It?s not your fault.

Most business people are not trained as copywriters. But once you?ve read this article, you?ll know exactly what to do to correct the problems that are killing your sales and lead generation efforts.

This is ?Part 2? of a 2-Part series; while this article stands on its own, I urge you to read my previous article (you can find it on my blog at http://RayEdwards.com), and also learn about the first ?5 Deadly Mistakes?.

And now, "5 Additional Deadly Copywriting Mistakes You?re Probably Making?"

Deadly Mistake #6: Sentences and Paragraphs That Are Too Long

Keep your sentences and your paragraphs short.

A paragraph in a sales letter should be no more than 3-4 sentences long ? and they should be short sentences.

People will read more of your copy if the sentences are paragraphs are short. This is especially important on the first page (or the first screen, if it?s online) of your sales letter, when you are trying to draw them into your story.

Don?t scare people off with big blocks of text.

Deadly Mistake #7: Not Enough Testimonials

One of your first tasks as a copywriter is to break down that skepticism, and get them to believe you ? even just a little bit.

Once that initial barrier of skepticism comes down, you have a chance of making a sale. How do you break through that skepticism?

Testimonials.

You need lots of testimonials in your copy. How many? As many as you can get.

Here?s a good rule of thumb: however many you have now, get 25% more.

Deadly Mistake #8: Offers That Stink

If your offer stinks, the best copy in the world won?t help you.

By your offer, I mean the bundle, widget, or information as presented for sale. This includes your price, and how you demonstrate the value of your offer versus what you?re charging for it.

It?s best if you?re in the position of ?selling dollars for dimes?. Then it?s easy to show the value of your offer.

For instance, if you sell a device that causes a 20% increase in a car?s fuel efficiency, you might frame the offer like this: ?The FuelSaver is $99 ? but you?ll save ten times that amount per year in fuel costs. So you get back more than TEN TIMES YOUR INVESTMENT in just one year!?

Is your offer good? If not, figure out how to make it good!

Deadly Mistake #9: Forgetting To Ask For the Sale

It?s one of the most common mistakes in all forms of selling ? not asking for the sale. Hard to believe? Maybe. But it?s true anyway; people just don?t want to ask for the order.

There comes a point where you?ve presented all the benefits of your offer; you?ve demonstrated its value; you?ve supplied lots of credible testimonials; you?ve shown your iron-clad guarantee? and you just need to ask for the sale.

On the Internet, this can be as easy as putting in a link that says ?Order Now?.

Online Marketer Armand Morin often has 5-7 order links on each of his sales pages; he says that the more ?order links? he adds, the more sales he makes.

Deadly Mistake #10: Pricing Before Benefits and Offer

Sometimes business owners want to use price point as a selling feature, and so you see lots of web pages that right near the top will say something like ?Now Only $24.95!?.

That?s a deadly mistake.

First, you are signaling readers that this page is an ad, not a page of information. That will cause you to lose readers before you?ve had a chance to tell them your story.

Second, you haven?t had a chance to elaborate on the benefits of your product or service, or to show the value of your offer.

Long before the price ever shows up on your page, you need to make the prospect feel that they must have the benefits that your product offers. They must desire those benefits in a strong and intense way.

Don?t reveal your price before you spell out the benefits of your product, and the value of you your offer. If you do this well, and you do it in the correct order, price will never be an objection; your offer will always seem like a bargain.

What to Do Now

Here?s your ?takeaway? from this blog post: it?s the same advice I gave in Part 1 of this series.

Grab your own sales copy, this list of copy mistakes, your favorite beverage, and go through your copy line-by-line. Ferret out these mistakes and eliminate these mistakes.

Do it now.

Don?t put it off.

You?ll be glad you did.

And if writing is ?not your thing? ? hire a professional. Having great copy is the single most important tool you have at your disposal to sell your products or services.