A lot of people shy away from writing their own ads and sales
letters when it's really not necessary. If you have even a basic
grasp of writing skills, you can easily write your own stuff that
really sells. You probably just need a few pointers about format
and language.

When formatting an ad or a sales letter, put the most important
benefits right up front. Put yourself in the customer's shoes and
ask yourself what the customer will really go for. Focus on
that point.

Keep your sentences short and simple. Sales copy needs to be
crisp and clean or people lose interest. With simple sentences
you can steer clear of confusion and get right to the point of
the ad. Take it a step further in your classified ads and
alternate complete sentences with catchy two and three-word
phrases.

Break your copy into short sections. Professional writers often
keep their paragraphs to two or three sentences. This makes your
copy much easier to follow.

Use visual tricks to grab attention. Use headings and sub-
headings to emphasize your most important features, and use
bulleted lists when describing product features.

Include a P.S. in sales letters. Most people read the P.S. first.
Use it to restate your main offer, and then add a special bonus.
Include a time limit to get the good deal. This encourages
people to buy more quickly.

And finally, once you've got your sales letter or ad set up in
this clean and simple format, make sure you're using clean and
simple language to match, and not gobbledygook.

We all know what gobbledygook is, it's that overcomplicated,
cliched and unnecessarily formal language that can either totally
confuse us or just put us to sleep. Either way it loses the
customer, and loses you the sale.

In an effort to seem smart or serious or professional, bad
business writers often end up using gobbledygook. I see sales
letters and emails all the time with business-speak phrases like
"in our considered opinion" and "enclosed please find." This
makes the seller sound stuffy and unapproachable. Simplify these
into everyday language. Write how you would speak: "we think"
and "here is," are much better choices. Customers relate to
conversational language.

If you follow these pointers you should be able to come up with
some pretty good copy. Keep plugging away at it, and you'll find
you get pretty good. Who knows? People might even start coming
to you for writing advice.

Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice, copywriting, and
promotional packages. See all his tips to help your business
or career at http://DrNunley.com Reach Kevin at
kevin@drnunley.com, or 801-328-9006.