You don’t have to be a professional copywriter to write a successful sales letter. It’s not complicated, but it does require paying attention to the craft. It may take changing the way you think about your business.
A successful sales letter can make your company. In some cases, it can bring in thousands or even millions in new revenue. You can write a sales letter that draws attention to your business, builds trust and grows accountability. The process is similar to writing a landing page.
A Successful Sales Letter Requires:
A Shift in Thinking – You and your customer have different motives. You are looking to sell and line your pockets. There is nothing wrong with that. You’re in business. Your potential customer is looking for a product or service that solves their problem and provides value.
Writing a successful sales letter means stepping out of your shoes and writing from your customers’ perspective. Show them that you understand their problem and empathize. When you perfect this approach it helps to build trust and strengthen relationships.
High Emotion – We all tend to think of ourselves as rational buyers, but the truth is emotion is what sells. People buy when they feel fear, pride or envy. They want to buy when something gives them comfort. This sounds corny, but it’s true. You aren’t selling a product or service, you are selling how it makes your customer feel. You are selling the benefit and the experience.
Humor can be used to disarm your customer. Fear can be used to generate a reaction as well. When you learn how to properly stoke emotion, you can sell more.
Persuasion Tactics – It’s not enough that a potential customer reads your sales letter and likes what you have to say. That’s a good start, but a successful sales letter transcends this stage, and persuades your reader to take action. This is an important stage.
Passive forms of appreciation won’t grow your bottom line. While it’s true they may take action at a later point, the goal is to get them to buy. It’s to present your offer as the most effective solution to their problem. To do that, you have to be convincing. Think back to those five-paragraph essays your high school English teacher used to make you write. Channel that kind of energy into your letter.
Laser Focus – It’s true that a long-form sales letter can be 1,500 words or longer, but that doesn’t mean they ramble. They stay on point and convey your message. They grab attention up front with a powerful headline and lead. From that point, they keep readers engaged until the end.
Your message must be spot on. If you ramble or go off subject, you give your readers an opportunity to file your letter in the garbage. Be conversational, but be direct. Tell your reader what’s in it for them and keep them on the hook. It’s the only way.
Conclusion
Do you have what it takes to write a successful sales letter? One that engages your readers, builds trust, and sees results?
That’s great! If after seeing this, you are more comfortable hiring a marketing copywriter, you can do that, too. Contact me today!
Matt Brennan is a Chicago-area marketing copywriter and copy editor. He is also the author of Write Right-Sell Now.
