When a sales page is not performing up to your expectations, the worst thing you can do is nothing.

In most circumstances, there are steps you can take to alter the copy to improve your results immediately. By taking action and making changes, you can strengthen your copy quickly and improve your sales conversions.

The key to this process is testing to boost your outcome.

However, when most people start testing their sales copy, they immediately think of something they can add or tweak. Or they’re confused as to what to test, particularly what to test first.

I’ve found that the best and most efficient element to test is to actually first remove the things that are stopping people from ordering. In other words…

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Even though we decided to postpone the multimedia copywriting seminar in southern California due to the fires there, my friend, copywriter David Garfinkel, asked me about it:

“(One of my coaching students) asked if you will share detailed test results like what to say vs. what not to say, what to wear in video, and other nitty-gritty like that, at your seminar when you reschedule it. Those would be excellent points to cover for a serious direct marketer. Anything you’d like me to tell him?”

Valid question. So here’s the answer I gave him, along with a few tips…

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Throughout my research, I’m always surprised when I stumble onto websites that are professionally designed and seem to offer great products and services, but lack or fail in certain important elements.

Elements that, with just a few short changes, can help multiply the results almost instantaneously.

Generally, I have found that there are seven common mistakes. I call them the “Seven Deadly Sins.” Is your website committing any one of these?

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So, if you’re following the commandments, you should now have a unique name, possibly a tagline, and established yourself as the first or leader in your unique category. What about the service or product you offer? Do you offer an extraordinary product or service, or do you offer an ordinary one?

Even if the service you provide is customary, traditional, and probably offered by your competition, you should make it appear unique just as well.

Remember that perception is more powerful than truth. You don’t need to emphasize that your product or service is unique, better than the competition, or even the best for that matter. Doing so by declaring that it is can sometimes be worse than not saying anything at all, and the reason for that is that it makes your self-serving claim appear suspect or exaggerated.

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I used to teach marketing and selling at a local college here in Ottawa. And one of the things I used to teach with (I also use them all the time when I want to learn and remember new things, too) were mnemonics.

Mnemonics are tools or devices that aid retention. My best form of mnemonic are acronyms.

Do you remember the little ditty to remember all the planets taught mostly in kindergarten? It goes, "My very eager mother just served us nine pizzas," where the first letter of each word represents the name of each planet in our solar system (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto).

Similarly, I use acronyms to teach about copywriting. I do this to help you remember, appreciate, and understand the process I go through when I write copy. Here they are, with their meaning (they are also linked to their respective articles covering the formula in detail):

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I'm back from Atlanta from attending the Big Seminar.

I got to see my friends and some top marketers while there, including Jim Edwards, Marlon Sanders, Mike Woo-Ming, Brad Fallon, Jeff Johnson, Ray Edwards, Eric Graham, and more. (The picture on the left is with Eric Graham, one of my coaching students.)

The highlight of the weekend, aside from the great content and the networking and shoulder-rubbing opportunities, was Saturday night. Dr. Scott Lewis, an Internet marketer as well, is a hypnotist with a regular show in Vegas. He gave a show on Saturday that was filled with surprises.

(My jaw still hurts from laughing so much!)

Nevertheless, I’m back in the office and now getting ready for a ton of events. May is shaping up to be quite a busy month, with webinars, teleseminars, copy critiques, and more.

First on the agenda…

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Want to crawl inside my mind for a an hour or so to learn the process I go through to write copy? Tonight is your chance.

My coaching student, Eric Graham, is not only a copywriter but also a webinar expert. He’s in the process of producing several webinars to create content for an upcoming product he’s putting together.

So he asked me If was interested. I accepted.

And tonight, we’re doing not an interview but an actual, step-by-step webinar where I’m going to expand on the seven steps in my writing process.

And no, we’re not selling a thing. There’s nothing to buy.

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