Sales letters are perhaps the soul of your Direct Marketing communication piece. Inherently, readers have a close affinity to reading letters. The kind of personal, one-to-one conversation you can have with your reader makes the Sales Letter one of the most powerful tools in selling your products/services.
So, let us now focus on how you can create Sales Letters that can boost your sales. To do so, I present a 10-step formula that guarantee maximum revenues:
Step 1: Do your home work before you begin
Get inside the mind of your reader before you write the communication piece. Understand the tonality and mannerisms, how the product is positioned in the eyes of the reader. Ask questions about the product, read reviews, the organisation's website, and their ad campaigns. If possible, read their previous Direct Marketing Communications.
Create a reader profile and address their physical and emotional barriers while devising your communication piece. Make sure you know what needs to be emphasised and illustrated. Create a list of the apprehensions your readers might have while deciding to buy the offering (both physical and emotional). Your checklist will help determining the effectiveness of your Direct Marketing communication piece.
Write unrelated key paragraphs on the products/services with a special focus on the features and benefits. After enumerating all that is important, I suggest you cut and paste the paragraphs in accordance to their importance. String these paragraphs with creative ideas and Walla! The body of the letter is ready.
Step 2: Adapt your DM piece according to your reader
David Ogilvy, in “Ogilvy on Advertising” said, “The eye is trained from an early age. Move away from what the eye is used to, and you stop readership.”
Understand your readers’ reading behaviour. If you are writing business-to-business letters, keeping explanation of the products/services in the brochure makes more sense. Determine the size of your letter, plan support communication pieces, like a small brochure or the price sheet.
Make sure you add a reply mechanism and explain what your reader should do after reading the whole communication piece in the letter itself. Write the reply mechanism i.e. the order form first.
Step 3: Make a statement in your headline or Johnson Box
Grab reader’s attention by promising the most important benefit in the headline. Promise the most important benefit to your readers in the headline. It is then very easy to relate the prime benefit with your prospects’ life. Headlines set the mood and tone of your letter, so make you have a clear benefit statement.
Step 4: Talk one-to-one
Start your letters with a polite but personal tone. “Dear Name Surname” makes more sense than “Dear Customer/Dog Lover.” It makes the reader feel as if you are talking directly to him.
Step 5: Follow-up smartly
Study has shown that your lead paragraph can make all the difference in your audiences’ response. Ask a question; make a statement or do anything to make the reader feel you know their problem. When asking a question, try not to ask a question that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” Whatever you do, make sure that you are able to involve your reader quickly and efficiently.
Step 6: Entice readers’ senses
Hit an emotional cord or tell an interesting story but do get to the point soon enough. Let the reader know exactly what he will get. Highlight the features and benefits. Studies suggest that small paragraphs with catchy headlines improve readability of letters. Demonstrate how your offering can make the reader’s life better and motivate him to “Act Now!”
Answer their queries and help your readers to overcome physical and emotional barriers to buy the product. While devising the paragraphs I would suggest a problem-solution route, where your paragraph starts by discussing a problem and shows the product as the solution. You may conclude with an emotional touch e.g. "It’s just another way of assuring that with us by your side, you are always ready for life’s unexpected surprises."
Step 7: Ask and answer the final question
Lead your reader into the finer points of the offering. After enumerating the features and benefits, you need to ask and answer the final question e.g. “You may now ask how I can possibly do all this? Here’s how…”
Make your decisive move with testimonials. Reinforce the features and benefits you have mentioned above with crisp customer testimonials, e.g. “You do not have to take my word for it. See for yourself what our satisfied customers have to say…”
Step 8: Always recap
Briefly describe the prime features and benefits while focusing on how they solve the reader’s problems e.g. “Here’s what you get…”
Step 9: Go for the kill
Boldly state how your offering can save valuable time, or positively affect the bottom-line of their businesses. Make the value-to-cost relationship as clearly and crisply as possible.
Then state an offer price with a stipulation. Tell your reader to respond by a deadline and get a special discount/offer. Stop as soon as you are done with selling. Make an emotional appeal and sign off with the call to action.
Step 10: Hit hard with a Postscript
People generally like to know who is writing to them. So, they always glance at the signature. Due to the close affinity, postscript is an essential element of a good sales letter. Even if your reader may choose not to read the entire letter, but research indicate that he or she may take a quick glance at the postscript. That’s where you can catch your reader’s attention!
Write a relatively short postscript while clearly mentioning the prime benefit, a summary of the offer, a reminder of the deadline or anything that you feel is perfect for this prime spot.
Follow these simple steps to write effective Sales Letters that surely promise higher responses. As always, your comments and suggestions are extremely precious, please do share your thoughts.
