Sales letters don't have to be cringe-inducing
Do you cringe at the thought of writing one of those “one page sales letters” to sell your internet based product? You know the ones I’m talking about – ones like this, and this. For years the common wisdom (supported by cold hard statistics) is that long sales letter consistently outperform less aggressive promotional techniques.
I’ve always found that hard to believe. Personally, when I land on one of those cheesy sales pages I immediately get skeptical. Admittedly, I have been known to make a purchase from hard sell pages, but in my case the sale was despite the sales page, not because of it.
If that style of sales letter turns you off as well, you might like my “low key sales letter” template below. It doesn’t employ big red headlines, stupid claims or cheesy language. It does get your message across in a straight-forward and intelligent way.
My short sales letter template breaks many of the “rules” of sales copy, because it:
- doesn’t have huge red headlines asking “Who Else Wants…”
- lacks multiple exclamation marks
- isn’t pages and pages long
- neglects to create a false sense of urgency or list $5000 worth of free bonuses
- doesn’t beat you over the head with hyperbole
All of the above things are standard sales copy techniques,that I quite frankly find tacky and over-used. However, lots of people say they work. In this article on long sales letters, the author argues in favor of long copy – in certain circumstances. She says that shortchanging your customers out of the information they need to feel comfortable giving you their money, just because long copy makes you feel like a used car salesman, is poor judgment. This is because not only will you be cheating yourself out of sales, but you’ll be cheating your customers out of products and services that could make their lives better.
Heidi Cool’s article Long or Short Sales Copy: Does it Matter? provides a succinct summary of the three key things to focus on in any sales letter:
- Features of the product, service, program, event, Web site or whatever else you are promoting
- Benefits to the end user of said product or service
- Instructions on what you would like the reader to do
Cool concludes with this sensible advice: How much information you include should be determined by the amount of information required for the reader to make an informed decision and take action.
I’ll leave the choice up to you how “hard sell” you want to get. Personally, I prefer short, straighforward sales copy that doesn’t hurt my eyes or insult my intelligence.
Low-key sales letter template
Dear __________,
I am writing to let you know that my new _____________ (website, book, CD, workshop) is now ___________ (available for sale, up and running, open for registration). See ____________
(URL if there is a website) to _____________ (purchase the book; check out the site; register today).
I’m very excited with the way the _______ has turned out (here you can say a few things about why you are excited, such as “it provides x solutions for y people) One person who got a peek at the new _________ this to say…
(insert testimonial)
I’d love you to share in my celebration about _____________. With with that in mind I’d like to offer you this special introductory deal. If you ________(register, purchase, sign up for newsletter) before ______ (date) you will receive ________ (special price, 2 for 1 offer, bonus gift).
To ________(register, purchase, sign up for newsletter) just click here.
I hope you enjoy the _______ and that you’ll let me know what you think of it!
Thanks,
Your signature and contact info
P.S. Remember, to get your ________, you need to ________ (call to action) by _________(deadline)
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