Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor
rising cost of postage can keep a well-written sales letter from persuading readers to send money directly to its writer or organization. And many of techniques successful direct mail writers have been using for years work equally well on-line today. Here are ten tried-and-true tips from snail-mailers.1. Have a plan. Writing a sales letter is a lot like writing an ad. And successful advertising starts with clear thinking about what to say 末 and to whom. Picture your prospect in your mind 末 in terms of age, income, attitudes, and product she or he uses. Then determine single most important benefit your product offers. The essence of a good plan is sacrifice 末 playing down lesser benefits to concentrate on biggest.
2. Start fast. The first sentence of your letter is most important. That's when your prospect decides whether your letter is just an other piece of junk mail or something that will make him say, "This sounds interesting. I'd like to know more about it." Involve your reader in your first sentence, or your second sentence may never be read.
3. The early offer gets worm. Direct-mail pros work on coupon first, not letter. What's offer? How should it be stated? What are terms? The offer is what gets action. So make it clear. Make it direct. And make it early. Because a good offer can outpull any other technique to get your letter started.
4. Show benefits Write about benefits, not features. A feature describes a product; a benefit explains what it does for reader. Remember that people don稚 want to buy grass seed. They want to buy a beautiful green lawn.
5. Show some personality. The tone of your letter should be as important as what you say. Write way you speak, using language of reader, so he perceives sales pitch is coming from a peer rather than an outsider. By using this approach, you receive empathy from reader by saying, "Look, I'm just like you. I know your problem; I've been through it; I have a solution." Writing peer to peer 末 writing as you would speak to a friend 末 is tone you want to cultivate in every letter you write.
6. Go long. The amateur letter writer assumes that people will not read long letters. All research tells us otherwise. The fact is that long letters sell better than short ones. If they make an attractive offer. If they get reader's attention at top. If they are packed with facts. You are asking your readers to make an investment 末 of their time, money, or both. They need to be 末 they want to be 末 convinced that what you're selling is worth it. And that takes plenty of information. So more you tell, more you'll sell.
