Your Online Ads Aren't Getting Noticed!
Discover How To Write Killer Ads And
Increase Your Sales By 1200%!

By Michael Corcoran

Does Internet marketing drive you crazy?

Tired of wasting your money and/or time placing ads that never get noticed?

Want to know the real secret to writing ads that pull like a powerful locomotive, sending box cars packed with people racing to your website?

Then listen very carefully.

To write an ad that pulls like a freight train requires just a little know-how and imagination, that's all. Anyone can do it... even you! It's easy when you implement what I'm about to show you.

There are so many gifted ad writers on the Web to learn from. Top marketing guru's such as Jay Abraham, Cory Rudl, Mark Joyner, and Joe Vitale, to name a few, all studied and mastered the fine art of ad writing (writing killer ad copy).

Tip: Do a search on the Net and read the expert ad copy of these masters. While you're reading their sales letters, put on a special set of glasses and ask yourself this, "what makes this sales letter so good?" If you continue to ask yourself that question, you can't help but discover the magic keys to their success.

One thing that you'll notice when you are reading their letters, is a secret they use to sell their products like crazy.

They all write attention grabbing headlines, followed by very persuasive ad copy. They write so well, you can't stop yourself from reading their sales letters all the way through. That's their secret weapon and as simple as that may sound, it's NOT that easy to do when you first attempt it.

To write killer ad copy, that sells as well as ice cubes on a hot summer day, takes a little practice and some understanding of people's root Amery psychological makeup and behavior... some of which I will reveal to you very soon. The good news is, you can learn how to write very compelling ad copy if you pay close attention to the information I'm about to reveal to you.

But before I reveal what works, I have to make you understand something so vitally important that it will ultimately determine the outcome of whether you will ever succeed online or not. If I could switch on a light bulb in your head so you would instantly awaken and recognize the most important singular concept you could ever do for yourself and the success of your online business, it would be this...

Either learn how to write killer ad copy or pay a pro to do it for you. Otherwise you will never succeed selling your products online. Sure, you may have some mediocre success, but if your copy is just average, so will your success. It can be the difference of you earning $1,000 a year versus $500,000 a year!

While the information above may sound a bit obvious, few online businesses ever apply it. I have seen more people pour their hard earned money into Web design, rather than powerful ad copy. What a huge mistake to make a website look glitzy and NOT have copy that sells! Hardly makes any sense does it? It's like going to a really bad movie and to top it off, they just ran out of popcorn!

Think back for a moment. How many sites you have come across only to dash out right away. Then think about how many sites that grabbed you instantly and compelled you to read what they had. I'm sure you'll agree, more sites have repelled you then ever grabbed you by the shirt collar and yanked you in... isn't that so?

So, always keep this in mind before you design your website, prospects will NEVER pull out their wallets because they like your site design, they do so ONLY when your words convince them to.

Personally, I would pay for killer ad copy first and if money permitted, Web design last. Your website should be designed around your copy... not the other way around. Doesn't it make more sense to spend your money knowing your sales rate will go through the roof before you spend money on a fancy website design?

So why do you see so many horrible sites that couldn't sell their way out of a wet paper bag? Interestingly, the answer is...

Website designers are not copywriters, most are graphic designers only. Also, those that design their own sites, "don't know what they don't know". They try, but never learn what it really takes.

In my view, it's criminal people have been sold on the idea that once you place a website on the Net millions of people will come rushing to it. Those who fall prey for that lie will soon have reality hit them square on the chin, like a ton of bricks, after wasting their hard earned money. They will experience a sick feeling, deep in the pit of their gut, and finally denial will be replaced with the realization they have been ripped off! Bamboozled! Left with a sour taste in their mouth that doesn't make it easy to swallow that horrible lie.

You may know someone like this... or you may have been a victim yourself of some sales person's wild claims. Well don't despair, there is still time for a remedy!

Not to beleaguer the point, but if you can't afford to spend money on the most vital part of your online business, then you better start learning to write killer copy. And, to save you even more time and money, I highly recommend you work on your copy first and then test it, before you go off and spend your money on URL's, hosting, programming, design etc. Testing your copy first will save yourself valuable time and expense, not to mention plenty of aggravation!

Having said all that, here is the "skinny" for writing killer ad copy before you design your next website...

Writing Killer Ad Copy For Your Website

Let me start off by saying this.

You must write to convince people to take action.

Here's an indispensable guideline to follow when writing your ad copy.

1. Create a compelling, "Must Get More Information" headline first. You have just a few seconds to capture your visitors attention to sell them to read on. Your headline MUST draw the reader in to want more. Amazingly, negative headlines work best. Example: Stop Being An Internet Marketing Failure - Discover 10 Vital Things You Need To Do Right Now! This headline will draw anyone, who is struggling to make sales on the Internet, to want to read more. It's a negative headline that gets a positive result... "Stop Being an Internet Marketing Failure" is the negative. "Discover 10 Vital Things You Need To Do Right Now", the benefit to draw them in to read more.

Here's another one. Don't Even Think About Asking For A Refund! Would that draw you in to read more? Of course it would! People by nature are drawn in by negative headlines. Why? Most people are programmed that way. The news on TV screams negativity and their audiences relish every negative story they can create. People react to negative stimulus since being told "STOP THAT!" or "NO!" since childhood. Can you remember your parents saying that? Most people do and because of that early negative input being constantly reinforced, most people have more negative memories than positive ones. Therefore, people react more predictably to a negative statement first, than a positive one. Use negative headlines and you have started a killer ad that will draw in a larger audience to read your copy.

2. Stay away from using CAPS or BOLD CAPS... if possible. It slows the reader down and interrupts the flow of your message. Use bold to emphasize and underlined to really emphasize your points. Headlines can have every other word, starting with the first letter, capped. Your copy will be much more effective!

3. Write your copy in an enticing fashion. Keep it compelling and write to draw the person who reads it, to want more and more. You can use an interactive format, an enticing format or both. It does take some practice but look at the copy that sold you. That's always a good template to start with. Copy the way it was written (without infringing on copyright laws by stealing their words or exact phrases) and you'll have a foundation to start with.

4. Write your copy so each point flows smoothly to the next. This is very important otherwise you'll lose the reader. Don't be afraid of writing long copy. If you write it correctly, people will follow it all the way through. It's a myth that long copy doesn't work. It actually works the best. (I have written 10 page sales letters and sold my products better than a full page ad).

5. Save all the good sales letters you come across and throw away those that scream hype. (Avoid writing hype, it only makes the potential customer shy away). I have seen mountains of sales letters (which I save for future reference) and I always find something I can use later. Strip lines that sound good to you and inter-mix them into your copy. Change a few words in the sentence, then rearrange the sentence structure. In the end... you'll have some great copy! Don't do this with whole paragraphs, as you will be infringing on copyright, just do so when you need some good powerful lines. Also, be sure to change the exact wording of those lines to avoid any legal problems.

6. Once you have sales, request testimonials. Place them into your copy. They offer credibility and are important to your success. Your sales will suffer without them. If you are having trouble getting some, you might consider offering your service/product free to 3-5 people to get some good written testimonials.

7. This is extremely important. Your copy must be free of errors. If you have just one misspelled word or one incomplete thought, you will be scratching your head wondering why you're not getting sales. Design your copy to be concise and thorough, because if it's vague in any way... you will lose the reader and you will lose sales. By the way, if your copy is vague, you will find out quickly because people will have questions. If you are getting the same question over and over again, then you'll know what to fix. If you are getting sales, without any questions, you've done a great and thorough job!

8. Writing effective copy doesn't happen the first time you attempt to write it. Write your copy one day and then go back to it the next day. Re-read it out loud and you'll soon discover you still have more work to do. I have spent as long as 30 days to get a sales letter fine tuned. If it's written right, it will sound as if you just wrote it, but any professional will know how much work you really put into it. You will know how effective your copy is, when you measure it against how many people read it, verses how many buy it. (Always use a hit counter to measure your success.)

After you think you have a good sales letter put together, you probably don't! Here's what you must do to be 100% certain...

Have 3-5 friends proof your copy (those who you truly value their opinion). Ask them to look for spelling errors, grammar mistakes, vague or incomplete thoughts, and report back to you anything they find to be a mistake. Tell them to give you their honest feedback and most importantly, not hold anything back. Tell them they won't hurt your feelings no matter what they say and emphasize that! (Friends tend to be polite, so tell them to look at this as if they just hired you to write this for them and you are charging them $10,000 to write it... did they get their monies worth?) You will be amazed how this will help you fine tune your copy.

It's noteworthy to know if you are getting a 5-10% response rate, you have successful copy. But never settle for that. Continue to improve and test and improve and test. I've written sales letters that have pulled as much as a 55% response rate. It can be done! Take a step back and write a list on how you could improve your copy. Your list should include the following...

1. Can I be more interactive?
2. Can I improve the benefits?
3. Can I be more clear and concise?
4. Can I offer more value?
5. Can I remove any skepticism by justifying my claims?
6. Can I make it more compelling?
7. Do I have enough convincing testimonials?
8. Can I put in a stronger call for action?
9. Can I offer support?
10. Can I improve my guarantee?

Now, take your copy and break it into smaller sections. Carefully change the things you need to, one section at a time. This will help you focus better and create a better sales letter in the end. You can even take it to the extreme by taking each paragraph and breaking it down sentence by sentence until each sentence is fine tuned. The more time you spend doing this, the better your copy will be.

9. Keep your sentences and paragraphs as short as possible. It makes it easier for the reader. If they have a tendency to scroll downwards before reading your letter, it won't look like such a bad thing to read through.

10. Never get caught up writing about the features of your offer.

You must explain the benefits. The benefits are the ONLY thing a prospect is interested in. Example: "This widget will save you time, effort and energy because of the built in features". I just told you how this widget will benefit you and then listed the feature. Use that as a rule and your sales will jump up by adding more value to the customer.

If I said, "This widget will last a lifetime". It's not as compelling as saying "Think of all the time, effort and energy this widget will provide you with its lifetime guarantee". Make sense? I just created more value because I showed how it can benefit you before I listed the feature, the lifetime guarantee. Sell the sizzle... not the steak.

11. When you're writing, include the words "you" and "your" as often as you can. The customer must see how this will benefit them... not you. By saying "Your jewelry will be sent overnight" (rather than our jewelry) or "you will discover", transfers ownership psychologically. This will suck the reader into reading more and help you get more sales.

You should have 3-10 times the words "you" and "your", rather than "we", "I", "us", "our", and "me" in your copy. The reader cares only about how they benefit... and nothing about you.

12. Always give your contact information, your name and/or business name, address, including city, state, zip, phone number, and email address. Try to avoid P.O. Boxes. People may think you're hiding if you use a P.O. Box, even if you supply them with everything else. (I don't know whether you buy something without any contact information, but I never order anything if I can't contact the person or company.) Providing contact information also demonstrates your willingness to perform customer service. By giving your contact information, you are making the customer feel at ease when they consider placing an order with you.

13. Add free bonuses. Give as much value as you can by adding free bonuses to your offer. GIVE TILL IT HURTS! This will be the edge you'll have over your competition. Use free reports or any high perceived valued products/services, and you will see your sales increase dramatically! Always place your free bonuses below your pricing. It adds more value to your offer.

14. Remove skepticism. If your offer sounds too good to be true, you will have to do the following. Increase your price and/or justify how you're able to offer so much for so little. You must remove as much skepticism as possible in order to achieve maximum profits. Sometimes you can have a product/service that is so good, it's hard for people to believe you can deliver what you say.

Pricing has a lot to do with your sales percentages. On one hand, you don't want returns because it's priced too high and on the other hand, you don't want to prevent sales because it's priced too low. Find the balance by testing your pricing and don't be afraid to go too high. You won't know until you try.

15. Establish a control. Once you develop a sales letter that gets a 10% response it's easy to just sit back and settle for that. Don't. Your entire focus should be on marketing and creating a better result once you have made a commitment to a product or service you plan to sell.

The difference can be an income of $50,000 per year versus $500,000 per year. Place your test pages aside from your control page (the one that works the best) and work towards a higher percentage rate. Once you establish your test page is getting a higher response rate, it now becomes your new control page. Keep repeating the process.

Here is a list of words to avoid using in your copy...

These words will destroy sales.

buy, contract, bad, death, loss, hard, worry, taxes, wrong, difficult, sell, deal, fail, liability, cost, obligation, decision.

These words create sales!

free, love, amazing, safe, new, benefit, gain, money, happy, glad, proven, guarantee, fast, results, discover, how you, how to, now, fun, value, easy, you, your, yours, you'll, healthy, natural, magic, secret, comfortable, proud, secure, solution.

After you have re-designed your Web page, make sure it views correctly for those who have their video cards set at 640x480, 800x600 and 1024x768. Also make sure it looks okay in Explorer and Netscape. Make any necessary corrections if you have to, such as setting tables correctly. If you don't, it will cost you sales!

After you create your sales letters and design your website, you will have to market it. Here are tips for creating killer email ads.

How To Write An Email Ad That Gets Results

First concentrate on the subject line. Write a headline (subject) that compels everyone (100%) to open your email message. This is your first objective. What doesn't get opened, doesn't get read and will have no chance to create a sale.

Your subject (the text you place in the subject field) must create curiosity to get 100% of the people to open your email. Avoid trickery by writing a subject that has nothing to do with your offer. If one feels tricked into opening your email, they will delete it right away. Besides, why would they trust anything you say from that moment on? Avoid deception and your sales letters will be read.

Here's where psychology comes into play. I use subjects that are vague and pose a question at the same time. Something like this... "Did you know?" or "Did I explain this to you?" or "Have you seen this?". These are just examples, but keep in mind, each have the same ingredient to get everyone to at least open your email message. These subjects work 100% of the time because they are asking a question to the recipient. After all, who can resist not knowing what you are talking about? People are curious by nature, so they can't help themselves but to open your email when you ask a question that's vague. Make sense?

You don't want your subject line to say "50% off on my widgets" or "Ground floor opportunity" etc... tipping people off to what you have before you can explain it. Only a select few will ever open these emails with this type of subject lines. Keep in mind, the subject line doesn't sell your product, its sole purpose is to get the recipient to open their email. In other words, your goal is not to have a person pre-judge what your email is about. Your goal is to get them to open your sales letter so you can create a sale.

Remember, when you are writing ad copy (subject lines, body messages, website content, or sales letters) you are really selling every step of the way. You have to sell each person to open their email, then you must sell them to read your ad copy (message body) every step of the way and then, sell them on taking action... whether they purchase from your email message, call a toll free number or go to your website.

Most of you will write copy to get prospects to visit your website. (I should say, "sell people"... to visit your website.) So, the next step is to create your copy enticing enough to get people to take action immediately.

Here is an example of an email ad, designed to pull you into our ebook website.

Hello John, (by entering their name in the message body you draw in the reader)

I understand you are an intelligent entrepreneur seeking new ways to explode your online sales, without sacrificing your hard earned money on expensive marketing software. If that's true, then you will love this! (This is the qualifying step. If they have an online business then they will want to hear more, if they don't have an online business, it will save them time not to read further.)

Recently I discovered an incredible software package that shows you how to triple your online sales. As a matter of fact, it increased my sales by a conservative 800% and could easily do the same for you! (I'm listing first big benefit, triple your online sales.)

This software would normally cost you hundreds of dollars, but for now it's 100% FREE. (Listing another benefit, FREE.)

By the way, this is NOT a demo version, rather a full working version with nothing to upgrade to in the future. (Listing another benefit, full working version and eliminating a possible objection that they may have to pay for it later.)

Since there is no risk or investment on your part, all that is asked of you... simply forward this email to a friend who will also benefit, after you see your sales skyrocket, of course. Now that's only fair and reasonable, right? (Listing a benefit followed by a condition to justify why the software is free. It's important to explain why you're giving something away for free, otherwise skepticism may be a reason they never act on your offer.)

If you are serious about your online business success, then get your hands on a proven software package that can literally explode your online sales overnight! It's worked for me and I'm completely, 100%, confident it will work for you. (I'm reinforcing my testimonial.)

Don't delay for even a second, this free offer may soon disappear. (This creates the call for action, while building urgency, which is important so the call for action is immediate.)

Click Here or copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.aeadvertising.com/ebook

P.S. Don't forget, when you have used this "sales exploding" software and see the incredible results it produces, please forward this email to a friend. (This reinforces the justification.)

I wish you much success,

(Your Name)
(email address)

The ad above is an example that you can keep your ad short, powerfully compelling and filled with the need to fulfill one's curiosity, while calling for action. The compelling part is "triple your online sales". Curiosity is created by emphasizing "This software would normally cost you hundreds of dollars, but for now, it's 100% FREE". The call for action is "Don't delay for even a second".

Tip: Write your copy as if you were talking with a customer face to face (use this technique for your Web pages primarily). Avoid talking at them, but rather, with them. Avoid using complex words or concepts. Find a balance that a fifth grade student would understand, without insulting anyone's intelligence. Try to talk with them, as if you would normally do and avoid trying to be someone else. Just be yourself.

How To Write Killer Ezine or Classified Ads

Writing ads for Ezines or classified sections on the Net are written differently than an email ad. If you want these ads to pull successfully then you need to ...

focus on writing killer headlines. Most classified ad sites only display your headline, therefore, this is the most critical aspect for these ads to work.

Again, negative headlines work best, but the challenge is to create short headlines that are powerfully worded.

The biggest mistake you should avoid is writing headlines that make big money claims. Most people view these headlines as hype and those who look at them are put on a defensive posture. It's a strategy that doesn't work. If you want your marketing efforts to succeed, then set yourself apart from the rest. Use a two step system by offering something of value free (that being step 1) and then follow-up with a series of sales letters until they buy (that being step 2).

Your classified ads should be short, powerful and designed to create plenty of curiosity. By designing your ads this way, you will create an action to get more information. And that's the key! Your classified ads should only perform one function... the desire for those who read them to take action and get more information from you.

Here are examples of classified ads that pull like crazy.

AD 1

DON'T Download This Free Software!

Don't do it unless you want a stampede of visitors rushing to your website.
Don't do it if you think you have to pay for software in order to get
results... this is 100% FREE and it works like crazy!
Don't do it if you are already making plenty of money... this can only
fatten your wallet even more! $195.00 Bonus Included.

AD 2

Going Fast! Free Software

100% free for a limited time only. Don't delay, act now and get the latest marketing software to EXPLODE TRAFFIC to your website before your competition
does! Extremely powerful! $195.00 Bonus Included.

AD 3

Explosive Marketing Discovery

Get the latest breakthrough in marketing! If you are not getting visitors flooding into your website, then you need what we have. It's so powerful it will turn you from loser to winner quickly. And the best part is, it's 100% free!

AD 4

Quit Work! Take A Free Vacation

You can select from 26 fun-filled resort destinations. We are giving away
thousands of free vacations, no strings attached. Fun books valued over
$1000.00 included. This offer may not last long... so rush over right now
and take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime free offer!

[end of ads]

Keep in mind, the life span of these ads are short lived. If you are getting lots of exposure to your ads then you will have to change them from time to time. You should track each ad you place and measure your response rates. When you see a decline in responses, then replace them with new ads.

I sincerely hope this information helps you improve your ad copy skills.