When Trish and I started working together on a weekly basis, we looked over some books we received and one of them was about the creation of web sales letters. Sales Letters are “documents designed to generate sales. It persuades the reader to place an order; to request additional information; or to lend support to the product or service or cause being offered.” (article by Sonny Bliss, Bizine).

One of the things Trish and I highly value is the ability to put words into action. We like to be able to talk about what we’re learning and actually put it to use.  In this case we learned quite a bit about what makes up a great sales letter.

You need to keep in mind a sales letter’s main purpose is to sell, not tell. This means you need to do the research to find points that will show the value of the product or service to your audience.  Create a list of all the benefits and selling features of your product or service and then rank them from highest impact or value to the lowest. Also, you need to research your audience to determine what motivates them in order to help you build and evaluate your list.

Here is one common layout for a sales letter; remember, the order of sections is important as well as your choice of words. Starting at the top of a sales letter and working your way down, here are our recommended sections in bullet form:

• Header or Headline: are situated at the top of your sales letter and are created to grab the attention of your reader and make a promise of what they’ll get if they buy your product or service. Here’s a hint from Sonny Bliss of Bizine: “Headlines of 10 words or more tend to generate more orders or leads. Headlines that promise a benefit also tend to sell more.” However you decide to write this header, make sure it grabs the reader’s attention and remember to launch your biggest selling feature to help do just that.
• Subheader or subheadline: The next section, subheaders or subheadline, are sometimes seen as optional but are also a great place to showcase your 2nd best selling features for your product or service. Another use for this section is to answer questions your research has found that your readers may ask.
• Body: is the 3rd major section and constitutes the bulk of the sales letter.  The Body focuses on the need to build up an emotional attachment between you and the reader; it should primarily be supportive and/or positive. The emotions stirred here should help work the reader into wanting to have the same great experience as you and your other customers have received from the product or service. Here are some hints on what to include in the Body:
  • A story about you how you got started with your product or service, and why you are a good source for that product or service. What makes you special? What motivated you? What were your obstacles? How did your product or service provide you with value or benefits ?
  • Provide proof of how your product or service has been of value from others who have experience with it – get  it from the horse’s mouth!
  • Describe how the product or service will deliver on the promise in your Header.
• Closing Bonuses: follows the Body. If you really want to sell, discuss what else is in it for the reader if they act within a certain time.  I.e. the “special offer”: what will the reader get for free if they take action by the deadline. Make it a “package deal” and build up a sense of urgency.
• Next steps: this section informs the reader of the action you want them to take to reap the rewards of your product or service and especially the Closing Bonuses just mentioned above. Make sure these steps are as easy as possible for the reader. Accept various payment options; make sure they know you can get it to their location, and how to get a hold of you if something goes wrong with the online ordering. Don’t miss the sale!
• Reminder: is the final section of your sales letter and reminds the reader of what he/she will get from your product or service as mentioned earlier in your Header/Headline, Subheaders/Subheadlines and Body sections. It also reminds the reader of the “special offer and deadline date”. Hint: many people will read the Header/Headline first at the top of your sales letter and then the Reminder section. If these two sections are interesting enough the reader they will take the time to read the rest. Grab them while you can!

Do you want an example of a web Sales Letter? Check this out: http://www.webmoneymakingwords.com/

I’ve used such a layout for a sales letter I’m working on for a website service I want to launch mid to late 2009. It’s not near being done but I do keep adding more info to each section and checking it out with friends (testers) to see what else it needs. At this point I’m gaining much valued feedback and experience in writing these tricky little devils. As they say - Practice, Practice, Practice. Believe it or not I’m finding this to be both fun and confidence building. I have also made suggestions to a couple of friends to use a similar layout to help build their own sites.

One final note, a special thank you to Sonny Bliss of Bizine who was one of the great resources for this post. Check them out at http://www.bizine.com/index.htm.

Cheers