How to Write a Great Sales Letter

When you're inspired, jot down notes and phrases for future sales letters.

Even in this age of electronic marketing, the sales letter is still a tried-and-true marketing technique. Sales forces use the sales letter to make personal appeals to targeted markets. It can introduce a company, continue a relationship with a valued customer and communicate special promotions to new or ongoing customers. Well-written sales letters communicate directly to their audiences in a friendly tone. They encourage readers to take action and to make a purchase or perform some other action. When done well, they can be a profitable tool for any business.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Company letterhead

1. Write directly to your target audience. Study their demographics, needs, and the style of communication that most appeals to them before you start your letter. Write directly to this audience, keeping their desires foremost in your mind as you compose the letter. Make sure your letter is about them and not about you. Avoid writing a mass letter that could be sent to anyone. Make your letter more readable by keeping it personal and targeted to your researched market.

2. Focus on the benefit to the reader. Write the letter in such a way that it focuses on the benefits of your product or service rather than the features. For example, instead of saying that your bed sheets have a 100-count weave, say that they're soft and durable and will soothe the buyer into a gentle night's sleep.

3. Begin with an attention-grabbing headline. Write a headline that will entice the reader to delve into the body of the letter. Use action verbs and descriptive nouns, and immediately describe why this letter is important to your reader. Keep it short and make it interesting. Center it on the page and put it in bold text. Make the type larger than the rest of the body of the letter.

4. Explain why you have the solution to the reader's problem. People don't buy products or services, they buy solutions. They don't buy a meal at a restaurant; they buy a way to satisfy their hunger, and they enjoy having someone else handle food preparation and cleanup. Briefly describe the problem that your readers might have and present your product or service as the perfect solution to that problem.

5. Detail your qualifications. List the credentials you possess that can solve your reader's problems. Use this paragraph to establish your credibility and make your potential client comfortable with your ability to competently provide the product or service you are offering. Write such sentences as, "For 40 years, our family has provided top-notch tractors to farmers throughout the Northwest."

6. Provide an incentive. Give the reader a reason to buy your product or service. Offer a guarantee, a special price or complimentary installation. Give your reader a reason to act and encourage him to act quickly.

7. Ask for the sale. Close the letter by asking your reader to make a purchase. Provide them with a phone number, a website address or a coupon to a brick and mortar store. Ask them to make the purchase within a set amount of time.

8. Build the relationship. Use the letter as a bridge to a long-lasting customer relationship. Provide readers with information they need to turn to you as the solution to the product or service-related problems that they have.

9. Proofread carefully. Maintain your credibility by having an error-proof letter that is free of unintentional grammatical errors and filled with good spelling. Make sure your copy sings by reading it out loud several times before sending it off. Rewrite any sentences that sound stilted -- even if that means purposefully breaking a grammatical rule. Consider setting it aside for a day and then reading it aloud a day later to be sure it sounds just the way you want it to.

Tips & Warnings

• Great sales letters create an emotional response with their readers. Consider creating scarcity or even warning your reader about adverse results if they don't take advantage of your offer. However, be careful that you don't sound too gimmicky or you could lose your credibility.

• Print the letter on company letterhead and make sure the letter has an attractive, easy-to-follow design.

• Do proofread your sales letter. Don't rob your credibility with sloppiness and type-o's.

References

• The Internet Digest; 12-Step Foolproof Sales Letter Template; David Frey
• Business Know How; Five Deadly Sales Letter Mistakes; Ernest Nicastro; 2006
• Write Express; How to Write the Perfect Sales Letter; Alice Feathers