One of the best marketing tools available to your internet business is good sales ad copy. This can pull in sales faster than just about anything.

If you're not a writer or cringe at the thought of writing your own sales copy, you can always hire a professional, however if you're on a budget and have an adventurous spirit, writing your own ads can be a worthwhile option.

So how do you write sales copy that pulls sales? Let's take a look.

Get their attention. You have about six seconds to grab the attention of your reader so you have to act fast. Verbalize your benefits at the onset. Use words and phrases that are enticing and compelling. Use color, large fonts and exclamation points. Get the readers attention in the heading and keep it focused in the body of the ad.

Benefits and Solutions. How is your product or service going to benefit the reader? How will it solve their problem? Does it offer a solution and how fast? List all the benefits. How will it make their life or business better? Tell them why they can't live without it. If someone's going to buy something they have to know what's in it for them.

Credibility. You must convey to your audience that you are credible. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by using testimonials. What have people said about your product? If someone has bought your product, email them and ask them to comment on it. Get their permission to quote them in an ad. Get several testimonials and use photos if your can. Better yet, include small audio clips in your copy. To hear someone verbally testify to something can be very convincing.

Emotion. Appealing to the emotions of your audience is an excellent way to attract attention. What emotions do your products or services generate? What will trigger your reader's response?

Money, beauty, health, success, more time and making life easier are all emotional triggers. If you can appeal to someone with making more money, looking more beautiful or having better health, and really appeal to that emotion, your ad copy will attract their attention and entice them to keep reading.

Interest. Once you have their interest and attention you have to hold onto it. Telling short interesting or personal stories in your ad copy can hold that attention. People love stories and can relate to them. A section of questions and answers also generate interest for readers. People like it when questions that come to mind are answered right in the ad copy. This gives them the confidence that you can relate to their needs and concerns and are familiar with them..

Action. The final step is to generate a call to action. Urge the reader that it's time to act now. You can do this by offering a limited time free bonus or offer money off your product if they act now. Convince the reader that they can't wait. The time is now.

Know your products and customers. It's important to know who your customers are and what they want. A teen boy interested in body building may require totally different needs than a middle aged woman interested in body building. By understanding your customers you'll understand their needs and what kinds of problems they have that depend on you to solve. Focus on what your customer is willing to buy, not what you have to sell.

Additional Guidelines

Use simple, familiar words. Your ad should be easy and fast reading. Don't use big words and long run-on sentences. Offer a tangible result. Phrases like 'lose weight in two weeks', get rich online', 'find love now' sound cliché but they all offer your reader a solution to a problem or need. Avoid ambiguities and jargons. Get to the point and keep it flowing.

Write like you are talking to a friend Use bright, cheerful language. Don't be too formal and don't lecture.

Use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. There are many ads that misuse grammar intentionally, and this is ok as long as it fits a specific purpose or theme of the ad. Unintentional poor grammar, misspellings and poor punctuation can hurt your credibility.

Elizabeth McGee has spent 20 years in the service and support industry. She has moved her expertise to the world wide web helping businesses find trusted tools, enhance customer service, build confidence and increase sales. You can contact Elizabeth at mail@pro-marketing-online.com or visit her website at http://www.pro-marketing-online.com