Here’s an easy read that’s sure to have a significant impact on all of your web writing, but especially when you are writing to sell your service or product. It’s a book called web copy that sells and it’s written by Maria Veloso.

For those of you who know about Mark Joyner ( and for those who don’t read my post internet selling ), he built Aesop corporation into a multi-million dollar web business and is an Internet marketing expert.

Well, in July 2000, Maria Veloso sent an email to Mark which read,

SUBJECT: mark, here are the top 10 reasons why you need to have me working for you

Terrific sales copy in action wouldn’t you say? She got a copywriting job at Aesop and spent many years building a strong foundation of skills and experience at writing web copy. Here is some of Maria’s advice,

Five ways to write scannable copy

• Use bulleted lists to summarise
• Highlight important or key words by bolding or italicising them
• Write meaningful sub-headings
• Introduce one idea per paragraph
• Give the reader your key points and conclusion first, then flesh out the story or the copy in the rest of your writing

Simple but very useful advice, I think. Particularly when you know that most people scan web pages looking for material that will interest them. So you have to ’snag them’ first before they will read your perfect prose.

I really enjoyed reading her book and I will definitely use her blueprint when I write any sales copy. I can thoroughly recommend it.