Write Sales Letters That Sell
Various industries rely on sales letters to introduce and promote their products, services, events and causes to prospective clients, attendees and participants. Sales letters, which are usually mailed as a part of companies' direct mail campaigns, are designed to get to the core of its readers' needs and wants through a personal appeal. A variety of business owners, from dentists and lawyers to nonprofit directors and artists, use sales letters to attract clients. It's important that sales letters immediately grab a reader's attention, and position a company as a credible business with quality products and services.
Instructions
1. Identify the key features of the product or service you're marketing through your sales letter. Assign a benefit statement to each feature you listed. A feature might be that the service you're providing is available to customers 24 hours a day. Turn the feature into a benefit by saying that because the service is available 24 hours a day, it provides you with convenient access whenever you need to use it. Customers buy because of benefits, so be sure each benefit statement tells the customer how the feature will improve her life, whether it saves them time or money or increases overall productivity.
2. Determine the audience for your sales letter. Narrow it down to a specific niche group, if applicable to your product or service. The clearer the definition of your audience, the easier it is to target them in your writing using language they're familiar with and highlighting benefits that matter to them the most.
3. Create a headline that appeals to the reader and his wants and needs. The headline should be relatable and offer the reader a promise. Using a promise in the headline gives the reader an incentive to continue reading to see how and if the promise is fulfilled by the product or service you're offering.
4. Include a strong benefit statement in the first paragraph of your letter, as you explain to the reader why you're writing to them about your product or service. Throughout your letter include the benefit statements you developed. Be concise, and use short sentences and paragraphs to keep reader's attention.
5. Include testimonials from past customers that detail their opinions of your product or service. Testimonials add credibility to your sales letter and give readers an inside look at the impact your product has had on others.
6. Disclose the offer you'd like to present to your reader. This includes the price, special pricing offers for multiple purchases and even incentives for buying. Many companies will offer customers an incentive (i.e. a report, product sample or a discounted price) if they place their order within a certain time frame.
7. The end of your sales letter should include a call to action that asks readers to do something like call, email or mail in an order form for what you're offering. The call to action gives a brief summary of the information presented in your letter by reminding customers of the product you're selling and its' benefits. Without a call to action, your sales letter does very little to sell your product.
8. Proofread your sales letter for grammatical errors and readability. It should be free of jargon, unless you're writing a business-to-business sales letter.
