The whole idea of the marketing and sales is to play with the psychology of the consumers. In any campaign, efforts should be made it make it so influential that the decision making of the customer is totally in the favor of the company.

There are some tactics to manipulate the mind of the consumers, which can be utilized by not only ordinary sales person, but can be used by larger firms. Although they are used unknowingly, there is no set list.

Mutual exchanging is the first and powerful tactic. The company can start with giving something for free to the customer. He will take it for the first time, but from next time he will feel obliged and will try to return the favor. Offering the product for free initially can do this. And if the customer is satisfied with the product, he will buy it for himself from next time. Some salespersons get confused with this principle.  For example, it is ineffective and wrong according to this principle, to quote “Spend over $25 and get a free t-shirt”. The offer is not free; the customer has to spend something to get the free product. The product being given should be totally free without any condition to be fulfilled. For example, the line “Get the latest lipstick shade absolutely free” will do the trick. If the shade is really good, they will buy it the next time and might even think of buying other shades of lipstick.

On a personal note, Schick just sent me their new razor “Hydro” via direct mail.  I have used it a handful of times and I began looking at the different prices of  razors between Schick and Gillette. They are just a couple of dollars less than the “Gillette Fusion” that I have been using for years, but I don’t know if i want to change. Getting a consumer to change their buying habits, there has to be a very compelling offer. One or two dollars off to me is not compelling.

The next tactic is to present something as of high value, but the company should incur only small or no amount in producing it, like information. It can tempt the customer by saying that the information provided to them is a big time secret and is not known to anyone at all. But some mess it up, by saying that they are providing very valuable information, but it turns out to be another advertisement.

Another example is giving out free sample to the targeted customers. Again the mistake made here is that companies distribute samples of poor quality or rejected products. This certainly lowers the customers liking towards the product and he will assume that’s the way the product is actually and won’t go ahead to buy it.

Use words, which initiate immediate action, like “Limited time offer”, “Offer ending soon”, and “Offer till stocks lasts” are really motivating. The customer gets the impression that the offer will end really soon as the products are limited edition and he should go out and buy it at the very first chance. This works well specially with customers who have an interest in collecting antiques, collectibles and anything which are not easily available.

Getting the customer to make a commitment is another next good method to increase sales. The tactic  is to make the customer to take small steps toward the goal, without realizing about it. Like when the customer requests for some information, provide them with the relevant information for free and make them fill a form and take contact information from them. This is like committing to get offers and information about products in future. Do not advertise in this step. In the next step advertisements about products and services can be sent to the customer to the address provided by them. Conducting surveys is another example.

This is a continuation of discussing the importance of writing great headlines. Headlines are also your subject lines in your emails. (Six Tips For Writing A Great Headline).

There are effective ways on how to infuse your visitors the sense of urgency your page is trying to convey. Since the most crucial part of your site is the part where the visitors land, headlines are very vital to bring to them your point at the most immediate time possible.

Writing the best headline is not too complicated as many marketers would think; it can be simple if you will follow the right process. Rather than thinking of how you should write your headline, think of what it should say to your visitors. To help you think about a possible headline, listed here are the types of headlines to choose from:

1. News Headline. If your service or product proposes something newsworthy, publicize it on your headline. You”ll naturally use this to present your new product or an enhancement on your existing product. You can make use of words like Now, New, Introducing, Just Released, Finally, At Last or Announcing to make your News Headline more appealing. For example: Finally! A New Diet Pill that Can Work For Just Seven Days!

2. Benefit Headline. Features do not sell but benefits do. To compose a winning benefit headline, you must be overly familiar with your market. This will let you offer them a compelling and powerful benefit driven headline that will easily entice your audience. Research on every little benefit that your prospects are looking for on a product or service. En example of a benefit headline is: Cleans and Whiten Your Teeth…

3. Guarantee Headline. These are headlines which present appealing benefits and guarantee results. If your product or service gives powerful guarantee, let your would-be customers know it by showing it on your headline. For example: Whitens your Skin in just 10 days… Money Back Guarantee!

4. How to Headline. There are many “How Tos” present either in books or sites so you wouldn’t be wrong on this type. Try placing “how to” on your headline and it will really be enticing for your prospects to know what solutions, information and advices you have for their problems. For example: How to Win Back Your Husband…

5. Testimonial Headline. This type of headline utilizes testimonials of customers for the headline. Your customers will sell for you since they will be talking of the benefits they gain from your products. For Example: I Earn A Lot By Just Purchasing this Self-Help Book

6. Question Headline. You must be cautious when using this type. You must be well informed of your market or you may blow your chances of winning them by this advertising drive. The good types of question headlines are those that encourage your prospects to be involved. For example: Have You Turned Your First Date into Disaster?

7. Command Headline. The type of headline which instructs your costumers on what they will do. The command must encourage action through benefit offerings that will really help them. Most effective headlines must start with action verbs. For example: Stop Your Financial Problems!

8. Reason Why Headline. This headline will give your prospective costumers particular reasons why they need to read your sales letter, your website or your ad. These headlines are effective since they include specific numbers and facts. For example: Easy and Fun Ways to Earn $500 From Home.

You can model your headline from the types listed above; but be sure to sizzle your headlines to compel your prospects to read your site. Move beyond the usual and create your headline at a different angle. Add up some new attention grabbing terms and see your sales surge up!

Writing an effective copy headline is a challenge if you know you”re going to issue a call to action in the end, and that action is something that people will be initially reluctant to do like subscribing to an e-newsletter or buying a product. If you want your readers to do something, you need to convince them right away and starting with the very first word of your headline. One more, writing email subject lines are very similar to writing copy headlines.  The same principles can apply.

Offer Something Right Away
If you have something to offer to your readers, something they need and in exchange for what you”re going to ask them to do, make it immediately clear with your headline. When people start reading something online and they aren’t actively seeking information, they want to know what they”re going to get if they continue reading and they want to know what it is right away.

Make It Urgent

People are generally prone to take action if they know they”re running against time. Create a sense of urgency with your headline by telling your readers that your offer only stands up to a certain date or that you”re fast running out of stocks. You can also make it a do-or-die offer; if they let this opportunity slip them by, it’s gone forever.

Take care, however, when using this type of headline as it comes with certain responsibilities. Make sure you withdraw your offer at the stated time. If you”re going to extend the deadline, you better have a good explanation ready so as not to lose your credibility.

Keep It Simple and Powerful

Online copies have to be simple and as headlines are a part of the copy, it stands to reason that they have to be simple as well.

Don’t bother using long and difficult words. They won’t make a difference if no one comprehends them. Aim for powerful words instead. These words inspire action and call strong images immediately to mind. “Make Your Business Live Longer” as a copy headline can be improved, for instance, if you replace passive-sounding words with forceful ones. “Make Your Business Survive” has greater impact compared to the previous headline, don’t you think?

Keep It Short

Yet another requirement for online copies is brevity and naturally, headlines must follow the same rule. As a rule, online readers scan what they read and consequently, they”ll be able to understand a five-word-headline more quickly than a ten-word one.

For a good copy headline, try to lessen the use of particles, prepositions, linking verbs, and other words that won’t make a difference to your readers.

Don’t Try Too Hard

Naturally, funny and witty headlines are better but trying too hard could backfire on you. If there’s no way to make a headline funny or clever then leave it simple. If you manage to get your message across then you’ve done your job.

Use Numbers

They”re easier to recall and they sound more impressive. Instead of simply headlining a copy with “Tips for Gardening”, you can substantially improve it just by adding a digit. “6 Tips for Gardening” encourage people to read more because they know they have six (more than one’s many!) tips to look forward to in a single article.

Review and Revise

You may think you’ve made a perfect headline upon typing the last word, but give it a minute or two and you”ll be able to view it more objectively. Good luck on writing those headlines.

I use a fantastic tool from the Advanced Marketing Institute.  It is called the Headline Analyzer.  It’s free and very effective. Click this link to visit the Headline Analyzer.

Sales copy online can make or break your business. A good sales letter must lure visitors, create trust and motivate readers to purchase. You can spend millions of dollars on ads and still have low or no response. But just pay a little more attention to your sales copy and then watch the response you get to your advertisements. Here’s some fundamental rules you could apply to see some magic work with your ads:

· No matter how “wow” your words are, you have to have a good product for sustainability. Keep away from false claims, over exaggerations, just put in pretty terms what your product really does and why people should buy it.

· Your first copy will not be absolutely brilliant. You will have to play around with it and make changes. Test it. Ask for opinions. Select a pilot market to test effectiveness. All this takes time, hence plan well

· Follow the well known AIDA strategy [source: Strong, E.K. (1925). "Theories of Selling". Journal of Applied Psychology] – Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. Your copy must grab the intention of people at just one glimpse of it. It should create an interest to probe in further. It should make the customer want to really buy the product and most importantly, now and not later!

· You should have a killer headline. It should really make the reader go over to the next line. Headline says it all. It should really be a class apart. Here is a great headline tool that I written about and use quite often. Headline Analyzer Tool – Check out the score of the headline above.

· Go in a descending order in terms of your product features – put the best ones on top and the less interesting ones in the end. The ones right on top grab interest and create desire.

· Stories always inspire. So tell a story and connect it with your product. The convincing power of stories is greater.

· Answer all the queries that you think your buyers might have. Your copy should not leave out any information. Think of prospective doubts and apprehensions and steer them clear by offering a good, valuable explanation to them. This way, you will earn trust and the customer will feel like you have really understood them.

· Use bullet points for each feature. It is just easier on the eye. Bold and italicize whatever is most important. Do not over use these features though.

· Set time limits. Example: limited period offers! This will get your prospects to act now, and not read and forget about it.

· Show testimonials. This is a wonderful way of convincing people, especially if the testimonial is from a well known or important person.

· Make the process of buying simple. The process should not require the buyer to spend loads of time online, looking for your product which is just lost somewhere in your website. Design the buying process in easy steps.\

· Substantiate your facts with proofs and numbers– Eg: Research carried out by the well experienced team of professionals here shows that our products contain the highest amount of natural compounds in cosmetics in comparison to others available in the market.

· Ensure you take opinions from a lot of people before actually releasing your copy.

These are some of the tips you could follow to make your copy better than it looks now. Understand your prospects and give them what they want rather than what you want to thrust on them.