5) Break it up with bullets. For those readers who are into skimming, organizing your most important points in bullet form helps to communicate benefits FAST.

Put your most important points at top, in case person doesn't make it to bottom. And there's no rule that says you're only allowed one bullet list - put one close to top of letter, and perhaps another towards bottom.

Test, and keep whatever converts best.

6) Use benefits over features. Always. They don't care that refrigerator has a big vegetable bin or automatic icemaker. They want to know that it keeps their vegetables from drying out, and their beer/lemonade refreshingly cold on a hot summer's day.

7) Write in your own voice. We're not talking 'Masterpiece Theatre' here. Formality is out; friendly is in. And I give you permission to start your sentences with 'And' (note how this sentence started!) and 'Because.' When writing for real world, write like you speak.

8) How long are your paragraphs? If longer than 2-4 lines, break them up. And keep sentences short - even 2-4 words are ok. Like this. Short, quick 'eye bites' communicate faster when you're racing against clock.

9) Focus on one product/service per sales letter. Period. No exceptions.

10) And, finally, watch grand, sweeping statements. Using 'Earn $1 Million In Two Days While You Sleep!' won't help build your credibility. Or conversion level.

If you incorporate these ideas into your sales letter, you're bound to beat clock and begin building a better conversion rate.

==================================================== Paula Morrow heads http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com. She specializes in public relations, information marketing and creating cashflow systems. Her newsletter, IDEALProfits, is now read in 12 countries. Subscribe and receive 5 BONUS ebooks! http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com/subscribe.html ====================================================

One warning: Just beware of how you use variations of your-you're; their-they're-there; and when to use it's or its. If you're not sure how to use them, choose other words to make your point.

Feel free to lean heavily on action verbs (jump, run..) and descriptive adjectives. Just don't go overboard...there's a fine line between genuine enthusiasm and hype.

Write in brief paragraphs, to keep your readers engaged, like in a conversation, and moving rapidly down page.

Need more ideas to get started? Try following:

*Tape-record a conversation. Describe your product/services to your friend, your spouse, your pet. Any audience that you feel comfortable with, so that your words flow and your enthusiasm takes over.

Then, play it back. You'll soon pick up on your own unique presentation style. Now, convert that into words.

*Create punch through careful use of capital letters. You can use initial caps (Capitalize The First Letter Of Each Word), or USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. Use this last sparingly, since online, capital letters = shouting.

*Translate physical expressions into words. Remember above example of Bob Gatchel, and his trademark . You could also use or ;-) for a , or .

* If you talk dramatically, use ellipses (...) for dramatic effect

* State your message, then say it again in a different way. You never say something exactly same, twice, in conversation. So restate your offer a number of times - you never know which version will connect with your audience.

*To make an aside comment, use parentheses (like this)

There are a number of ways to inject your personality into your words. Think about it, loosen up, and make that personal connection.

Through necessity, you have to communicate through a machine...but there's no need to write like one too!