The following is taken from an email I received from my friend Joe Vitale a number of years ago. I thought it made a great point about the importance of copywriting in making sales. Note how he quietly promotes his own website in the process of critiquing another. He advocates that you read his website to see how much better the copy is there. Well, if the copy is as good as he says it is, you might well end up buying whatever he sells on that site.
So his point is to show you how copy sells. But his hope, as well, is that you will buy from his well-written copy? Do you dare read it? You might end up buying or getting an automobile…
Does copy really make a difference on websites? Can’t you just make sales with a few words, a good headline, and an order form? Well, let’s see….
Brad Yates pushed for the quick release of our audio teleseminar called Money Beyond Belief. While I felt his quickly done site, well, sucked, I agreed. Result? Few sales. Brad was disappointed.
I advised him to add some endorsements, pictures, and bonuses, and to clean up the copy. He did. I then announced the site again. The result? Eighty-five sales almost instantly. Keep in mind going from almost zero to 85 is good for anyone, whether you’re BMW or Brad or me. It’s not great, but it’s better than nothing.
The site still isn’t the best, but now there’s enough copy there to get the job done. But how could Brad make the site even better? What could he do to really bring in the sales? Here’s where the real lesson begins.
I told Brad to compare his site to my site on how to attract a new car. I told him to note the differences. The new car one rakes in the sales. Why?
It’s loaded with strong copy, long copy, convincing endorsements, a slew of bonuses, terrific pictures, powerful headlines, several PS’s, a clear guarantee, subtle convincers, price comparisons, bold headlines and hypnotic sub-heads — and much more.
The attract a new car site is probably 100 times better than the money beyond belief site. See for yourself. Look at both of the sites:
In fact, print them both out. Study them. Put them side by side. Which do you think is better — and why?
This is a great education in marketing. And it’s yours free. Go for it. — Dr. Joe Vitale
I get no affiliate income if you buy from either site. I just thought that if you actually look at both sites, side by side, you’ll get a superb education on how long, well-written copy sells. Long well-written copy sells books. Sells novels. Sells podcasts. Sells consulting and coaching. Sells whatever your passion or service provides.
That’s something that we all need to learn. And learn more than once. Not just you, but me as well.
About John Kremer
John Kremer is author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, the Relationships Matter Marketing program, and many other books and reports on book marketing, Internet marketing, social media, and book publicity. -- John Kremer on Book Marketing.
I looked at the websites and thought the copy was okay but the design could have been improved. With a nice banner and a few photos, I think they’d look more professional. In my opinion, font is important as well. It can help identify a brand.
Yes, these are old websites from 2008 (with some updates on Joe’s site). Design considerations are an important factor in today’s Internet world, especially with mobile visitors.