3 Guidelines for Writing Great Sales Copy

Copy writing is an important aspect of marketing on the internet and certain guidelines for writing should be followed for it to be the most effective. But before we discuss these guidelines we should first consider the reading habits of people online.

People actually scan more than they read due to the vast selection of reading material available to them. With all these resources people are, as a result, more impatient and picky with their reading selections. Another reason many skim material instead of reading it is because reading off computer screens is a strain on the eyes.

In a nutshell your copy writing is competing with various strains and distractions that affect and influence the online reader. Therefore your sales copy needs to be not only persuasive but also brief and visually appealing. Your copy writing needs to make its intended point, and fast, but in a way that will capture and hold the focus of the reader.

Here are 3 guidelines to follow when composing sales copy for use when marketing on the internet to make it more appealing to the target audience.

Layout

Make your layout easy to skim for information so that you can 'begin' to capture the readers' attention. Your headline is the key to luring the reader further into your sales copy. Be sure it is worded in such a way to 'reach out' and grabbed the attention of your intended audience.

The body of your sales copy should NOT contain large blocks of text. This puts too much strain on the eyes and makes it easy to lose your place when reading.

The text itself should be a dark color preferably black and the background should be light preferably white. This not only makes it easier to read but also presents a more professional appearance.

Your font selection, according to studies should be Arial, Verdana or Tahoma and your margins should be narrow. Keep margins to approximately 75% of the width of the page. These additional 'empty' spaces resulting from more narrow margins will serve as areas for the reader to rest their eyes while viewing your sales copy.

Length of Content

Remember that people scan first when reading online so if your sales copy is long this is what they will see initially. In most cases this will be all they need to see before they leave the page.

It always makes sense that when you can say something using fewer words than do it. This way it will be easier to maintain the readers' attention and help to avoid them leaving the page before they got your entire message.

Easy on the Hype

There is a delicate balance between using just the right amount of superlatives and downright overly hyping your goods. You go too far and you lost the reader. Be sure to make clear to the reader the benefits of what you are promoting and repeat them throughout the body of your copy. Make an effort however to NOT 'bash' your readers in the head with unbelievable statements or innuendos that may cause them to leave the page.

When working online there are certain guidelines for writing sales copy that should be followed to maximize its intended effect. Online reading habits show people tend to scan more than they actually read. This is due to the tremendous amounts of content available and the eye strain that comes with reading off a computer screen. The 3 guidelines we discussed above should help your copy writing better compete with the strains and distractions readers' experience. This will result in copy writing that is more effective at persuasively conveying the intended message.