Writing Effective Sales Letters: Easier Than You Think

Kristen King

by Joe Giunta

Great Sales Letters Focus on Readers Not Sales

www.inkthinkerblog.com — How many times have you opened a direct mail letter and thrown it out after reading the first sentence? If you have discarded enough paper to recycle the Rainforest, you may feel that sales letters are a waste of time, money, and trees. Well, think again.

Good sales letters can generate leads, sell products and services, and increase charitable donations. They do it by focusing on the needs of readers rather than the needs of sellers. Here is how to write a sales letter that will get the results you want.

Connect With the Customer

Before writing a word, you need to put yourself in the reader’s easy chair. What will he or she want to know? To be honest, readers do not care if you think you are number one in the carpet cleaning business. What does mean something to the reader is an offer that meets their needs.

For that reason, you should list the needs of your customers. For example, if you sell computer peripherals, your customers may want trusted brand names, larger drive capacity, low prices, a knowledgeable sales staff, and convenience.

You may not satisfy all those needs, but you probably meet two or three very well. Perhaps you have a knowledgeable sales staff and the most convenient purchasing system on the Web. Use those facts to reach your readers.

Develop a Strong Offer

Do not bury your offer in the middle of your letter and do not provide an offer that is weak or lacking in value. Make it worth their effort to pick up the phone or go to your web site. For example, if you are going to offer a sale, make it more than 10 percent off. Make it 25 percent off.

Think Benefits Not Features

Every product or service has features. While a lawn service might use a well-known brand to fertilize lawns, that means nothing to the reader unless she knows that the fertilizer is applied twice a year instead of four. The reader will save money and get a better lawn. That turns the feature into a benefit.

To build excitement for your product or service, string one benefit after another in your letter.

Back Up What You Say

Good sales letters do not make unsupported statements. Telling the reader that you are great means nothing. Pronouncements such as, “we have the best prices in Baltimore,” mean nothing unless you can back it up with an offer to beat any price offered by your competition.

If you want readers to think you are the best, let other people say it. Get testimonials from satisfied customers. Studies prove that testimonials build credibility.

Turn Negatives to Your Advantage

If you are a new company, you might use that fact to your advantage by making a spectacular introductory offer.

If you are a small company, use your size to support the friendly, personalized service only you can offer because you are small. Do not let potential negatives get the better of you.

The Basic Parts of a Letter

There are four parts of a good sales letter. You should structure your message within these four parts. They include the following:

Grab reader interest with a benefits oriented headline and lead paragraph.
Yes! Use a headline in large bold type at the top of your letter. It works.
Use a strong lead paragraph to expand on that offer.
Use the body of your letter to support the benefits you describe.
Close with a request for the order.
Use a Post Script to remind the reader of the benefits you offer.

Writing Tips

Use active verbs rather than passive ones. Active verbs breathe life into sentences and help you avoid passive statement. The following well-known sayings have been given passive verbs:

My heart was left by me in San Francisco.
Only one life is had by me to be given to my country.

Be brief. While it is difficult to say what you want to say with the fewest words possible, it is the best way to keep the reader reading. Philosopher, Blaise Pascal wrote to a friend: “I have written you a long letter because I have not had time to write a short one.”

Look for places where you have been redundant. While it is tempting to say that most insecticides kill bugs dead – don’t!

Keep the adjectives down to a minimum and use “FREE” whenever possible.

Writing a great sales letter does not take special talent. It requires only the ability to think like your reader, to make a great offer, and to be brief.

Joseph P. Giunta is a freelance writer who has written on management, publishing, and business issues for a variety of publications. He can be reached at gwriting@aol.com.

Although this article was published by Kristen King, the original author retains all copyright and should be contacted for reprint requests.