Whether you have a tiny list or thousands of people on it, you can still give all your sales communications - whether it's a long sales letter, sales copy for an ad, or short sales copy for the products page of your website - the feeling of being personal if you write it as if you were talking to a friend.

Here's what I mean:

1. Tell A Story

One of the most effective ways for you to write sales pages that convert (meaning people take the action you want them to take) is by relating in some way to your reader.

If you've been where they are at now, telling your story can go a long way in engaging your reader, building your credibility, and providing a feeling of comfort to your reader that you know what you're talking about.

2. Ask Questions

To introduce your story, you might ask a series of questions that your reader would answer "yes" to. When your reader says "yes, that's me" you've hooked them right away and enticed them to read further.

For example, on the back of my business card (which is a sales tool in that I use it to entice people to sign up for my ezine), I ask, "Are you sick of struggling to attract enough clients for your business?" and "Are you really good at what you do, but marketing yourself effectively eludes you?"

You could do the same on your sales pages. For example, at the beginning of my sales letter for my How to Write Sales Pages that Sell teleseminar, I ask, "Do you currently have sales pages online, but they aren't converting, meaning you're not making many (or any!) sales from them?" and "Are you planning on launching a product or service in the next 90 days and know you need to write the sales page for it, but have no idea how to go about it?"

3. Touch On The Pain

A very effective way of bringing your reader along in your sales page is to touch on the pain of the problem about which you are offering the solution.

For example, our neighbor's two dogs bark incessantly, often waking my daughter from her nap, and making it difficult for me to focus when I'm working. We've tried everything, including talking to the neighbors a number of times, calling the dog warden even more often (unfortunately the neighbor is friendly with the dog warden), chasing the outdoor cats away when it's them that they are barking at, and even trying to just tolerate it.

But when it became apparent that the dog warden was not going to be effective and since we live in a very small village where the mayor is also our neighbor and it didn't seem like we were going to be able to have this issued resolved via the proper channels, I started searching for other solutions.

What I found was a humane dog training device, and the reason I was willing to plunk down almost $100 for it was this one sentence on its sales page:

"Have you tried EVERYTHING to silence the nuisance barking of your neighbor's dog?"

Sold!

4. Focus On The Top and the Bottom

The two most-read parts of your sales pages are the headline and the PS. There are certain very effective ways that you can utilize these two components, and one of them is to use them to relate to your reader in some way.

I've seen sales pages without a headline - just the title of the product they are selling, and I've seen many sales pages without a PS at the end.

Not have compelling copy in your headline or a gentle nudge in a PS can really hurt your sales. Make sure you focus on these two areas of your sales page with the utmost of care.

5. Offer A Strong Guarantee

Most of us are skeptical to some degree and often ask the question, "yes, but will it work for me?" Remove that doubt by offering a strong guarantee.

Research proves that the longer the guarantee, the better. And even better is making it clear that your buyer can get a refund without having to give a reason for requesting it. Offer a minimum of a 90 day guarantee and a no-questions-asked refund policy, and you'll make more sales and get less returns, even if it seems counter-intuitive.

A final note: writing sales copy is a skill that anyone can master, given a little practice and guidance. There are loads of good sales pages online that you can model. To get you started, just think of the ones that really spoke to you and from which you made a purchase. Think about what it was that made you enter your credit card number and reflect that in your own sales copy.

Copyright (c) 2006 Alicia M Forest and Client Abundance