There’s usually a divide on whether or not sales letters are as important as some copywriters make them seem.
While some think “Sales letters are just regular letters”, others think “Sales letters are crucial for business growth and involve a lot more than just throwing words around”.
I can guarantee that the importance of sales letters can not be overemphasized.
In this post, we’ll go through the process of how you can write a winning sales letter for your business/brand, for a company, or for other purposes.
First, we need to understand what sales letters are.
What Are Sales Letters?
Sales letters are written content well crafted, using persuasion and showing the benefits of products or services to make prospects take certain actions such as signing up for newsletters, purchasing products or services, or carrying out other forms of action.
According to Hubspot, Sales copy is text written to sway consumers into taking specific actions. It can be used to persuade readers to buy a product, sign up for a mailing list, download content, or take any further action that will help your business achieve its sales goals.
What are Sales Letters Used For?
Sales letters are used for
Direct Sales: They are used in direct email campaigns, and websites to persuade prospects to purchase products or services.
Lead Generation: They are used to generate leads for marketing.
Promotion of Products/Services: They are used for adverts and promotions of products and services.
They are used to persuade people to carry out an act such as a donation.
Building Community/Customer Relationships: They are used to build community and customer relationships to encourage loyalty and subsequent purchases.
Now we understand what sales letters are, and what they are used for, let’s proceed to how to write sales letters.
How to Write a Good Sales Letter
Your prospects most likely have a lot of options to choose from, you have to give them a good reason to choose you, otherwise they’ll move on quickly. I bet you don’t want them swiping off your page or email muttering “onto the next”.
Here are some steps that’ll help you write a good sales letter.
1. Research
For your sales letter to be effective, you need to carry out research. Research the product/service you are writing about.
When you do intensive research, writing your sales letter will be a lot easier and the result will be effective.
- Research the benefits of your product, and what the buyers stand to gain when they purchase your product.
- the core pain points, what is the challenge they’re currently facing that you can solve?
- the features, what are the characteristics of your products.
- the problems they may have faced with previous products similar to yours.
You can also create your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) to help you understand your customers better and you can tailor your sales letter accordingly.
Usually, the kind of sales letter you’re writing will determine how you’ll go about your research.
2. Write Your Outline
Writing your outline is like having a map of your destination. You won’t get carried away, wander off-topic, and you won’t get lost.
With an outline, you know what should come next because you know what will be in each part.
This way, everything you write will be relevant in achieving your goal.
It includes a list of how you will craft the sales letter.
A simple example is an outline that comprises the headline, introduction, body, offer, and call to action.
3. Write an Attention-Grabbing Headline
A good headline is one that grabs the attention of your prospects. If your headline doesn’t grab the attention of your prospects, your sales letter won’t stand a chance.
Your prospects will only read your sales letter if the headline’s got them interested, and there can only be conversion if they get to read it.
So poor headline equals no reading, and no reading equals no conversion.
Now you understand why your headline is so important.
Here are a few ways to write an attention-grabbing headline for your sales letter.
- State the benefit.
State the benefit your buyers want, and make it appealing to them. Make them know what they’re getting by simply reading the title.
- Be specific, don’t be vague.
Be specific, instead of simply stating that a product will make them be their best, tell them how the product will make them be their best.
What will change when they use your products? Let them know.
- Pose a question that arouses curiosity.
- State a command.
- Incorporate an honest testimonial.
- Use emotions to trigger and persuade your audience.
4. Create Your Offer
What are you offering your customers? Create your offer and make it irresistible. Consider why prospects should go for you instead of your competitors.
Your offer should answer the questions of what, where, why, and how of your offer to your target customers.
Introduce your product or service, state the solution to the pain points, the benefits, the actual price, and the discount price.
Make your offer unique and more beneficial to your customers. Always go the extra mile to stand out and to be more appealing.
If your offer is exactly the same as a hundred others, then it may be difficult for you to stand out.
Clearly state your unique selling proposition to make you stand out from your competitors.
5. Write Your First Draft
Using the information you have and the outline you created, write the first draft of your sales letter. Ignore all spelling errors (even though the voice at the back of your head says you shouldn’t. Leave it regardless, you’ll have time for editing).
Ignore errors so you don’t forget an idea or break the flow of inspiration.
Let your prospects know how your products can help them, and make it so important that they will feel like they’ve been missing out, which will be true if you have a great product (you totally should have an awesome product first!).
Persuade your prospects gently, and leverage empathy in writing your sales letter. Use emotions and get into the minds of your audience.
Ever heard the saying “People buy on emotion then justify with logic”? Well, it’s true.
As you write, also keep in mind that you’re writing a sales letter(copy) and not a piece of content, as there is a difference between copywriting and content writing.
6. Use Testimonials
Use testimonials in your sales letters. Testimonials are your social proofs that your product is as good as advertised.
Social proofs give you credibility and make your prospects trust you. It’s one thing to talk about how awesome your product is, it’s another thing entirely if others talk about how awesome your product is.
Testimonials help you clear doubts, and so you should get as many as possible.
Make them straight to the point and easy to understand.
7. Add Call to Action
Add your call to action button to prompt your prospects to act. The call to action button should be readily within reach, your audience shouldn’t go looking for it when they convert.
It should be clear and specific. The goal of your sales letter is to make your prospects act immediately, your call to action is hard to miss.
If it is a web copy, add your call to action button. If it is an email, add your link. Don’t just put them there, tell your prospects what to do, for instance,
“Get Your Vitamins Now”.
8. Copy Editing
This is where you check the structure of your sales letter and make sure it follows. Rearrange the structure where necessary.
Your language should be simple to read and easy to understand.
You don’t want to work the brain of your prospects when trying to sell to them, they’ll move on if the information is difficult to process or understand.
9. Proofread your sales letter
This is where you proofread for grammatical and spelling errors. Edit your sales letter accordingly. (See? Told you to ignore the errors when you were mining ideas).
10. Postscript (PS)
A postscript section is important to trigger your customers to act.
You can use it to create a sense of urgency or add a bonus.
It will give your prospects a little nudge to make them act immediately.
Bonus Tips
- Use simple words, don’t complicate it. Simple words are easy to process. Don’t forget, you’re trying to sell and you can’t sell if your prospects don’t understand.
- Be clear about your offer. Why should they buy from you? Consider these when writing your sales letter.
- Use a benefit-first approach. State the benefits first before the features.
- Use emotional triggers and empathy, it works magic. Emotional words get your prospects to act and show empathy, it makes them feel seen and understood.
- Use a conversational tone. Use a conversational and friendly tone, don’t be so uptight. Make it conversational but keep it respectful and stick to the purpose of your sales letter.Edit and proofread your work.
- Edit and proofread your work, you don’t want to notice errors after sending your sales letter. Take time to go through it and make adjustments accordingly.
Conclusion
The kind of sales letter (copy) you write will be determined by what your sales letter is about.
You need to put in the work to hold the attention of your audience and then persuade them to act immediately.
This requires purposeful writing to achieve your goal.
If you’re not sure about how to write your sales letter yourself, if you’re too busy to write it yourself, you can reach out here and get the help you need.
Click here let’s help you write your sales letter for maximum sales and growth.