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When visitors are making a decision about whether or not to buy, their “shields are up.”

They’re watching carefully for any sign you might be a jerk, a crook, or just not able to deliver on your promises.

They need you to soothe their unspoken anxieties and objections.

This doesn’t have to be a daunting task. In fact, a powerful way to make this happen is something you’re probably already doing on your blog.

The key is to show your prospect the person (or people) standing behind the offer. Put a human face and some credibility-based context on that sales message.

Readers want to know who they’re dealing with — and why they should trust that person. It’s up to you to communicate it in an effective and engaging way.

Let’s talk about three strategies for building sales-driving credibility into your copy.

1. The “about me” approach

This is probably the most recognizable credibility-building tool, because you see it everywhere.

Blogs have an “About” page, and many sales pages have some variation of the Who Am I And Why Should You Listen To Me? theme.

But you can also use a little more subtlety when introducing yourself to your buyers.

Using a “Why I created this product” approach, you can weave your own story into your sales material, by combining details about your experience and credentials with benefit-driven copy that reduces your readers’ resistance to buying.

Explain what you’re doing for clients, how your approach addresses the results you deliver to those clients, and then segue into your sales message.

For example, a copywriting course sales page could build credibility like this:

After spending a decade building a reputation for writing high-conversion copy for clients like (name) and (name), I decided to start teaching my evergreen copywriting strategies to others so they could grow their own businesses …

You’d then lead into a brief story about how you have effectively served your copywriting customers.

You can see how the credibility factors (10 years of experience, name dropping of high-profile clients) merge with the desired outcomes (evergreen strategies, high conversion), and let you build trust without feeling like a hype machine.

By involving the reader in a bit of history (or even what’s happening with present customers), you can satisfy the “about me” section by wrapping it in details that are really about them and the outcome they’re looking for.

It seems like they’re getting a story about you. But what they’re really getting is confirmation that you can meet their needs.

2. The “reluctant hero” approach

Another strategy is the story of the “unintentional product.” This works by setting up a backstory where the product producer starts gaining a reputation for creating results … and then other people begin clamoring to know how to make it happen for themselves.

The reluctant hero is a storytelling archetype, and you may think that makes this approach formulaic or contrived. But assuming your story is both compelling and true (yes, it needs to be both), the reluctant hero story is an extremely effective credibility generator.

Here’s an example from my own past:

I started out as a personal development coach who began learning how to create and launch my own information products, Third-Tribe style before there was a name for that way of doing things.

After a while, my blogging friends began asking me how I was making such strong sales with my products. As I showed them, they started telling people about it. Word got around, and I started getting more calls and emails about launching products than I did about personal development. I decided to create a training manual on how to write and sell ebooks … and the rest is history.

The “reluctant hero” approach lets you humanize your accomplishments, weave a story that creates a connection with your audience, and gets readers to see you as a natural fit for what they need.

3. The customer-as-proof approach

A third (and highly effective) strategy is to make successful customers the focus of your credibility-building story.

After all, why talk about yourself when you can talk about the stunning results your customers have created … and generate credibility by association?

You see this all the time when people say things like “using this system, my client generated $5 million in sales in a down economy.” By pointing to the successful results other people have experienced, the product (as well as the creator) gains instant credibility without having to overtly claim “I’m qualified.” When example is stacked upon example, the sense of credibility is continually heightened.

Every time you receive a results-based testimonial, consider weaving it into your sales message as more than just a yellow box with a picture in it. Make it part of the story around what your product can truly do.

The more examples you have for your reader to see your product’s results, the less “selling” you’ll have to do, because each story reinforces your credibility. And you take advantage of another copywriting cornerstone — making it easy for your prospect to visualize herself as a customer.

What’s your favorite credibility builder?

These aren’t the only ways to establish credibility in a sales page, but for the aspiring copywriter, they’re a great start. If you’ve got another strategy that’s a personal favorite, please share it in the comments below and let us get to know a little more about you and your story.

About the Author: Dave Navarro is a product launch manager who can’t wait for you to join the 7,000+ people using his free workbooks in the Launch Coach Library (a crowd favorite in the Third Tribe forums).

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It’s been eight years since Marshall Mathers released The Eminem Show, the best-selling album of 2002.

It was followed later that year by the semi-autobiographical film 8 Mile, which earned Em an Oscar.

And of course, earlier this year, Eminem hit a career milestone when I wrote about him on Copyblogger.

He stood at the edge of something truly amazing.

And then the other shoe dropped.

His next album Encore was lazy, kicked off by an embarrassing single and followed up with songs that merely echoed what he’d accomplished with The Eminem Show. Even the frivolous songs were missing the deviant humor present in previous singles. Not one song had the gnarled roots of anger or brazen honesty that drenched the best of Em’s first three albums.

When Relapse finally dropped last year after a half-decade disappearing act, fans were famished.

Eminem was pushing 40. He’d lost his closest friend and confidant to a couple of bullets. Surely, now he would have a lot more to say than adolescent one-liners aimed at the women who made him angry.

This was the album everyone was waiting for

But they were let down once again.

Relapse was good, but not great. His skills were there, but Em had lost his relevance. Even fans who defended the album did so in a wavering voice. Maybe he was just done. Maybe this was it.

Then, just under a year after the release of Relapse, he dropped the first single to a new album, “I’m Not Afraid.”

And to the fans, I’ll never let you down again, I’m back
I promise to never go back on that promise, in fact
Let’s be honest, that last Relapse CD was “ehhh.”

And there it was. The honesty was back and so was Eminem.

You don’t have to be a fan of hip-hop or dirty rotten rhymers to appreciate what Eminem accomplished.

He had been phoning it in and he knew it. But rather than skating along on just okay, he went back to the lab and delivered a sonic apology.

If you’ve been phoning it in, it’s okay

You’re a human being, not a machine. You hit a slow spell. You lost your unique voice.

But understand that it’s not a life sentence. Even if your audience is losing interest, it’s never too late to deliver your best and become more relevant than ever.

Here are some things I learned about staying relevant from Eminem’s Recovery:

Be honest

Recovery is a refreshing return to form, mostly because of its stark honesty and humility. Em fesses to letting fans down with his previous releases, but the disclosures run deeper, from suicide to self-loathing.

Be honest with your audience, and you might find them especially forgiving. Though Em wears iron armor of bravado, he has no difficulty letting genuine fragility bleed through the verses. This heart-on-his-sleeve honesty connects him to his audience in a way that can’t be manufactured.

If you’ve screwed up in the past, own up to it. You’ll be surprised how willing your audience is to embrace honesty.

Evolve or die

Heavy repetition and little innovation lead directly to diminishing returns.

Whether you’re an artist, entrepreneur, or both, it’s important to groom your game and keep growing creatively. Em dropped quite a few of his fallback themes from Recovery, including lyrical tirades aimed at his mother and estranged wife, and the skits that had always showed his boisterous, playful side.

Cutting those elements was a risk. They were tried and true, and fans had always liked them. But by doing so, Em gave himself room to create something new and different to embrace.

If you aren’t growing, you’re dying, no matter how good you are at what you do. Em confronted this truth and recorded an album crackling with newfound creativity.

Bring your A-game

Eminem brings all his verbal virtuosity to Recovery, weaving in and out of wordplay, as though a single misstep or broken syllable would crush his credibility.

At the end of “No Love,” Em declares he’s going to spit the “greatest verse of all time,” and though that particular verse may not be it, it is an impressive spitting of 300 words delivered in perfect pentameter, all in under a minute.

Always deliver your best, and remember that whether your audience is spending time or money on the products you create, you owe them the best in the exchange.

Be the best You, not the You it’s easiest to be.

Embrace your fears

Em made fear of irrelevancy his muse, and the result is a harder-driving album than one would expect after a decade of success.

The best aspect of Recovery is it’s the first time Em blends the lessons of his career into a cocktail of his psyche. More than ever before, he accepts responsibility for his life and actions, rather than laying blame on a negligent mom or a savage ghetto.

Never before has Eminem made himself so vulnerable. Which, ironically, made him stronger. Recovery is the resurrection that proves any artist can overcome fear and reclaim their relevance.

How do you stay relevant? What ugly truths have you faced and how have you turned them around to pull the best from your work?

About the Author: Sean Platt is a ghostwriter and Creative Director at REV Media Marketing. Follow him on Twitter.

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This is another addition to our ongoing series of tutorials and case studies on landing pages that work.

Baolin Liu wants to help fellow office workers stay strong and fit, both in and out of the office. He’s developed an exercise program designed to assist even the most sedentary office worker … or micropreneur who puts in too much tush-time in her comfy, almost-ergonomic desk lounge.

But I digress …

Baolin is using article marketing to drive prospects to his page. But his bounce rate is nearly 91%. And sales? Well, they’re not happening.

• The Goal : Reduce bounce rate, increase sales.
• The Problem: Very high bounce rates; non-existent conversion from the 9% who do stick around a little longer.
• The Current Landing Page (homepage): http://www.inshapeattheoffice.com.
• Value: $17.00

Click image for larger view

The Maven’s 10-Point Critique

#1 — Be clear about the product you’re selling.

I think I know what you’re selling, but even after reading your long-form sales letter, I’m still not sure on the specifics. That’s why your bounce rate is high. Your visitors aren’t clear about what you’re selling because you’re trying to sell/promote too much, when what you need to do is paint a clearer picture of what you have to offer.

Here’s what I mean: if your URL is “inshapeatheoffice,” it’s reasonable to think you’re offering an inexpensive, easy exercise and nutrition program that office workers can do while they’re at the office. That’s your hook.

But your copy — and my guess is your product — tries to grow the topic “beyond the cubicle.” And when you do, you’re in competition with EVERYONE in the fitness space.

#2 — Be clear about your prospect’s “pain point” in the headline.

Here’s your current headline:

Time for a reality check …

Are your 2010 weight loss goals on track? Can you EVER return to your “fighting” weight doing the things you are doing now … sitting for long hours at a desk? How many of your fitness goals have you actually reached working your desk job?

If any of those questions challenge you, GREAT! You have landed on the right page.

Yikes. Maybe I don’t have any weight loss or fitness goals, or feel driven to return to my fighting weight.

It’s not that I don’t care about these things, because I do. But …

At the other side of that “but” for your prospect is his pain point:

… But with long hours at a desk job it’s hard for me to find the time outside of the office to work out. It’s hard enough to even eat right. I’m too busy!

Once you understand your prospect’s pain point, the rest of your copy begins to flow in the right direction.

#3 — Be clear about your product’s big promise in your headline.

Having identified the pain point: “I care about my health and appearance, but spend too many hours at my desk to eat right and get enough exercise” — now we have to identify and promote the product’s big promise.

Again, your current copy doesn’t address the promise at all. Your prospects don’t care about challenging questions. They want relief from their pain point, and they want it in a big, palpable and dramatic way.

Here’s your big promise:

You CAN get stronger, leaner and healthier right at your desk during regular working hours — in just XX minutes a day — and your boss and co-workers will never know! All they’ll see is how good you look and wonder about your secret.

#4 — Identify your primary target right off the bat.

And that means your salutation.

“Dear Fitness Enthusiast” is all wrong since someone who IS an enthusiast makes time for exercise.

However, “Dear I Wish I Could Be Leaner, but Who Has the Freaking Time to Exercise” hits the mark square.

Feel free to edit.

Click image for larger view

#5 – Tell your story in a way that is genuine and builds identification. Consider video to tell a portion of it.

Here’s an excerpt from your story:

After several years of working at the office, I noticed that I began to lack muscle tone. I was steadily gaining weight and I had lost the attractive youthful appearance that I had entered the workforce with.

Does this sound like a real person? “I began to lack muscle tone?”

Compare to:

I was getting soft in the middle … I was beginning to loosen my belt a notch here, another notch there. Pants I had just bought were feeling tight — and not in a good way. Not at all.

Here’s another example: “I had lost the attractive youthful appearance that I had entered the workforce with.”

Compare to:

I wasn’t looking like myself anymore . I would look in the mirror and wonder whose pudgy, bloated face was looking back at me … Someone guessed my age today — and they guessed 10 years older than I am!

Your copy has to sound genuine, like two friends meeting and chatting over coffee — especially if you’re using a personal story to sell your message. Video could be very effective for you as an adjunct to your main letter copy.

#6 — Show your story with before and after pictures.

In the weight loss/fitness space, you’ve GOT to show before/after pictures — and lots of them — because they, even more than the copy, show the results that people are most interested in.

And since you’re selling your plan with your personal story, your before/after shots are the most important, so get them in there and in the first screen.

#7 — Tell enough of your story to inspire your prospects and get them to identify with you … then stop.

Your personal story goes on and on. Baolin, your reader doesn’t care about your story except how it ultimately relates to him or her.

So tell enough of it — and show enough of it with pictures — and then write to the interests/needs/wishes/desires of your reader as they relate to your product.

Write in the ‘you’ and not the ‘I/me.’

#8 – Strengthen your subheads by having them tell their own story and keep the momentum going.

Subheads are mini-headlines that help orient and pull your readers along as they scan through your message.

Ideally, if your reader reads only your headline and your subheads, he/she should be able to get enough of the general story to understand what you’re selling and resonate with the emotions you’re hoping to elicit.

#9 — Punch up and quantify the features of your product.

After wading through your letter, I realized that there’s simply not enough about what your prospect will get, learn, discover, and benefit from.

Go through your e-book and make lists. Count the number of tips per exercise, etc. Organize them and get them into your letter.

If you have charts and illustrations, I’d include them, too. You’re looking to create a tidal wave of emotionally resonant “stuff” that’s so compelling that your prospect won’t be able to resist it.

Click image for larger view

#10 — Bolster your satisfaction guarantee.

You can’t just throw a graphic on your letter and call it done. You’ve gotta say it, too.

Stand behind your product with a strong, explicit guarantee and you’ve just removed a key obstacle to your fence-sitting prospect who’s ready to purchase, but paralyzed by, “What if I don’t like it?”

Make your guarantee as strong as possible. Few will call you on it.

BONUS TIP: Add credibility to your copy.

Personal stories are a great jumping off point, but then you need to take it to the next level and build credibility and authority, as well — for your content as well as for you.

So try to incorporate outside medical/science evidence for your product claims. To bolster your own credibility, share testimonials from not only e-book readers, but fitness trainers, nutritionists, etc.

My thanks to Baolin Liu for his patience and support of Heifer International. Look for my next makeover in about 4 weeks.

About the Author: Roberta Rosenberg is The Copywriting Maven at MGP Direct, Inc. Find her @CopywriterMaven on Twitter. If you’re interested in a private page makeover, site audit, or other services, please email Roberta directly.

P.S.

If you want more specific advice about what works and what doesn’t in online marketing, be sure you’re getting the Internet Marketing for Smart People newsletter from Copyblogger. It’s free, and kicks off with a 20-part course on the essentials of marketing in the online world.

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Go to Source

Have you read the classic post from the Copyblogger archives explaining why you need to leverage social proof on your blog? If so, then I don’t need to convince you how important social proof is for online success.

Social proof is pretty simple. It’s just the human instinct that if someone else is doing something (buying a product, reading a blog, jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge) then it’s probably a good thing to do.

It’s not right and it’s not wrong — it’s just how we human beings are wired.

Social proof can give a blog great momentum. Once you have lots of readers, you’ll find new people purely because you have lots of readers.

But how can you pull it off when you’re just starting out and don’t have much social proof to leverage?

For example, new readers to Copyblogger glance over at the left-hand side of the site and see that more than 129,000 people already subscribe. The most common line of thinking is “Hm, maybe I should do that, too. 129,328 subscribers can’t be wrong, right?”

But when you’re just getting your blog off the ground, this kind of social proof simply doesn’t help. It took me a year to get 1000 subscribers on my blog, and when I did I proudly displayed my subscriber count for all to see — only to take it down a few months later because Feedburner was unreliable about displaying the right number.

You may not be able to use the same specific social proof techniques that the big blogs do. But there are at least four reliable ways I know to use social proof when your blog is still in the beginner stages.

1. Encourage comments

In the early days, a blog post that has no comments is like a party without people: no one wants to be the first one to show up.

A lively comment discussion shows new readers that your blog has an engaged community to interact with — that other cool people are at this party. The problem is, nobody wants to be first to comment, even if plenty of people are comfortable being second, third, and fourth.

One way to get readers over the hurdle is to specifically ask for comments. You can also end every post with a great question that encourages response. Some blogs even offer prizes for the best commenters.

But if you’re still having a hard time getting comments going on your posts, there’s an easy way to break the ice.

Get yourself a blog buddy who will comment on every post you write (you can do the same for them). Reply to each of their comments promptly.

When you respond to comments, others are encouraged to join in. Now that your blog buddy has broken the ice, others will be more comfortable about joining the conversation.

You may want to extend this to a small blog pack, a group of bloggers in a related topic who support one another’s work. It’s a great way to boost your traffic and subscriptions.

2. Tell stories

Social proof doesn’t always have to be about big numbers. You can also share stories that show how you’ve benefited others.

When I set up my web design company in 1998, I ran across many business owners who were skeptical about the need for a website. I started telling the skeptics a true story about one of my clients who shared their fears. That client took the plunge and cancelled his yellow pages ad so he could test the waters with a website instead.

He never looked back. His website was able to generate new leads for a smaller investment. And while his costly yellow pages ads ended up in the recycling bin the next year, his website is a great investment for years to come.

That story helped a lot of people find their courage and set up their own sites. Engage your blog readers by telling compelling stories that show how someone else has benefited from taking your advice.

You don’t have to go overboard — bragging will often chase readers away. Instead, tell the story like you would to a friend over lunch and you’ll hit the right note.

3. Get testimonials

In the early days of my blog I put up a raving readers page to let people know that yes, this blog did have some readers. And better yet, those readers were interesting, engaged, and global.

There are lots of ways to make testimonials work for you — but first you have to collect some.

When you start a new business or blog you may not have any clients who can vouch for you yet. Try giving a few people something for nothing and ask for a testimonial if they like it. Start with your friends and branch out from there. If you can’t outright give your product away, at least give out some free trials or samples.

Make it easy for people to give you testimonials. Try asking specific questions. You can also write up any compliments you get by email or over the phone, then ask for your fan’s approval to use it as a testimonial on your website.

(I hope it goes without saying, never write fake testimonials. You’re aiming to build credibility and trust here, not destroy it.)

If you offer a high-quality service or product, your customers will want to help you promote it. Include the name of the person and that person’s occupation or company if it’s relevant. Pictures can also improve your testimonials’ credibility and enhance the element of proof.

4. Incorporate media

Being mentioned in the media is another great way to leverage social proof. It’s surprisingly effective to add, “As mentioned/recommended in the Smalltown Weekly” to your blog’s About page, even if the media outlet is a minor one. Gather a few mentions and you might decide to create a dedicated media page. And while you’re at it, remember that a mention on a big blog can be at least as powerful as a print publication.

Two of my friends have a half-serious competition to get the most mentions in local papers this year. If the prize is a more successful business and bigger client list, I’d say they’re both going to win.

Spend some time brainstorming ways your business might be mentioned in the press, on social media, or on TV. Can you make a friendly call to journalists or bloggers who write about your topic, tell them what you do, and ask them if they’d like a free sample or a free consultation to offer to readers? Could you speak free of charge at an event to get your name out there and establish your expertise? What story can you tell that would interest your local paper or favorite blog?

Have fun and be creative. Even when your blog is brand-new, you can start leveraging social proof today while you wait for your RSS subscriber count to grow.

And of course, as your subscriber count grows, you’ll have even more options.

How about you? What’s your favorite tip for leveraging social proof on your blog?

About the Author: Annabel Candy has been teaching people how to win business online since 1996. If you want empowering tips for life and work including blogging, Internet marketing, and entrepreneurship, check out her blog Get In the Hot Spot.

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Over the last 4 years, I’ve launched several companies from this simple blog of mine. The idea that building an audience with content and letting the revenue-generating ideas, products, and services reveal themselves based on what the audience actually wants has worked out amazingly well.

It’s become a full-fledged business model.

And yet, there’s a bigger picture. These last years I’ve been putting together pieces of a broader vision – things that work together as one, for our internal use and for you. Problem was, the only common element in each of these different companies was me, and often that made unity of purpose difficult.

So, this is an announcement of a coming together of my various companies, plus the addition of a valued outside venture. And right about now, you’re thinking…

Who Cares?

I know, it’s hard to get excited about what’s essentially a press release of a merger. Hot stuff, right?

And yet, any great company exists not for its shareholders or employees, but for the people it serves.

And we’re aiming to be a great company.

So, let me first tell you who’s involved. And then I’ll tell you what we’ll be doing better for you.

The People

Here are the principals of our new organization:

1. Brian Clark – As CEO of Copyblogger Media, I’ll be working for the other four people on this list.
2. Sonia Simone – At the beginning of 2009, Sonia was naive enough to leave her corporate job to become Senior Editor of Copyblogger, and later co-founded Third Tribe. She’s now Chief Marketing Officer of Copyblogger Media, and an owner. So far, so good.
3. Tony Clark - Tony and I co-created Teaching Sells, and he’s the wizard behind the curtain inside Third Tribe. He’s also putting the finishing touches on a new WordPress product called Premise. His preferred title is “awesomeness.”
4. Sean Jackson – Sean is the creator of Scribe (along with one of our code ninjas, Chris Thompson), which is now a core product of Copyblogger Media. He’s also our CFO, a great tech mind, and a shrewd Ms. Pacman player.
5. Brian Gardner – Brian is the founder of StudioPress, creator of the Genesis Framework for WordPress, and a ton of turnkey designs that work with it. Brian and his team have earned over 30,000 customers to date, and their merger into Copyblogger Media completes the online content creation trinity of Genesis, Scribe, and Premise.

What About Chris Pearson and Thesis?

Things change. Chris and I have parted ways, and we’re both happy with this mutual decision. We at Copyblogger Media wish Chris and DIY Themes all the best with future endeavours.

The Plan

Having all these great people in one company allows us to do even bigger and better things. This means better products, prices, and support. It also means more and better free content, unique live events, and even new platforms.

We’ll be sharing more details in the months to come. But what about you?

What would you like from us?

Let’s start a conversation in the comments. Because without you, none of us would have a job we love.

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and CEO of Copyblogger Media. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

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Back when I worked in the corporate world, I used to get called naive at least once a week.

I kept treating my employees like adults, instead of like naughty children. Naive.

I tried to lighten up the uptight, lawyer-crafted language we used with our customers. Naive.

I was even dumb enough to occasionally tell the truth at meetings so we had some chance of fixing business-threatening problems. Naive.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such a bright girl, but I clearly had no head at all for business.

So I took off on my own. Smack in the middle of an ugly international financial crisis, I “took the risk” of going without guaranteed income. I tied my financial fortunes to my own efforts, rather than to the wisdom of senior executives and a prestigious board of directors.

(The real risk, of course, was that I’d be thrown in jail for multiple homicide. In comparison to that, self-employment looked like the safest bet.)

It’s worked out pretty well so far. But I’m working on something bigger these days, and I want to revisit some of my naive ideas from my corporate days. Because I still believe that being naive is one of the best ways to make a company great — whether that company is made up of one person or 10,000.

It’s all invented

I first read Ben and Roz Zanders’ extraordinary book The Art of Possibility around the time when I was getting my first business started. I’ve read it many times since then, and I always take something new away.

The book starts with a brain-bending chapter: “It’s All Invented.”

Every problem, every dilemma, every dead end we find ourselves facing in life, only appears unsolvable inside a particular frame or point of view. Enlarge the box, or create another frame around the data, and problems vanish, while new opportunities appear.

The Zanders expand that to:

It’s all invented anyway, so we might as well invent a story or a framework of meaning that enhances our quality of life and the life of those around us.

This is an especially juicy time to walk through your business like Alice in Wonderland, realizing that the “appropriate, sensible” way to do things is often nothing but a pack of cards.

Don’t ignore the facts, especially the ugly ones. But do understand that it’s your game. You get to write the rules.

Nothing matters more than people

We’re often told that we need to quit working in our businesses so we can work on our businesses. To create processes and systems. To ensure our businesses don’t depend on any one individual, including us. To make sure we don’t over-rely on the kind of talented, passionate employees that Seth Godin calls “linchpins.”

We’re told that some of that “human resources goody two-shoes stuff” can be applied, like mascara, to our businesses — as long as cash flow is good. But it’s a luxury. When times are tight, all that earthy crunchy crap has to go. Those irritating employees are lucky to have a job at all.

Tony Hsieh talks in his book, Delivering Happiness, about how that assumption could have lost him control of Zappo’s.

Hsieh faced a board of directors that wanted to cash out. That board had a hard time concealing their impatience with Hsieh’s “little social experiments” — in other words, his groundbreaking culture of employee autonomy.

The writing was on the wall. If Hsieh didn’t step carefully, the board would replace him as CEO and install someone who would impose a more traditional-looking system of discipline. They wanted the company to grow up, to groom itself for a quick, tidy acquisition. Hsieh’s messy employee-centric approach didn’t seem in line with that.

Hsieh was savvy enough to manage his board while he found an investor smart enough to realize the truth — that his “little experiments” were what had turned a rather uninspiring idea (selling shoes online) into a billion-dollar business.

Even legendary megalomaniac Lee Iacocca once said,

You have to be good with people to work here. It turns out people are all we’ve got.

Cluelessness can be an asset

My current favorite business role model is Richard Branson. Usually styled these days as “uber-successful billionaire, Sir Richard Branson,” Branson spent much of his business life doing things that were entirely clueless.

• His decision (while still at school at 15 years old) to launch a national magazine instead of focusing on his studies was clueless.
• His decision to start a record store when he knew nothing about retail was clueless. This was followed by clueless decisions to build a recording studio, a record label, and then international divisions of Virgin Records. Utterly clueless, every one.
• His decision to start an airline, a tremendously complex and risky business that he knew absolutely nothing about, was impressively clueless.
• His penchant for launching businesses just because the names make him smile (Virgin Bride, Virgin Snow) is clueless.
• His diversification of the Virgin brand to more than 360 companies, without a readily apparent connecting thread like Procter & Gamble or Coke have, is often called clueless.
• His decision to create the world’s first “spaceline” (an airline for outer space) wasn’t just clueless, it was downright loony.

Branson is my favorite kind of naive businessman. The kind who tries everything that sounds like it would be fun, works like crazy to make it happen, and knows when to walk away from decisions that don’t work out.

Today, of course, he’s widely lionized. But for decades, he was generally considered to be an entertaining, naive flake.

He’s currently worth close to $4 billion. Give or take a million or two.

Having a clue is vastly overrated.

Naive does not mean stupid

I am not a big fan of the expression “Leap and the net will appear.” More often, it works out to “Leap and the floor will appear.”

Naiveté is about rejecting stupid definitions of maturity. It’s about brushing aside rules that no longer make any sense (if they ever did).

Naiveté is about seeing a bigger picture. About being brave enough to ignore conventional advice that doesn’t apply to you, doesn’t make you happy, and may not even make you any money.

Naiveté is not willful ignorance. It makes plenty of room for curiosity and learning. It makes lots of room for experimentation and thoughtful observation.

But it has no patience for ruthlessness (except with ourselves), jockeying for status, or trashing your conscience in the name of a paper success.

Are you naive?

Ever been criticized for being naive? For being “too nice” to be in business? For lacking the macho blood and guts you need to succeed?

Let us know about it in the comments, so we can mock your enemies and issue you an official permission slip to continue being (intelligently) naive.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger, founder of Remarkable Communication, a founding partner of Inside the Third Tribe, and remains eternally, pig-headedly naive.

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When you see dozens of copywriting formulas promising “the perfect sales page,” how do you know which ones to trust?

After all, each formula seems to have a successful direct sales superstar behind it, and each one looks like a solid plan. What do you do in the face of these wildly different sales letter styles?

The first step is to realize that copywriting is more than any one “formula” — it’s an exercise in communication and persuasion.

Just like a recipe, different formats will give you different results. The recipe you’re looking for will depend on your audience — and you’ll have to test yours to find out what they respond to best.

But whatever sales page recipe you choose to follow, the important thing is to understand the reasoning behind the “ingredients” that go into it. Let’s take a look at what every successful sales page should have — regardless of how your recipe gets stirred up.

1. Headlines that make promises and demand attention

Here at Copyblogger we’ve talked extensively about writing great headlines — and the importance that a solid lead-in has for getting your copy read.

If you don’t nail the headline (the single most important part of your sales letter), no one will stick around for the rest.

Your headline must pre-qualify the reader based on their needs and wants, as well as promise them an intriguing result if they’ll stick around and read what comes next.

Want to get good at making this happen? Practice. If you’re not cultivating a headline swipe file and honing your attention-grabbing skills with each blog post you write, then you need to get started now.

2. Opening paragraphs that promise and persuade

Presuming your headline piques your readers’ curiosity, you then need to lead readers to a psychological commitment to read every word of your copy.

You can do this by using those initial paragraphs to draw them in, establishing rapport, and expanding on the promise you made in the headline.

This is the place to get more specific about what your readers are about to learn. Most important of all, let them know how that knowledge will get them closer to their desired result.

There’s a reason opening paragraphs are often called “teasers” — they’re meant to show just enough to make the reader want to see more.

Continue to help your reader understand they’re in the right place (and that there’s juicy knowledge to be gained by scrolling down), and they’ll keep reading all the way to the very end.

3. Stories that reveal the reasons behind the offer

The old expression “Words tell, stories sell,” is still 100% true — people become more emotionally connected with copy that tells a story. You’ll do well to create a compelling (and true, of course!) backstory to why the offer you’re making came into existence, because that pulls the reader into your copy on a deeper level.

We all want to see how the story unfolds — and that’s precisely why so many effective sales pages include transformative stories about the product’s author (or the people the author has helped). The reader wants a result via your offer, and they’ll pay close attention to storylines that involve that result coming to pass.

If you’re not a natural storyteller, then revisit some sales pages you’ve seen in the past and read them again with an eye for story. You’ll be surprised how you see good writers work these seamlessly into their copy.

4. Details that foster rapport and credibility

Many sales letters include a “Who am I and why should you listen to me?” section meant to establish credibility (and more backstory) about the product author. You can definitely emulate this straight-to-the-point delivery, but there are other ways of achieving the same result with more subtlety.

Let’s go back to the story — this is the perfect place to weave in the writer’s background — the results received, the credentials that establish authority, and the reasons that make that person the perfect choice for satisfying the reader’s needs.

Readers buy from those they trust and like. Pepper your copy with details that make the product author an interesting and authoritative source, and the overall message becomes much more compelling.

5. Subheads that stop scrollers and make reading easy

Solid subheads serve two powerful purposes in a high-conversion sales letter.

First, they make it easy for the reader to know why they need to read the section of text below. Essentially, they are mini-headlines designed to set up a promise and entice the reader to keep going.

For each text block in your sales letter, ask yourself “Why should anyone read this?” and translate the answer into a compelling sub-head. Revisit blog posts you loved reading, and watch how the author kept you hooked with solid sub-headlines.

The second purpose of subheads is to convey such an attention-getting promise that the people who “scroll and scan” stop in their tracks and say “I’ve got to go back and read this.”

Don’t let a subhead into your sales letter without first asking if it’s “stop-worthy.”

6. Anxiety-reducing testimonials

Most people treat testimonials as an exercise in stroking the product author’s ego.

But readers don’t care about that. They care about their own problems (and specifically, getting them solved) and they care about the objections they have when they consider clicking that “Add to Cart” button.

They’re going to be thinking things like:

• “Will this work for my situation?”
• “Is this going to be too hard?”
• “Will I have time for this?
• “What if I need to return this?”
• “How can I trust this person?”

It’s your job to anticipate their objections and gather testimonials that show an antidote to the anxieties behind them. Take a look at your testimonials and ask if they’re doing their job. If not, you know what to do.

7. Proof that your product or service actually works

If “the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” then you need to have some full bellies to show to your soon-to-be-customers.

Walk them through specific examples of how the product or service worked for you (which incidentally, you can easily do by weaving these elements into your story).

If you have customers on hand with success stories, here’s where you work these in as well — taking special care to position the results in a way that reduces customer anxiety.

Look for ways that previous customers were able to get results despite the obstacles, setbacks, or circumstances that your new customers are likely to be worried about. Then use those examples to show how your new prospects can do it, too.

8. An offer they can’t refuse

Remember, you’re selling more than just a product or service — you’re selling solutions, outcomes, and experiences.

Break out every detail of what your product does for them (and weave that into your story as well), and get very specific as to how much each benefit is worth — financially and emotionally.

Paint a clear picture of everything they’re getting. Stack value upon value until your readers are filled with the sense that your offer is exactly what they need — and furthermore, that the price is a no-brainer bargain.

Shoot for the “10X factor.” If you can show the reader that your offer is truly worth ten times what you’re charging, the buying decision becomes much, much easier. And if you can show how the product pays for itself (essentially becoming “free”), so much the better.

9. A risk-free environment

People are terrified of being oversold, scammed, and taken advantage of on the internet — and so their shields are up when it comes to trusting what you say.

That’s why it’s such a good idea to offer a strong guarantee that takes all the burden of risk off of their shoulders.

It’s called “risk reversal,” and it’s easy to do. Simply offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee — if they don’t like what you’re giving them within 30 or 60 days, let them get their money back.

Never make refunds difficult — the goodwill you generate from being a no-hassle provider is worth any cost of returns.

Of course there are some exceptions — when a return is truly costly to you (for example, for a physical product), you may need to put some guidelines on returns so that you don’t get taken advantage of.

But if what you’re selling is digital, the downside just isn’t there. The small and temporary cost of refunds will be more than made up by the word-of-mouth referrals of happy customers.

10. A solid close that gets your “buy” button clicked

All good things must come to an end, and when your sales message does the same, you need a strong call to action.

Remind your customer what benefits they’ll get when they buy, and resurface the pain and inconveniences that will go away when they’ve fully used your product or service.

Once you’ve done that, ask them explicitly to buy. Not doing so will cost you conversions, and it’s an easy mistake to make because we can be hesitant to ask for things.

You don’t have to do the “hard sell” here — just invite them to “join you,” or “get access,” or “download” — just by clicking and making a purchase.

And that “P.S.” that’s such a sales letter cliché? Works like a charm.

When people get to the end of your letter, all their lingering objections get put on one end of the scale, and your price tag gets put on the other. Here’s your opportunity to tactfully let them know that they have the chance to get the benefits they want, and solve their problems at the same time.

Your call to action: Tell us what else you think is essential to a great sales letter

As I said at the beginning, there are dozens of copywriting formulas out there, and all of them serve their purpose and have solid avenues of conversion. This list isn’t meant to be exhaustive, it’s meant to give you the basic framework for persuasive copy.

Why don’t you join us in the comments below, where you can add your wisdom and get access to the ideas of others? Click in the comment box below and tell us what other essential “ingredients” you would add to this list. We’ll see you there.

About the Author: Dave Navarro is a product launch manager who can’t wait for you to join the 7,000+ people using his free workbooks in the Launch Coach Library (a crowd favorite in the Third Tribe forums).

P.S.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page after you leave your comment, so that every time you return to it in the future, you can learn even more about writing great sales letters.

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Dean: Did you know you can use your blog to make money offline?

Blogger: Offline? What is this “offline” you speak of?

Dean: It’s the opposite of “online.”

Blogger: (confused silence)

Dean: You know. Offline. Not on the internet. The real world.

Blogger: (shaking phone) Not only does this stupid phone drop my calls, now it’s translating them into crazy moon language.

Okay, I jest. But to listen to some bloggers, you would think a blog’s only purpose is to make money online, by selling ebooks, membership sites, or advertising.

The truth is, blogs have grown into a more powerful tool than anyone ever imagined. They’re ideal for making money online, of course. But they can also be used to generate profits for nearly any kind of business, including those that provide real services in the offline world.

This often means generating sales leads for a service or consulting business. This is how I use my copywriting business blog, which accounts for most of the new clients who call me these days.

Okay, sounds great. People read your blog and then call to hire you, right?

Well, not quite.

Are you selling a product or a service?

First, it’s important to understand that selling a service is not like selling a product.

When you sell a product, the process is usually pretty straightforward. Basically, you introduce the product, spell out some benefits, make an offer, and people make a buying decision.

Selling a service can be a little more involved.

Prospects first inquire about the service, usually comparing you with other providers. If the service is expensive, like my copywriting and marketing consulting, people are even more careful about their decision.

I’ve had clients take years to finally made the decision to hire me. And it’s common for people to start a phone call by saying, “I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while now. Do you have a moment to talk about a copywriting project?”

This shouldn’t surprise you. The more expensive the service, the more important it is, and the more commitment it requires from the customer, the more careful that customer is going to be.

Think about it. If you need your bathroom painted, you might spend an afternoon looking for a decent painter. If you need to build an extension onto your house, you might spend weeks or even months finding the perfect contractor for the job.

So if you provide a service, such as freelance writing, graphic design, web consulting, wedding photography, event planning, translation, or whatever, you can use your blog to attract prospects and begin the process of selling them on your services.

Here’s how.

Create your sales funnel

Professional sales people often talk about filling their “sales funnel” or “sales pipeline.”

What they mean is that in order to make a sale sometime in the future, they want people to inquire today. They always want to have lots of people who are in various stages of readiness to buy.

To keep things simple, I like to think of the sales funnel as having just 4 simple steps.

1. Generate inquiries

This means getting people to contact you. Typically this is done by offering something of value in exchange for contact information.

For my business, I offer a free newsletter. If people go to my main website, I also offer a free white paper. In both cases, they have to give me some contact information before they get the freebie. I also provide a contact form and phone number for “hot” leads who are ready to talk business.

I get many inquiries every week. Most can’t afford my services. But a few are high quality and good candidates for future business.

2. Follow up

After you’ve delivered the freebie or provided whatever information you have promised, it’s time to schedule your follow-up, usually either by email or phone.

Because you are responding to someone’s inquiry, it’s not a cold call. You have a valid reason for making contact and have an opportunity to gauge how serious the person is. Are they just gathering information? Do they need your services immediately? Or are they somewhere in between?

The most serious are your sales leads. Everyone else is a prospect. You will want to spend more time on sales leads than prospects.

3. Nurture leads

This is the step most people are tempted to skip.

Like every other person selling a service, you want to make a sale right away. But while a few people will hire you immediately, most will not. Their interest needs to be nurtured until they’re ready to buy.

You should store all contact information in a database, which could be a simple customer relationship management system like Highrise or a desktop-based program such as ACT!.

Find ways to regularly communicate with your leads. Over time, they will become more familiar with you and more comfortable with the idea of hiring you. People always prefer the familiar over the unknown.

There are many ways to nurture leads. You can send news or information they might be interested in, make additional offers for low-cost or introductory services, connect with them socially, and even seek their advice from time to time.

4. Close sales

This step is self-explanatory. A potential customer needs your service. You provide a quote or estimate, answer questions, overcome objections, and eventually close the sale.

This is your end game, the goal of your efforts. And if you’ve set up a good lead generation system and kept your sales funnel consistently full, it will actually be the easiest step in the process.

Easy ways to generate inquiries from your blog

The hardest part about generating sales leads is getting people to contact you in the first place. If you’re just starting out and no one knows who you are, this may seem impossible.

As a blogger, you may know a variety of ways to promote your blog. Obviously, the more blog traffic you get, the easier it will be to generate leads. But you don’t need a ton of traffic to make it work.

According to Alexa, my business blog is ranked at around 100,000 or so. That’s not bad, but it’s nowhere near superstar blogs such as Copyblogger. However, I get enough of the right kind of people reading it to generate a steady stream of inquiries for my services.

So don’t worry about becoming a top-ranked blog. To successfully sell your services, you just need regular inquiries from the right kind of people. The more specialized you are, and the more targeted your blog posts, the more likely this will happen.

Of course, bringing people to your blog is one thing. Generating inquiries is another. Here are some simple things you can do to make those inquiries happen.

Contact Form — If you have a blog, you almost certainly have a contact form. However, the standard contact form is not enough. You should modify your form to match the service you sell. Take a look at the highly specialized form I use.

E-Newsletter — This is an easy way to stay in touch with many people and provide great value while you’re at it. Since I specialize in copywriting for direct mail and direct marketing, my newsletter features articles and information on the subject. I have several thousand subscribers and about half of my new clients say they became pre-sold on my abilities by subscribing.

Free White Paper — While a newsletter requires an ongoing commitment, a white paper is a one-time effort. Write it, post a contact/request form, and send a link to the PDF when requests come in. You could also automate the process with an auto responder, but I like to fulfill these requests personally so I can watch for hot leads from companies I want to work with. My white paper on improving direct mail response generates many requests every week.

Information Kit — If you’ve built a blog or site around your services, you should provide plenty of information online. However, you can offer pricing, forms, a client list, and other information in the form of a downloadable PDF. Remember, when someone requests information, it gives you the opportunity to capture contact information.

Webinars — These days it’s fairly simple to put together a webinar using services such as GoToWebinar. You can also create non-interactive presentations with software like PowerPoint or OpenOffice. The idea is to provide something of value that enables you to collect contact information.

Videos — Using software and hardware built into many computers, you can create simple, informative videos. They don’t have to be fancy. Just look into the camera and talk. Or edit together simple footage demonstrating your work or how you solved a problem. Video can also be a helpful tool to encourage people to sign up for your newsletter, webinar, or other information.

Pay Per Click — If you write and promote a good blog, you’re probably getting a fair amount of natural traffic. But pay-per-click ads can give you a boost for people looking for your particular services. Your results will vary depending on the level of competition and amount you’re willing to spend, but it’s worth a test.

Just remember: Your blog is a means to an end. If you use your blog to attract the right kind of traffic, and follow the advice above to generate sales leads, you should see a dramatic increase in your business.

About the Author: Dean Rieck is one of America’s most in-demand direct marketing copywriters who shares his writing and freelancing know-how at Pro Copy Tips.

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Bloggers have been asking the question “Do long or short headlines work better?” for a long time.

But the answer to the riddle of how to create a headline that pulls in readers doesn’t necessarily lie in subtracting or adding one more word. There’s not a mysterious formula or arcane copywriter’s trick.

The answer is much simpler than that.

The best way to get a headline that works is by using the breath test.

Try saying this headline aloud:

How To Recognize Six Difficult Telltale Signs Of Disinterest And Lack Of Motivation In Your Student And Customer

Ran out of breath, didn’t you? And even if you didn’t quite run out of breath, you had a hard time getting through the whole thing.

You’ll also find that you struggle to recall the contents of that headline. Because if you can’t say it in one breath, you can’t hear it in one breath, either.

When your headline can’t be easily said aloud in a single breath, your message gets garbled.

Look at some of the most enduring headlines ever:

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Do You Make these Mistakes in English?

They Laughed when I Sat Down at the Piano. But when I Started
to Play …

That last one was a mouthful, wasn’t it?

No matter how you try, it’s hard to say: “They laughed when I sat down at the piano. But when I started to play … ” in one breath.

So what’s going on here? How come this headline works when it clearly fails the breath test?

It’s called punctuation.

If you have a long headline, all you have to do is punctuate to indicate that there’s a pause there. You’re ending one thought and beginning another.

How you punctuate it is totally up to you. You could use parentheses. Or an em dash. Or a comma.

The original headline used a period, making it two separate sentences. But that headline could also be punctuated like this:

They Laughed when I Sat Down at the Piano (But when I Started
to Play…)

They Laughed when I Sat Down at the Piano — But when I Started
to Play …

They Laughed when I Sat Down at the Piano, but when I Started
to Play …

Punctuation exists to give a mental pause between thoughts. When you have that pause built into your headline, a reader can read it as if it were two sentences. So even though it looks like one big sentence, it’s really two.

Next time you’ve written a great headline and you’re wondering if it’s too long, just do the breath test. If it fails, add some punctuation.

If it still fails, dump the headline and start again. You should never compromise when writing headlines.

If your reader can’t process your headline in a single breath, they can’t process it in their heads, either — which will render a perfectly good headline perfectly useless.

About the Author: Sean D’Souza offers a great free article on ‘Why Headlines Fail’ when you subscribe to his Psychotactics Newsletter. Be sure to check out his blog, too.

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Email is back.

Despite repeated proclamations of its extinction, rumors of the death of email marketing have been greatly exaggerated — especially since email and social media are a powerful combination. You might not reach the average college freshman, but for slightly older types (you know, the ones with the money), email is still the way to go in many lucrative mainstream niches.

You must first, of course, get your emails read. And it all starts with the subject line.

Email subject lines are a form of headline. They perform the same function as a headline by attracting attention and getting your email content a chance to be read.

So, headline fundamentals still apply. But the context is different, with the email space having its own funky little quirks that need to be accounted for.

Here’s the good news — email also implies a special relationship with the reader; a relationship that will get more of your messages read, even with subject lines that wouldn’t work in other headline contexts. Let’s take a look back at headline fundamentals, the specifics that apply to subject lines, and the “secret sauce” that makes email your top conversion channel.

1. The Fundamentals:

When you’re writing your next email subject line, run it through this checklist, based on the Four “U” Approach to headline writing:

• Useful: Is the promised message valuable to the reader?
• Ultra-specific: Does the reader know what’s being promised?
• Unique: Is the promised message compelling and remarkable?
• Urgent: Does the reader feel the need to read now?

When you’re trying to get someone to take valuable time and invest it in your message, a subject line that properly incorporates all four of these elements can’t miss. And yet, execution in the email context can be tricky, so let’s drill down into subject-line specifics for greater clarity.

2. The Specifics:

Beyond headline fundamentals, these are the things to specifically focus on with email subject lines:

• Identify yourself: Over time, the most compelling thing about an email message should be that it’s from you. Even before then, your recipient needs to know at a glance that you’re a trusted source. Either make it crystal clear by smart use of your “From” field, or start every subject line with the same identifier. For example, with our own Internet Marketing for Smart People newsletter, every subject line begins with [Smart People].
• Useful and specific first: Of the four “U” fundamentals, focus on useful and ultra-specific, even if you have to ignore unique and urgent. There are plenty of others who work at unique and urgent with every subject line — we call them spammers. Don’t cross the line into subject lines that are perceived as garbage. But do throw in a bit of a tease.
• Urgent when it’s useful: When every email from you is urgent, none is. Use urgency when it’s actually useful, such as when there’s a real deadline or compelling reason to act now. If you’re running your email marketing based on value and great offers, people don’t want to miss out and need to know how much time they have.
• Rely on spam checking software: We all know that certain words trigger spam filters, but there’s a lot of confusion out there about which words are the problem. Is it okay to use the word “free” in a subject line? Actually, yes. All reputable email services provide spam checking software as part of the service or as an add-on. Craft your messages with compelling language, let the software do its job, and adjust when you have to.
• Shorter is better: Subject line real estate is valuable, so the more compact your subject line, the better. Don’t forget useful and ultra-specific, but try to compress the fundamentals into the most powerful promise possible.

3. The Secret Sauce:

Getting someone to trust you with their email address is not easy. Twelve years ago when I started in email publishing, people would sign up for anything remotely interesting.

No longer.

But if you do gain that initial trust, and more importantly, confirm and grow it, you can write pretty lame subject lines and people will still read your emails. Just as with that ditzy friend from high school who nonetheless always has something interesting to say, trust and substance matter most.

Don’t get me wrong, writing great subject lines combined with the more intimate relationship email represents is much more effective. And you have to get your initial messages read to establish the relationship in the first place. Regardless, your open rates will improve based on the quality of your subject line.

But there’s something special in this jaded digital age about being invited into someone’s email inbox. You just have to over-deliver on the value to ensure you’re a treasured guest who gets invited back.

The inbox can be a stressful place. How do you make it brighter?

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and co-founder of the writer-friendly Scribe SEO software. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

P.S. Have you checked out Internet Marketing for Smart People, the Copyblogger email newsletter? It features a free 20-step course with solid email marketing tips, so click here and subscribe today.

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