copywriting articles 5 @ 08 Oct 2006 12:56 pm by alninga
Discover the 7 Keys to Effective Sales Letter Writing
Posted by Sean Mize
Effective sales letter writing skills are imperative for the web business owner or entrepreneur. Fortunes are made and lost online on the strength of sales letter writing. No matter how great your product, if you cannot convey that to your potential buyers, and convince them to buy your product, you will not make it online. Perhaps you are struggling today. Take these keys and use them to revolutionize your sales letter writing ability.
Key 1) Know Your Purpose and Your Audience: This is an extremely important and oft overlooked Key to sales letter writing. It is so easy to think, this is a good product, I’ll just tell them all about it and they will buy. But it does not work that way, does it? You must know your purpose–assuming it is to sell a product, you must do what will work to sell products, not what you necessarily want to do. You must write a compelling sales letter that literally drives people to purchase from you. You must also write to your audience. They do not really care what a wonderful product you have created, they really want to know, what will this product do for me? How will it solve my problems and make my life easier? So write to their problems, their challenges–not your excitement about your new product.
Key 2) Headline: This is one of the most important parts of a sales letter, and yet many web writers simply try to throw one together in a hurry. Think this one through. If they are not compelled to read the rest of the letter after reading the headline, how much will you sell? Nothing? Nada. Zilch. The headline must tell it all. Tell them what, how fast, how much, how many, whatever might be critical. For example: How to ____ 30 times in 30 days, guaranteed. Or: ____Steps to the __________ You Deserve. Or: How I ___________ Just Like __________ in ________ Days, and How You Can Too. Try filling in the blanks with your product details. Write yourself one hundred different combinations of those phrases. Tweak them. Select the 20 best. Let your spouse read them. Have her cut it to 10. Then let your kids decide on the best one. Just don’t settle for the first thing that comes to your mind. Work hard at it and learn to create the best headlines.
Key 3) Introduction: Introduce yourself, why you are qualified to talk about this product, what you have done for others in this area. Talk about a problem–tell a story about a problem, talk about the pitfalls of something that your product can relieve.
Key 4) Testimonials: Include several testimonials from people who have tried your product and liked it. This is critical. There should be at least three testimonials, and there can be as many as you want. The more the better!
Key 5) Benefits: Talk about what this product can do for your customer. Not what it does, how it looks—your sales letter should not be about the product, it should be about your customer. Your customer’s needs and how their life will improve with your product.
Key 6) Guarantee: Offer an unconditional, better than the best, guarantee. Your customer is an online customer, has never met you, probably never will—and does not trust you or your product. But with an unbelievable guarantee, they will feel more comfortable–and buy your product.
Key 7) Make it easy to buy, and ask for the sale: Tell them exactly how to order it, how fast they will receive it, and how easy it is to order it. Include several links and several different methods of payment. Try to streamline your order process so that they have to click the least possible number of links to make the final purchase.
There you have it. Now go write sales letters. Don’t just write one and try to make it the best. Write a new one every day for a month. From scratch, following these keys. At the end of the month, look at all the sales letters and take the very best from each one and you will have a great sales letter. You really have it in you to write sales letters, you really can learn—just do it and it will get easier with time and repetition.
Sean Mize is a successful offline and online entrepreneur and marketer, and has developed the online manual, 15 Steps to Internet Success. To download your complimentary copy today, click here: Secrets of Internet Success