Sales letters are one of the most popular forms of advertising
today, and have been for some time. The reason for this is
simple: they work. However, with no pure form and no specific
requirements for format, length, etc., writing a truly effective
sales letter can be a daunting task for even the most seasoned
marketing professional.
To come up with a sales letter that sizzles without turning your
prospects off, there are a few general rules you'd be wise to
follow.
First, let's talk about length. In my line of work, I see a lot
of sales letters. Most of these are one to three pages long,
which is generally appropriate for a sales letter. Just the
other day, however, I got a call from a man who wanted to know
how much I would charge him to edit his sales letter, complaining
that he just wasn't getting the results he wanted. When I asked
him how long the letter was, he replied, "it's about twelve
pages." Twelve pages!! Would you want to be pitched to for
twelve whole pages? Yuck!
When you sit down to write your sales letter, ask yourself how
much patience you have when reading something of this nature.
Would you get bored, even angry, if someone expected you to keep
reading their sales letter for five pages? Three pages? When
writing your letter, be mindful of your target audience and their
schedules. If your prospects are unlikely to have more than five
or ten minutes to devote to your sales pitch, try stick to one
page.
Now let's talk hype. Most of the sales letters I've come across
are full of hype, because that's what the customer wants. Hype
can be effective or ineffective, depending on your business and
the kind of people you're trying to sell to. If you're selling
an MLM business opportunity, hype can work well. On the other
hand, if your intended audience consists of savvy, experienced
business people, you'll probably do better with a brief
introduction followed by an explanation of what your product or
service can do for their business.
In either case, be careful about using too much bold type or
screaming your message at customers. Putting important points in
bold type or caps can be an effective marketing tool, but only
when used in moderation. Exclamation points can also be helpful,
but use them sparingly. When reading back through your letter,
pay attention to the tone. If you feel you're being yelled at,
tone it down a bit.
A well-written, well-targeted sales letter can do wonders for
sagging sales. For tips on writing effective sales letters, see
http://www.drnunley.com/copywriting.htm.
Meredith Pond is editor and manager of DrNunley's
http://CheapWriting.com. See her low-cost writing and editing
services for students and business people, including a web site
rewriting package. Reach Meredith at meredith@drnunley.com or
801-328-9006.
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