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By reading this Sales Letter Writing Help tutorial, you will learn how to make your writing clearer, more effective and with any luck you'll make more sales! Note that there are different styles of copywriting, but for sales letter writing and article writing, these are the techniques that we recommend.

Your Objective

Your objective is simply what you want them to do if they read your sales letter copy. This does not have to be a transfer of money. A "sale" can be clicking a certain link, subscribing to your newsletter, or some other objective. Whatever it is, keep it in mind and push towards it throughout your entire sales letter or article. BACK TO TOP

Keyword Research

This tutorial is about Internet Marketing and Sales writing. To make them work together effectively you must use words that you are trying to market. For example, originally, this tutorial was called "copywriting tutorial" as that seemed to be the best set of keywords to describe it. However, after doing research and finding that hardly anyone searched for that exact term. Instead we used a combination of hot keywords to form: "Sales Letter Writing Help". Sales Letter had several thousand searches, and writing help had almost 10,000 searches. Copywriting only had a few hundred searches! Please read and follow the keywords tutorial as it is critical in getting people to actually find your article. BACK TO TOP

Your Audience

Knowing your audience means knowing what they need. By knowing what they need you will know what fears they have, and what questions need to be answered. Every business exists to solve problems. Without knowing exactly who your target audience is, you will not know what problems to solve! Usually you have a gut feeling about these things but it is a good idea to sit down and brainstorm on your audience before you write a sales letter, or plan a campaign. Factors to consider could include:

Age
Income
Education
Insurance
Family Relationship
Habits
Hobbies
Disabilities
Friends
Diets
Ethnic and Culture
Jobs
Skills
Fears
Schedules
Likes and Dislikes
Clothing Style
Religion
Location
Weather
Neighbors
Pets
Prejudices

The Outline

Outlines keep you focused and prevent your topic from drifting. The first and most important sales letter writing help will be to organize your thoughts BEFORE you start writing. Think about what you want to write about, what will the headers on your page look like? A basic list with indentations for sub headers works good for most. BACK TO TOP

Length

Search engines will look for around 400 words or so on an article. Lesser articles will not get good rankings. Besides this length requirement, sales copy does not really have a length requirement. Your sales letter writing should be long enough to say what you need to say, and not any longer. Sometimes testimonials will increase the length of a sales letter by much more than you actually had intended. That is fine as most people do not read full sales letters anyway. They read the top paragraph, scan the article for prices or key points, then read the PS and final call to action.

Extra copy won't make you less sales, but it won't make you more either.

One thing you do to improve your copy is to remove redundant words and phrases. If you don't need to say it, then don't! Another way to decide if you should include certain text is if it supports your objective. Remember too that features do not sell, benefits do! If you cannot find the benefit of a feature, do not write about it. BACK TO TOP

Promotion Appeals

There are essentially four ways to sell something in writing. You may use these as ideas to get your writing started. These Promotion Appeals are:

Comparison - why are you better than x company
Demonstration - testimonials, before and after, what do you do actually?
Emotion Appeal - how will your product appeal to their positive emotions.
Fear - if they don't use your product, what are they in danger of?

How to Write Effective Title

Titles are the first thing your customers see and the main factor that helps them decide if your article / letter is worth reading. Titles should do the following:

Provide a Clear Benefit if You Read More
Encourage People to Read More
Use Your Key Word
Be Clear and Concise - less is better
Use Action Words - Verbs - Learn, Improve, Save, etc

You may read our title tutorial for more details on title writing. Titles are EXTREMELY important - both for search engines and copywriting! Make sure you fully understand everything about effective title writing! BACK TO TOP

Benefits

People want to know how something will benefit them before they buy it. They use these benefits to appeal to emotions and most people justify their emotions with lists of benefits before they purchase.

To describe a benefit, you have to show your reader how your "sale" will help them to save time, money or frustration. Certain audiences will have other triggers too, but time, money and frustration are your best sales letter writing benefits to talk about.

They do not care what it does, but what it will do for them. If you can't think of a benefit to match the feature, then do not talk about that feature. Also, only talk about unique benefits that you provide. BACK TO TOP

Words

Some words cause negative feelings and some cause positive feelings. If you use the wrong words you may be invoking feelings that adversely affect your sales letter. Here are two lists of words to help you understand the good and bad way to describe a product:

GOOD WORDS
free love safe new benefits right you alternative security sale now value fun	save gain mone happy advice how to discover introducev easy your proven penetrate	suddenly proud healthy guarantee natural fast precious secret solution magic comfortable
BAD WORDS
buy difficult death obligation wrong failure decision	cheap poor worry loss hard contract	fail bad deal cost sell taxes liability

First Paragraph and First Sentence

Your first paragraph is the next hurdle that people encounter in your sales letter writing. Many times it is the only thing that is read from your sales letter before they skip down to the price or bottom. If your first paragraph is too long people will likely skip reading the article completely. Be straight to the point and summarize what they will get by reading your sales letter or article.

The first sentence of every paragraph should tell what that paragraph is about as well. The principal is the same, people read until they are bored, and then they skip down to the offer. If you don't have them hooked strong enough before they read the offer or call to action, you will lose them. BACK TO TOP

Memory of Product

Your prospects should be able to remember your product, the actual advertisment is irrelevant. Your slogan or tagline should be something that will stick in their head and calls them to action. A good example is "hefty hefty hefy, wimpy wimpy wimpy" It is best if your product name is in your slogan. That is really what you want them to remember! BACK TO TOP

Structure and Writing Level

Your structure should be such that it encourages people to continue reading. Here is a list of DOs and DON'Ts:

Don't use all caps, bold is better
Don't use too much bold, make sure your call to action stands out.
Use short words and sentences, this is easier to read for most people.
Use headers and subheaders to break up your sales letter, as well as emphasize strong points.
Do not use jargon, speak easily to people.
Make sure you have a logical order that is easy to follow.
Double check ( several times ) for mistakes.
Write about specifics, not generalities - "832", not "alot of".
Transfer ownership, put it in their hand, show examples of them using it.
Say the words "you" and "your" often.
Talk conversationally - talk WITH not ABOUT people.
Be excited, smile when you write, see if you are smiling when you reread it. Show your love for your product.

Call to Action

In your objective you should have defined your "call to action". As you write your sales letter, pepper the text with hints at your call to action, and make sure you have a strong call to action at the end of your letter as well. Remember, that the action does not have to be a sale, it can be a subscription, a clicked link, etc. But you have to tell people what to do. Call 337-207-4040 to make sure your website makes sales! BACK TO TOP

Summaries

Summaries are sometimes useful to help reinforce facts or main points to remember. Use summaries to give people a few main topics or even a tag line. Summaries get read quite often. Most of the time people will read the title, read the first sentence or maybe the entire paragraph, scan the document for prices, then read the last note or "Post Script". Therefore make your strongest benefit in the summary when writing sales letters. BACK TO TOP

Post Script

Post Scripts are similar to summaries and are used in the same way. The only difference is that post scripts may be written in a very personal way, where summaries are written in normal style.

P.S. - I only have room for one more client this month, I'd rather it be you than anyone else. If you call today I'll give you $100 off of my normal price. Call 337-207-4040 and ask for James. See you! BACK TO TOP

Sense of Urgency

For some reason the fear of losing out is a very strong motivator. If your neighbor got a certain deal you want the opportunity for that same deal, and will usually rush to get it if you are the least bit interested. You can create a sense of urgency in your sales letter writing by offering limited stock, price reduction on a handful of damaged items, sales until a certain date, or bonuses for ordering within X amount of time. BACK TO TOP

Fitting In

This is called the "Better Than the Jones". Nobody wants to be worse off than those around them. If you show how you can be better than your neighborsor make them envious sometimes this will trigger a sale. Personally, this tactic doesn't work on me as I despise trying to fit in, but most people do have some sense of wanting to fit in. You will have to find what makes your customers tick and where they want to fit in. Appeal to that emotion and you'll make a sale. BACK TO TOP

Bonuses

People love bonuses and deals. Watch just about any professional advertisement and you'll see the "act now and we'll give you a free X bonus". What do you have that will cost you next to nothing, but would be of value to others? On a web page, your sales letter could talk about a free digital product. Perhaps several reciepes, or a joke book, a few screen savers, or anything else that you can email them if they "act now". There are many free ebooks with resale rights that have great information in them. Just search for "free ebook with resale rights" in any search engine. You'll find your plenty of free ones. BACK TO TOP

Trust

Trust is likely the most important factor in a sale. If your customers do not trust you, they will not buy from you, unless there is no other choice. You can increase trust by the following methods:

Testimonials - do not invent them
Realism - do not make exaggerated claims
A story - as you open up, people tend to trust you more
Guarantees - if they know you won't hassle them, they are more likely to buy.
Details - Prove your claims with details if you need to, but don't make long copy just to make it long.
Pictures - When they can see the product it may speak for itself.
Pictures of You - a warm smile works wonders in a regular sale, although it is difficult to do this in writing.
Examples - What problems have you solved already ( like testimonials ).
Media - has the media given you any coverage?
Degrees - Some people require paper to believe you are skilled.
Pricing - too high or too low will turn people off.

Authority

It is hard to establish authority in only one letter, usually authority must be proved ( more on this later ). A small blurb telling why you are an expert will usually do what you need though. As an Internet Marketer for the last 10 years with over 215 successful websites, I am advising you to establish your authority.

You can establish authority other ways too and use them as a backup for your sales letter. Here are a few examples of established authority:

Leading Research in your field
Publishing reports or papers - anywhere
Newspaper Columns or Letters to the Editor
Assistance on Forums and in Newsgroups ( help people and they will see you are an expert )
Free Seminars ( free publicity too )
Testimonials - authority and trust go hand in hand
Newsletters - monthly or bi monthly at least
Degrees or teaching the subject anywhere
List of customers, especially big customers that trust your skills

Fears, Squashed

Realistic writing is useful because people know that nothing is perfect. Be realistic, tell them of where potential problems are and then give them the solution. Show they why there should be no fear of using your product. Your plastic rivets are nearly twice as strong in laboratory tests as those from Widgets, Inc. Several of my customers are over 70 years old and they run profitable web sites. Figure out what questions they will ask, and make sure you answer them in your sales letter writing. BACK TO TOP

Honesty and Realism

Nobody will believe that you have a home based business where you work 10 hours a week and make $500,000 a year. They may believe that you work 10 hours a week and make $1,500 a month though. Usually people cannot see more than about 3 or 4 times their current income, so if you make claims about money, make it believeable. Also, once your claims are thought to be dishonest, your sales will plummet. Make sure you are absolutely honest about everything you do. It is the only way to do business over the long term with repeat customers. BACK TO TOP

Stories

A story up front establishes rapport with your customers. For this month, and this month only I will be doing websites and programming at %25 off. In a few months my fiance and I are getting married and this extra money will pay for our honeymoon to Hawaii. Normally I wouldn't tell you about this, but that is why I am offering my services at a discount, so I can make sure I have work stacked up until our vacation.

Stories, like that, need to be honest, but they are extremely effective. People like to believe they are helping others, and stories give you a great reason to show about yourself and what makes you tick.

In one study about an actor dressed as a homeless person asking for money the use of the word, "because" gave them successful donations nearly 4 times as often. Saying, "Can I have a dollar" or "Can I have a Dollar because I'm hungry" makes a huge difference in people's responses. Try it! BACK TO TOP

Curiosity

If you want to know how to hire someone to write for you for next to nothing ... call us at 337-207-4040. We'll show you how to get authors to write articles for you, do research and more just for the experience!

Do you see how to use curiosity effectively? We provide a benefit to targeted audience but don't give them a solution unless they do our call to action. BACK TO TOP

Criticism

It is important not to criticize people. When making a sale I see many problems with people's sales letters, their website, and in general their online marketing. If I approach them saying that they have problems and I can solve them, I do not get as good of a response as if I say, "would you like me to improve your online sales?". Nobody wants to hear that they paid their other website designer $10,000 for a site that gets zero traffic when I'm offering sites for $400 to $5,000. Making someone feel bad about their previous choices only scares them and turns them off to the idea of spending more money. BACK TO TOP

How to Test

Here is a trick I read from Jay Levinson (a marketing legend). He says to bring your sales letter to total strangers, like in line at a supermarket or waiting for a restaurant. Ask them if they would mind looking at a sales letter for you and tell you what they think. If they say it's a good sales letter, go back and rewrite it. However, if they ask where they can buy that product, your sales letter is ready ( and effective )! BACK TO TOP

Psychological Triggers

Jay Levinson wrote an ebook called psyhcological triggers that astounded me. It was almost like cheating to make a sale. Here is a summary of the triggers he says will cause people to buy. This book is great for anyone who is wanting to learn how to control the world, or other neat stuff like that! He is truly a legendary marketer and here are his thoughts about what makes people tick:

Prospects are Consistent. Make the first sale simple and easy, then just keep on adding on more and more. The buyer will continue in whatever direction he already started.
Nature of Product. Bring out the emotion. Don't blare statistics; instead stress the solution to the problem.
Nature of Prospect. What are the Prospect's Emotional Needs? Fulfill the emotional needs and for a moment, forget the logical needs.
Objection Raising. Bring out the flaws right up front so they let down their guard and trust the advantages more deeply.
Objection Resolution. Think of whatever flaws you notice and that others might notice and resolve them in a positive way. Many times a problem becomes the path to a much larger resolution.
Involvement and Ownership. Transfer ownership immediately. Get them to open the box, use the product, turn the dials, imagine as if they already had the item. Where would they put it. How would they adjust it, how easy is it for THEM to use it?
Integrity. Line up the thoughts, words and actions. A prospect will see right through your perfectly organized sales letter if you show up dressed inconsistently or driving a car that is filthy. Even a criminal can have integrity, if he's consistent.
Storytelling. Tell stories and jokes. People relate better, are more interested, and will likely want to read the entire story (your sales copy)
Authority. People will trust those who have authority. Your authority can be borrowed, imagined or real through your expertise, but you must have authority "as approved by the Federal Drug Administration"
Proof of Value. Justify the value of a product. It is a good idea to offer the more expensive product first and then at the first sign of hesitation, offer the lower priced product. You'll sell more of the lower priced product.
Emotion. People buy on emotion, but justify with logic. Every word has an emotion associated with it. A good sales pitch is an emotional outpouring of words.
Justify the Purchase with logic. "you deserve it", health, savings, recognition, tax write offs. People buy on emotion, but justify with logic.
Greed. The lower the price the less justification you'll need. People will buy even though they don' need if the price is right. If price is too low, then you'll have to justify the purchase.
Creditability. Establish Creditability so people will trust your message. Piggy back off of other sources to enhance your creditability. (wall street advertisements are better than enquirer ads)
Satisfaction Conviction. "If you aren't happy with your purchase, just call me and I'll personally arrange to have it picked up at my expense and refund you every penny of your purchase price including the time you took to return the product."
"linking." Basically, it is the technique of relating what the consumer already knows and understands with what you are selling, to make the new product easy to understand and relate to. (the nose smoke alarm)
Desire to Belong. Analyze the product and see who it appeals to. People buy things to show their identity. Tap into that identity.
Desire to collect. If the product is trickled, it maintains excitement. Give them a free display case with slots, so they can fill it up and experience the sensation of completion.
Sense of Urgency. Use as a last resort. If you don't make the sale then, you probably wont make it at all. "I thought I'd come to you first" (On exit a popup with a sales pitch or survey) Let me talk it over with my spouse is a delaying tactic and it's common.
Exclusivity. Everyone likes to be "upper crust" or "one of the few". If there are only 6 made in the state and you have 1 of them, it's important.
Simplicity. Make the offer so simple that the buyer only has to sign a paper, make the choices for them.
Guilt. Give something away (small items, your time, effort, newspaper articles, jokes, lunch) it instills a reciprocal sense and makes them feel guilty if they don't buy.
Be specific and exact. Instead of saying most say 84%. Explain why the cost is so low, tell about the problem at the manufacturer. Don't lie.
Familiarity. With all other things being similar, people will choose the name or brand they remember. Don't drop your slogans, or graphics because people will forget who you are. It is a good idea to test and tweak, but not stop completely
Patterning. Always ask questions that will lead to a yes answer. You want to sync with your prospect. Breathe the same, drink the same, walk the same, dress the same, talk the same, keep them saying yes the entire time. They'll follow a pattern.
Hope. Don't make specific claims. Instead, imply results through testimonials. People hope they will get the same results. (Better score, improved wrinkles, faster time, more strength, etc)
Curiosity. Curiosity can be used when you mention some benefit or payoff at the beginning of an ad that you are going to reveal somewhere later in your copy. In short, you have to read the entire ad to find it.
Harmonize. Do what the market wants instead of bucking the system. Especially as you are just beginning to learn how to write copy and market.
Mental Engagement. "The more the mind must work to reach a conclusion which it eventually successfully reaches, the more positive, enjoyable, or stimulating the experience." The four brain parts discussed were those that control thought, intuition, sensation, and emotion. The theory suggests that advertising which pleasurably engages the senses, emotions, and thought process, as well as our innate intuition, will tend to be successful. Advertising that merely grabs the attention of the senses will tend to be only temporarily attractive. The more the mind must work to reach a conclusion that it eventually successfully reaches, the more positive, enjoyable, or stimulating the experience.
Honesty. Consumers are smart and razor sharp. They'll see right through whatever you think you are trying to cover up. Your prospects really appreciate the truth. And you can't fake the truth. If your prospect picks out or even senses a phony statement, you'll kill your credibility every time. If you work for an honest company, your chances of success have already been jump-started. If you use honesty in your answers and in your sales presentations, and if there is total integrity in what you think, say, and do, there is no way anybody is going to stop you from being a success.