How To Write Great Sales Letters
(By Gil Gerretsen) There are many times when you must write a sales letter that will move the recipient to take action. Here are several techniques to help you produce more powerful letters and results.
Grab The Readers Attention
Begin every letter by grabbing the reader's undivided attention. Just as you write a headline for an ad, your sales letter also needs a headline built into the beginning. You need an irresistible hook. Start with some drama. You can even begin with a famous quote or a piece of trivia.
Stick To One Message
Your sales letter should have one, and only one, action you want the reader to take. To see if it's clear in your mind, write it on the back of a business card. If it doesn't fit, your offer is unclear and off target. If you need to communicate several issues, write separate letters.
Use Everyday Language
In a sales letter, it is best to write in an "oral" style. Not necessarily like you talk, but with the ease and comfort of conversation. Short words, sentences and paragraphs make your letter easier to read and add intensity as well. Your English teacher will cringe, but careful scientific testing has proven that people take action more easily after reading a letter that is written in the oral style. There are three key guidelines that will help you manage this process:
Few paragraphs should contain more than three sentences.
Few sentences should contain more than twelve words.
80% of your words should be two syllables or less.
Avoid bureaucratic words like finalize and systematize. Crisp active words like finish and plan are better. And feel free to experiment with phrases rather than complete sentences and single sentences rather than paragraphs. Following this advice will help you simplify your message and express yourself more clearly.
Paint Word Pictures
It is ten times easier to build and hold a reader's attention with visual images than with a chain of words. During one of his speeches, Sir Winston Churchill created a powerful word picture. "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent." This image has remained in our minds for decades.
You should also use words that carry an emotional tone to add drama and punch to an otherwise flat sentence. It doesn't mean you should add meaningless hype, but it does require an extra effort to finds words that are descriptive and precise. Compare these two examples. "It was cold" versus "The cutting wind worked like a scalpel on our skin."
Write From The Heart
Make a conscious effort in your sales letter to strip away the protective layers and express your feelings in a warm personal way. This is hard work for many people because we have learned to distance ourselves from others by hiding behind a screen of verbiage and jargon. Simplicity is the key. Talk directly to your reader by using "you" and "me" words in the present tense. This will put your letter on a one-to-one level. Don't let yourself get too intellectual.
Build Momentum
Use connective words and phrases that will make the reader want to keep reading. Simple words like and, but, then, after (rather than furthermore or nevertheless) help provide continuity while also building to a climax. Whenever possible, try to carry over part of the sentence to the next page so the reader will turn the page and keep reading. The idea is not to give them a convenient stopping point.
Be Realistic
Your sales letter cannot be all emotion. You need specific facts to build your case without overloading the reader with data. Use the facts to support their emotions and establish credibility and integrity. Give your reader information but avoid trying to change the way they think or believe.
End With A Bang
Appeal to what matters - hope, pride and love. People respond best to the positive emotions. The best sales letters build a growing crescendo and peak with an emotional clash of the cymbals. It is vital to recognize that most people make decisions on the basis of their emotions and feelings. The logic only comes into play once the decision has already been made, and then only to justify the decision.
Include A Sense Of Urgency
Unless your reader is convinced that there is a pressing and serious need, it will be easier to shelve your letter than to respond. Every person is so overwhelmed by the sheer volume of daily issues that we must constantly make decisions about what will or will not receive our attention.
The bottom line is that we only deal with issues when we notice some pain or discomfort in our life. However, that doesn't mean you must create a crisis where none previously existed. But it does mean telling the reader what advantage they will receive for acting now.
Close Your Letter With Gusto!
Finish up with a flourish that leads them to focus on the action that needs to be taken. Go ahead, get started now!
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