Your Copy or marketing material can make or break you. It sounds scary but it is very true. Your customers want to be sold to. Even you are offering something for free, you have to sell it to them and it is your copy that will make all the difference particularly when you are not there in person.

Here are five things to consider in order to write copy that sells.

1. Who Is Your Target Audience?

Some things remain the same in marketing and figuring out who you are speaking to and speaking clearly and precisely to that person is key.

Take it a little further though: Are they cold prospects who do not know you at all? Are they warm prospects who have some idea of you but have not bought yet? Are you speaking to people who have bought from you before but not recently? Or maybe it is people who have bought things from you in more recent times? And then you can go as far as diving the buyers into those who have spent a lot with you or those who have not spent that much.

All these different groups must be spoke to differently.

2. What is the reason that people tend to buy from you?

Again, consider the different groups of people you may be speaking to. What pain or desire would cause them to buy from you? And what may put them off? How can you use this to your advantage when creating your marketing materials? Also, consider what your competitors are up to and what pains your prospects may be experiencing in the marketplace at large. Again, how can you use this information to position yourself as a solution to the pains of your prospects?

3. What is the goal of your communication?

Start with the end in mind. What do you want to achieve by sending out this particular communication? Do you want referrals? Do you want them to go to a particular sales page? Do you want them to look at an article? Is there an event you want to invite prospects to or remind someone of a phone call that you are about to have with them.

Before putting your marketing material together – Consider the goal and keep that in mind when writing your copy and also consider if sending cold traffic to your sales letter is the best way forward. Is it realistic to expect someone, who does not know you, to buy from you?

4. What is the main story?

When you put your copy together, what is the overriding emotion you want your prospects to feel? What benefits should you focus on as a result of doing the research you did to get to this point? Can you confidently address any underlying concerns that your prospects or customers have? Think outside the box here because you may be tempted to think that you cannot but if you really think it through, there is always a way to position yourself and your products in a way that will get you the results you want. You just have to be persistent and look for it.

5. What Action Do You Want The Reader to Take?

Be very clear on what you want from the reader. Do you want them to call you, to click a certain link, to visit your store online or offline and buy the product? Never assume that it is obvious what to do next. State it categorically and clearly.

OK, take some time to consider the answer to the questions asked and then start to put together sales copy that converts a whole lot better than if you just whipped something together with no thought put into the process.