sales letters

If you listen to common wisdom about sales letters, you're going to go down the wrong path.

Why?

Because of the common 3 mistakes most people make.

Mistake #1: Writing sales letters that are too short

This is counter-intuitive. Intuition says that people are busy and don't have time to read. So keep your copy short, right?

Wrong!

The people who are interested in buying WILL read long copy.

Mistake #2: Talking about you and your products instead of customers and what they want.

It's easy to get so buried in your product or service that you forget to think in terms of your customer's interests.

Look at your sales letter. If the focus is on your product and how great it is and not on the customer, you better re-think what you're saying and how you're saying it.

Mistake #3: Not using a headline

Believe it or not, most people still don't realize the value of the headline.

The headline of a sales letter is the "ad for the ad."

You've GOT to get people to read your sales letter by writing a compelling headline. Look at what gets YOUR interest and makes YOU read, and you'll be a lot closer to writing headlines that make people read more.

Marlon Sanders

Hello,

You know those long sales letters you get in your mailbox? And those long sales letters that make their way around online?

Do those things really work? I bet you've asked yourself that more than once.

Are people so busy nowadays that they won't read long letters anymore?

What's funny to me is Robert Collier answered this same exact question in "The Robert Collier Letter Book" in 1931. Even back then, people thought sales letters should be shorter!

I've seen some people claim that shorter letters have won the race online when tested vs. longer letters. I say perform the tests yourself.

People don't part with their money easily.

Now that I've found my copy of the Robert Collier Letter book so I could quote the date (1931) above, let me give you a few juicy tidbits from it.

1. Find the bait that will entice the reader and
hook the beginning of your sales letter to it.

2. Begin by talking about something your prospect is already interested in.

3. People are always interested in price reductions. So if you're stuck for an attention grabber, try that.

4. Putting your picture on the sales letter can increase response by 10% to 20%.

5. The mind thinks in pictures. So use 'em in your sales letters.

6. Tell the story behind your product and STIR emotions.

7. Provide a penalty for not acting today.

8. Use these 7 steps in writing your sales letters:

a. Opening
b. Description
c. Reason why
d. Proof or guarantee
e. Penalty
f. Close

I hope these ideas give you something to use in your next sales letter.

Best wishes,

Marlon Sanders

P.S. You can reprint this in your blog as long as you include the following links:

http://www.marlonsnews.com
http://www.usfreeads.com/1142291-cls.html

Hello,

Marlon here.

The headline and introductory paragraphs of your sales letter determine 80% of your response.

That's not news to you if you've studied sales letter writing at all. Since the headline is so important, let me share with you some tips on how I write mine:

Tip 1: Ask yourself -- "What's the BEST news I have to say about this product in terms of what it will do for the buyer?"

It never hurts to lead with your strongest benefit.

Tip 2: Ask yourself -- "How can I articulate this benefit in a way that hasn't been done before? How can I add flair, drama or intrigue to it?"

Tip 3: How can I add specificity to this headline without violating laws?

Specifics move people. They're believable. But they also have to be provable to be legal.

Tip 4: Test your headline as a pay-per-click ad. Or look at your best performing ads and adapt those into a headline.

Alternatively, you can look at your competitors ads that have been running a long time and see if you can borrow themes, words or appeals for your headline without outright stealing.

Tip 5: If all else fails, start your headline with "How to" and explain how to get the single biggest benefit your product can offer.

Tip 6: Deadlines in the headline sometimes increase response.

I say sometimes because they have to be believable.

I hope these tips help you write your next headline.

Digg us if you liked this article. Delicious. Digg. Whatever. Show us some Google love!

Marlon Sanders

P.S. You may re-publish this article as is.

Marlon Sanders is author of the Push Button Letters software found at: http://www.PushButtonLetter.com