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Understanding the fundamentals of writing sales- oriented copy is the key in opening the door to success. Any business may it be a small or medium- size entrepreneur, an eBay merchant, or just simply trying the industry of copywriting, you must always remember that an ad or any marketing piece can be made or be broken by a well written copy. In this sense, copywriting can be an asset, spent well for advertising, or can be a liability, a waste of money without any good effect.

Many free lance article writers have shown interest in shifting to copywriting from writing articles thinking it is an extension of the abilities that they already have. But this is one of the common misinterpretations in the distinctiveness of copywriting effectively. Copywriting may not be a natural talent for some people, even the writers; rather it could be unfamiliar place where people can get lost to.

The essential of copywriting is the message, not beating a person over the head nor the bold typeface and capitalization. The message must be understood without overflowing of sales language and accompaniments of designs which are actually not understandable to most readers. Achieving the success of copywriting can be done by simply following these steps.

1. Utilize the benefits of your products- A benefit is how the customers perceive your product value to their use, or how the product can help them. With the foundation of your advertising campaigns, you must be able to explain to the customers in words the reasons why your product should be their choice rather than the competitors’ product. You can only relate to your customer the benefits of your products if you yourself can fully understand what your product can offer.

2. Utilize the weaknesses of your competition- Knowing the difference of your product from that of your competition is necessary. You can know the weaknesses of your competitors by researching and analyzing what their product or services offer. Then, list what they can offer which are inferior to what you can offer. Present these differences to the audience but make it sure that you are doing a realistic comparison and that you can support your assertion if ever you are challenged.

3. Identify your audience- The placement of your ad is important because we know that not all the people will be able to see it. Identifying who your targeted audiences are will help you determine where to buy ad space. Of course, targeted audience will depend on the product or service that you are selling. You wouldn’t want to spend money for ad spaces placed in wrong areas. For example, you are marketing supplemental medicine for aging people; definitely you wouldn’t want this ad placed in areas like schools or bars because these types of establishments cater more to younger people.

In most business, the phenomenon of 80/20 is very well known, which means that 80 percent of a business sale is due to 20 percent customer. Your most valuable customer must be evaluated by doing a demographic profile of them. It would be costly to conduct a thorough research study and analysis so improvising is advised. You can use your own communication skills and do visual investigations. Then you must maximize the information you gathered. Some of the characteristics that you can use in developing a demographic profile are gender, age, family status, ethnicity, occupation, income, and interests.

4. Communicate What’s In It For Me? (W.I.I.F.M.) -- understanding the goal of your promotional piece is necessary before writing it. You should ask your self on what do you want to get in return. Based on the goals of your promotion, the ad or marketing piece to be used will vary.

You must always remember that the ability of your product to fulfill the needs of your customer is more important than your product. Customers want to understand better how the product or service can be beneficial to them in different aspects. So you must ensure what that you are not wasting money for ineffective advertisements.

5. “You” should be the focus not “We”- When writing a copy, it must address to the targeted audience not about you or your company. Use the second person in writing the ad or marketing piece. The focus of the ad copy should always be the customer. With this, an individual can connect directly to the ad and the product you are selling.

6. Your medium must be understood- Be aware the each medium requires a different style or tone depending on where it is placed. To most effectively persuade a customer, a different copy must be provided to different media like if you are placing an ad in news or a female magazine. Aside from traditional advertisements, there are other appropriate opportunities wherein the message of your product can be delivered to your customers.

7. Avoid Too Much Information (T.M.I) -- if too much information is provided, the tendency is that you risk losing the attention of your customers. There is a great possibility that customers will forget the most important aspects of your advertisement with extraneous details. Remember to follow K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) in your advertisements, unless you are advertising product that requires technical words like drugs.

8. A call to action must be included- It is the most important aspect of copywriting to be effective. Every ad or marketing piece aims to have the audience response to it. A sense of urgency such as calling the advertiser or visiting the store or website is created through the call of action. This action must be done now or sooner as possible. To ensure this, in writing the sentence, an active voice is used as it action oriented rather than a passive voice.

9. Cover Your Ass (C.Y.A.) – If you are a big company, you can seek the help of legal department to review the copy to prevent potential legal problems, but even the smaller companies have the same legal responsibilities as the bigger companies do. So, falsifications and exaggerations must be prevented to avoid possible litigations. Besides, it is a bad business practice and is unethical. Be extra careful in using the words such as free, guaranteed, promise, no risk, and the likes as these may lead to deception of the customers.

10. Proof read- This must be done to prevent grammatical or spelling error that can destroy easily the credibility of your company. You wouldn’t want your customer to think and question your ability to provide good product or services where in fact you can not avoid simple mistakes.

It’s that easy! All you have to do is to research and do prep work. Be brave to take risks especially if you have anticipated it but ensure that you will not waste your limited budget for advertising.