Want to learn how to write a sales letter without buying software tools or expensive courses?
Learn the basics of writing a sales letter that sells your product or service, online and offline guaranteed.
These are the secrets and methods I use every time I sit down to write copy. And they make me and my clients money, yes! The principles revealed inside work whether youâre selling a car, consulting services, (e)books or software programs.
What Top Copywriters Know That You Donât
(But You Will Discover Soon)
1. Writing Is Just 20%
The hardest and most consuming part is research (80%). Writing is easy once you have the piece to the puzzle, right?
I spend 15+ hours searching online and offline before I write a sales letter.
You can read more about this in my content marketing research formula post.
One thing is for sure: I always inspect the product I write about before and turn it on all its faces to make sure I am not missing something (most product vendors are too attached by their product to see different perspectives or hidden benefits).
I always make sure to check out competitor related products and sales letters to see if their stuff has a better advantage or feature, and more importantly, to check if something is missing from their product/letter. This way I know how to exploit the product I write about and showcase the best advantages into my sales letter to stimulate sales-conversion boosts.
2. The Headline is more Important than the Sales Letter
What do you do when you receive an email? If the subject line doesnât interest you, you probably push the âspamâ button or delete it. I do this all the time.
What do you do when you stumble upon a sales letter that shows a headline not targeted to your needs, wants or problems. Do you continue reading it? Most people wonât. In fact, statistics show that headlines are read by 5x times more people. That means the majority of your site visitors are going to close their browser if the headline doesnât grab them.
What is the reason to write a headline for everybody since your product is not for everybody!
Sadly, most vendors are too attached by their product. And when I say vendors, I also include service providers and anybody who is selling something nowadays, online or offline.
Be honest: your product is not for everybody. It doesnât solve all the problems in the world, nor cure all your clientâs issues. Your headline & overall sales letter should express that, upfront.
3. There are no shortcuts
I think this is the most overlooked copywriting tip ever. Aspiring copywriters and people who want to learn how to write a sales letter think that writing a sales letter is nothing more than throwing words on screen (or paper) and call that a cash-generating pitch.
Others are swipe file addicts. They make use of software tools and templates to save time and unleash their creativity. I love templates and swipe files, and all this, but after 11+ years in the game I came to one conclusion:
Swipe files are essential, but newbies get it wrong. Hereâs what I mean:
I use templates and fill in the blanks as models to create my own. Newbies copy them word by word and rarely innovate.
There are no shortcuts. You better be prepared to perform in depth research, focus on your headline and make it relevant to your audience, and use swipe files in your advantage (but innovate) or hire someone else to do ALL this on your behalf.
Trust me, working on a sales letter sometimes takes days, even weeks.
Anatomy of Successful Sales Letters that Sell
Could I reveal to you a few sales letters I worked on for clients of mine?
What are these sales letters having in common?
1. They look professionally written & designed
2. They are proper formatted and include attention-grabbing sub-headlines
3. They pack all the basic (KEY) sales letter elements such as bullet points, testimonials, money-back guarantee, product graphics, order button/links, P.S., etc.
4. They are reader/consumer targeted
5. They sell
Now, donât get me wrong. These are not perfect sales letters. A sales letter converts high if you target the right prospect with the right message (product or offer) at the right time. And your pitch has to reflect that, or it wonât sell the product, unless you get lucky!
Mastering Copywriting: How to Write
High-Converting Sales Letters
and Stimulate Maximum Profit Growth
Research like never before
Write with your target audience in mind. Your target is one person, not the crowd. That person could be your spouse or your best friend. Write like youâd talk with her on a cup of coffee and explain the benefits of your product and the advantages she gets after purchasing your cool stuff.
A sales letter should look and sound friendly (so that the reader will feel like you understand her needs and desires) and professional at the same time. Your reader should feel that you know what youâre talking about, and only then you will be perceived as trustee and knowledgeable.
On-page up-selling
You know that in order to generate more money, you should give more to your customer and ask for less. MCDonalds does it when they ask if youâd like fries with your order, or if youâd like to enlarge your menu.
The up-sell is a concept, not a trick. It can be applied in any niche or industry you can imagine of, for any product or service under the sun.
Freelance copywriters for example could add a ârushâ fee as an up-sell for customers who want their sales letters done 3x times faster than the standard. And they should expect to pay accordingly.
Webhosting companies could team-up with autoresponder services and offer their customers a discount on added services or special offer, and vice versa. Think of the possibilities.
You donât need to own the product or service in order to offer it as an up-sell. Think win-win joint ventures and partnerships.
Autoresponder follow-up marketing
You wonât believe how many companies and copywriters still donât know or not yet using autoresponders nowadays. Wake up. Weâre in 2011. Nobody can afford to spend money on advertising and spend a ton of time attracting all this traffic and throw it on window.
Statistics show that a standard conversion of 2% means 98 out of every 100 visitors to your website will actually close their browser and never come back. Thus, can you afford to keep pushing the envelope and not capture them in your autoresponder system?
Act smart. Learn how to use autoresponders. And if you already use them, maximize your follow-ups and list building efforts.
Split Testing
There are enough A/B split testing tools and multi-page split testing programs available online, free or low-cost. You have no excuses to avoid split testing in your copywriting/marketing/business.
People and businesses who donât split are blindfolding running their marketing and think they make money. They throw money. Sadly, the majority of business owners (online and offline) never test their ads, emails, headlines or sales letters. Donât be a blind man. See what works and what doesnât. Only split testing and tracking will tell you the difference.
Copywriting and marketing is ALL about testing & tracking. Guessing what might work, or not, is actually common yet dumb; it means suicide for any business!
There you go. You now know how to write a sales letters, at least on the basic level. What counts is you start writing yours and learn as you go. Just do it!
If you need help, I provide sales letter writing and email follow-up writing, contact me here.
AUTHOR RESOURCE BOX
Codrut Turcanu (the most productive Internet Marketing copywriter) shares free affiliate marketing tips and product review templates on his super affiliate marketing blog to help affiliates looking for the best ways to earn money online