Does your sales copy induce website visitors to buy, or does it merely state the advantages and benefits of your company’s products or services? In the first case, the sales letter becomes an effective marketing tool; in the second case it is doing only half its job.
Learn how to improve your conversion rates by following the sales letter writing tips below…
Sales Letter Writing Tip 1 – Quality Content
The best sales letter is one that people keep. Something in the content inspires them to perhaps not act immediately, but to keep the letter for future reference. Even better are those missives that do both – cause the reader to buy right away but also save it to share with others or use at a later time.
How can you do this? Offer content that is valuable. For instance, if you sell computers, include a checklist of the top 10 features most consumers desire or the top customer-rated manufacturers. This is something that will get read, acted upon, and kept.
Tip 2 – Aesthetics
Your sales letter is meant to be read; make sure it appeals visually to the reader. Design it so that it is easy to read, yet eye-catching. Colour is an important component, but use it carefully. You don’t want the text to get lost or be too faint or small to read. Remember to include white space and graphics that break up long pieces of text. Your logo and contact information should be prominent.
Tip 3 – Always Include A Call To Action
Getting someone to read your sales letter is one thing; getting them to take action is another. You have to tell the consumer you want him or her to do and make it quite plain. For example, you could insert a link to the sales page of a particular laptop and include a blurb something along the lines of “Click here and get this great XYZ laptop for $100 off the regular price if you order before January 1st”. This provides a call to action by telling the reader what to do, how to do it, and by when to do it.
Tip 4 – Offer An Incentive
Consumers are more likely to act if you give them an incentive to do so. In the example from sales letter writing tip #3, the incentive is a $100 discount – pretty powerful as a way to induce someone to act. Other incentives could be an extra product for free, a buy one get one sale, a percentage off all orders over a certain dollar amount, etc. Be creative. Not all incentives need to cost a lot to be effective.
Tip 5 - Personalise The Message
Instead of blanketing the market with a single piece of impersonal mail or email message, add the customer’s name, if possible. Use it throughout the letter, too. People are much more apt to respond to your call to action if they feel it is a personal invitation. Remember that you are creating a relationship and resist the urge to simply peddle your goods or services. Personalised communication sets your company apart from a larger, more remote corporation.
Tip 6 – Test For Effectiveness
Before you hit the send button or spend money on postage for all those sales letters you’ve just created, consider giving it a test run first. Use a small group of prospects or current customers and look at the results for this test run. If the ROI is dismal, you may need to tweak the content before trying again. It’s better to figure this out before sending hundreds or thousands.
Tip 7 – Help Them With Their Concerns
Try to figure out what might be holding them back. Is it price? Break down return on investment. Are they afraid it won’t work? Tell them about your no-hassle return policy. Do they need to see examples of how well your product works? Point them to your tutorial video, your customer testimonials, etc.
Help people through the sales process in your letter. You don’t have a chance to answer questions to try to anticipate and answer them in your sales copy. Test your sales letter writing skills on friends and mentors for feedback if possible and ask people who will give you more than a “great job” so you can get a real feel for how to go about making your sales letter better.
Have a most outstanding day.
Sean RasmussenAussie Internet Marketing
www.SeanSEO.com © 2008 - 2010
