How to write a sales letter that leads to sales

 

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A sales letter is one of the most effective tools for increasing the sales of your products and services. It is, however grossly underrated and not used in the most efficacious manner by most marketers. At the heart of the success of a sales letter is how it has been crafted. The mailbox of your target audience is inundated by hundreds of emails every day and that makes it nearly impossible for your particular newsletter to be the lucky one which gets read.

The first criterion for a sales letter to be effective is that it should be read. You need to provide a subject line that grabs the reader's attention, the moment they see it. The subject should not only be able to convey what is on offer in a concise manner but also do that in a manner that is interesting to the reader.

As regards the main text of the sales letter it should be entirely driven by what the reader needs or is interested in. At the same time, the message should be conveyed to the reader in an easy-to-understand conversational manner. However, what makes the sales letter truly effective is your ability to deploy persuasive language to nudge the reader towards making a purchase decision.  The best way to buttress your claims regarding your products or services is to furnish testimonials along with the sales letter.

Stand Out Features of a Sales Letter

 

-Outstanding headline or subject line

The headline or subject line is the calling card of your sales letter. You just have to get it right. You need to get your headline aligned with how aware your reader is about your product or service's ability to help them. Making them a promise that fulfils or even exceeds their expectations, is the right way to go about it. This is what will make the reader proceed to the main text of the headline in question.

-Evocative opening lines and body copy

A good subject line will make a prospect open the email to read it, but you have to build on that to entice them to continue reading by way of an evocative and engaging opening line. This is something that immediately speaks to the reader's expectation from the letter by coming up with something that speaks to a specific concern of theirs and does not meander along pointlessly.

The body copy comprises the meat of the sales letter, but that does not mean that you cram it with words. The content that you put in there should be lively in the sense that it piques the interest of the reader and informs them as well. Brevity is the soul of wit, as far as sales letters are concerned and your focus has to be to furnish information that is important, while being upfront and clear about your offerings and how these can be of benefit to the prospect who is reading the letter.

-Support with proof and testimonials

We live in an age where false claims and deceitful practices have made people extremely circumspect about what marketers try to pitch to them. It is, therefore, critically important that one supports the claims made on behalf of your products or services with the help of solid proof. These could be in the shape of client testimonials and certifications, by proving your point with the help of case studies or offering them guarantees. The idea is to leave the reader in no doubt about the genuineness and sincerity of your offer.

-Address the prospect individually

When everyone and their uncle is shooting out sales letter to everybody and their uncle, it becomes important for you to show that your sales letter speaks to the individual needs and requirements of your prospect. The best way to do that is to address your sales letter to them personally and individually. They should get the feeling that the letter is indeed meant to address their specific concerns.

 

-Proactive CTA

The whole point of a sales letter is to bring about a sale of the product or service that you are pitching. That is the reason why your CTA or Call-to-Action has to be a proactive one. You could ask them direct questions like "Would you like to set up an appointment the coming Monday?" or "Would you like to know more about this product?-Please call me at xxxxxxxx. Alternatively, you could just provide them with a button to click on. If your sales letter compels your prospect to be as eager to get his or her hands on what is being offered as a kid in a candy store, they are sure to click on the button.

To conclude

Sales letters are one of the oldest and most cost-effective ways of driving sales. This is, unfortunately, lost on many new-age marketers smitten by the charms of social media and influencer endorsement. Sales letters provide way better ROI and get the job done quietly and effectively. Make it the spearhead of your marketing outreach.