subject: Top Tips For A Well Structured Sales Letter [print this page] I received an email the other day from a young aspiring copywriter. He was in the process of writing sales letters for his first ever client but had absolutely no idea where to begin or how to structure his copy.
Its a common problem, and one that I experienced myself when I first started out many moons ago.
So heres my 9 point plan for writing a perfectly structured sales letter
1.The Headline Yep, its an obvious one, but I cant exactly leave it out now can I?! Always start off with a captivating, intriguing or shocking headline that grabs your prospects attention, because if you do, you can guarantee that theyll carry on reading. Note: You can also add a sub-header just after the main headline if you really want/need to expand on any of the benefits.
2.Introduce The Problem Very early on in the copy, you need to address the main problem that the prospect is looking to solve in order to draw them into the copy and make it clear that in just a moment, youre going to provide a solution. One way of doing this is to ask a series of questions, such as are you fed up of being overweight? (Weight loss product), or Do you wish that you had more money and time to enjoy life? (Make money online product)
3.List Product Benefits Once youve done this, its time to reveal that YOU have the solution to their problem and that if they hang around a little longer, theyll discover exactly what it is. At this point, you can whet their appetite a little further by listing a series of your products main benefits.
4.Tell The Reader Who You Are Anyone reading a Sales letters and contemplating buying a product online will want to know who theyre buying from and why theyre qualified to be selling that product in the first place. So its important that you reveal who you are and why youre the person to help them. This is where you can include your back story, which will allow you to gain both credibility and your prospects trust.
5.Introduce the Product Once youve spoken about the benefits of the product, explained that you can help, and revealed who you are, the prospect should now be VERY interested in finding out what you have to offer. This is the time to introduce the product and further elaborate on the benefits.
6.Reveal the Price Once youve revealed the product, its now time to let the prospect know exactly how much its going to cost them! But however much it is, you can soften the blow by adding some value-packed bonuses
7.Add Bonuses If you (or the client) have any bonuses to offer, now is the time to include them. This is a great way of adding value to the product, and taking the sting out of the price tag! If a prospect is sitting on the fence a little, then informing them that theyll also receive a couple of bonus products may well convince them to take the plunge.
8.Add A Guarantee Another crucial element of any sales letter is the guarantee. Most pieces of sales copy have guarantees these days, especially since the introduction of digital information retailers like ClickBank, who wont list a product without one. The best place for a guarantee is right near the bottom, as it serves as another convincer and knocks down another barrier to buying.
9.Add a Postscript Once youve added a conclusion and hammered home the benefits, its now time to wrap things up with a P.S. or three! These should reiterate your main benefits, and include the fact that youre offering bonuses (if you are) and a money-back guarantee.
Note: If the postscript is the only part of the sales letter that a postscript reads, there should still be enough benefits there to make them want to buy the product, or at the very least, find out more.
So there you go!
Obviously this isnt the structure that you should always use when writing sales letters, but it is an option if youre a little stuck and its a pretty good one too!
