Your sales copy or ad is the most important means of interaction you can have with your clients. Needless to say, it needs to shine and sparkle; and by that, you need to produce the best copy that you possibly can.

Your copy needs to make sense; it must be appealing, interesting and free from off-putting mistakes that could drive the reader away.

Copy is tricky for many people – the internet is very much English based, and not all internet marketers are English speakers. In fact, from reading some copy, you can tell that the person who wrote it does not speak or write English as a first language. And even for those who do, they make mistakes that reduce their copy’s value greatly.

The internet has become a culture now, and a culture has rules. To be accepted and respected, you must follow these rules.

Let’s look at 9 crucial things you must be aware of when you are writing ads or sales copy.

1. Words That Trigger Spam

A good example here is copy that says they’ll "blast" you with something. No one wants to be blasted. Blast not only sounds cheap, it sounds desperate and not well thought through.

How about "deliver?" You’ll end up doing the same thing, giving the reader something, but you won’t have "blasted" them.

There are many other words like this that won’t get through some email spam filters. Search "spam words" in Google and you'll get to know hundreds of potential words that could be triggered as spam. We cannot list them all here; but the point is, be gentle and appealing in your language.

2. Subject or Headings in Capital Letters

Capital letters are writing’s way of shouting. When you use them, you are basically shouting at the reader. It doesn’t matter if it’s the most important part of your email that you're trying to get through – do not use pure caps if possible.

Mix upper and lower case in Standard English format; and for highlight, use a different color. This will make it stand out and the reader will not feel shouted at.

3. Use of Power Words

Power words attract or stimulate the reader, and they are the ones that are going to sell your product; but do not use them in every sentence that you write. To get a list of power words, simply search for "power words list" on Google.

There are no hard and fast rules regarding use of power words, but a good rule of thumb is once every 3 to 4 sentences. If your copy is not long, use them at the first and last paragraph only.

Too much use of power words makes your copy lose legitimacy – you might look desperate; and to a fair number of people, you might even get suspected as a spammer.

4. False Sense of Urgency

It’s a great turn-off. It’s like telling your client that he doesn’t really have a choice – it’s either your product now or bust. Now, we all know that’s not true.

State your case, talk about your products and craft a good call to action without being pushy. Don’t try to force people into buying with false scarcity tactics. They won’t panic; but they might never buy from you again.

5. Calls to Action

A call to action should be compelling, but not desperate or pushy. "Click Here" used to work 10 years ago. Now, you need to craft a more powerful call to action that will compel a reader to click and head to your order page.

Don’t sound like you don’t care whether or not they click, because you do. At the same time, don’t sound desperate in your call to action – let it be as solid and realistic as possible, telling the reader the benefits of making the click. An example would be "Click Here To Master The Spanish Language In 30 Days!"

6. Telling Them You're Not Spamming

Some marketers think that they can reduce the likelihood of being accused of spamming, by telling readers that their email is not spam. But this could actually backfire!

Not only could the word "spam" trigger the spam filters, but readers are becoming aware that many junk messages indicate they are not spam.

If your copy is good and compelling, you do not need to have a sentence like that at all.

7. Passive vs. Active Voice

Writing in the passive voice makes it harder for the reader to understand your message because it involves more words and conveys information in a "weaker" form.

"It has been said that this product is …." is passive. Why not say "Let me tell you my experience with this product…" (active voice)

That way, you connect much better with the reader and they feel they are actually communicating with a real person who can give them real results.

8. Long, Endless Copy

Like they say, if you’re going to say something meaningful, it must be precise and to the point. You’ve probably come across sales pages that go on and on to never. You keep scrolling and scrolling, and all they are attempting to do is describe their products.

There is nothing wrong with a long sales page, so long as its interesting and has different facets e.g. product description, testimonials, examples, videos, how to use, etc.

But be careful not to write a long-winding description of your product that says the same things over and over – you will lose your readers attention halfway because they will either give up or get bored.

9. Grammar and Typos

The biggest catch for most people is grammar. Grammar can vary depending on the country dictionary you’re using, but typos are just unacceptable.

Use your spell checker, and use it again. And if you’re still not sure, leave the copy alone for a while and come back to it later – you’ll be bound to see mistakes if there are still any.

Grammatical errors and typos are a sign of sloppiness; your reader would be left wondering if that’s what they can expect from you should they buy your product.

These rules are a guide – there are others, but the best way to learn is to spend time on the internet reading good sales pages and ads, seeing how they are structured and how they read, and then try to incorporate that into your own writing style.