5 Simple Copy Changes That Will Help You Get More Sales

By Lori Smith

Your copy is the key to your business’ growth and sustainability. When

you get the words right is when the magic happens. Have you ever

found yourself influenced to buy something based on the incredible

sounding copy? Raise your hand if you bought the George Forman Grill

or Suzanne Somers Thigh Master. Don’t worry, I’m raising my hand too.

That’s the power of words – they can sell stuff. Yep, the right words in

the right order can sell the crap out of your products or services, and

who doesn’t want that?

In this article, I’m sharing 5 simple changes you can make to your copy

that will help you get more traffic and conversions. These changes

aren’t difficult to do but can make a big impact. Whether you’re a

service-based business or sell physical/digital products these copy

changes will help you get more sales.

 

Simple Copy Changes For More Sales

1)  Take the I out of your copy and replace it with you:

Nobody wants to hear only about you. Harsh but true. Yes, you need to

convey what you do and how you do it, but it’s important to convey it in

a way that focuses on what your reader’s problems or needs are and

how you can solve them – not how great you are.

Write your copy in a way that feels as though you’re talking to that one

reader. Replace I with you throughout your copy. To get inside your

reader’s head you have to make your copy all about your target

customer.

Instead of– I have an amazing tool which I’VE been working on for

years. I know it will change the dreaded chore of small business

accounting into an automated task.  It helps ME keep track of MY 

expenses and income like the true boss I am. I’VE set the mind-blowing

price for MY program well below MY competition. (a little extreme but

you get the point.)

Try this – YOU can stop worrying today about that time-consuming

task of accounting. YOU no longer have to spend hours imputing YOUR 

expenses and income or uploading receipts to a hard to navigate 

program YOURSELF. YOU can simplify YOUR life and set YOUR mind at

peace by using our new and intuitive accounting software that

automates the process so YOU can focus on the parts of YOUR business

YOU love and are important to YOUR success. The best thing about it is

– YOU can get it now for a low introductory price. (see what I did there?)

2)  Know your ideal customer’s pain point and play it up:

So before you even write one word of copy, you need to know your ideal

customer like backward forwards upside down inside out, including

their pain points. Knowing what your target audience’s struggles are,

helps you write copy that addresses their specific problems and

emotions. Playing up your audience’s pain points will make what you’re

selling irresistible because it’s the perfect solution.

Your words should bring your reader’s struggles and the emotions they

feel about them to the surface and put them front and center in their

mind. They need to feel the pain their problems cause them as they

read through your copy. It’s important you address every single pain

point, struggle or problem they have from every angle so you can make

sure you are drawing out every ounce of those emotions. When your

words reach out and touch your audience where it hurts while offering

the perfect solution to their problems, is when you inspire action.

3)  Lead with the benefits first instead of features:

The average attention span of adults today is less than that of a

goldfish. Sad but true. Most people scan for the important points when

reading. I’m sure you’ve read articles on content creation that told you

how hooking your reads in the first paragraph is one of the most

important aspects in writing pretty much anything. People live very

busy lives today, and they seldom have time to read anything in its

entirety. They focus only on the parts that offer the information they

need.

In your sales copy hooking your reader right from the start is about

appealing to the “what’s in it for me” mentality. People want to know

sooner rather than later how what you’re offering will help them. Let

your readers know in the first couple of paragraphs how you can make

their life easier or solve a specific problem they have. Will your product

help them lose weight? Can you help them increase their sales? Hook

them with the benefits of your products or services first.

4)  Have one goal and one goal only:

The word goal in this statement is referring to your CTA (call to action.)

Your copy strategy should be about achieving one goal so stick to one

CTA only. Whether it’s getting visitors to sign up for your newsletter or

buy your product, don’t confuse your audience with multiple CTA’s. 

More often than not, when people are faced with too many choices,

they won’t make a choice at all.

When writing copy, be clear about the one goal you want to achieve,

then make sure every word you write supports it. Don’t be tempted to

go off on a tangent or slip in a few lines of copy for some other goal

that’s on your wish list. They only way your copy can be successful in

achieving the results you want is when you focus it on one goal and one

goal only.

5)  Edit out the fluff:

Editing your first draft while you’re writing it hinders the creative

process, but once you have that initial draft written all bets are off. It’s

time to cut the fluff. You know the words I’m talking about – industry

jargon that your readers don’t know, overused buzzwords or cliche

sayings that affect the quality of your copy. Your writing should be

concise and focused on the result you want to achieve.

Pay attention to words that make your writing weak or difficult to

understand, but don’t be afraid to edit out any passages or filler words

that aren’t necessary. Avoid using passive voice and words ending in ly

for better style. If it doesn’t add to the point, you’re trying to make it

needs to go.

Conclusion

Writing effective copy isn’t easy, but it’s essential to building a

successful business. When your copy isn’t on point you lose sales, and

no one can afford that. A business can’t survive if it’s not making money,

but making money requires words that inspire people to act. Turn

browsers into customers with these simple copy changes.