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Home::Copywriting
Getting people to part with their money, the old-fashioned way.
Author : Walter Burek
Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor the rising cost of postage
can keep a well-written sales letter from persuading readers to
send money directly to its writer or organization. And many of
the techniques successful direct mail writers have been using
for years work equally well on-line today. Here are ten
tried-and-true tips from the snail-mailers.
1. Have a plan. Writing a sales letter is a lot like writing an
ad. And successful advertising starts with clear thinking about
what to say 末 and to whom. Picture your prospect in your mind
末 in terms of age, income, attitudes, and the product she or he
uses. Then determine the single most important benefit your
product offers. The essence of a good plan is sacrifice 末
playing down the lesser benefits to concentrate on the biggest.
2. Start fast. The first sentence of your letter is the most
important. That's when your prospect decides whether your letter
is just an other piece of junk mail or something that will make
him say, "This sounds interesting. I'd like to know more about
it." Involve your reader in your first sentence, or your second
sentence may never be read.
3. The early offer gets the worm. Direct-mail pros work on the
coupon first, not the letter. What's the offer? How should it be
stated? What are the terms? The offer is what gets the action.
So make it clear. Make it direct. And make it early. Because a
good offer can outpull any other technique to get your letter
started.
4. Show the benefits Write about benefits, not features. A
feature describes a product; a benefit explains what it does for
the reader. Remember that people don稚 want to buy grass seed.
They want to buy a beautiful green lawn.
5. Show some personality. The tone of your letter should be as
important as what you say. Write the way you speak, using the
language of the reader, so he perceives the sales pitch is
coming from a peer rather than an outsider. By using this
approach, you receive empathy from the reader by saying, "Look,
I'm just like you. I know your problem; I've been through it; I
have a solution." Writing peer to peer 末 writing as you would
speak to a friend 末 is the tone you want to cultivate in every
letter you write.
6. Go long. The amateur letter writer assumes that people will
not read long letters. All the research tells us otherwise. The
fact is that long letters sell better than short ones. If they
make an attractive offer. If they get the reader's attention at
the top. If they are packed with facts. You are asking your
readers to make an investment 末 of their time, money, or both.
They need to be 末 they want to be 末 convinced that what you're
selling is worth it. And that takes plenty of information. So
the more you tell, the more you'll sell.
7. Be short. Research also shows that people won't read long
letters that look hard to read, with long, black, solid blocks
of text. Better to use short paragraphs that make your letter
look more inviting, and easy to get through.
Use simple words and use jargon sparingly. Write in crisp,
short, snappy sentences. Even sentence fragments.
When you're writing a sales letter, you're trying to communicate
with your readers, not impress them with your grasp of the
American language. Remember, you're writing to sell, not impress.
8. Be free. Give something away. A free trial, free shipping,
even free literature you may have printed for another purpose.
It has been proven, time and again, that adding something free
adds tremendously to the power of the sales letter.
9. Don't let 'em get away. Follow the advice in the previous
eight tips and you'll find yourself writing letters that will
capture the interest of your readers. But you can't just let
them nod in agreement, and do nothing. After all, it's human
nature for most people to procrastinate. You can't let them off
the hook. The successful letter writer tackles inertia and
creates a reason for the prospect to act 末 and to act now. Ask
her to tear off a reply card, check a preference, paste a
sticker on the phone or calendar, or answer a short quiz. There
are probably dozens of other simple devices you can think of. A
reader who starts to do something with your mailing is a good
bet to end up being a reader who buys something.
10. P.S. Don稚 forget a postscript. A postscript is an
opportunity to restate the offer, to create a sense of urgency
with a deadline, to offer a special premium or to remind the
reader of an important detail. And maybe the best reason for
using a P.S. is that so many professionals have proven that it
works.
Walter writes, edits and publishes "Words @ Work", a FREE
bimonthly newsletter of advice and information about writing
that works. Subscribe by visiting www.walterburek.com or via
e-mail to: walter@walterburek.com
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