The correct choice of words is critical to the success of your sales copy, sometimes by changing only one word in the title or body the result can be an instant ten-fold increase in your sales. Conversely the opposite is true, it makes sense therefore, to pay very special attention to word selection.

Sales professionals and Network Marketing experts very aptly call this “pressing the hot buttons” and it is such an important subject that professors at Yale University have instituted studies around it.

Their results have proven that the following 12 words are the most personal and persuasive words in the English language.

You must use as many of them as possible in your sales letters if you want to get good results, and I’m sure that you do!

You

The main focus of your sales letter should be on your prospect, so you need to address your words to him, tell him “you will be able to overcome the stumbling blocks and earn more money than you ever dreamed possible” not “I have been able to….. and I now earn more money…”

Your sales letter is all about solving your prospect’s problem, not yours. You are simply providing the solution. When you write to your prospect, address him as “you”, or “friend” at times, not only does it make your letter more personal but, you shift the whole focus directly onto your prospect rather than yourself.

There are times when you need to tell your prospect that you understand where he is coming from. In this case ‘I’ should only be used to build empathy not brag about yourself. “…In my early childhood I was continually plagued by….” This sets the scene and tells him you understand his problems, now all you need to do is shift the focus to his problems and the benefits he will get from your product.

Discover

Sometimes, your prospect may have a problem that he thinks cannot be solved. He subconsciously wishes that somebody would find a solution and thinks to himself: “It would be nice if someone already knew the answer…” When you come along and tell him he can “Discover the answer to…” he will react instantly! This is a powerful hot button to press and use in your sales letter.

For example, if your world is falling apart at the seams and your house is about to be repossessed because you have no work and haven’t paid the mortgage for months. You find it difficult to feed your family and to make matters worse your spouse is threatening to divorce you because you are nothing but a useless deadbeat. What would you do if I came along and told you that I have discovered a way to make enough money quickly and legally to……?

Believe me I’ve been there, I know the feeling of uselessness and despair that hits in those circumstances, I can tell you that not only would you jump at that answer but you’d leap out and grab it with both hands and your arms and your legs…!!!

Safety

People have a big fear of the unknown and need to have a feeling of safety and security when going about their everyday life. To ask such a person to take a risk and buy a product that no one else has even heard of is asking too much of them.

Instead, if you offer an already familiar product or service to your prospect and demonstrate that there are many others who are already happily using it then he will feel safe and secure buying it – that is why brand names work and big companies go to great lengths to establish their brand.

For instance say I develop a new Cola drink and market if alongside the already established brands, which would you buy? Of course you’d go for the old, faithful, reliable, trusted product – there’s no way you’d take a risk on mine!

You can circumvent this with testimonials and guarantees as well as easing your prospects mind that your product is safe to use or 100% tested.

Money

Money, money, money – everybody wants it! We just can’t get enough of it no matter what! It goes without saying that this is an extremely hot button to press! Using words such as “make money now”, “save money” and “quickly multiply the amount of money you already have” are hot buttons you can easily use for increased results.

Proven

Remember the fear of the unknown? Your prospect doesn’t want to try a new product only to find out that it doesn’t work. (He’d look a fool amongst his friends!) You have to get around this by convincing him that your product or service is already proven and tested, that many others are happily using it without any problems.

Results

No matter how high the claims you make about your product or service, your prospect will not believe you unless you can show him results. You have to have testimonials showcased in your sales letter. If you haven’t been able to collect any testimonials yet, don’t make them up, showcase the results that you have personally achieved using your own product or service.

For example: “I have lost 22kg in three weeks!” or “I have made $1,031.00 with DEF program!” and “With JKL Software, I have saved 3.5 hours everyday yet have still been able to write and submit my articles to 1,211 directories!”

Love

We are all looking for someone or something to love, whether it is ourselves, a spouse, a pet or even a car! This is an especially emotive button to press, look at any bestseller book list and you will see that there is a romance story amongst the top sellers!

You can substitute the word passion for love if you want – it will be equally effective! Look at these:

“Discover how to find out what your clients passion in life is, then sell him what he desires the most!”

“Don’t you love the idea of having plenty of free time with your spouse and watching your children grow up?”

“You would love this program, because it can buy you the freedom to travel”.

Guarantee

Once again: “..if I have to take a risk that I may lose my money I’m not interested in your product!”

People are all the same, they prefer certainty above uncertainty, they do not want to take risks or become a guinea pig for your product. You have to tell your prospect that you are shouldering ALL of the risk for him. Use these exact words so that he is clear in his mind about all of this!

Tell him why you are shouldering all the risk and say that you are so confident in your product that he can test-drive your service or simply sample your product for the next 30/45/90/180 days.

Sometimes if you offer a lifetime guarantee, it will make your prospect feel silly to leave your page without giving your offer a try.

“…Why not, what have I got to lose? I can always get my money back!”

This is the feeling you have to imbed in his mind. Once your prospect actually feels your product he will be very reluctant to let it go. If it turns out that it is not suitable for him he can always get a refund.

By doing this you have shown your faith in your product and your confidence is passed on to your prospect.

Save

Money again! If it’s possible to save then people will always be tempted by how much they save rather than the end price!

Emphasise the saving not the cost. This is where the true power of this hot button lies, whether you apply it to money or time or even emotion i.e.

“Discover How to Save Your Marriage in 7 Easy Steps!”

“For only $97, you can save yourself 10 years of guessing about credit card debt. Why risk the time, effort, and frustration!”

New

Ask your friend if he wants to see your new car and he’ll immediately want to rush outside for a look. Now ask him if he wants to see your old car and he’ll say “Why, what’s happened to it?”

The fact is “new” beats “old” every time.

“Discover the latest tricks to making money online for less than…”

“Discover the tricks to making money online for less than…”

Which would you respond to?

Easy

Life is complicated enough without you making it even more so. Everybody is looking for ways to make their life simpler and by implication give them more time, freedom and money etc.

If you can prove to your prospect how your product or solution can make his life easier then he will be willing to buy it. Now couple the ease of use of your product with the savings in time and money he will experience and you’ve got an extremely hot product!

Health

Health is a very HUGE topic on the Internet, we all want to stay healthy and live longer. Not only is it extremely unpleasant to be unhealthy but it is also very expensive to get treatment.

However, you should only use this hot button if you are selling health solutions.

“If you want to enjoy a healthy life free from the painful, debilitating effects of asthma (and spend less money in the process), then I suggest you get a copy of my new book: “Tap Into the Wisdom of the Ancients” and discover how they cured Asthma”

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Stuart Elliott is a world class copywriter who has written numerous stories on sales letters and copywriting. Drop by:
http://howtowritekickbuttcopy.com to pick up a free copywriting power guide.

Article copyright Stuart Elliott 2006 all rights reserved. You may only reprint this artitcle in it’s entirety and you must include this resource box.

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