Sales Copy - I am so confused!

18 replies
Hello all. I am in desperate need of help. I'm not a copywriter but I have made an attempt to write sales copy for an online pregnancy course that I've created. I have had absolutely zero luck. I have yet to make one sale and I have rewritten my copy more times than I can remember.

Recently, I purchased a book by Maria Velosa called Web Copy That Sells. She has a formula for writing which consists of five simple questions that you should ask yourself when selling a product:
1. What is the problem?
2. Why hasn't the problem been solved?
3. What is possible?
4. What is different now?
5. What should you do now?

It sounds like a pretty good blueprint so I tried it. I thought I did a pretty decent job in rewriting my copy but I have still had NO luck! I'm starting to go crazy and am ready to give up on the whole idea of selling my course. Does anybody have any suggestions?

I think my biggest problem is that people don't want to pay $27 for a pregnancy course when they can look up most of the info online. So I need to find a way to convince them that my course is engaging and interactive which will help them learn much better than just reading info on websites.

Here are my first few paragraphs of copy. Just to be clear, I'm not looking for someone to rewrite my copy for free. I just want someone to point me in the right direction:

"Did you know that every year in the U.S., 875,000 women experience one or more pregnancy complications? Additionally, 27,864 of those babies die before their first birthday."

These are sobering and scary statistics. Statistics that no mother or father wants to think about. The good news is that most of these complications can be avoided. You can give birth to a healthy and happy baby, but you MUST be informed.

Do you want to be just another sad statistic?

LACK OF EDUCATION is one of the main factors that results in pregnancy complications. Many mothers have no idea how to care for their pregnant body. And, sadly, other women think they know how to keep themselves healthy but are dangerously misinformed.

Can you relate to any of the statements below?

  • You are pregnant with your first child and you want to be sure to do things right
  • You are having another baby and you feel you did not take care of yourself well during your first pregnancy.
  • You don't have a clue what to do to stay healthy, well and feeling good during pregnancy.
  • You KNOW you don't have all the information you need to feel educated about your pregnancy and delivery.
  • You know that pregnancy is natural and normal but you are feeling overwhelmed and concerned and need more information.

OF COURSE you want your child to be born healthy and happy! AND YOU WANT TO STAY HEALTHY AS WELL!

We know how you feel...and we are here to help!

In the past, expectant mothers got health advice from mothers, grandmothers, inlaws, you name it. Much of the advice that was passed down was simply old wive's tales and other bits or advice were just downright wrong.

Today, we are the most informed society in the history of the planet. We are blessed to have access to an unlimited amount of information at our fingertips.

The internet is full of pregnancy sites with plenty of great information. The problem is that not all of the information is in ONE place.

This is where we come in. We can teach you how to care for yourself and your child, and PROTECT your health during pregnancy ALL IN ONE LOCATION!

You don't need a lot of books, or DVDs and you don't need to have a medical degree.

You just have to WANT A HEALTHY PREGNANCY and a HEALTHY BABY!

The Pregnancy 101 online course has everything an expectant mother needs to prepare herself for the exciting nine months to come.
#confused #copy #sales
  • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
    Selling a prevention product is very difficult unless the prospect (or someone close to the prospect) has recently experienced the problem you're offering a solution for.

    How are you driving targeted traffic to you sales letter?

    Alex
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    • Profile picture of the author Hskrdoo
      Right now, I'm just trying to drive traffic with PPC ads. That might be a problem in itself. But in the PPC ads, I do say that it is an online pregnancy course and it will cost them something...
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      • Profile picture of the author Aronya
        Originally Posted by Hskrdoo View Post

        Right now, I'm just trying to drive traffic with PPC ads. That might be a problem in itself. But in the PPC ads, I do say that it is an online pregnancy course and it will cost them something...
        If you're able to drive traffic with an ad that indicates there is a cost involved, then the problem is with your copy. Create a survey to find out the motivating factors that would make a pregnant woman WANT to spend money on what you're offering. Or maybe give away an abbreviated version of the course, designed to tease them into buying.
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  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    well, win some, lose some.

    I've seen people come in here before wanting to know why
    they can't sell a online child-rearing or pregnancy course.

    Um... I just say go to the public library or bookstore and
    there's your answer - market saturation by big publishers.

    The Pregnancy 101 online course has everything an expectant mother needs to prepare herself for the exciting nine months to come.
    That's your selling message?

    Pretty dry, don't you think?

    Go read the backs of all the books at Barnes and Noble on how
    to have a baby. You'll probably find 60-100 of them. By the
    time you are done you'll have an idea of the kind of appeals that
    are at least tested to work for selling books.

    Incidentally, the "how to improve your child's intellectual performance"
    niche is what we call "evergreen" - parents are often very motivated
    to explore and try new ways to help their children excel in school.
    If parenting issues are your area of interest that's a good market
    to study and develop sales appeals in.
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    • Profile picture of the author Hugh Thyer
      I think this is a market, but the book has to be VERY good and cover a lot of ground, be easy to get through and solve any concerns the reader has.

      However, I dont think you'll get very far talking about dead babies at the start...
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      • Profile picture of the author MontelloMarketing
        Pregnancy... a very serious and sobering thing.

        Who in their right mind would go looking online for solid info on that? No... you get one of the free booklets at your doctor's office... you call any number of government offices to get the info... you talk to older relatives and friends who've been there.

        You don't go to an anonymous source online to find this info.

        Now... if the source was a doctor... or somewhat related to parenthood (social worker, pre-school teacher, even a sociolgist...) then you have a shot.

        But, IMO this is a non-starter online without a name attached.
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        • Profile picture of the author Hskrdoo
          So would quotes and recommendations from doctors or pregnancy centers help at all?
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          • Profile picture of the author CopyMonster
            Originally Posted by Hskrdoo View Post

            So would quotes and recommendations from doctors or pregnancy centers help at all?
            Yes, if you get testimonials from doctors or pregnancy centers or both that would certainly boost credibility.
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            Scary good...
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        • Profile picture of the author Collette
          Originally Posted by MontelloMarketing View Post

          ...
          Now... if the source was a doctor... or somewhat related to parenthood (social worker, pre-school teacher, even a sociolgist...) then you have a shot.

          But, IMO this is a non-starter online without a name attached.
          I agree with Vin. You'd need to have a credible source as the author in order to have any chance at success with this.

          If you start a forum for pregnant mothers,and use this as a lead generating tool, maybe you can get some use out of this. Frankly, unless you've got some kind of personal passion for this subject on the line, I think you'd be better off focusing your energies elsewhere.
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    • Profile picture of the author CopyMonster
      A couple of ideas:

      1. overwhelm - have a quick intro fanning fears about how little they know about pregnancy, how critical this information can be. Then throw up a lot of tasty bullets about what they'll discover. They need to be specific enough to penetrate their worst fears and wound them. The sheer amount of bullets will convince them they know much less than they thought, that they need to get this now to cover themselves and that you have more to offer than alternatives. Some well worded testimonials will also help. OR;

      2. focus on the biggest problem (this causes more problems for a pregnant woman than anything else...). tell the whole story. there are a lot of 'solutions' out there but yours is unique/better because of A, B and C. the other material can be included and positioned as other important and useful information for the expecting mom.

      The magic of good copy and great salesmanship - same product/solution, vastly different perceptions and results.

      If your material is solid, there is no reason why you can't sell it for $27 or more. You can jump the value offered by adding an audio file (just read your book and create an MP3 for download) and presto, it's not just an ebook, but an audio book/course.
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      Scary good...
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  • Profile picture of the author axle
    Hi

    I am not sure about this...I agree with previous posters that it is not a topic that is likely to sell as an ebook/online course- after talking to friends who had already done it, and my doctor, I would probably buy a few baby magazines in the local newsagents- maybe a book on Amazon, if I still felt I didn't know much.

    What about taking the content from your ebook, and turning it into articles for a content site?

    You could add a forum for expectant/new mothers and sell adspace/affiliate products to monetize it.

    I feel this would be far more successful for your subject.
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  • Profile picture of the author colmodwyer
    These are sobering and scary statistics. Statistics that no mother or father wants to think about.
    I could be wrong, but you might have answered why your approach isn't working right there... You're sort of saying - "You do not want to hear what I'm about to tell you."

    There's and ad in John Caples book - Tested Advertising Methods - that might be worth a look over. Seems to be selling a similar product but with a different approach. As I recall.

    Colm
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    • Profile picture of the author reedcopywriting
      Originally Posted by colmodwyer View Post

      I could be wrong, but you might have answered why your approach isn't working right there... You're sort of saying - "You do not want to hear what I'm about to tell you."
      I agree... you are trying to draw people in with the wrong approach!

      I DO think that you have a market. But I also think that you have a lot of competition. You are going to have to step it up to make the sales.

      You have about 10 seconds to draw your reader in. You have GOT to offer them a reason to keep reading your copy... and right now you aren't doing a good job of that.

      I don't want to offend you, but your copy is rather boring... it really is a snoozer. They are probably scanning your first few lines and then hitting the back button.

      You aren't letting these expectant parents know what makes YOU and YOUR product different.

      You aren't writing with a conversational tone that is inviting (you read more like a brochure that their doctor already gave them).

      You have got to think like a newly pregnant mom - she is excited, nervous, and feeling a little lost. She already has a STACK of pregnancy books sitting right beside her - but she needs to feel like she won't be able to make it through her pregnancy without YOUR product.

      It is going to be tough to sell this product - but I think it can be done. In fact, I just read an article this week that said people are NOT slowing down on their baby buying - even in the recession.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jon Steel
    I'd say you MAY have a market ... but not through PPC. As everyone keeps saying - YOU NEED CREDIBILITY! It is a fact for a market like this. And I only see a couple ways to get it:

    1) Testimonials and Recommendations from KNOWN experts on the subject
    2) Get your website as high up the ladder as you can through backlinks and SEO. The higher it is when people search, the more assumed credibility you'll get.

    Good Luck,

    js
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  • Profile picture of the author Kazooli
    Hello there,

    Well done on starting on your own product. However,
    there is a serious problem on the way you have aproached
    your Niche market. The problem is that your Niche is a very
    broad and perhaps a saturated one too; so you would need
    to find a sub-niche related to a problem to which you
    can give a solution they need.

    So, you would need to narrow down the ever saturated
    Niche you have selected to a sub - Niche that you can
    work on.

    Find the pregnancy complications women go through
    and select the one that you can give the best solution for.

    Hung around in online discussion forums that pregnant
    women ask their most worrying questions. What are they?

    Study your market and never give up as the gold
    is more likely to be hidden under a tiny rock and
    not in the ocean!

    Wishing you all the best.

    Sincerely
    Kazooli
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  • Achem - a little bit of insight from someone inside the marketplace, not to step on any toes but I pretty much LIVE in this market in my personal life SO here goes...

    Your copy probably just isn't feeding the dominant emotions here. You're not understanding your target market. It isn't your fault, it is pretty much a "man" thing. Your product probably isn't exactly what the market wants.

    Think of all the fights couples have when they're trying to have a baby... They come from the disappointment of the woman, who feels there is something wrong with her, and she's looking for solutions.

    Meanwhile, the man's only response is to try and "fix" the problem - and if he can't fix it, he gets frustrated and distant.

    You're trying to "fix" the problems of your customers. That isn't what you want to do. At least, not yet.

    People WILL buy pregnancy info online, I guarantee you that. I see people every single day who have purchased this kind of info online. The market is there.

    You DO need to know where to advertise, and you DO need to know how to tailor your product and your marketing message to these people, however.

    If you want to discuss more, feel free to PM me - I'm sure I can provide some insight.

    - Cherilyn
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  • I just noticed you can't PM yet, so feel free to send me an email instead using the contact form on my website (Content Creation, Ghostwriting & Article Writing Services | Great Content Lives Here) under "Contact Us" if you'd like to talk some more.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mr Money Maker
    Forget about what other people teach and learn human instinct in the art of selling and try to get into the minds of other people. Learn to think how people react to an advertisment.
    I read what you wrote about pregnancy, heck I am a guy, but even to me it read as if it I'd have a panic attack...........really, here's one sentence you wrote - " pregnancy is natural and normal but you are feeling overwhelmed and concerned and need more information.".....I know you're not trying to scare women, but talking about being overwhelmed would shock people who are scared to have a child not knowing what to expect......it made me feel that way and I am a guy !!
    Hope I am not picking on you.........I'd try a more loving approach myself.
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