Subscribe by email:

To prove a point about pricing, $300+ was added to a number of
products, others increased by $1,000+ -- no copy was changed,
didn't even update posted pricing in my catalog.

What do you think about that?  You may feel, "You can't raise
price, you didn't change the product."  Might say, "Customers like
that, especially since you sold for less previously."

You might even thing, "Well, your product is different, I can't do
that in my business."  

    Think about it, if you were asked to increase the price of your
product today, what would you say?  What would your prospects say?

Before you think I've lost it, this exercise helps you build value
in your copy AND helps you identify objections your prospects might
bring to bear.  For what you sell, think, "What would I say if I
HAD to DOUBLE the price of my offer?"

In my case I raise prices all the time, just for test, or just
because I want to earn more.  It really doesn't matter the price
you put on something, what matters is the price your prospect puts
on something.

How do prospects know how much something you offer is worth?

To write copy that sells, you want to describe something worth much
more than what a prospect might pay for what you offer.  You detail
individual benefits, emotional and monetary.  That's because
prospects base their perception of price based on what you tell
them.

Drive home what it means to own what you offer, how it will change
their life, and what their friends will think seeing them own it. 
Position your value in a way your buyers get hot for your offer.

Think about it this way, if I offered you 10 ounces of gold for
every 5 ounces of lead you could bring me -- How much lead could
you scrounge together?  You'd be melting down anything you could
find.

In this case, even if the ratio was 1 ounce of gold to 1 ounce of
lead, you'd still fight to be first in line to get yours.  This is
important because gold has a greater value than lead -- you don't
need even to describe it to the reader, your headline could be ...

"Bring me one ounce of LEAD and I'll turn it into GOLD, then do it
again and again"

What would your copy say?  Would you explain why you are making
this offer?  Would you address issues of believability?  That's
important, tell them why.

Rosser Reeves' tells us about "reason why" advertising, showing
your prospect the reason why what you have has great value,
specifically through benefits.  These benefits add up to be worth
much more than what you are offering, yet is believable,
interesting, and includes proof of value.

Here's the exercise ... First, double your prices.  If you are too
sissy to do it for real, then do it in your mind.  Take every
objection you might have, every reason why people "might" not buy,
and build that into your copy.

It doesn't take much talent to put together this list so you might
want to pass a list around the office, look on message boards, or
research social networks for reasons people don't buy.  Catalog the
top points, and address them in your copy.

For every point someone would make against not paying (investing)
more in your solution, come up with three benefits for taking
action and put a dollar value on each.  Better, for some benefits
add unmeasurable emotional values.  Basically, increase the
perceived value of what you offer.

The great thing about this copy strategy is that as your prospect
reads this letter, they will think, "I want this, because I get so
much for so little."  Value is adding up in their head, then you
summarize this value before your close, and they are relieved with
the final investment.

You don't need to discount to get the sale, all it really takes is
increasing the perceived value of your solution.  I know my clients
earn hundreds of thousands from my materials, I give them private
coaching worth hundreds of dollars, and everything comes with a
guarantee.  

Even if the investment you will make in my training materials was
$5,000 or more, you can still make that back in a few months with
even a little effort.  For reference, you'll see what I've done at
http://catalog.jwhco.com/

For you, do this exercise in your own copy writing.  Price is
arbitrary, means nothing, especially when you give prospects the
reason why they are getting so much more when they invest in what
you offer.  Think about it, you can make this work for you.

Sincerely,


Justin Hitt
Editor, AdBriefing Copywriting Tips
http://adbriefing.co.uk/

Justin Hitt writes sales producing copy for b2b technical services
firms, helping them turn names on lists into profits for their
business.  He knows his website sucks, doesn't care, he's still
growing his bottom line at http://JustinHitt.com/