Copy: "The Maxpro garden tool will cut your hedges in half time of leading garden tool." [So What?] You will spend less time cutting your hedges. [So what?] Now you'll have more time admiring your hedge fences rather than cutting them. [So what?] That's less time working in garden and more time to spend with your family. [So what?] Sharper hedges and a happier family.

You can see when we apply "So what?" rule then it forces us to follow through to showing real benefit that customer is after-a happier home life.

You cannot assume that your customer will make connection either. Of course everybody wants more money but not many people can connect that money to deepest needs of their soul. That's your job as marketer. There are many people with lots of money who still live unfulfilled lives.

Now we started this article by saying that people are more motivated by fear of loss than desire for gain. This means that we have to also show consequences of not getting our product.

Returning to our fictitious garden tool we can show how prospect who refuses to buy our tool will continue to cut hedges 'old way', spending a lot of time in hot sun and still not getting sharp edges that our new tool will bring. We can show how much more hours they'll spend per year cutting hedges compared to using Maxpro hedger. And this brings us to another point of quantifying consequences.

There are few marketers today who uses this powerful tool; that of quantifying their product benefits. Using this simple strategy will help prospect to visualize what your product can do for them.

For example, we could show that a well-kept hedge may require cutting 3 times per month or 12 X 3 = 36 times per year. If Maxpro hedger saved you 1 hour per cut then that's 36 hours per year. Now if your time is worth $20 per hour to you then that's $720 per year. Compare to cost to Maxpro which is only $199, using any other hedger will be really throwing your money away.

Notice that instead of showing money they will save by using Maxpro we are now showing what they will lose if they don't get it!

If you try to show final consequences and show not only what is gained by having your product or service but what is lost by not making purchase you'll make more sales.

And more sales in your business means … [consequences go here!]

Always show final consequences if you want to make more sales.

7. Offer a free report

This will work best with higher ticket items. In this case you want prospects to send for "special report" that will further sell them on your product or service. The report must not be pitched as a salesletter but as providing genuine information that reader can benefit from

8. Pinpoint reader's problem

Most products or services provide a solution to a problem. You can therefore start letter by stating problem that your product solves. This will immediately qualify reader and provide a logical transition for letter in explaining how product solves problem in next section.

9. State your strongest benefit

If your strongest benefit has a real striking appeal to your prospect then you may start by stating this benefit upfront. This benefit must reach out to reader's self-interest and go beyond just addressing a feature of your product. Copywriters commonly refer to this as selling sizzle and not steak. Just think about it, if your strongest value you are offering reader doesn't capture his interest then others will fail also.

10. Offer some 'secret', privileged information

You can make an offer that is not open to 'general public' but only to a select few. This will work well with your present customer base who may receive this announcement ahead of other people. The point here is that reader feels special because they are getting 'inside deal'. This will also work well with any select group such as new subscribers, repeat buyers or any group you care to 'invent'.

This list is not exhaustive but shows those techniques that I find most effective as I create salescopy for my online clients. If you fail to grab reader's attention in those precious few opening seconds then entire battle is lost. The majority of online readers simply scan before they choose to read entire letter. If start of letter doesn't capture their attention then they are lost for good.

Sometimes conversion rate for a website can be drastically increased by just changing opening paragraph for copy. Use anyone of these ten techniques to boost your online sales.