How to Write a Sizzling Sales Letter, Part 1
by Jennifer McCay
Published on this site: July 21st, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
When you sit down to write a sales letter to your prospects,
it can be difficult to know just where to start. Regardless
of the purpose of your letter, it has to accomplish several
things:
- capture the attention of the reader
- speak to the reader's individual needs
- give good reasons why your prospect can trust you
- communicate your offer succinctly and clearly
- encourage your prospect to act now
And furthermore, it has to have sizzle. In other words, it
needs to grab your prospect's attention and appeal to them
emotionally so that they want to respond.
Here is my step-by-step guide to writing a winning sales
letter:
- Establish your letter's main purpose.
First of all, what do you want to achieve by sending out
a sales letter? Be specific.
Do you want to generate leads? Sell your services or products
outright? Use your letter as a "get to know you"
device for prospects who have been referred to you by trusted
colleagues?
Second, what is your offer? Any time you contact prospective
clients, you need to have something to offer them. It's
a busy world, and your prospects are barraged with too much
information as it is. So simplify their lives by narrowing
down what you are marketing to them in a way that is easy
to follow.
If you're a life coach, perhaps you would be giving away
a half-hour coaching session as an introductory offer.
Do you want your prospect to contact you regarding her upcoming
consulting needs? Your offer might be a special report on
how to get the best results from your consultant. Giving
away information is an excellent way to show your expertise
without having to sell your services outright.
If the latest version of your software is about to launch,
you might send current-version owners a letter offering
an inexpensive upgrade if they act quickly.
The important thing here is to figure out 1 main offer for
your letter. Just 1. Keeping it simple will make it easier
for you to write the letter to begin with; plus, your readers
will easily grasp what you're asking them to do as well.
What is most successful for your prospects will depend on
how well you.
- Give the people what they want.
Who will be receiving the letter? Outline the types of prospects
you'll be contacting.
Then list their individual needs based on what you're selling.
This will help you determine not only how to appeal to your
readers' emotions, but also lets you figure out how many
different messages you have to have to reach your targets.
For example, if you're a real estate agent wanting to market
to prospective buyers in a ritzy neighborhood, as well as
to less financially able individuals who are looking for
homes in a more upscale neighborhood than their own, you're
going to be writing 2 different letters, or at least 2 different
permutations of the same letter.
Why? Because the wealthy prospects already have
established themselves and are looking for downright luxury in their new homes,
whereas the latter group wants to find a home in a more
comfortable neighborhood where their kids can play outside
safely and go to good schools. (The well-off prospects pretty
much take these aspects of home-buying for granted, though
they are still important benefits.)
Ask yourself:
- What do my prospects need that I offer?
- What do they want?
- What do they desire deep down inside?
- What do your prospects fear will go wrong if they
buy?
- How can you put their fears to rest?
- Why should they choose you (from their perspective)?
- What would make them absolutely thrilled with what
I am selling?
In other words.
"What's in it for me?"
Your prospects are concerned about their own needs and no
one else's, and they're not out to do you any favors, so
your job is to show them what only you can can give them.
If you keep in mind both the rational and emotional needs
and wants of your prospects, you're already a step ahead.
- Structure your letter properly.
Although the structure of your letter is important, steps
1 and 2 lay the foundation for everything else to do with
your letter. So make sure to work through the above-mentioned
steps prior to getting started writing.
What's the right structure for a sales letter? The good
news is that every good sales letter has several elements
in common:
- a headline, or Johnson box
- a salutation
- a powerful opener
- an easy-to-follow internal structure that guides your
reader from one point to the next
- a solid offer
- a P.S.
- credibility boosters
In part 2 of this article, I will go through all the particulars
of each element to ensure that your next sales letter is perfectly
persuasive. See http://AvenueEast.com/free-sales-letter-template.htm
for part 2.
Jennifer McCay, Would you like help generating enough
business for your coaching, consulting or other small business?
Jennifer McCay's "Avenues to Marketing Success Newsletter"
delivers small business marketing tips to help you find more
clients more easily, without feeling like you're selling your
soul. Sign up today at http://AvenueEast.com
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