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The second step to the 7 secrets of advertising is to get more prospects to read your ad till the end. After all, if we don’t get to fully inform our reader how can we expect them to make a buying decision. And fully informed means, reading your ad right to the very end.

Here are 3 effective strategies to help you achieve this.

1. Break up your copy

Remember your prospect is looking for a reason to turn the page or click off to another site so it’s not just what you say but how you present it.

Use short paragraphs and sentences.

And break up your copy with Subheadings.

Subheads make it visually more appealing for the reader so they are more likely to start and continue reading if it looks easy.

Just be sure that the copy that immediately follows is totally relevant to the headline. And that each section flows into the next.

You should use them like bridges throughout your copy to move your reader from one point to the next - linking all the main elements of your letter. This also means that skimmers can quickly scan or scroll down your entire letter and still get the message even if they are not reading every word.

2. Turn features into benefits

You’ve maybe heard that we’re all listening to our own radio station called WIIFM or “What’s In It For Me.”
So if your prospect is thinking in “what’s-in-it-for-me” terms then you need to be writing in those terms.

They will only be stopping on your ad long enough to see if there is a possible solution to their problem.
And to keep your reader interested you need to be writing in WIIFM terms throughout your copy. Not just in the headline.

This means writing in benefits and not just features. Your prospect is not interested in your product or it’s features. They are only interested in what your product or service can do for them.

A simple way to translate features into benefits is by using the 2 magic words “which means”. If for example you are selling a television set with a really big screen. You could write “The top model in the A-brand range has a big 60 inch TV screen which means you can create a movie theatre in your very own living room”.

3. Use bullets effectively

Like subheads, bullet points help break up your sales letter and make it easy to ready as well as appeal to skimmers. People like that sort of checklist, like rapid fire.

Some of the most effective bullets are

- Blind bullets which are a teaser and don’t give anything tangible but they do create curiosity.

- Give away bullets where you give the reader a nugget of tangible information which makes them think if you are giving this away the information you are selling must be really great and valuable. Use this sparingly, say one at the beginning and one at the end of your bullet list.

- Short sentence bullets that let you pack in a lot of information in a concise way. Like a shorter version of a short paragraph.

- Written in benefit terms that translate a feature into a benefit that solves the reader’s problem.

Use these techniques to have your prospect reading your letter or ad right till the end you are bound to increase your sales results. Especially if they trust what you say.

Direct response marketing expert Kathleen Ann is the “Marketing Champion for Small Business and entrepreneurs”. Delivering simple techniques and tools you can use to increase sales and profits. Sign up for her free audio workshop “7 Steps to Advertising Success” http://www.PowerUpYourMarketing.com

The third step to the 7 secrets of advertising is to get more prospects to trust what you say.

Take it for granted that no-one believes you. Now, that sounds rather blunt, doesn’t it? But people don’t know you so why would they believe what you say?

Now you will also have heard that people buy from people they know, like and trust so here are 5 simple tips to build trust that you can put to use right away.

1. Use Photos

You could start with your photo in your ad or on your website and a caption underneath that. People can then see you and get a sense of connection. That’s a really, powerful way to build trust.

Photos of your clients are great too. It’s comforting to see that others have already put their trust in you.
And if you have a tangible product or can demonstrate your service in action, include a photo so people can see what it looks like. This immediately ads substance to your offer and proof that it’s real.

Of course if you have a bricks and mortar business include a picture of your building and personnel as evidence.

2. Honest Copy

Use honest copy to reveal the real reason behind what your are doing or offering. Firstly, it’s emotive and we know that people buy on emotion. But just as important is your authenticity will shine through in your words and that’s really, humanizing. People will automatically feel like they can trust you to do what you say.

3. Strong Guarantee

You simply must have a strong guarantee. You just can not go past making it a no-brainer to do business with you.

What are you prepared to do by way of a guarantee, if you don’t live up to your promises? Let people know they have got nothing to lose and everything to gain by buying your service or product.

Now days it’s not enough to simply offer a money back guarantee. That’s a given. You need to demonstrate that you will be the loser if your product does not live up to expectations, not them.

The truth is, very few people will take you up on your guarantee but it will increase your sales because you have demonstrated your trustworthiness.

4. Testimonials

Now, one of the most powerful things you can do to get people to trust you is to build your credibility through testimonials. You can’t just go around blowing your own trumpet all the time. What other people say about you is pure magic.

You get instant credibility and proof when someone else is validating what you say.

You could use those in written form with a picture or interview somebody. Ask them to speak about you and use the audio or you could video them - even more powerful.

So don’t think of testimonials just as a thank you letter that you received. You could even create your own. Help somebody write or speak about you in a way that will support what it is you want to share with other people. Powerful stuff.

5. Evidence your expertise

Many small business owners are very modest and humble and don’t really want to talk about themselves and blow their own horn.

But when it comes to something like listing your experience and your expertise and specific qualifications you simply must let your reader know. They won’t know otherwise.

Don’t hide behind it. If you’ve ever achieved it - share it and build that level of trust that you can, and will do what you say.

Now put some or all of these tips to work for you and you will increase your customers trust and increase your sales. Once you have got their trust you can work on getting more people to respect your value. Sounds similar - but it’s not the same thing at all.

Direct response marketing expert Kathleen Ann is the “Marketing Champion for Small Business and entrepreneurs”. Delivering simple techniques and tools you can use to increase sales and profits. Sign up for her free audio workshop “7 Steps to Advertising Success” http://www.PowerUpYourMarketing.com

A style guide is a document that helps writers and editors by answering the questions they will meet when editing. They vary greatly in length and cover a variety of different subject matter from how to attribute different types of information in academic works to how to properly write out a military commander’s rank in a newspaper article. One of the big reasons that style guides are so important is that they lend a certain uniformity to the look and feel for a certain kind of text. For example, all the papers that are done using MLA style offer symmetry of information and text that all the people associated with liberal arts disciples are familiar with.

One of the other useful aspects of the style guide is that, where there is a choice about the way something is expressed, it can provide the preferred option such as the use of capital letters (Supervisor versus supervisor), the use of symbols (% versus percent) and even the preferred spelling for certain words (colour versus color)

In some of the positions that you might find yourself in as an editor, it’s important that you get a brief of some description that answers all the questions that you will need to know. Before an editor starts any edit, there is some necessary preliminary work that needs to be done to ensure that the editor has the necessary level of confidence to do the job well.

The editor should be confident that they are familiar with the readers linguistic level and that they know the kinds of words and the knowledge level that they are working with. In effect, that they know who they are editing for. It wouldn’t do much good to use the words and phrasings meant for a plumber’s union magazine if the intended audience was university professors.

There are several other good reasons that you need a style guide. For example, all decisions about points of detail are made just once. Once they’ve been formalized, this saves any editor a lot of time and allows them to move on to other issues. Style guides also help to ensure that documents are consistent, and this helps to create a professional image no matter which type of document you’re working with.

Having a style guide handy is also essential when you’ve got several people contributing to the same document. Again, this promotes a consistency throughout that adds to a professional overall appearance.

There are many organizations and companies that have a in house guide as well and it’s a good idea for anyone who wants to work for a specific organization to familiarize themselves with that company’s rules.

Remember too that no matter what kind of text that you edit, you might want to produce your own style guide that will be specific to the kind of work that you are doing.

Robert Starr is a professional writer/editor with several published books and a degree in journalism. He’s brought 20 years of experience in the craft to his own on line writing/editing service. You can reach him at
http://www.robstarr.org/index.php

Most small business owners and entrepreneurs make the same fundamental mistake when they put their hard earned money into advertising.

The reason why is obvious, but little understood. They simply copy the big end of town and do what big companies do because they think that’s how to advertise successfully. After all, aren’t those companies successful?

Unfortunately it’s the last thing small business should ever do. In fact you should never do it. Play that game and you could wind up working for less than the average wage. A slave in your own business because your advertising is sending you broke.

You know the type of advertising I’m talking about. A big logo at the top, boring feature after boring feature and a big fat phone number at the end. Sound familiar? And no sign of a sales message. This type of ad does not ask the reader to buy or do anything! What is the point of that?

And you have to have deep pockets a.k.a. a big budget to play the game of image advertising. Placing ads regularly, over a long period of time. Major companies spend millions of dollars promoting their brand hoping that when you are out and about in the marketplace, about to make a purchase, they will come to mind. Even if you do happen to buy their product they will have no idea what advertisement you saw or even if you saw it at all.

As a small business owner you simply can’t afford to do that. And anyway, your “brand” is not important to your customer. They are only interested in what your product or service will “do” for them. So that’s the good news. You don’t have to waste your time or money building your brand.

Fortunately there is a better way to bring in all the customers you can handle and it’s called direct response marketing.

Once you understand the difference between brand advertising and direct response marketing, you will never make that mistake again.

So why do I think direct response is the champion? Simply because it puts you in the driver’s seat. Using direct response you actually give your customer instructions on what you want them to do. Specifically, how to “respond” to you so you get their contact details. Which means instead of hoping (and remember, hope is not a strategy) people will come to you - you can go to them. Again and again and again so that you create an ongoing relationship. It also means you can concentrate on building your customer list so you never have to worry about where your next sale is coming from.

It’s a proven fact but often overlooked. It’s easier (and cheaper) to make a sale to an existing customer than to find a new one. Design your marketing funnel around meeting your customers’ needs so you can cross-sell them related products or services and up-sell them more of what they just bought. They’ll love you for it.

So take my advice and spend your marketing dollars on creating direct response campaigns designed to attract and retain your ideal customers and leave that image stuff to the big spenders.

Direct response marketing expert Kathleen Ann is the “Marketing Champion for Small Business and entrepreneurs”. Delivering simple techniques and tools you can use to increase sales and profits. Sign up for her free audio workshop “7 Steps to Advertising Success” http://www.PowerUpYourMarketing.com

If you want to sell your product or service on the internet, the best way to go about it is to write a winning sales letter. Not everyone feels themselves up to the challenges of this task. Some struggle with their writing, others hire a copywriter to tackle the job for them or use copywriting software. However it gets done, a winning sales letter follows a system. One such system follows in the form of this template.

1) The headline. Before you write this, ask yourself this question: what is the benefit to the purchaser of your product or service? Many may come to mind; you must think about each of these and incorporate the largest of these into your title. Phrase your title in the form of a question, as follows:
* Would you like to …?
* Who else would like to …?
* How would you like to …?
These are just a few possibilities for your headline, you can surely think of other questions to lead it off.

2. The opening line. The opening line should be an answer to the question posed by your headline. Offer a solution to the reader. Put it in terms like: “If you would like to know more about … then this is likely the most crucial information you will ever read.” That ellipsis there? This is where you will list the biggest benefit of your product.

3. Mention your product or service by name and convey some general information on what they can expect from your product.

4. Write down all of the benefits of your product in the form of complete sentences. Invite your reader to imagine the benefits of your product as they would apply to them.

5. Now get into specifics. Make a bulleted list of the features and benefits of your product.

6. Make an offer to the reader. Tell them what sort of price a product as high quality of yours could demand. Make the case that you are charging less because you are genuinely interested in sharing the fruits of your labor with others and know how many people have a need for exactly what you have to offer.

7. Offer bonuses. You should offer, at the very least, one bonus. Be sure to list the benefits of each bonus listed to your readers. Make summary of the total value of the bonuses following this.

8. Testimonials. Use testimonials from people who have actually used your product and have found it useful; include their names and locations.

9. Write your guarantee/refund policy. This makes your potential customers feel that they are in control of the transaction. Tell your readers what your refund policy is. Check with your payment provider what they support in terms of refunds and go from there.

10. Call for action. Your purchase button should go right here so that your reader can make a purchase right then and there.

11. That’s it! Edit your letter using Dreamweaver or whichever WYSIWYG editor you prefer and upload it to your website.

Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of Be Successful News, a site that provides information and articles on how to succeed in your own home or small business. http://besuccessfulnews.com/

1. The word “free” in your ad goes a crazy long way. People want reasons to do anything and free is a big motivator. It could be a free ebook, a service, or a free report you’ve created. Let them know the perceived value of the free item.

Also, it’s not free forever, right? How about for the first 50 visitors, or free until a certain date.

Using a power word together with another one will have a mind-altering affect on your visitors. Try the word “limited” in your ad with the word free. People will go out of their way to own or receive your stuff if they think it’s exclusive, or limited. To them it means it has extra value to it.

2. Use the word “new” in your ad, if it really is new. If it’s not new, add some detail that makes it so. People want to know what’s new, they want to be one of the first to have it. If it’s new it may be a breakthrough service or product, one that could improve their life.

Here’s a word to be careful of, “Easy”. Too many times to too many people, easy means, if you have a degree in physics it’s easy. Most things take some effort. And don’t use “easy” when marketing your business opportunity.

“Simple” is a better choice. People will believe that with some effort the thing is simple. People like simple steps to making money. Nobody likes easy steps to making money, because we all know making money isn’t easy, it’s work.

3. The word “important” in your ad is, important. Your visitors do not want to miss important info that might affect them in any way. “Important” is like a stop sign, people will stop and take notice.

You saying that it’s important is not enough. Back it up with facts. Give them the hard numbers like, over a billion sold, or, eleven million dollars paid out in commissions.

People look for the word “testimonial” when they see the word important. They don’t if the word is free, but if it’s “important” give some facts or a “testimonial” in your ad. People want to see believable proof. It should be specific, reputable proof. This is a good way to build trust too.

4. Write like you’re talking to one specific person in mind. Use the word “you” in your marketing. This triggers a personal connection and can make it seem to your visitors that you’re talking to them. It’s been said that addressing your visitor in your ad attracts them to read the majority of the ad. And like wise marketing that is less personal is abandoned sooner.

5. Consider using the word “fast” in your advertising. It’s attention getting and a real trigger to people’s purchasing reflex. Who doesn’t want it all fast? Fast results, fast delivery. Time is of the essence nowadays.

Along with “fast” you will do well to use the word “now”. Now is giving them direction. It’s the call to action. When we are in front of a salesperson they use their voice, their eyes, their entire body to get you to buy. Online you’re at a disadvantage, you have to take the prospect by the hand and tell them several times, “click here now”, or “go here now”.

Steve Tash has 15 years in Relationship marketing, owning businesses online, as well as in the Entertainment and Fashion industries. Discover his best system to creating automated wealth online at: http://www.Job-Kill.com

Imagine that you are a busy college student, waiting in line to copy an article you need for your upcoming final exams. A stranger taps you on the shoulder: “Could I cut in? I want to go first because I’m in a hurry.”

Meanwhile, in the next line, another stranger taps on your friend’s shoulder: “Hey, could I cut in?”

Actually, you’re part of an experiment. The researcher wanted to test the power of “because.” Sure enough, those who were interrupted with a “because” story were more likely to say, “Sure, go ahead.”

Apparently even a bogus reason (”because I’m in a hurry”) was more effective than no reason at all.

So when it comes to writing copy (the words on your website or advertising), you’ll find copywriters love the word “because.” Some say it’s the most powerful weapon in our copywriting arsenal.

You can harness the power of “because’ in these 3 ways.

(1) Power up your promises.

One challenge facing marketers: Convince your prospects that you really can deliver the benefits you promise. You and your 500 competitors all promise to change someone’s life, take their business to the next level, or help them lose weight and keep it off.

But your readers say, “Oh come on: I’ve heard that before.”

That’s when you back up your promises of benefits with a statement of features — the process for delivering your benefits. You light a fire under your promise with the “because” word;

Example; “You never get a cookie cutter solution (because we begin work after you complete a detailed questionnaire).”

(2) Offer a special without sounding desperate.

Price reductions can be dangerous. It’s important to signal that you’re coming from a strong place of abundance and you’re not the least bit needy.

Example: “I’m offering this special price because we’re coming out with the new version in just a few weeks.”

(3) Relate to your market.

“We’re offering this product because we know it’s hard to stay motivated during this hot weather.”

or

“We’re creating a special workshop for displaced executives because we know how traumatic a layoff can be.”

Although I cited an experiment suggesting that bogus reasons might work, I recommend sticking to the Real Deal when you’re marketing and writing copy. Creating disbelief can be fatal to your sales.

When I read, “Because I want to share,” I shake my head and click away.

But you can make readers smile with a “reason” that’s patently absurd. Every so often an Internet marketer offers an “overstock” sale of digital products (think about that one). Or you get a special “because it’s my birthday” or “my dog wanted me to do this.”

Risky but sometimes effective.

Stil, the “because factor” is most powerful when you can find an honest, realistic reason.

Recently a well-known marketer extended a promotion for a few hours. Extending a deadline can send mixed signals, but he came up with a convincing reason: “Because I forgot to put the time zone in the ad. When it was midnight in New York, it was just 9 PM in California.”

That works. In fact, it works so well I can’t help wondering if he did it on purpose.

FREE 7 Best-Kept Secrets of Websites That Really Attract Clients: My Special Report gives you insider tips to convert tire-kickers to buyers and earn money while you sleep. From Cathy Goodwin, The Content Strategist, at http://www.copy-cat-copywriting.com.