Web Copy That Sells: The Revolutionary Formula for Creating Killer Copy That Grabs Their Attention and Compels Them to Buy

by Maria Veloso

Book Overview

Just as technology is constantly evolving, author Maria Veloso approaches marketing communication from a posture of newer, faster, and more effective techniques.

Veloso provides both timeless and cutting-edge methods to help content marketers achieve phenomenal success. With the rise of social networks, "Twitterized" attention spans, and new forms of video content, marketers' online sales techniques need an upgrade.

In...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814432514
• ISBN13: 9780814432518
• Release Date: February 2013
• Publisher: Amacom
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.4" x 9.4"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Solid Information that will increase your business

Web Copy That Sells is well written, easy to read and a great resource for improving your web copy. There are a number of points that Maria makes regarding web copy that apply equally to all areas of business as well as life. For example, she points out that you cannot simply model some successful website and expect the same results. You must model the process. That is go through the same process that the creator of the successful website went through. The book is not only a resource for web copy that sells, it is also a very good marketing course. She points out that potential customers must know you, like you and ultimately trust you before they will do business with you. She provides a step by step method to accomplish this. Maria is right on when she talks about the importance of the first screen and why you must concentrate on what's in it for the viewer. The website should not be designed as an ego boosting medium. You must keep the viewer's point of view in mind. She provides a good list of dos and don'ts for web copy. There are plenty of other tools such as a formula to evaluate any website. Scattered throughout the book are excellent marketing lessons - words tell, emotion sells - fear of loss is a better motivator than desire for gain. You would do well to read and understand these very valuable marketing lessons. This is a very good resource for anyone responsible for their own or their company's website.

Priceless

This book is absolutely priceless. I hear what some of the critical comments say. The fact is they are not grasping the brilliant lessons and enormous time savers Maria shares in this book that apply across the board to writing copy and marketing on line. First off, she makes it very clear her book is about what it says, writing web copy that sells, not writing web content. The whole point and value of this book are the formulas that will save INCREDIBLE amounts of time while ensuring you address every element that goes into capturing paying customers online. THAT'S the value. The actual words you use in writing your own specific copy are up to you. You don't have to sound like a snake oil salesman. I sell upscale b2b, business owners and senior executives and what I learned in the book is indeed killer. Practical lessons that I can immediately apply. Read this book and combine what you learn with Frank Rumbauskas Never Cold Call Again (and I haven't in the past 6 months), Metaphorically Selling by Anne Miller, and Richard Koch's The 80/20 Principle, The Secret of Achieving More With Less, and then work hard (sorry) and you'll be a lean mean money machine. One thing I am very cautious about is all the copywriters that have made the change to copy writing over priced self generated programs on how to get rich copy writing (i.e. Bly, Masterson, Silver and others). Do a search on google to find good resources to seriously research the feasibility and process to make such a transition and your head will spin clicking on all the sites by these gurus with $500 to $2,000. This seems to be a whole niche that has become popular today to go side by side with network marketing. Get rich easy and quick with my magic formula to becoming a copywriter. (I do NOT put this book in that category, like I said this book is easily worth multiples of its price). I am also NOT saying that the money to be made in the industry is not accurate. Just like in network marketing where I did in fact make 6 figures a year in that industry for a while. The reality was it took HARK WORK, which terrifies most of the folks looking for the ever elusive easy buck. And as P.T. Barnum always knew, there are plenty of folks who want to believe it be so. When ever someone truly discovers the secret to becoming rich plugging into some formula system is the day everyone you know will be rich. The reality is if anything worked like that you couldn't stop it from sweeping the country. No one would be poor anymore...and I guess the new poor would be the least rich, right? Bottom line, buy this book. If you use the principles, formulas and concepts Maria teaches you, you will indeed make a lot more money than you are now. If it sits on a shelf gathering dust waiting for the someday you are going to use some of the stuff it won't make you one single cent.

Web Copy and Much, Much More.

One of the best books for web marketers out there. Not only will you learn how to make your web copy sell but you'll learn about all the different kinds of web copy you must have. For example, Opt-In forms, Auto Responders, e-mails, etc. I had no idea that these things are responsible for the bulk of a web site's conversion rate. Very well written and organized. Step by step instructions. Get it! A great companion to this book is SEO for Dummies by Peter Kent. Talk about a one two punch!

Understanding Your Audience

There is no doubt that the art of advertising changes over time. How we present products, and the words we use to entice our audience, will change depending on the targeted age bracket and the product. And, as you will discover in Maria Veloso's book, how we present products will also depend on *where* we advertise. "Web Copy That Sells" makes the claim that in order to sell online, you must first understand how people use the internet, and how they read web copy. Since research has shown that most people actually do not *read* as much as they *scan* online text, this is a basic starting point for Ms. Veloso's book. Readers learn how to format their text so that key words, ideas and phrases jump out at potential customers. We learn how to use psychological devices to entice readers to become buyers. These are the very same devices that advertisers have been using for decades in print ads, but presented in a way more compatible with the online experience. Through this book we learn other valuable information. Since we know that most people go online to get information, not to read ads, the author shows readers how to craft a web page that reads like an article, not necessarily an ad. By then partnering an enticing article/website with an opt-in email list, sellers can continue to focus in on presenting a stronger sales pitch. The book also contains very useful information that every online seller should know: how to use terminology on a website that motivate readers to want to know more about your product; what words to avoid in an email; how to write an email subject line that makes readers want to open the email; and how to use a Unique Selling Proposition to set you, your company and your product apart from others. Writing successful web copy is (most of the time) writing hype. Like advertising of old, it's a game of persuasion, in which you attempt to convince potential buyers that yours is the best product for the money. But this is not a license to blatantly deceive or spam individuals. "Web Copy That Sells" advocates using hype, psychology and other persuasive techniques ethically: when using an email list, always allow recipients an opportunity to opt out; always offer a money-back guarantee; do not misrepresent your company or product; and treat your potential customers with honesty and respect. I do not suggest that "Web Copy That sells" should be the *only* book on your shelf that deals with online selling. But I do believe that it will be an invaluable addition to your how-to library. With this book you will be able to get up and running almost right away with a website that sells. Selling product, whether in a magazine, through a postal flyer, or on the radio or TV, has always been about the art of persuasion. "Web Copy That Sells" is an excellent book that tells you how online selling differs from selling in any other medium.

Revolutionary Methods that Will Work for Many.

I just finished reading Maria Veloso's book, 'Web Copy That Sells.' This book provides the unique skills and techniques that enable a copywriter or anyone who writes online copy to flat out sell like never before. These techniques are so powerful and dynamic it's hard to believe. Having said that, I have to add that in my opinion, Maria's method of writing Web copy would not work for every site or product. There is not a set pattern or template that fills the bill for all sites. For example, she proclaims that the "editorial" style of Web site copy produces the most business. This is indeed a clever tool on "some" sites. But not all. It won't work on all sites and is too awkward for some. She also likes to use "involvement devices" on her sites. I agree that these are useful on some sites. But I noticed on one of her sites that you "involve" yourself by ticking off your desired answer only to have your e-mail client pop up. This is not good usability --- people want to know and should know when they're about to submit an e-mail. They may opt not to do that and they should know before they click the box what's going to happen. There are a few other things of this nature that I don't buy into. But, for the most part, this is a valuable book because it offers ideas that are fresh and not readily available and that most people will find exceedingly useful. I suggest you buy the book and take from it what will work in your own personal situation but don't take everything as "gospel". Maria Veloso has put together a wealth of knowledge that has not been made available before as far as I know. I've read all the books on online copywriting and a few offered some valuable help and ideas. In fact, most have some good points that you can take away from your read. But 'Web Copy That Sells' is, by far, the very best to date. I recommend this book to anyone who really wants to make their site sell or needs to understand how to write e-mail and get it through the spam filters as well as get it read. This book covers it all. Maria Veloso has done a great job and provided a valuable service. I highly recommend this powerful book to all copywriters and anyone who needs to write copy for the Web. But, as I said, take from it what will work for you and be sure you adhere to good usability in your quest to sell. One word of warning, at least one of the freeware products the author recommends you download is "loaded" with adware that will take your computer over. So beware. Susanna K. Hutcheson Creative Director Powerwriting.com LLC http://www.powerwriting.com