A sales letter is your perfect tool to enhance your business. But there are two immediate issues with sales letters – 1. You are not able to convert your vocal sales pitch into written words and 2. Despite your best efforts, your sales letter gets mostly trashed. And you keep wondering what magic the best sales writers weave and catch the attention of their potential customers? Here is what the best of the lot do.
They read
The best writers don’t get into writing right from the word go. They read about how to write the perfect sales letter, something that should be at the top of your priority list. There are plenty of examples available for free online and you should spend time going through them.
They think like the recipients
The best sales letter writers tend to think about their potential clients and customers before they even pen the first word. This is critically important because this thought sets the tone of the letter. And because the customer / client has to make the purchasing decision, their WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) has to be covered in the sales letter. Otherwise, the trash bin could be waiting.
They structure the letters
A sales letter is not a personal letter and the best writers first identify what structure they are going to use. This would cover the introduction, the body and the call to action. The planning should be ideally done on a scrap piece of paper and then the actual letter should be penned.
Some tips on structuring a sales letter…
• An eye catching headline to cover the first quarter of the letter, till where the eyes travel.
• The main body of the letter covering the features and benefits.
• Short paragraphs with two to three lines and ample and equal space between two paragraphs.
• The call to action and who to contact.
• Each paragraph starting with something interesting, compelling the reader to go through it – If this is the issue, the best way to solve it is…
• The sentence structures and the grammar to be adhered to.
• About 300 words on an A4 size sheet of paper.
They make a compelling beginning
How a sales letter starts decides whether the recipient would go through the rest of it. The beginning could be done in the following ways.
• Neutral – I’m delighted to enclose our catalogue for this spring / summer…
• Positive – We are delighted to inform you that thanks to our esteemed customers like you…
• Negative – Are you interested in something mystical? Well, we don’t offer that, but now that we have your attention…
They personalize their letters
Personalization is the single most important element in a sales letter and the best writers know about this. The best letters are always about “you” and not “they” or “all of you”. Such personalization allows the writer to focus on each individual client / customer and shower them better potential benefits.
They pitch properly
Sales letter should have their pitches. The best writers choose from one of the pitches mentioned below.
1. Benefits – While writing about features is important, one should also write about the benefits against each feature. This is where the WIIFM is taken care of.
2. Questions – These are pitches where customers are asked questions so that they start thinking. The questions could be open or closed.
3. Feelings – This involves getting to know the customers. These letters focus on their inner feelings and wants.
4. Funny – Referencing a funny anecdote is a great way to build brand awareness and also make the letter readable.
5. Price – These are letters where the price benefit is highlighted along with the potential savings that the customer can make.
Writing a sales letter is not difficult, but you have to alter your thought process. The ultimate objective is the same as normal sales – the customer should buy rather than you selling. Compose your letter accordingly and you should start getting those calls.
Image credit: Matt_Lodi on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Profile_Pic_Moumita.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Moumita Goswami is a full-time homemaker and a passionate writer. She stays in Pune with her husband and daughter. After giving up working, she started writing about five years ago and can now be seen using her computer keyboard almost all the time. An MA in Psychology from Calcutta University, Moumita has spent time in Kolkata, Delhi and now Pune. For Moumita, writing started as a sudden chance but she soon discovered her likeness for it. And now she has developed a passion for writing and hardly any day passes without her scribbling a few lines. She dreams of publishing her own book one day and is working towards it.
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