Nine Essentials for a Profit Pulling Sales Letter

Writing sales letters is part art and part science. If you get good at writing them, it’s one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways of promoting your business. No matter what the copywriting gurus tell you, no sales letter formula will work well every time, and your response rates will be determined by a variety of factors. But it is true that if you always include certain prerequisites that are proven to work more often than not – your sales letters will perform better as a result.

Some general points

You must always start every sales letter by researching your target market to get a clear idea of who you are writing to. Equally, you must consider why you are writing to them and always consider their question of ‘what’s in it for me’ at all times, (more of this below). You can then buy in a mailing list based on your requirements – or better still, build a list to mail yourself. There are several ways of doing this, and we’ll go into these issues in another post. But obviously, if you have a crap mailing list it doesn’t matter how great your sales letter is – your response will be rubbish. It makes sense, but many businesses seem oblivious to this fact.

Secondly, how can you ever know if your sales letters work if you don’t test them? You should send out small mailings of perhaps up to 2,000 or less, and change important elements like the headline, first paragraph, offer or guarantee on each letter. Make just one change at a time and give each letter a unique code – and then you can see what’s working best and further refine it. Ask your sales team to note what each caller’s offer code is for each letter, and get them to record the results. Do the same with your uniquely coded online forms, reply cards and order forms. You’ll then get a clear picture of what’s happening and why.

Never send an untried sales letter to your full mailing list. It’s always easier to scale up positive results than recover from the expensive failure of sending out thousands of untested letters. I’ve actually argued with clients about this – but response rates are directly scalable. If you get 20 responses from sending 1000 letters, you will most probably get 200 from sending 10,000.

The nine sales letter essentials

(These elements can be used in this order on the page).

1. A great headline

Always use a benefits’ laden and emotive headline that grabs the reader’s attention. The purpose of the headline is to make the prospect read the first sentence of your body copy – so it’s very important and you should try several to see which one works best.

2. A great sub headline

Again, tailor this to your target reader. Reaffirm the offer or try to grab their attention to draw them into the letter – the more time you spend thinking up and testing headlines and sub headlines the better. If you’re unsure what works best, read them out to friends and colleagues and ask them which ones they like.

3. Compelling body copy

From the very first line, each paragraph should go about answering the ‘what’s in it for me’ question that your reader will be asking. Don’t go on about how great you and your company are, offer the reader something of benefit and then repeat that offer. Speak directly to your target reader on a personal basis, use the word ‘you’ more than the word ‘I’ in your sentences. The first line of the first paragraph should preferably include the main benefit of your product or service.

4. Relevant testimonials

Comments from satisfied customers are only useful if they are benefits driven, so again choose ones that answer the ‘what’s in it for me’ question. Don’t just stick in ones that say how great you are – no one likes a clever clogs.

5. An irresistible offer

Don’t just offer a 10% discount (unless price discounts are highly effective in your marketplace) – be creative. How about a free report or product sample, or a free gift related to your product and the reader’s interest in it? Get into the mind of your target reader and consider what benefits are making them buy your product. Zero in on this need and tailor your offer to match their desire.

6. A cast iron guarantee

Take the risk out of the reader’s buying decision by offering a strong guarantee to sweeten the pill. In general, people don’t like asking for their money back or complaining unduly, so if you’re confident about your product or service and respect your customer – you shouldn’t have a problem. A solid guarantee always adds credibility.

7. A strong call to action

Don’t forget to ask for the sale! Tell your reader what to do and how to buy from you. Give them a phone number or email address – but don’t confuse them with too many options. Think of it like a funnel – you want your prospect to go down the channel you have created for them – without them thinking you’re pushing them into it.

8. A PS that reiterates your offer

After you’ve signed the letter, always include a PS that restates your offer and how the prospect can contact you. This gives one last chance for you to funnel the reader into buying from you.

9. Strong graphic design

Great design can paint pictures where words seem clumsy, and if you include high quality images, guarantee shields, logos and colour schemes – design can complement your copy and add that extra bit of class that turns a good sales letter into a great one.

In summary

You can also add in prices after the call to action if it’s a direct sales piece, but if you’re trying to get leads or qualify prospects – leave your prices out. You can talk about that once you’ve got your prospects on the phone or in a face to face meeting.

Lastly, try to develop a unique personality in your sales letters, a tone of voice that reflects who you are as a person. This will make your letters more dynamic and compelling, and will help build you up as a character that your clients can relate to. Just remember to always sign your letters personally and say who you are – there’s nothing worse than an anonymous letter that uses generalized language.

Try some of these techniques for yourself in your own sales pieces, and don’t forget to test responses carefully. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by your increased response rates.

Tags: copywriter, Copywriting & Content, copywriting services

Category: Copywriting & Content