If you're an entrepreneur and are selling online, no doubt you know that a picture is worth a thousand words, as the old adage says. And of course, this is true. A myriad of details can be understood at a single glance that words would take pages to describe. However, along with your pictures, you need good copy. When you're selling a good product, you need not just a good image, although this is important, but good copy that compels a customer to read it and then feel compelled to buy the product. Oftentimes, web entrepreneurs are trying to sell products with images, but not copy. This is a mistake, because even though images these days are easy to produce at high quality, your sales volume is likely to suffer if you just rely on pictures alone and don't include good copy as well.

Pictures are great. Everybody wants to be able to see some image of what it is they are looking into purchasing, and while pictures may speak 1,000 words it is important to have something backing that up and this is where compelling sales copy comes into play. Good sales copy drives home sales; pictures bring in lookers but good copy turns these people into buyers and buyers are what can turn your business into a success or failure.

Pictures Tell While Benefits Sell

Just as with the adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words come" it's also true that pictures "tell" but benefits are what really sell the product. It doesn't even really matter what you're selling. It's still true that you're going to need at least some copy and a good picture or two, no matter what. Various entrepreneurs have different strengths and weaknesses themselves, and they can and should play with their copy and images to their advantage. Those who are more visually attuned can rely more on images and supplement with copy, while those who are more linguistically attuned can focus on the copy and just provide a good image or two so that the customer can see clearly what he or she is buying. However, you're going to have to have some of each in your product listing no matter what. When you do, of course, you also play to customers' strengths and weaknesses; some prefer pictures more, while some prefer copy, and vice versa. The same is true of the product itself. Some products are visually interesting and need to be shown, such as a beautiful vase, while others need more written description, such as the latest innovations in computer technology, for example. Only you know your products and strengths well enough to know just what mix you should have in your listings. Regardless, though, people are going to want to know exactly what they're buying before they do, especially if they're going to invest a lot of money in a particular product.

This brings up another good point; if the product is higher priced, you're going to want to provide plenty of pictures and written detail besides. The more money customers invest in products, the more they want to know about them, both visually and in the written word.

What is it that makes your product so special? Is it 14K gold? Is it 18K gold? Is it a replica of something true royalty wears? Does it have a lifetime guarantee? Is there a no-hassle money back guarantee? Create sales copy that makes your site browsers think that your product is something that they not only want but need as well. Appropriately selling the benefits will get your product sold better than a great picture any day; let your customers know what this product will do to make their life easier.

Sell the Benefits

If you're selling a particular product, remember that the features of a product are important to describe, but it's really the benefits that are going to interest the customer most. Benefits are what the customer can expect when they buy the product that will do them some good. For example, if a particular type of shirt is made of 100% cotton while a competitor's is 100% polyester, your copy might want to say why the cotton is the better buy. This is where you extol the virtues of cotton in your writing, such as that it's all natural, a renewable resource, and so on. Whatever the benefits, make sure you detail and extol them so that customers know exactly what benefits they're getting from the product.

Pictures are, of course, very important too. After all, if you're buying a cotton shirt, it's all well and good to be extolling the advantages of 100% cotton, but you still want to see what you're buying. This, along with good sales copy, is what will sell your product. Of course, a picture without sales copy is also no good at all, and needs to be included so that customers not only see the benefits and features of a product, but are persuaded to buy.