Why people are still using long sales letter copy on websites & microsites is beyond me.

Most are ugly to look at, hard to read & scan, and most importantly - the tactic is outdated. They don't leverage the true power of the internet. The problem is long sales letters are a broadcast format that talks TO you. The web is a format that thrives on connections & conversations.

It's like going to a party & getting locked into a conversation listening to someone who focuses only on what THEY are doing. You know the type. They ramble on & on about how great things are for them. These people talk forever about what they are up to at work, their recent luxury purchase, where they are going on vacation, how great Little Johnny is doing in school & on and on.

About the only thing you can do is try to listen & look for a way to end the conversation to get another drink. You spend the rest of the night avoiding the person like they have Swine Flu.

Long Sales Letter Copy Online is like that. The only difference is people can get off your site never to return.

It talks forever about how great this product/service is & most of it tends to be hype. It's hype because there's no proof. If you have no way for me to experience this product firsthand, all you have is talk about how great YOU THINK your product is. And I would hope you think your product is good.

The only explanation I have to explain why the phenomenon is so rampant online is the Direct Mail Copywriters trying to make their way online. While many copywriters are learning there is a better way to sell online, the Direct Mail Copywriter sticks to their guns & argue that 'it's worked in the past, so why stop now?'.

Because you could be doing better.

You could be doing better by including valuable content you give away that SHOWS how great your product/service is. It's the old adage of, "Don't tell me, show me". There is a much higher degree of believability when I see it for myself vs. a possibly hype-filled pitch.

The hype pitch is dead & a sales letter isn't needed. That is, if you do your job correctly the first time.

People have been abused by typical marketing for far too long now & they are finding new ways of rebelling. If you follow traditional marketing & restrict what you give away online, you are committing fiscal suicide. Sell me on your product by showing me how great it works. Let me listen to a chapter of your audiobook. Write a great story that appeals to my heart (or stomach).

This isn't an argument AGAINST traditional copywriting. The basics skills of copywriting (how to get attention, know the customer, be persuasive & sell etc.) ARE important. But if you do your job in writing & creating valuable content you give away, you'll have a higher degree of success.

It will almost be like the product sells itself.