You'll find other professionals get credibility in same way. For example, lawyers get it by citing precedents. Rather than talk to a judge in generalities, good lawyers cite previous case law and decisions by other judges.

You also know clergy gain credibility by citing passages of scripture, along with chapter and verse numbers. And, how about medical profession? For example, physicians and others don't speak of "heart attacks;" instead they speak of different kinds of heart disease and conditions. By being specific they gain credibility, credibility that sets them apart from lay people.

The concept works for just about anyone, in any profession or occupation. Suppose, for example, you're a sales manager attending a budget meeting, and general manager wants you to increase your sales by 15% next year, far more than you're likely to achieve. To argue persuasively that target should be lowered, you might explain that economy of your city is only expected to grow 2% next year, that your main competitor recently cut prices by an average of 4.5%, and that your company's production will be just 5% greater next year. Now, you've got ammunition when you argue for a lower sales target.

In summary: Data, in form of specific numbers or references, adds credibility to messages. It's a technique used by many professionals, including clergy, physicians, and sales people.

2. Stop Selling and Start Solving

So many people are pushing to get that almighty dollar (or euro or pound) that they forget something. Customers don’t like to be sold to. What they really want is someone to solve their problems. Once you show that your product/service can, in fact, solve problems your customers face, sales will come on their own.

3. Appeal To Emotions

Most buying decisions are emotional so it makes sense that your copy should be, too. While your customer’s need may be logical, actual buying decision is anything but. Think about it. When you bought your last car, did you go for “logical” choice? Did you pick ugly, shapeless, “no personality” car that had best gas mileage and highest safety rating? I doubt you did.

You most likely took a look at all options and – taking some logic into account – bought car that suited you best within your price range. Emotion sells!

No, I’m not talking about getting mushy. What I AM talking about is touching emotional chord that draws customers to your product or service. Those problems you found out about when doing steps #1 and #2 above… use them to add emotion to your copy.

With these three vital elements in your forethoughts, you can sit down and write your copy – with your keyphrases in mind – for tremendous results. When you understand entire process and take time to learn to write emotional, sales-oriented, SEO copy, you will keep your traffic count high and your checkbook balance higher.