How to write persuasive copy without sounding “salesy” (Part 2)

Yesterday I started answering the question…

How do you write persuasive copy… without sounding salesy?

But time was short.

There’s much to say…

And so I left some things unsaid – which I’ll now share:

(5) Don’t forget to offer real value in your copy. So that you prove to your reader that your aim ISN’T just to sell stuff… but rather to *help* them. Plus, it gives them a reason to read your copy… and keep on reading it through to the end… and then open new emails from you, and click on new ads, because they know that they’re going to receive real value whenever they read your stuff.

But what does it LOOK like to “offer real value” in your copy? Lots of things:

• Giving away valuable information. Offer tips & tricks in your emails. Give free advice. Fill your copy with valuable information.
• Being entertaining. This works especially well in email marketing. ‘Entertainment’ is a real form of value (just think how much money people spend on entertainment every day…). And if people start to get the idea that your emails are entertaining… fun to read… funny… they’ll start opening them much more frequently(Ben Settle is *really* good at this). And you’ll have a much more responsive, lively, engaged email list. Who consistently listens to what you have to say.
• Making your readers feel *heard*… and encouraged. This is one that even top copywriters often neglect. Crawl inside of your prospects head & heart… talk about something *specific* that they’re very fearful about. Something that’s a very personal, emotional, and difficult part of their experience. Talk about it… and then offer real encouragement: “If you struggle with X problem… I just want you to know that it’ll get better. I’ve personally struggled with X problem… and it was so hard for so many years. But it got better. So, friend… keep your head up. Even when the Sun’s gone totally dark, and you feel all alone. Keep on moving. The sun will shine again.”
• Giving away free gifts. Every now and then, give something away free to everyone on your email list. A download link for a helpful PDF you’ve created. Or a link to an article… with a bunch of helpful resources. If you do this consistently… then every time your readers get an email from you, they’ll say to themselves, “huh, I wonder if this email with have another cool gift. Let me check and see” … … … *click*

When you offer real value in your copy… you naturally start to seem less “salesy.” Because you’re demonstrating that your goal isn’t just to sell. But to help.

(6) When you’re writing an email sequence, always keep the ratio of “emails that only offer valuable content” to “emails that pitch something” at least 1:1. In other words… be sure you’ve sending at least as many “content” emails as you send “pitching” emails (more on the difference between these in a future post). Here’s how I structure my sequences:

5 email sequence
Email 1: Content
Email 2: Content + Soft Pitch (usually in the “P.S.” section)
Email 3: Hard Pitch
Email 4: Content
Email 5: Hard Pitch

7 email sequence
Email 1: Content
Email 2: Content
Email 3: Content
Email 4: Content + Soft Pitch
Email 5: Hard Pitch
Email 6: Content
Email 7: Hard Pitch

10 email sequence
Email 1: Content
Email 2: Content
Email 3: Content
Email 4: Content + Soft Pitch
Email 5: Hard Pitch
Email 6: Content
Email 7: Hard Pitch
Email 8: Content
Email 9: Content
Email 10: Hard Pitch

…and then if there are more than 10 emails in the sequence, I’ll keep on doing “Content, content, pitch… content, content, pitch… content, content, pitch… etc.” And again, the reason that I do this is to make sure I’m offering real value to my readers. So that they’ll keep opening my emails. And reading them.

Okay.

Final thought.

Here’s what it comes down to:

Your copy starts to sound “salesy” when people start to doubt your intentions in writing to them. If you give off the impression that ALL you’re trying to do is make money off of them… and you couldn’t care less about their actual lives, as long as they buy your stuff… THEN your copy will start to sound “salesy.” 

All of the suggestion I’ve given… have been ways of helping you AVOID that pitfall. And *really* communicate to your prospect that you’re out to help them. And not just sell something to them.

So take the suggestions I’ve given. Run with them.

But also remember the underlying issue…

Your reader needs to know that you’re there to HELP… and not just to SELL.