Marketing online means catering to an audience. With time at a premium, anything that wastes the precious resource of time is quickly shunned. It's crucial that you stay on target with your message. Look out for any area where you might have drifted off course. If you go off on a tangent, you're inviting the prospect to click away -- and that's exactly what he'll do.

Maintain a benefit-laden focus. When you're revealing benefits, you're discussing what the reader gets. In essence, you're talking about the reader, so you have his undivided attention. But shift gears for a moment and you may never recover. Launch into a spiel about how wonderful your company is and suddenly you've turned off your previously riveted reader.

Make it easy for readers to get your essential message by starting with the benefits of greatest importance to prospects. Highlight key points and sections of your sales letter. Make it fast, easy, convenient, and pleasurable to order from you. Maintain a prospect-centered approach and you're much more likely to retain readership and interest - essential prerequisites to getting the order.

Since people ultimately buy from those they know, like and trust, make an effort to establish rapport early on. Strive to make a connection with your prospect from the start. Your lead-generation ads and marketing pieces should be in alignment with the first screen of your sales letter. This tells the prospect he's arrived at the correct location, thus justifying his presence there.

First impressions are critical. If you fail to make a quick connection, your prospect will venture off to another site. Perception is everything. Exist for your prospect. Be agreeable and open - like a friend. Maintain a commitment to helping solve your prospect's problem and getting him closer to wherever he wants to go.

Perception begins as the first screen of your sales letter loads on the user's screen. You need to reach out to prospects right away - beginning with the headline.

Not only must your words be relevant and of crucial importance to your target market, your message must also appear easy to read. This means organizing the information and providing adequate spacing. It also means highlighting key areas -- without overdoing it. Online, you can use plenty of white space to make your message appear easy, understandable, and not intimidating in the least. This usually isn't an option in traditional direct mail as there's only so much space you can utilize without exceeding standard postage costs.

Short paragraphs with adequate spacing in between is quite appealing to the eye. It tells readers 'this is quick and easy - keep reading'. It's also a good idea to avoid really long sentences. Short paragraphs, short (though somewhat varied) sentences, and short words make for easy, effortless reading.

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