I really like this tip – “ASK for the order (are you going to buy it? have we got a deal?, then shut up, don’t keep writing, ask for payment)” I found this to be crucial, often overlooked, and have been burned by it a few times myself. The customer will not contribute to your success if you don't ask.

BTW – You violated one of your stated tips – “Don’t make bulleted lists too long whatever you do, 5 bullets max. (67)” – Sorry I couldn't help myself

Thanks for the tips!

I've been working on putting a product together as well, and the more I read about selling products online, the more I realize there are two parts to it:

1) The product – which I know a thing or two about
2) Selling it – that which I know nothing about

So thanks a lot for the guide – selling (and web copywriting, and all that good stuff) is something I'm starting to learn more about, and I definitely appreciate a recommendation from someone I trust

The best suggestion that I've ever received about writing for computer screens is to keep paragraphs below four lines as much as possible. Eyes tend to wander if you keep text in overly large chunks.

This is partly why so many magazines and newspapers have difficulty transitioning to the internet. The articles are written for an entirely different design. Large paragraphs are easy to read in a two-inch newspaper column, but lose eyeballs when transferred to a six-inch web column.

There are plenty of writing “rules” that should be broken regularly depending on the format. Sales pages can be extraordinarily long relative to blog posts.

Writing that sells is stylistically different from “good” writing. The Da Vinci Code and Twilight break every rule in the Elements of Style. Best-sellers tend to turn out massive numbers initially, but dwindle in later decades.

The classics tend to perform poorly initially, but then pick up into a fat tail in subsequent decades.

There are many different styles to appeal to different audiences in different market sectors.

Thanks as always for the comments Jonny.

Thanks for putting out this resource! Working them into my copy may take some time and trial and error but it looks like it will be worth it. Thanks again!

-Ben

Glad you're coming back, tells me my experiences are of some use! I promise I'll keep on posting. Congrats on taking this on for some of your clients, it's a good testing ground heh. I'm sure the fan/user building we'll be doing going forward will be of use as I neurotically break it all down as usual. If you ever want to chat it up I'd be glad to offer my two cents to you, feel free to drop me a line.

PS. I'd love a instigationology challenge anytime, I'm meeting up with Ashley A tomorrow so I can get the cliff notes on how to win!

I just wanted to throw you a hello and thanks for all the tips you've been posting about this process. I haven't started my own venture yet, but have taken on online marketing products for my clients and your suggestions and experience has been so great in steering me in the right direction. So, yeah. Thanks!