Better Copywriting in 10 Minutes!

Just kidding. Writing well is hard. Copywriting, or writing with the intent to persuade someone to buy something, is a bit easier. Instead of a blank page, you at least have some features to start with. Taking a list of apparently random features and turning it into a persuasive story is the topic of countless books and correspondence courses. Don't have the next 6 months to devote to perfecting your craft? Here are some guidelines you can follow to get started:

Keep it simple.
This means short sentences written with short words. Even smart people understand short sentences better than long ones. Long, complicated sentences make eyes glaze over. Use a big word instead of a small one and you're likely to annoy or confuse. For a detailed look at the virtues of simplicity, read Can Your Customers Read What You Write?

Use active voice.
This goes with "keep it simple". Simplify a sentence by using an active verb; your copy will be stronger for it. Here's what I mean:
Passive Voice:

This table is distinguished by intricate hand-carved detail which is performed by skilled artisans.

Active Voice:

A skilled artisan carves each table base and chair back with intricate detail.

It's not Shakespeare, but it says more with fewer words. The verb "carves" creates a more vivid picture in your mind than the passive "is distinguished by" and "is performed by".

Verbs rule, adjectives drool
That may sound like something your 6 year-old would say, but it's true. It's also difficult. Nevertheless, action verbs will engage the reader far better than adjectives. Here's a great article on the topic called How Verbs Help You Convert from the GrokDotCom newsletter.

What's in it for me?
No, not you, the customer. If you're given 10 product features, think about which 3 of those are most likely to matter to the consumer. Manufacturers routinely list all kinds of features that consumers couldn't care less about. Effective selling means putting yourself in the customer's shoes. As Daphne Gray-Grant writes,

...when you’re writing copy, you need to get out of the “here’s what I want tell you” attitude and into the “what does my reader want to hear?” mentality. (read the rest of her article "How to Write Copy That People Actually Want to Read")

There is much, much more to writing persuasive copy than this. Write with these four rules in mind and your copywriting will be more effective, guaranteed. This is not to say that Mitch Speers is an exceptional copywriter who can tell you most everything you need to know about selling with words. However, in my experience, these are the areas where people have the most diffuculty.
Other Resources:

I've written on this topic before. You may want to read "Getting Emotional" and "Are You Speaking Your Customers' Language?" You'll also want to look at the links in the Recommended Resources section at the top of this page. Nearly all of them have good information about effective copywriting.