for years but didn’t know how.”

Step #3: Next you must prove you can deliver on your promise. The proof you use will depend on the type of product you are selling and the complexity of the promise you are making. The more unbelievable the claim, the stronger your proof needs to be.

For our piano lesson example I think it’s a pretty bold claim to say someone can play their favorite songs in just 7 weeks … so … I’d use a lot of proof. Starting with a couple of reasons why such fast results can be achieved. Perhaps it would go something like this:

“All this and more is possible because of a unique training program that works in three ways to help you master the piano fast:

1) A proprietary “learn-while-you-sleep” audio program goes to work on your unconscious mind as you lay sleeping at night. Scientists have known for years that your mind is in it’s most receptive state in the dead of the night when your mind is resting from the cares of daily life. That’s why this revolutionary audio program is so powerful. It actually programs your brain with the musical thinking patterns of Masters like Mozart, Chopin and Rachmaninoff. This system took 6 years to develop and has only just now become available to the public. Previously it was reserved only for students accepted into the World Institute of Music. And even then, they had to pay $7,000 to $10,000 a year to access this groundbreaking technology. But now, through a special global music appreciation agreement,  it has been released to the public for the first time.

2) The second reason why this amazing program allows you to play your favorite songs in just 7 weeks is the unique way the program breaks down the mastery of scales. Scales, as you may know, are the bedrock foundation of musical mastery. But most musicians take years before they can master the scales. However, while working with the World Institute of music we made several discoveries that short cut the process of learning scales and cut the time it takes from 3 years to just 3 weeks – giving you the basics you need to play any popular song.

3) And so on. You get the idea.

Step #4: Next, you present the price: A simple way to do this is to say something like:

“Now, for all this — including the technology students paid $7,000 – $10,000 per year to access — you’d probably expect to pay a LOT. But like I said, this technology is being made available to the public by a special arrangement with the World Institute of Musicians and so, for a limited time, you can get this technology to use in your own home for just $147. Further more, because the technology is only just now being released to the public, it’s yours to try for a full 7-weeks before you decide you want to keep it. If it doesn’t make you a much better piano player (even if you’ve never touched a piano before today) simply return the system and you’ll get a complete refund. We’ll even refund you the cost of shipping the system back to us.

Step #5: And finally (yes, this is the final step. I did say this was a way to sell a lot without writing much) you push the reader to action. And there is no better way to push the reader to action than by offering a bribe.

“Plus, when you ask for your copy today I’ll also send you the “Masters collection of hit piano songs” on CD – yours free when you order my unique piano learning system today. This Cd set is $147 when sold separately. But today it’s yours absolutely free. All you have to do is click the order link below and the entire system, including the “learn-while-you-sleep” audio program and the “Masters collection of hit piano songs” on CD is yours to try risk free for 7 weeks. If you don’t surprise your friends and family with your musical talent by the end of the 7 weeks simply return the program for a complete refund – we’ll even let you keep the “Masters collection of hit piano songs” on CD as our gift.

Step #6: OK. So I lied. This is the real final step: Ask for action. Sounds obvious enough, but you’d be surprised how many forget to do it.

In this example I might just say:

“Click this link to start playing the piano like a master now.”

That’s it!

Promise, tease, prove, price, push, ask for action – my simple formula for selling a lot of stuff with only a few words.

[Ed. Note: For more simple web writing secrets, visit web writing expert Michael Low’s simple web writing blog at http://simple-web-writing.com

Tagged as: copywriting, Email Marketing, Internet marketing, marketing, writing