According to Internet entrepreneurs Brock Felt and Buck Rizvi, products sold online can be divided into four categories:

1 – Products that alleviate the prospect’s pain.

2 – Products that solve a problem.

3 – Products that give or enable pleasure.

4 – Products that prevent a problem or condition.

Of these, #1 and #2 are the easiest to sell, because people feel an urgent need to solve the problem or get rid of the pain.

Pleasure is desirable but its attainment is less urgent, making products in category #3 more difficult to sell.

Products in category #4 are the most difficult to sell – because, as health marketers have long known, people will buy cure but not prevention.
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This article appears courtesy of Bob Bly Direct Response Letter

Article Marketing is the number one source of free traffic on the Internet if you get your Resource Box right. Get this one wrong and you have wasted all your time. Get this one right and you have got it made!

What a Resource Box really is

Call it a Resource Box, Author Bio, etc., what it really is is your opportunity to create a compelling call to action for your reader.

Even though it is called an Author Bio, it is not the time for you to tell the reader all about you and convince them you are an expert. In fact, if you have not demonstrated that you are an expert in your article, it is way to late to try to do it now.

Even though it is an official Call to Action, I like to teach my students and members to use what I call “invitational language” in their Resource Box. Invitational language can be something as simple as “and now I would like to invite you to…” and then name the next action you would like them to take.

This is as opposed to something like “get this great new product now and all your problems will be solved by morning and if you don’t you will be broke forever!”

Sure I’ve exaggerated a bit, but not by much.

Here’s how to do it

You want the Resource Box to flow right out of your article, since it is then next paragraph in the article. Starting off with “Jim Smith is blah blah blah” is like announcing to the reader that the article is over and they can stop reading now. Not the result you want at all, right?

Instead you can start off with a nice transitional phrase beginning with the word “and.” For example, “And now I would like to…” or “And now you can…” is a great way to begin.

Then, back to my notion of invitational language, you simply invite the reader to take the next action you want them to take. For example, you can day “And now you can claim your free instant access to…” whatever it is you are going to offer them. The invitational language bring them in instead of chasing them off.

Then and only then do I ever mention my name, and then only so that the good information they are about to get is linked in their mind to my name and brand.

Here is a complete example:

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From Jeff Herring – The Article Marketing Guy and The Great Article Marketing Network.

Unfortunately, sales brochures have become so common that many are no longer as persuasive as they ought to be.

Award-winning copywriter and author of “The Everything Guide to Writing Copy”, Steve Slaunwhite, puts it this way. “The main challenge of writing a brochure is keeping the content focused. Most brochures are either too lightweight and don’t contain enough useful information, or too weighed down with extraneous facts and long-winded puffery.”

While most brochures still tend to be informative, many are just texty and not visually appealing or scannable, so they end up looking like a “misguided” fact sheet.

The last thing you want to do is put out a texty brochure that even your salespeople won’t read, much less your customers or prospects. So use a good mix of text and visual enhancements – diagrams, bullets, sidebars, callouts, etc – to make your brochure easy to read and understand.

If you need ideas on how to write a compelling brochure that’s informative and persuasive, here’s a suggestion. Visit your dentist’s office and take a careful look at one of those brochures they have laying around in the waiting room. You will learn a lot from how these dental brochures are written to persuade people to get a dental check-up fast.

If you’re a freelance copywriter, you probably already know and appreciate these four reasons.

If you’re employed, and do some moonlighting, one of these four reasons might tip you over into becoming a freelancer full-time.

If you don’t yet do any freelance copywriting work, feast your mind on the following.

(As you consider each reason, repeat after me, “Thank goodness I have a strong right side to my brain and am both creative and intuitive.”).

Reason #1: Quality copywriting can’t be outsourced overseas

Pity the web designers. Pity the programmers and coders. Their jobs are disappearing fast.

India has many excellent universities which graduate thousands of new engineers and programmers every year. They’re every bit as qualified and skilled as their North American counterparts and work for a fraction of the price.

And if you want some design work done for online or offline projects, try graphic designers from Eastern Europe or Russia. You’ll get some fabulous work, at an amazing price.

It’s not that these Indian programmers or Bulgarian designers work for peanuts. Their fees are low, because their cost of living is low.

As a result, if you want to protect your income for decades to come, don’t become a programmer or designer. Or a customer service agent. Or a virtual assistant. Or even a project manager.

But a freelance copywriter? That’s a great job to have, because it’s really, really hard to outsource.

As a copywriter, you’re protected both by your language and your culture.

A copywriter from Latvia, for whom English is a second or third language, is going to find it very hard competing with you.

A copywriter from India, who may be totally fluent in English, is going to find it hard or impossible to understand the cultural nuances that are part of copywriting to a North American or European audience.

In short, as a freelance copywriter, you’re almost totally protected from having your job outsourced to an overseas competitor.

Reason #2: Copywriting can’t be automated

For a huge number of careers, the threat doesn’t come just from outsourcing; it also comes from automation.

Remember typographers? A beautiful craft and career that has pretty much disappeared.

You’re a bookkeeper? I bet you hate QuickBooks and all the other software that enables small-business owners to track their own costs and income.

You’re a car mechanic? You’d better start learning less about the car and more about the software that diagnoses the car’s problems.

And while we’re on the subject of diagnosis, are doctors safe from being automated? Probably not for long. (But, if you’re a nurse, good for you. There’s a job that can’t be outsourced or automated. Very right-brain. Very intuitive.)

Copywriting can’t be automated either. Some software and systems come close to writing really bad copy, but they’ll never be able to write great copy.

How come? Because computers can’t be creative or intuitive. But you can.

Reason #3: Copywriters can always make good money

The work of the copywriter is intimately and closely connected with sales.

When you do good work, your client or employer sees the extra dollars flowing in. And he can immediately connect those extra dollars to the work you did for him.

Being close to the sale is the best place to be. That’s why sales people can earn huge commissions.

And that’s why good copywriters can command terrific fees.

When you’re close to the point of sale and do good work, you can always justify your costs.

Reason #4: As a freelancer, you can’t be fired

This final point applies only to freelancers.

Copywriters, as a group, are well-protected from having their jobs outsourced or automated, but they can still be “downsized.”

In other words, when you’re employed, you can be fired.

As a smart freelance copywriter, spreading your income across several different clients, you can never be fired. If you lose one client, you have others to take up the slack.
Concluding thoughts …

These are scary times. Jobs are under threat from so many directions.

When the economy is bad, your job can simply disappear overnight.

If you have a left-brain, problem-solving job, it can probably be outsourced overseas or automated.

If your job is far from the point of sale, you’ll always find it hard to make more money as an employee.

That’s why being a freelance copywriter is such a wonderful career. It’s protected and it’s close to the point of sale. You will always be needed and will always be able to command a good fee.

As for whether you should focus on copywriting for offline or online media, that’s a whole different story and probably another article.

This article appears courtesy of American Writers & Artists Inc.’s (AWAI) The Golden Thread, a free newsletter that delivers original, no-nonsense advice on the best wealth careers, lifestyle careers and work-at-home careers available. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.awaionline.com/signup/.

The first product of this symbiotic partnership has been the highly acclaimed event review written by Aran Meta Copywriting for Blueprint’s In the Spotlight, a showcase for talented undiscovered artists held on Saturday, August 1, at the East Village’s Drom Lounge.

Aran Meta Copywriting and Blueprint look forward to many years of cooperation and partnership.

About Blueprint by Ronke

Blueprint By Ronke plans your event using a standard operating procedure of excellence. The result is that your event is personalized in its presentation, professional in its organization, and memorable in its impression on your guests. Contact Blueprint at www.blueprintbyronke.com

About Aran Meta Copywriting

Aran Meta Copywriting specializes in the creation of custom and creative content that help business owners and corporate managers successfully promote their services and products to other businesses through an integrated web of online resources that facilitate visitor traffic to all parts of the interconnected web presence. Contact Aran Meta Copywriting at www.aranmetacopywriting.com.

You are undoubtedly are seeking more sales, as does any sharp business person.

But, as many I have worked with, you may be unaware of a simple change in your sales strategy that can make the difference between massive success and complete failure. The answer?

You must discover how to effectively close sales.

Otherwise, it’s just not possible to be successful in any business.

Yet, most offers I review both online and offline do not include a powerful close. The majority of personal presentations have the same flaw. They offer just a single product or service. It’s no wonder most offers, whether in written form or delivered in person, fail miserably.

I notice that new clients who ask me to critique their copy tend not to contain an effective close to their
offer. Instead they simply offer their “widget.” And then ask for the order. While this may seem logical
to some, such a strategy will rarely succeed.

Often I can “fix” the copy and create a winning offer just by changing the close.

As every experienced direct marketer knows, how you word the offer has everything to do with its success.

Closing the sale effectively, whether in person or in sales copy, is absolutely essential for massive success.

You must close sales with passion and vitality. Clearly with a strong close you will often get a “yes” answer to your offer. Why? Psychologically it’s 10 to 100 times more powerful than the typical wimpy ending of most sales presentations.

There are many effective ways to close a sale. And I’ve tested nearly every proven one.

Today I’m going to reveal the simplest and easiest method I’ve ever found.

Please burn the next sentence in your mind, dear reader.

When you are ready to go for the order, never ask a prospect a closing question (or any other question) which can be answered “yes” or “no”.

When you plant the “no” seed in anyone’s mind, it’s almost automatic to simply say “no.” And believe me, most will say “no” as a result.

From the beginning of the offer you want to build a “yes” momentum when marketing anything.

Of course, in any offer you must present all the powerful and compelling benefits of your products first.

But here is the little-understood secret that will not only close orders. It will also put millions of dollars in profit directly into your bank account.

Here is the magic key to it all.

Never ask “if.” Instead ask “which”.

Always form your question in such a way which gives your prospect a choice between something and something.

Not something and nothing.

By giving the prospect a choice between two or more alternatives, you’ll nearly always get the answer you want.

A successful marketer gives the prospect a choice between at least two alternatives. Both alternatives must provide valid benefits to the prospect. (A choice of three to five options can also work successfully.)

Examples of successful closing questions

Please observe that some questions are designed to draw answers that lead to or close the final sale:

• Would you like the basic package at $1,997, or the deluxe version which is just $497 more?
• Does the silver or gold membership program suit your needs best?
• Would you like delivery Monday or Wednesday?
• Would you like the product in brushed aluminium or black?
• Does the one payment or three payment option suit you best?

Or to your banker:

Would a $150,000 line of credit or would $200,000 best suit your current loan budget?

The psychological power of asking the right questions, both in business and personal situations, cannot be overstated.

The secret is to assume consent.

In asking closing questions, basically you are assuming consent from your prospect, banker or friend. This is nearly always a good thing for everyone involved.

During my high school years (long before I met Bethany) I first discovered the principle of assuming consent during my early dating experiences.

I observed that most of the brightest and most appealing young women tended to spend their Saturday nights at home alone.

When I questioned my fellow male students as to why they didn’t ask these young women out more
often, they answered along these lines:

(1) “I’ve tried before. But they might say ‘no.’ That would make me feel rejected, which is tough for me to take.”

(2) “They might be busy. When I’ve asked Susan out before she was busy doing something else. Or even worse, had a boyfriend.”

I reasoned that neither response seemed like much of a risk to me. At least I would know the real facts. Because a “yes” was possible, perhaps even likely, It was a small risk I was willing to take.

So then I formulated my dating strategy. I simply asked a question which gave a choice between two options which suited me and them as well.

Here was the question I asked.

“Would you like to join me and go to the movies Friday or Saturday night?”

I was delighted that over 90% of the time they said “yes.” Of course they chose the night which suited
them best.

Occasionally they were busy both nights or had a boyfriend of whom I was unaware. Of course this was the law of average in action.

Later when I began to use the “choice close” in the business world the result was also sensational. I found this result to hold up ever since in personal sales situations. And in all my copy.

Have I convinced you yet? Utilize this closing technique in your next offer. See the results for yourself. I believe you’ll never do it any other way again. Why?

Instead of that typical “no” response you will increase the number of times you hear that magic
word “yes” that we all love!
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This article appears courtesy of THE SUCCESS MARGIN, the Internet’s most valuable success and marketing e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.tednicholas.com

Contact: Gbenga Alaran
Email: galaran@aranmetacopywriting.com
Website: www.aranmetacopywriting.com

July 14, 2009, Houston, TX – Aran Meta Investments today launched a copywriting service, Aran Meta Copywriting, to meet the growing demand by businesses both large and small for business-to-business (B2B) copywriters who understand how to take full advantage of web marketing through content creation.

A recent study conducted by comScore and released by the Online Publishers Association, found that consumers now spend 40% of their online time with Content, and only about one-fourth of their time with email and IM.

Aran Meta Copywriting specializes in the creation of custom and creative content that help businesses promote their services and products to other businesses through an integrated web of online resources that facilitate visitor traffic to all parts of the interconnected web presence.

“Content is king right now. Many clients want their content to jump out at visitors, who would then spread word about their businesses through referrals and social media word-of-mouth”, said Gbenga Alaran, Lead Copywriter for Aran Meta Copywriting.

About Aran Meta Copywriting

Aran Meta Copywriting meets the growing need of businesses for copywriters who can research, write, and structure, Press Releases, Web Content, e-Books, White Papers, Blogs, Articles, Testimonials, Newsletters, Pay-Per-Click Campaigns, Testimonials, and other web marketing tools. If you need to market your business online using words that sell, visit the website at www.aranmetacopywriting.com

From Sunday, June 28, you can get a username that identifies the URL of your business simply as facebook.com/yourbusinessname, rather the usual long, alphanumeric, mumbo jumbo of a URL.

Freelance copywriting is a form of consulting, but consultants don’t market themselves as freelancers.

Therefore, if you are a freelance copywriter serious about your trade, the biggest mistake you can make is to continue to pitch yourself to clients as a freelancer.

What can you do to look more professional?

Become a business entity.

Even if you are just a sole proprietor with a bedroom for an office, clients will take you more seriously when you present yourself as a company. Obviously, it’s better to incorporate, but even a Doing Business As (DBA) will do.

In the article, “The Biggest Pricing Mistake You Can Make”, copywriting maestro Steve Slaunwhite points out that many prospective clients view copywriters who quote low on a job as amateurs.

This suggests you will not have a pricing disadvantage when you operate as a business entity and charge clients accordingly. In fact, clients will expect to pay more for your service because you are a business entity, rather than a “freelancer”.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, now is not the best time to decide you’re going to specialize as a print copywriter only.

Newspapers are dying by the dozen.

Nor is it a good time to focus just on direct mail.

That market is taking a beating, too.

When it comes to offline media, the story is clear and it’s bleak: everything is shrinking.

As a result, seasoned copywriters who have already invested decades of effort in those areas are going to be fighting for the remaining work.

In other words, even if you choose to do some offline copywriting work, it is essential that you also grow your skills as an ONLINE copywriter.

Here are three reasons why growing your business as an online copywriter is the smart way to go.

Reason #1: The market for online copywriters is expanding fast.

Why fight over the scraps in a shrinking market when you can stake your claim in a fast-expanding market?

As billions of marketing dollars move online, the need for quality online copywriters will grow exponentially.

And, wherever you find fast growth, you also find an opportunity to get work with very little resistance. Every company moving their budgets online needs copywriters who understand the web and can write copy that takes full advantage of this new medium.

Put simply, fast growth creates a vacuum that sucks in available talent. The opportunity for you, right now, is to fill that vacuum and meet the demand for online copywriting that delivers.

Reason #2: As an online copywriter, you have a broad range of specific skills you can develop and sell.

In the offline world, many copywriters spend their entire careers being specialists in a very narrow area, like writing direct mail.

For many decades, that approach worked just fine.

But the world is moving much faster now. It changes day by day.

Put simply, you can’t take the risk of developing your talent and building your business on a promise or skill set that is too narrow. If you do, within a year you might find that both the world of marketing and the demand for that skill set have shifted.

The great thing about being an online copywriter is that you can shift and slide according to the prevailing demand.

Here are some examples of online copywriting specialties:

• Writing online sales pages and landing pages
• Writing promotional emails and auto-responder sequences
• Search-engine copywriting
• Web-content writing
• Usability copywriting
• Blog writing
• Social-media copywriting

The trick is to develop skills in two or three separate areas. This increases your perceived value in the marketplace, and also keeps you light on your feet and able to shift focus quickly as the world of web marketing grows and changes.

Reason #3: As an online copywriter, you can think bigger and make a lot more money.

As a freelance online copywriter, you might be happy to make about $100 an hour for your work.

But if you were a company, or seen as a company, you could charge a whole lot more.

How does that work?

In the offline world, as a freelance copywriter, you are perceived as a freelancer and paid accordingly. You can’t really pretend you’re a company with big offices somewhere.

Online, it’s different. You can create a company name and website name that presents you as an online copywriting and marketing company. Your website can look as professional, impressive, and inclusive as that of a company which employs 50 or 100 people.

In other words, on the web, you can look a whole lot bigger than you are.

And you can charge accordingly.

Now, take another look at point #2 above. Your online copywriting services company can offer each of those seven specialties. That gives your prospects seven different reasons to say yes.

Get more work, and charge company rates.

Of course, you don’t have to take this route. You can still make a great living by presenting yourself as a single, freelance copywriter. But the opportunity is there. For now, and for some time in the future.

To summarize …

To create a profitable future for yourself as a copywriter, you absolutely have to specialize in online copywriting. That’s where the opportunity lies. It’s always easier to find work in an industry or sector that is expanding fast.

And the rate of expansion online right now is explosive.

Also, remain light on your feet and responsive to change by building expertise in more than one area of online copywriting. Learn as much as you can and then move toward those areas where the demand for your services is the greatest.

Build your business as a professional online copywriter, or think bigger and create an online company. The choice is yours.

One way or another, be sure to focus on building your expertise and value as an ONLINE copywriter.
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This article appears courtesy of American Writers & Artists Inc.’s (AWAI) Wealthy Web Writer, a free newsletter for learning how to effectively write online copy and market products on the Web. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.awaionline.com/signup/web-writing/.