Structuring your Copy

By Ray Edwards

This article will discuss how to structure your copy when working for a client. A lot of copy has already been written over the years and you do not need to reinvent the wheel. This article will specifically cover the sales letter because of its greatest impact, especially if you decide to do SEO copywriting.

One pattern of thought says that you should make your website one big sales letter. This allows you to sell yourself with an effective structure. Sales letters are useful when writing for both off-line businesses and Internet customers.

An effective sales letter has three major components. The first is the headline. This is where you grab your reader's attention. If you fail to do so, then you are wasting your time with the rest of the letter. Second comes the offer. This needs to be explicit so that the reader knows exactly what you're offering. It must also entice them into further pursuing your product after reading the letter. The final component is the postscript. After the headline, this is the second most read portion of a sales letter. This is where you put that extra incentive to make your offer irresistible. You should always write the sales letter in order and never all at once. Do it section by section. This method produces excellent sales letters.

If your copywriting experience is limited, then you should read the books from the foremost experts. Dan Kennedy is an example. He is a great resource and has written some fabulous books.

Hopefully this article helped you improve your copywriting skills, or at least pointed you in the right direction. The key is to creatively interweave your ideas with the already set procedures of copywriting. These procedures are important because they give you structure to build upon and develop your own creative touch. Starting from scratch will generally produce weaker sales and more work, so use the procedures and structures already out there! Following these well-worn paths will set you up to produce great copy and write excellent sales letters.

About the Author:

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