Tips On Writing A Sales Letter

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Fundamental Tips On How To Write An Effective Sales Letter.

Build Credibility

Besides mentioning the benefits, you should also put in testimonials of people who have already used and benefited from your product or service. This builds credibility.

Make It Memorable For Your Reader.

Most unsolicited emails get tucked into the dustbin. Your mailer should have something unique for people to consider spending more time on it. For example, a car repair service might include the top 10 tips for car maintenance and so on.

Emphasize Aesthetics.

The letter should be user-friendly. It should have an attractive visual impact. The aesthetics should be well defined. Also, it
should be easily navigable.

Include A Call To Action

Include a postcard, prepaid envelope, and/or an order form. If not appropriate, supply a toll-free telephone number, an email link, and/or your URL.

Always Include An Enticement.

The letter should include an incentive for acting promptly. a discount, special offer, gifts, and so on.

Resist Doing “Mail Merge.

Technology has made life easier no doubt. But try to avoid writing mass mailers. Customize each letter according to the
needs of the reader.

Forge Everlasting Connections.

Try and forge everlasting relations with your customers. For this you have to “under-promise” and “over-deliver.

Test Market.

Whatever technique you intend to apply, always test the market.

Hit The Right Chord.

Your sales letter should not be too formal and full of jargon. That might inhibit the reader.

One Final Tip

Before sending out the mailers, make sure you have calculated all aspects. You would certainly not want to be flooded with
offers without having the appropriate resources.

Also Read: Basic Elements Of A Sales Letter

12-Step Guideline For A Good Sales Letter

You don’t require being an award-winning copywriter to create proficient sales letters. In reality, writing great sales letters is more scientifically inclined than being an art. Even the professionals use proven “templates” to generate sales letters that get the desired outcome.

Every individual has some form of buying resistance. The basic objective of your sales letter should be to triumph over your reader’s buying resistance while coaxing him to take action.

These hurdles are noticeable in many stated and unstated customer comments such as:

“You don’t realize my real problem” “How do I know you’re competent?” “I do not believe you at all” “I don’t need it at present” “It won’t help me in any way” “What happens if I don’t find it useful?” “I can’t afford to buy it” and so on.

The sales letter must play on the reader’s emotions to the extent where they would be inspired enough to take action. The letter should try to attack those “hot buttons” or emotional pressure points, which will persuade the reader to buy. The two main motivating factors are the promise of gain and the fear of loss.

Would you rather buy a $60 course on “How to Enhance Your Career” or “How to Prevent being handed the Pink Slip?”
Any day, the second title will sell better. Why? Because it addresses the fear of loss.

The following is a 12-step model for writing foolproof sales letters.

Try to Get Attention

Presuming the reader has opened your envelope; the next important step is to get his attention. The headline is the foremost thing that your reader will notice.

People have a very limited attention span and usually shove their mail into the wastebasket unless the headline jumps out to them.

The following are three examples of headline templates that are proven to get concentration.

HOW TO _________”
THE ESSENTIAL SECRETS OF _____ DISCOVERED!”
WARNING: DON’T EVEN DARE TO UNTIL YOU.

Identify the Reader’s Problem

Now that the reader has given you her full attention, you have to go straight to the problem area. Try to empathize with the reader.

Another method is to agitate the problem. You present the problem, then excite it so that she really feels the pain and anguish of her situation. People are such sturdy creatures of custom that we hardly bother to change our ways unless we feel immense amounts of pain. In fact, companies are not diverse.

Most businesses drag along doing the same old thing until things become so worse that they have to make an alteration.

Provide the Solution to the Problem

Now that you have identified the reader’s problem, you become the “savior” by providing her with the solution to the problem. You introduce your product or service and show her how all her problems will vanish once she gets your product/service.

Present your Credentials to the Prospect

Just telling the reader that you can make her life more comfortable and convenient will not prod her to jump in and grab your stuff. You need to build trust and prove your credibility. You can do this in the following manner.

Listing successful case studies and instances.

Naming prestigious companies (or people) you have done business with. Mentioning your work experience. Showing important awards and accolades that you have won.

Show the Benefits of your Products

Now you need to tell the reader how she will personally benefit from your product or service. Don’t just mention the features. Nobody is interested in just the features. What you can do instead is, you can draw two columns.

In one column, you can write the features, and in the other, mention any conceivable benefit that they can receive from the feature. You can also use bullet points for each benefit to make it user-friendly to navigate.

Also Read: How to Write Irresistible Ad Copy

Give Your Social Proof

After you’ve presented all your benefits, now you need to build your credibility and trust with your reader with testimonials from contented customers.

Testimonials are influential selling tools that establish your claims to be true. Another way of making your testimonial even more influential, include pictures of your customers with their names, addresses, and phone numbers. Most readers won’t call to find out. But if you include the numbers, it lends you greater credibility.

Make Your Final Offer

Your offer is the most essential element of your sales letter. If your offer is great, even a mediocre sales copy will make it irresistible. Your offer can come in many different layouts.

The best offers are usually an attractive blend of price, terms, and free gifts. It is always more lucrative to add more and more benefits to your offer rather than just lowering the price.

Give a Promise or Guarantee

You can make your offer even more appealing by taking out the risk factor from it. Remember that people have a built-in fear
that marketers are out there to cheat them.

Give a very strong guarantee, but only if you have enough confidence in your product or service. If you provide a guarantee and later do not abide by it, your credibility is shattered.

So be careful. If your product or service is good enough, very few people will actually need any refund.

Inject the Elements of Scarcity

Most people take their own sweet time responding to offers, even when they are appealing. There can be many reasons
for it, like:

  • They don’t feel enough discomfort to make a change.
  • They are too busy and eventually forget.
  • They don’t believe that the perceived value justifies the price asked for.
  • They are just plain lazy.

To stimulate people to take action, you need to add incentives to the offer. You can create a sense of scarcity by informing your reader that either the supply or the quantity is limited. You can also mention that your offer is valid for only a limited time period.

Your offer could say something like this

“If you purchase by (so-and-so date) you will get a whole bunch of free gifts.”
Or
Our supply is limited to only 60 (product or service) and you will receive it on a “first come, first served” basis. After they are exhausted, there won’t be any more available.”
Or
“This price is valid only for the next 15 days.”

But once you have made such an offer, you cannot go back on it and keep extending the last date. This will make your customers lose confidence in you.

Call to action

Do not presume that your reader is familiar with what to do to obtain the benefits from your offer. You must guide them carefully on how to make the order in very comprehensible and concise language.

Tell them whether you want them to call you, fax you, or click the order button on your website

Give a Warning

A good sales letter should persist to build emotion, even after your call to action. You can use the “risk of loss” strategy to let the reader know what would happen if they did not take advantage of your existing offer. Maybe they would continue to:

Struggle forever

  • Lose the chance to receive all your valuable goodies.
  • No improvement in life.
  • See their competitors benefit and rise in life.

Try to paint a sad picture in the psyche of the reader about the penalty of not taking action now. Drill into them how much they are missing out at present.

Close with a Proper Reminder

You should always include a postscript (P.S.). In your postscript, you might want to remind them of your enticing offer. If you’ve used scarcity in your sales letter, include your call to action, then remind them of the restricted time (or quantity) offer.

Using this 12-step formula, anyone can write an efficient sales letter that sells. The following are a few extra tips to help you write an even better sales letter: