Does Hype Really Sell

By Angela Wu
Posted Thursday, August 26, 2004

It's just plain insulting.

!!! YOU TOO CAN MAKE $10000 IN JUST 7 DAYS !!! OUR TURN- KEY SYSTEM TRANSFORMS YOUR COMPUTER INTO A 24-HOUR CASH MACHINE! NO SELLING, NO INVENTORY - YOU JUST COLLECT THE CHEQUES!

Enough already.

Everytime we time we turn around, there's yet another hyped-up sales letter staring us in the face.

Most of us online are 'taught' that hype works - or we simply assume it does, since everyone else uses it. After all, why would they keep using it if it didn't work?

So we go ahead and try it ourselves. We pack our own sales copy with 'power words' and a variation of the same tired old phrases we always see ...

... and then wonder why our ad response is so dismal.

Hype just doesn't work. Oh, it undoubtedly generates some sales - it's in our natures to believe what we want to believe (myself included, unfortunately) - but in the end you just won't win.

People are tired of being swindled and scammed at every turn. We're all tired of inflated claims that never come true, and we're all tired of being told that everything's easy.

If the product or opportunity doesn't deliver as promised, you can bet you're going to have some pretty angry customers on hand. Definitely not a good thing if you're trying to build a long-term, viable business.

More and more, people are turning towards the friendly, engaging 'soft-sell'; sales copy that's written simply, and which tells us exactly what we want to know: how will buying the product benefit ME?

Good copywriting doesn't depend on hyped-up claims. Instead, it caters directly to the desires of the customers. If your product or service can meet those wants - which hopefully it would, since they're your target audience! - then you have to SHOW THEM how it meets their wants and then PERSUADE them to buy.

So forget the hype. Treat your visitors with respect and learn honest, effective marketing methods. The sales will follow!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Angela's website, (http://www.buildyourhomebiz.com/), offers tutorials and resources to help you build an online income. Subscribe to her popular newsletter, The Netrepreneur's Notebook, by emailing mailto:buildyourhomebiz-subscribe@listbot.com.
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