This is the last part of the series and I want to share with you some amazing tips to convert website visitors into customers and customers into long-term clients.

Why Should I Believe You?
Your visitors don’t know you. Give them a good reason to believe you. The most common way of doing this is with testimonials. They are great because your customers’ word, unlike yours, is unbiased. If you can, get video testimonials. Audio testimonials work great too. If you have written testimonials at least include a photo of your customer and the city they live in, website, and any other relevant information. Testimonials signed by “John M.” are not very credible.

Case studies are awesome. I love them. We are an Internet Marketing agency and our strongest selling argument is case studies showing how we’ve helped dozens of companies make thousands of dollars online. Nothing is more powerful than a case study.

Other great options are photos or videos of people using your products. You can also use reports or surveys done by third parties to help you get your point across.

Empathize With Your Audience
People need to see that you understand their problem. Show them that you know how they feel. Show them that you are talking to them. Get the problem out there, appeal to their feelings, and then suggest a way to alleviate their pain. Remember that people buy on emotions and they justify the purchase with logic.

Don’t Be Everything for Everybody
Find your niche and dominate it. Don’t just take any customer that is willing to give you her money. Remember that people want what they can’t have. That’s why when women and men play hard-to-get they become still more desirable.

This is a funny story. A couple of months ago we were getting more clients then we could handle. We decided to stop taking clients that didn’t match our Ideal Client profile. So we posted this profile on our website and asked the visitors to read it and fill out an application if they fit the profile. We would then review the application and decide whether or not we would be a good match. The whole point was to keep just a few clients so we could give them personalized attention. Guess what happened? We started getting more applications than ever. The fact that we would hand-pick our clients made our service even more desirable.

Call to Action
I am surprised by the number of websites that don’t ask for the sale on each page. People won’t do anything unless you ask them to. Whatever your call to action is, make sure that it is on every single page. It should be the focal point. Some calls to action might be: Add to Shopping Bag, Checkout Now, Buy Now, Fill Out the Form for a FREE Consultation, etc. Whatever you want your visitors to do, ask them!

Use Conversational Style
I always wonder why some companies try to make simple things complicated. You want to impress your visitors with your product, your offer, and your prices, not with fancy, meaningless words. Instead of saying “Our objective is to increase the profitability level of web-based businesses” say “We Help Companies Make Money Online”. In fact, that is our tag line.

The Golden Rule of Copywriting
I left this one for last because I want it to stick in your head. There is one thing that you need to accomplish to make the sale: show your visitors why they will be better off with your product than without it. That’s it. People want to live a better life. If your product can help them do that and you can prove it, you will make the sale.

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This is the second part of the series “How to Write for the Web”, the step-by-step blueprint for writing killer copy.

Spend Most of Your Time on the Headline
About 5% of the people will read your copy but 85% will read the headline. Spend as much time as you can coming up with a good headline. Many copywriters recommend writing at least 50 headlines before choosing one.

Anticipate Objections
Prospects often make the same objections. You know your market better than anybody so come up with some common objections that prospects will make and answer them. Every product has flaws. Some companies write their copy hoping that the readers don’t find any objections. Big mistake, they will. So you better include all the objections in your copy and resolve them.

Make Your Copy Credible
Never make anything up and don’t write things that sound too good to be true. If you are showing some case studies from people who have obtained great but uncommon results, make sure you make it very clear. People will think “well, I might not be able to get those same results, but if I could just get half of it…”

Provide All the Information that Your Prospects Need to Make a Decision
It is very common to find websites that feature products with incomplete information. If you are doing it on purpose hoping people will call you to ask you questions, forget it. It doesn’t work like that. You don’t make deals by hiding information.

Minimize Risk
If you sell software, offer a trial period before people have to pay for it. If you sell informational products, offer a 100% Money Back Guarantee and let them keep your product just for trying it (it’s not like you are going to hack their computers and delete the ebook that they bought from you anyway). If you sell shippable goods offer 100% money back and, if possible, free return shipping. If you offer consulting services, offer a free consultation. Your prospects don’t know you, help build trust in you. Give something before you expect to receive.

Make them “Feel” the Product
Let’s say you sell handbags online. People can’t touch them so you should write copy that appeals to the senses. Talk about the smell of fine leather, the texture of the outside, and the softness of the cloth. Make them “feel” it.

Use Social Proof
We live in a community. We care about what others do. If a new restaurant opens in your town, you walk by on Friday night, and it’s empty, chances are you will never give it a try. Now let’s say that the same restaurant opens and every time you drive by you see a huge line of people waiting. You call to make a reservation and they are booked for the next two months. I bet that now you can’t wait to get in. The restaurant is the same but your perception of it is not. Use social proof to show your website visitors that others are buying your product and love it. Use testimonials, case studies, and a list of your clients.

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Do you want to discover how to write web copy that makes your visitors reach out for their wallets and buy your products? These tips will teach you how to write for the web.

Use Short Sentences
Don’t try to use fancy words. Get right to the point and make it simple. If a sentence looks too long, it probably is. Most of the times, long sentences could easily be broken up in two, three, or even four short sentences. Mix sentence lengths to make the text easier to read.

Avoid Text Cluttering
Text cluttering refers to those boring and long paragraphs that seem impossible to read. Some tips that might help you:

- Don’t go over 6-7 lines per paragraph.
- Don’t use the whole screen width, stay within 550-600 pixels wide.
- Use bold, italics, underlined text, and highlighting to make some sentences stand out.
- Use bullets, they are very easy to read.
- Use subheads to break down long text.

Get Your Reader to Say Yes!
Ask questions that your readers will say yes to. By saying yes they are identifying themselves with the problem you are presenting and they are qualifying themselves as people who could benefit from reading your copy. An example: “Do your feet itch? Do you wake up at night scratching them?”

Your Goal is to Get Your Readers to Read the First Sentence
Getting people to read your first sentence is 80% of the battle. Use graphics, captions, and headlines to make them feel like they HAVE to read the first sentence. Do you know what the goal of the first sentence is? To get people to read your second sentence.

Do Your Homework
Before you start writing your copy you need to find out what your prospects buttons are. There is usually one main reason people buy and usually three to five secondary reasons. Find out what are the “reasons behind the reason”. Your prospect might want to make more money, but her ultimate reason might be financial freedom or to spend more time with her family.

Find out what motivates a prospect to buy and write your copy around this concept. I’ve read many copywriting books and almost all of them teach you “the magic words that cause your readers to buy immediately”. I don’t believe in magic words. Your prospects are smarter than that. Don’t manipulate them. Learn what they want and give it to them.

Use Stories
Stories work because people love reading them. Would you read my copy if I started it like this: “On March 16 I received a little box. The mailman delivered it and then ran away. When I opened it, I couldn’t believe what was in there…”?

Use stories to tell your facts. Your copy will be a lot more entertaining and your readers will be glad you did.

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