Some products sell themselves. Others can sell themselves, but only to the right customers. Most of the time, however, marketing efforts are responsible for making sure the sale happens. That’s where you, as a writer, will often come in.
When you write about a product with the intention of producing more sales, your job requires you to accomplish one thing: to raise the product’s perceived value so that your reader is compelled to make the purchase. Everything else, from producing impeccable copy (a basic proofreading software can help you with that) to doling out memorable lines, is secondary.
Raising a product’s perceived value allows you to overcome your reader’s resistance to buying. When you’re being asked to pay $10 for a $10 service, you might reserve concerns about spending the money. Once you’re offered a $10 price for a product that your reader perceives to be worth $30, though, the cash just seems to fly out of your pocket.
Looking for ways to achieve this in your own writing? Here are some ideas:
- Pile on the benefits. Make sure you give a thorough rundown of all the benefits your readers stand to derive from the product you’re writing about, especially if it’s one they can’t find anyplace else.
- Give exact amounts. If you can represent your product in financial terms (e.g. savings, value in bonuses, etc), don’t hold back. People like to see numbers – it gives them an exact metric to gauge your value.
- Be reader-focused the whole way through. Some sales letters choose to shine the spotlight on the product. If you want to steer your readers, though, you should put the focus on them – the product is secondary to what it can do for those supposed to buy it.
