There is no doubt that having a great salesletter can make or break a product. You can sell a phenomenal product to a tightly focused audience, and if the sales copy is only marginal, your results will not be up to snuff.
One of the problems with writing copy stems from being too close to a project. If it is your product, sometimes it’s hard to step back and realize that the reasons you love it might not translate to someone else. It’s a lot like having kids. What is adorable or wonderful about your kid to you might be peculiar or irritating to someone else. Now maybe if they get to know your child, they’d find them adorable, too. That’s the purpose of the salesletter.
Your product is your “baby” at the moment. You’re already sold on it. You need to step back and try to think of what would make you spend your money on it if it wasn’t yours already.
So how do you do it? How do you write a great salesletter? I’m glad you asked…
1. Grab Attention: You MUST get the reader’s attention quickly. A pre-head, and then a main headline should grab hold of the reader and make them want to know more. If possible, you want to give the ultimate reward for the product right in the headline. If it is easy, requires little time or effort, and/or has a big payoff, the reader should be hooked with the possible results right away.
– What is the ultimate “best reason” someone should buy your product?- What is the most desirable result of buying your product to the reader?- What, above everything else, would be most beneficial about buying it?
This is your chance to quickly encapsulate your entire salesletter in one, eye-catching sentence that is GUARANTEED to be read by the visitor to your site.
Fire your biggest gun!
2. State the Problem: Your reader must find out why they need your product. What problem are you solving? What are the frustrations that you can alleviate with your product, manual, report? Many times, there are multiple problems that can be listed to make sure you address every angle possible.
I generally prefer to use the “3 Reasons Why”, or “5 Problems With” approach. Make a list of problems or issues that you know your audience deals with, and then explain a few details about these problems. Make them feel personal.
3. Introduce the Product: Give details about your product, what will be included, and why it’s an answer to what your prospects are looking for. You’ll want to list solutions in direct answer to the problems described above. Brag on yourself a little, but do it in a humble manner. If you are the expert, be the expert. Tell them why your product can answer their concerns, solve their problems.
4. Give Plenty of Details: People want meat, not tofu. You must present the meat of what your prospects will be getting when they part with their hard earned cash. Bullet lists, subject or chapter heads, examples of real content. The more content shared here, the more they know they’ll get with the product, and the more valuable it will be to them. If you have proof, testimonials, etc…these are great information about the product, too, if used sparingly and properly.
5. Call to Action: In sales, this is the close. You must give the reader a reason to act. Ask them to buy, set a limit, or offer a bonus for quick action. Offer a satisfaction guarantee, too. Make them feel at once compelled to buy, as well as comfortable with buying.
There are a lot of ways to put a good salesletter together. Use the tools you have, and your own experience, to promote your baby. Make sure you incorporate these 5 steps, and you’ll be on your way to sales copy that really sells.