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How to Write a Sales Letter

Learning how to write a sales letter is not just for letters but also for websites, brochures and other marketing communications. It is the skill of learning how to express to the reader that you understand their pain and can help them relieve it. Writing a sales letter that is effective in showing the benefits of your company to the consumer will improve the use of your communication materials.

Know Your Customer

Before you start learning how to write a sales letter, you should know to whom you are writing. In the copy, you will be addressing the needs and pains of the customer but this will not be possible without understanding who the customer is.

If you haven't already go to our pages that teach about the Unique Selling Position Statement and Niche Marketing to learn how to target your customer.

The Format of an Effective Sales Letter

In teaching you how to write a sales letter, I listed below the elements of the copy.

Headline - grabs the attention
Introduction - introduces yourself and builds a relationship
Customer’s Need - intensify the customer’s pain
Product Benefit - show the benefits of your product and how it can relieve their pain
Testimonials - prove it with testimonials
Proof - prove it again with numbers, graphs, etc.
Objections - address possible doubts and objections
Market Leader – re-address benefits and competitiveness against your competitors
Value - motivate them to act now by addressing the value of the product and loss to the customer if they do not
Summary
Price and Call to Action
Bonuses and no-risk guarantee
The P.S. (postscript) – re-summarize what they can gain and what they can lose by not acting and the bonus and no-risk guarantee

You may rearrange the above elements but the price you should always keep for last. Test different orders to find the one the works best for you.

Headline

Learning how to write a sales letter is mostly about using the right words and in the right order. The first line will be your headline. This line must use powerful words that will attract the reader’s attention and make them want to read more. Think about what your customers want and exploit that in the headline.

Introduction

Why should the customer want to listen to you? In this paragraph, when writing your sales letter you will need to prove to them that you are knowledgeable and trustworthy. Sell yourself to them to let them know that you have their best interest at heart.

Know that you have their trust... – Customer’s Need

Make them feel the pain. (diabolical laugh) Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Really, how are you going to convince someone to buy something if he/she doesn't know it is needed? Here is where you make them feel that they need your product by intensifying why they need it.

For example, if you are selling scrapbooking products you can intensify their pain of not having the photos, that they were so proud of taking, being out in the open for others to see. Their two year old son cannot even see his baby pictures because they are somewhere in a box. Grandma feels left out from the family because she keeps asking to see the family vacation pictures but they were never organized for viewing.

What ways can you attack your customer’s feelings to make them feel the pain of not buying your product?

Now that you made them feel horrible… (shame on you) – Product Benefit

Teaching you how to write a sales letter is making me feel bad. However, it is time to make them see the light. You made them trust you, made them hate themselves, now it is time to come to their rescue. Help them to see how your product can help them relieve their pain and solve their problems.

Show them the benefits of your product but not the features. Features are not results. The customer wants to know the results; what the product can DO for them. Make them imagine feeling better AFTER using your product.

Testimonials

Until now, I have sounded like I want you to torture these poor unsuspecting customers into buying your products. No way am I trying to do this. In learning how to write a sales letter, you should remain truthful, humble, honest person who really wants to help people with your product. If not, then get off my website!

Here is where you will prove how you help people improve their lives with your products by displaying testimonials. Testimonials are very powerful and you should incorporate them in all your marketing materials.

It’s all in the numbers - Proof

How to write a sales letter that will be bulletproof should include bulletproof, well, proof. Moreover, numbers don’t lie. Prove your product is worthy of their purchase with graphs, pictures, case studies, etc. that include as many proven numbers as possible.

I Object! - Objections

There’s always one in a crowd! With consumer confidence low, there are bound to be objections in everyone’s mind. From the research you gathered on your target market, you should have discovered any fears they may have.

Make a list of all possible objections and doubts your customers may have and address them in the sales letter. Put it all out there. You have nothing to hide. However, if you do, then perhaps you should examine your product or service and improve it.

I am the best! – Market Leader

Okay, have you done the research and humbled yourself to find out if you are really offering the best in your market. Congratulations if you are. However, if not, you may want to look at your competition and do a complete Market Analysis.

Did you think you can get this far and learn how to write a sales letter without doing the initial market research? This is why I have everyone at my website start with Market Analysis.

In this section of the sales letter, prove to your customer that you are the best choice in the marketplace. You can use a comparison chart or other means of doing so.

In a sales email that I once wrote, I even included the links to my competitors’ websites. I had nothing to hide because I knew my competition and created a product and service that overpowered the marketplace, and by showing my customers their options and that I wasn’t afraid to show them, I proved that I was the best choice for them.

Progressive insurance does a similar tactic with their marketing strategy of giving quotes from their competitors.

What does it matter? - How to write a sales letter with value

This is what your customers may be thinking; what does it matter? They went this long without your product, what’s a few more years or never. Writing a sales letter can show them that they have been missing out by not having your product. Make comparisons and show the value of having your product to the losses of not having your product.

For example, if you are selling a physical fitness program show enjoyable activities they can be having with the ones they love. Try to touch emotions and desires. Show how your product can improve their lives, which up to this point has been sub par.

The last sections are self-explanatory.

Summary – Summarize the key points.
Price and Call to Action – Here is where you place the price and tell them what you want them to do. If you do not tell them what to do, they will do nothing.
Bonuses and no-risk guarantee – Give them a reason to move on it and not be scared.
The P.S. (postscript) – Re-summarize what they can gain and what they can lose by not acting and the bonus and no-risk guarantee.

Here are a few tips on how to write a sales letter:

Use simple and concise language – grade level grammar and keep it simple, short and to the point

Use the letter more to gain leads than sales – by building a relationship with the customer they will choose you when they are ready to buy

Use words that evoke emotions – people make choices with their hearts, as well as their brains

Use proof – show them; don’t tell them that they can trust you

Use powerful call to actions – give them reasons to act now, use a deadline and offer something valuable like a bonus or something free

Learning how to write a sales letter is a skill that you should use in all your marketing and sales copy. Use it on your website copy, brochures, emails, etc. However, remember always be honest and helpful to your customers.

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