Every copywriting assignment is different. Every brochure, every sales letter, every pay-per-click ad...each one demands a unique approach. But... There are some rules that apply - no matter what you are selling, or how you are selling it.

And that's why I've created the 10 Commandments of Copywriting. These are the unbreakable, immutable rules of copywriting.

1. Appeal to the Reader's Self-Interest

You may be totally in love with your product. Perhaps you created your product yourself, and you know everything these is to know about it. You can probably rattle off a dozen reasons why your customer should buy from you, and from nobody else. You know where the competition is weak, and where you are strong. Great.

Now, ignore all of that. Forget it.

Because you need to look at your product from your customer's point of view. Why in the world should they buy it? Your customers are bombarded with countless sales messages every day, and they ignore most of them. Because those ads are irrelevant. So do this instead. Think about how your product can improve your customer's life in some specific, easily-understood ways. In other words, your product MUST appeal to a deeply held want, or solve a tough problem. That is what your copy should focus on, and nothing else.

Your customers don't care about your company, your experience, your history, or your background. If you can meet their needs, or solve their problems, at a price they can afford, then you will get their attention.

Oh, there is one more thing.

People are typically motivated more by what they might lose, than what they might gain. So another way to frame your customers self-interest is by talking about ways they might be left behind, rather than ways they might get ahead. More on this later.

2. Be Honest

There is a difference between being an enthusiastic advocate of your product or service, and being a liar. And when I say "lie," I am including any sort of exaggeration or falsehood that is not supported by facts.

Don't talk about your thousands of satisfied customers if you only have a dozen of them. Don't talk about your decades of experience if you just got started. The reason is simple: if you lie, you will get caught. At the very least, lies will disappoint customers. And disappointed customers will return your product.

Even if you are just selling something as an affiliate, you will lose your commission if the buyer returns the product. I would rather not make a sale at all, than go to the expense of making one, only to lose my commission.

And of course, really big lies will bring the Federal Trade Commission down on you. As I write this, the FTC is considering new rules concerning bloggers who make exaggerated claims about weight loss products. Look, if you have to make stuff up in order to make your product sound good, then you have two options: change your product, or find a product that you can promote without lying.

3. Know What You Are Really Selling

No matter what you are selling, it serves some purpose beyond being purely utilitarian. It's more than an e-book, or a toaster, or whatever. There is something that makes it an irreplaceable and cherished part of your customer's life. Let me give you an example.

Suppose you are selling cellphones. You could talk about the megapixels in the camera, or the quality of the signal, or easy keyboard. But would those points help you sell phones? A few, sure. But you don't want to sell a few. You want to sell a lot. So you have to reframe those features into benefits. And a cellphone has only one real benefit: the ability to easily connect with family and friends. That's it.

Here are some other examples.

• A photo printer doesn't just print photos...it captures memories.
• A set of wooden blocks isn't just a toy...it's a way of building a child's intelligence.

Your sales letter needs to turn those features into benefits that appeal to deeper, core human needs. And position your product as the only one that is uniquely suited to deliver on those needs.

4. Do Whatever It Takes to Grab Attention

Gaining a reader's attention is one of the most difficult tasks a copywriter faces. Because today's consumers are trained to ignore sales messages. Yes, smartass, even your messages.

In most copywriting situations, grabbing attention would mean a take-no-prisoners, grab-them-by-the-throat headline.
Even ugly text boxes like this can be useful - because they grab the reader's attention.

But on the Internet, there are many more options. You can grab attention with anything that draws the reader into your copy. It doesn't have to be static. It could be an animation, a picture, a video, Flash movie...anything. The only rule is: convey some provocative information that captures the reader's eye, and draws them into the first paragraph of your copy.

That's the only goal of your headline. Simple, right?

Many professional copywriters will tell you that the headline is the most important part of any piece of marketing material. And they are right. But if you can come up with something that grabs attention better than a headline, try it.

5. Build Interaction Into Your Copy

The headline is important, but that's just the first step. The thing that will really build your online business is copy that makes your readers interact with it.

That interaction could be mental - making them think about what you are saying - or physical - by getting them to click on a button, drag an object, or start a video.

Interaction helps put them in a more open and compliant state of mind, so when you do ask for the sale, they will be more likely to hit that "Buy Now" button.

What kind of things am I talking about? Put your most compelling benefits at the top of the letter, use the "chain of attention" technique, sprinkle subtle suggestions into your copy.

And one more thing: don't be afraid to use graphical gimmicks in your sales letters. I am talking about shaded boxes, handwriting, even yellow highlighting. You might think they look corny, but copywriters use them for one reason: they work.

6. Force Yourself to Start Writing

Here's the bad news: Writing is hard.

Here's the good news: it gets easier with practice.

So even if you don't know where to start or what to say, just sit down and force yourself to start. If you don't like the idea of staring at a blank sheet of paper, or an empty computer screen, try something else. Write an outline. Use a mind map. Jot ideas down on note cards and organize them.

Doesn't matter how you write, just write.

7. Keep your language simple.

Since you are reading this, I know you are committed to starting your own business, or pushing an existing business to the next level. That means you are probably smarter than most people out there.

You have better language skills, and a higher level of reading comprehension. But when you are writing sales copy, you need hold those language skills back.

In other words, keep it simple.

Your copy needs to be understood by people reading at a 6th grade level. That's the only way to ensure that most people who look at your sales letter will understand what you are talking about. So write like you talk. Don't be cute, or try to show off your big words. Just write in your own voice, keeping easy to read.

8. Treat your copy as a living document.

Imagine you have researched your product, written an astounding sales letter, and posted it on your website. Time to relax, right? Wrong.

You need to constantly test and revise your copy throughout the life of your product.

You should even test the offer itself... bonuses, prices, guarantee, etc. Even the most subtle changes can have a huge effect on your response rates.

And making those changes to an existing sales letter or website is a lot faster and easier than writing a whole new sales letter.

So in the first version of your sales lettesr, you should shoot for a 1% conversion rate (the conversion rate is the percentage of your readers who buy your product). From there, test and revise the letter to get that to 3% or even 5%.

For something like an E-mail opt-in (which doesn't require the reader to purchase a product), you should be able to get 20% or 30% conversion.

Chances are, the first draft of your sales letter will not perform as well as you'd like. That's normal. By treating your copy as a living document, you will constantly upgrade it until it becomes a sleek sales machine.

9. Be different.

I am always shocked how many sales letters, especially in the Internet Marketing business, look and sound exactly the same. Same format, same style, even the same font.

Yes, I know that the gurus will tell you that these letters are being used because they work.  I get it.  But think about it. 

If you are doing what everyone else is doing, do you honestly think you are going to get rich? Come on, seriously. You need to set yourself apart.

The real success comes from doing something different.

10. Keep a list of your customers, and sell to them first and foremost

It is far easier and cheaper to sell to someone who already trusts you than to convince a new prospect to make a purchase.

Generally, a small proportion of customers will provide most of your income. If you've sold them something valuable in the past, they will trust you in the future.  So you need to stay in contact with them.  And that usually means capturing their email addresses, and periodically sending them something.

But remember, you have to keep providing them with valuable stuff. That means no spam.

And if you are developing your own info-products, think about what your existing customers would want to purchase from your when you create your next product.  You know them, and they know you.

Selling to a crowd like that will be far cheaper and easier than selling to a completely new audience.