Copywriting – The Sales Letter

This blog concentrates on the mechanics of writing a sales letter. Copywriting is a skill that has been around for donkey’s years so what I am about to impart is not rocket science, but rather age old skills and techniques that are well tested and proven.

A sales letter has 3 main components:

Headline

If you don’t grab your reader’s attention immediately you may as well give up now. Your headline is what will draw your reader into your sales later.

Don’t be gimmicky or clever – the best headlines will sell the benefits of your product/service and arouse curiosity. Make your headline specific, include: what you are selling, its price (only if this is one of the key points that makes your product/service attractive), what’s in it for your reader (the benefits) and finally what will happen if it doesn’t work.

Wow, that’s a lot to take in, but here is an example that really works. It is from Domino’s Pizza:

Hot Pizza Delivered to Your Door in 30 Minutes or Less of it’s Free

Brilliant! Your reader knows what they are going to get, when they will get it and what will happen if something goes wrong.

Oh, just one other thing – don’t end your headline with a full stop. As you know that particular punctuation mark tells you to stop reading and that is the last thing you want your reader to do!

Offer

This makes up the bulk of your sales letter.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your reader already knows what you are talking about. Be explicit – tell them how your product/service is going to benefit them -‘it will save you time’, ‘it will save you money’…get the picture?

Although you need to sell your product/service, if you are too salesy you’ll turn them off. Keep it light and interesting. Make them believe they need your product, motivate your reader to take advantage of the offer that you’re presenting right away (limited to 50 places, offer ends 31st March…).

Call to Action

This is soooo important. If you don’t have one you might as well have been writing a postcard to your nearest and dearest.

The CTA is crucial in any sales writing. Make it clear, simple and concise. Don’t confuse your reader now. Hopefully they are ready to get out their credit cards and buy so tell them what they have to do – buy now, call now etc.

The slightest bit of ambiguity will see them swim off in someone else’s direction and you’ll lose the sale.

So as you see, don’t try and reinvent the wheel. The key behind successful copywriting is to use the formulas that have been developed but put your own spin on what you’re writing.

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6 comments ↓

#1 Topics about Postcards » Archive » Copywriting - Sales Letters | Freelance Copywriters Blog on 04.03.09 at 5:45 pm

[…] admin added an interesting post on Copywriting – Sales Letters | Freelance Copywriters BlogHere’s a small excerptThis is soooo important. If you don’t have one you might as well have been writing a postcard to your nearest and dearest. The CTA is crucial in any sales writing. Make it clear, simple and concise. Don’t confuse your reader now. Hopefully they are ready to get out their credit cards and … So as you see, don’t try and reinvent the wheel. The key behind successful copywriting is to use the formulas that have been developed but put your own spin on what you’re writing. … […]

#2 Copywriting - Sales Letters | Freelance Copywriters Blog « Copywriting on 04.03.09 at 5:56 pm

[…] He­re­ is the­ orig­in­a­l p­ost: Copyw­rit­in­g – Sale­s Le­t­t­e­rs | Fre­e­lan&#1… […]

#3 seosuite on 04.16.09 at 9:38 am

Even though it is a must that a sales letter has a great headline, I think the offer is by far the most important. If the reader is persuade into buying, he will find the way to buy the product. At least that is what I think. I wrote a few articles about sales letter too.

#4 admin on 04.16.09 at 10:01 am

Hi, thanks for this. Yes, a valid point. The headline obvioulsy has to capture your readers attention, but without a great offer your sales letter is dead in the water.

#5 JakeMarkson on 05.06.09 at 7:21 pm

I’m glad to see the reminder re: an unmistakable call to action. Too many copywriters get shy when it’s time to pass the collection plate.

#6 admin on 05.08.09 at 6:51 am

Hi Jake, Oh yes, the CTA often gets overlooked but it is absolutely vital otherwise the reader has no idea what they’re supposed to do – or at least pretend they don’t 🙂

Sally

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