5 is a good number – it’s easy to remember.

The first rule should be – Never attempt this at home, always pay a professional to do it.  I’m kidding, sorry.

Let’s make it even easier and make a word out of the first letter of each point, we’ll call it ….hmm, I know…

HELEN

Have a call to action – otherwise your writing is for Info Only, and will not result in a sale or cause the phone to ring.

Engage the reader – your target is human, so speak to them through your writing, give them a reason to read on.

Less is more – be succinct, no-one has time for waffle.  Say what you have to say, add a call to action, finish by repeating what you’ve just told them, then stop writing.

Expose a myth – people love to think they are learning something exclusive, without paying for it.

Never publish your work til you’ve proofed it.  Typos and poor punctuation are the Cancer of Writing, and will ultimately lose you sales.

Remember: there’s nothing compelling about a grocer’s apostrophe.  (Although it gets you talked about, in livid fury, by half the population of England, clearly the educated half, for all the wrong reasons.  Check out the Guardian newspaper’s rant)