How to Write A Sales Letter

If you’re into writing, you must know how extremely vital it is to have your reader's attention captured, as you start and as you end. But it isn’t difficult, as you may realize in seconds. A great sales letter is the letter-version of that effort, if not anything.

What is a Sales Letter, Really?

It is a piece of direct mail designed to convince its readers to buy a product/service, without the salesperson’s intervention. Any advertisers can send such letters to their potential customers. It is an important tool, since learning how to do it can help you reach a lot of different people at once. 

What You Need to Know Before Writing:

Here are the things you need to know and gather before intending to write a sales letter: 

• Get some sales letter to get an idea about the wording and outlook of a sales letter that you think grabs your attention.
• Identify your base of potential customers. Take the lead from there. If you don’t know who’s going to buy your things, you probably won’t know how you’re supposed to persuade them to. Try to know the names of your potential customers while you’re at it. This makes things a lot easier and focused than it would be.
• Collect customer testimonials if you can. The shorter they are, the more powerful your impact. But not anything like “Would highly recommend”. Keep it 2-3 sentences long. Also, if you have promised unparalleled service in your sales letter, recommendations from a certain Mike will barely work. Mr Michael Goodword is a better option.
• If you claim yourself to be number one, show the stats. Numbers come into play in convincing someone a lot. They are a good thing to have your readers attracted.
• Adding vibrant, exciting, and engaging images will curb your way out from being considered a spam by miles.
• Pick out one message that you clearly want to be delivered. It can be features, benefits or solutions to some oft-gone-through woe. To make sure it is clear, make someone outside your business who isn’t aware of the context read your drafted primary message so you know what is wrong.

Steps to Write Your Sales Letter:

            Write as if you are the customer, and include the following points:

• Play with fonts, their sizes and colors to create a powerful and attention-seeking headline. You know you’re making business but make the customer feel like they need the product more to their use than you need it sold. Don’t use more than 2 fonts for the headline. Instead of writing that you provide cleaning services you can write, “We put the squeaky in squeaky clean for you.”
• Use polite and personal tones in the body. Be conversational, not strictly formal. You can start by asking questions or making an offer. If you are asking a question, make it one that can’t be answered with a yes or no. Control your reader’s answers. Ask open-ended questions.

And if you are making an offer, first pose the problem and then add the solution. If you are selling a fabric glue and your reader is an expert seamstress, bring up a pocket that’s got a tear in it and your reader realizes it only seconds before leaving home. Make them feel how important and useful your product will be then. Also, if you’re giving an offer, include the deadline so that your reader can fear missing out on it.

• When stating facts about the products, use bullet points and/or subheads. Don’t fill the pages. You have a cake to feed a mouth that’s half-open and have it swallowed in a minute. Don’t force the whole thing in. Cut it into pieces.
• If you’re not sure how to arrange things, list three good things or five, about your product/service.
• State the feature and the benefit that comes with it.
• Ask one final, big question that includes it all. You also write a definitive statement from all this information.
• Bring up your competitors indirectly and say how you’re better than them. Compare before your customers do.
• Show that it is a great value for money. The price should come after you’ve presented all the benefits.
• Invite for calling or mailing. Or, you can ask them to either visit your website or the store. More than one call to action will be overwhelming. We don’t want a too crowded message. Make it easy for your reader to act and respond.
• Hopefully, near the end of your letter, your reader is thinking about your product. Act one last time and add a postscript: P.S. You can remind them of the deadline or promise a gift to the first 100/200 customers here.

Other Tips for You:

            Here are some more to make the cherry on top:

• The envelope is also a potential. Give teaser(s) there to indulge them into your persuasion.
• Use stamps and mention a return address.
• Have the letter designed by a professional.
• Don’t make it complicated. I know you have testimonials, images of happy customers, features, benefits, stats and a whole lot in your plate. But arranging them the right way and in the right places will do the job.
• Edit, edit, and re-edit.

Here’s to writing a great sales letter!