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by
David Frey
You
don't have to be an award-winning copywriter to
create effective sales letters. In fact, writing
great sales letters is more of a science than an
art. Even the pros use proven "templates" to
create sales letters that get results. The
following is a 12-step template for writing
foolproof sales letters.
Overcoming the Hurdles
Leading to Buying Resistance
Every
person has some form of buying resistance. The
objective of your sales letter should be to
overcome your reader's buying resistance while
persuading them to take action. I liken writing
a sales letter to running a steeplechase foot
race. The first one to the finish line who has
jumped over all the hurdles is the winner, or in
this case, gets the sale.
Whether
you're giving a sales presentation in person or
on paper, the process of overcoming the hurdles
leading to buying resistance are much the same.
These hurdles are manifested in many spoken and
unspoken customer comments such as:
1.
"You don't understand my problem"
2.
"How do I know you're qualified"
3.
"I don't believe you"
4.
"I don't need it right now"
5.
"It won't work for me"
6.
"What happens if I don't like it"
7.
"I can't afford it"
Results-oriented
sales letters will need to address some or all
of these objections to be effective. The 12-step
sales letter template is designed to overcome
each of these objections in a careful,
methodical series of copywriting tactics. The 12
steps are:
1.
Get attention
2.
Identify the problem
3.
Provide the solution
4.
Present your credentials
5.
Show the benefits
6.
Give social proof
7.
Make your offer
8.
Inject scarcity
9.
Give a guarantee
10.
Call to action
11.
Give a warning
12.
Close with a reminder
Each
of these 12 steps add to reader's emotions while
calming their fears.
Motivation Is An Emotional
Thing
It's
important to remember that people are motivated
to buy based on their emotions and justify their
purchase based on logic only after the sale.
This means that each step in the sales letter
process must build on the reader's emotions to a
point where they are motivated to take
action.
That
being true - - there are only two things that
truly motivate people and they are the promise
of gain or the fear of loss. Of the two, the
fear of loss is the stronger motivator.
Think
about it.
Would
you rather buy a $50 course on "How to Improve
Your Marriage" or "How to Stop Your Divorce or
Lover's Rejection?" I have empirical data that
proves that the second title outsells the first
5 to 1. Why? Because it addresses the fear of
loss.
Underlying
the promise of gain and the fear of loss are
seven "universal motivations" to which everyone
responds. Whatever product or service you are
selling you need to position it so that its
benefits provide one or more of these universal
motivations.
1.
To be wealthy
2.
To be good looking
3.
To be healthy
4.
To be popular
5.
To have security
6.
To achieve inner peace
7.
To have free time
8.
To have fun
Ultimate
motivations are what people "really" want. The
product or service is just a vehicle to
providing these benefits so make sure your sales
letter focuses on these motivational
factors.
The 12-Step Sales Letter
System
Now
that we know what impedes a person to buy and
what motivates a person to action let's review
the 12 elements of a winning sales
letter.
________________
1. Get
Attention
________________
Assuming
the reader has opened your envelope, the next
step is to get their attention. The opening
headline is the first thing that your reader
will look at. If it doesn't catch their
attention you can kiss your letter goodbye.
People have a very short attention span and
usually sort their mail over the wastebasket. If
the headline doesn't call out to them and perk
their interest, they will just stop and throw
your letter away.
The
following are three headline generating
templates that are proven to get attention.
"HOW
TO _____________________"
People
love to know how to do things. When combined
with a powerful benefit the "How to" headline
always gets people's attention. In fact, it's
probably the two most powerful words you can use
in a headline.
"SECRETS
OF _________________ REVEALED!"
People
always want to know "insider secrets." We love
to know things that other people aren't privy
to. Knowledge is power and those who have it
feel powerful. Besides that, most of us enjoy a
good mystery, especially in the end when the
"secret" is revealed.
WARNING:
DON'T EVEN THINK OF ___________ UNTIL YOU
___________.
Remember
that people are motivated by fear of loss more
than the promise of gain? Well, the "warning"
headline screams fear. The word "warning"
demands attention and combined with something of
interest to the reader, is a very powerful
headline.
_____________________
2. Identify the
Problem
_____________________
Now
that you have your reader's attention you need
to gain their interest by spelling out their
problem and how it feels to have that problem.
The reader should say to himself, "Yeah, that's
exactly how I feel" when they read your copy. In
fact, you shouldn't stop there. Pretend that
it's an open wound that you're rubbing salt
into.
This
technique is called, "problem - agitate." You
present the problem then agitate it so that they
really feel the pain and agony of their
situation. People are such strong creatures of
habit that we rarely change our ways unless we
feel great amounts of pain. In fact, companies
are no different. Most businesses trudge along
doing the same old thing until things get so bad
that they have to make a change.
For
example, if you were selling garage door openers
you might agitate the problem by telling a short
story about what happens when it doesn't
work.
"There's
nothing worse than getting home in the evening
and not having your garage door open. It's dark
outside and after tripping on the porch step you
search for your front door key.
Finally,
you find it only to scratch your new front door
up trying to find the keyhole. Exhausted, you
get inside and plop down on the couch just when
you remember your car is still running in your
driveway…."
In
this scenario the problem was a faulty garage
door opener and the agitation is all the
terrible things that happen because of the
faulty garage door opener.
_____________________
3. Provide the
Solution
_____________________
Now
that you've built your readers interest by
making them feel the pain it's time to provide
the solution. This is the part of the sales
letter where you boldly stake your claim that
you can solve the reader's problem.
In
this section you will introduce yourself, your
product and/or your service. Relieve the
reader's mind by telling them that they there's
no need to struggle through all their problems
because your product or service will solve it
for them.
________________________
4. Present your
Credentials
________________________
In
most cases, after you have introduced yourself
and your product or service your reader is
thinking, "Yeah, sure he fix my problem. That's
what they all say." So now it's important to hit
them right away with the reason why you can be
trusted.
List
your credentials including any one of the
following:
1.
Successful case studies.
2.
Prestigious companies (or people) you have done
business with.
3.
The length of time you've been in your field of
expertise
4.
Conferences where you have spoken
5.
Important awards or recognitions
Your
reader should get the impression after reading
this section that "you've been there and done
that" with great success and that the reader can
expect the same results.
_______________________
5. Show the
Benefits
_______________________
Now
it's time to tell the reader how they will
personally benefit from your product or service.
Don't make the common mistake of telling all
about the features of your product without
talking about the benefits. As I already stated,
people are interested, not so much in you, or
even your product or service, but what it will
do for them.
Get
a piece of paper and draw a line down the center
of the paper. Now write all the features of your
product or service on the left. Think about the
obvious benefits and the not-so-obvious benefits
of the each feature and write them down on the
right side of the paper. Most of the time your
product will have hidden benefits that people
won't naturally think of.
For
example, a hot tub not only soothes and relaxes
your muscles but it also gives you an
opportunity to talk to your spouse without
interruptions. The hidden benefit is greater
communication with your spouse and ultimately a
better marriage!
Bullet
point each benefit to make it easier to read.
Think about every possible benefit your reader
may derive from your product or service. In many
cases, people will buy a product or service
based on only one of the benefits you list.
____________________
6. Give Social
Proof
____________________
After
you've presented all your benefits the reader
will again begin to doubt you, even though they
secretly want all your claimed benefits to be
true. To build your credibility and
believability present your reader with
testimonials from satisfied customers.
Testimonials
are powerful selling tools that prove your
claims to be true. To make your testimonial even
more powerful include pictures of your customers
with their names and addresses (at least the
city and state).
You
might even ask if you can use their phone
number. Most readers won't call but it is a
powerful statement to include their complete
contact information. It demonstrates that you
are real and so are the testimonials.
_________________
7. Make Your
Offer
_________________
Your
offer is the most important part of your sales
letter. A great offer can overcome mediocre copy
but great copy cannot overcome a mediocre offer.
Your offer should be irresistible. You want your
reader to say to themselves, "I'd be stupid not
to take advantage of this deal."
Your
offer can come in many different formats. The
best offers are usually an attractive
combination of price, terms, and free gifts. For
example, if you were selling a car your offer
might be a discounted retail price, low interest
rate, and a free year of gas.
Hint:
When developing your offer you should always try
to raise the value of your offer by adding on
products or services rather than lowering your
price. Include vivid explanations of the
benefits of the additional products or services
you are offering in order to raise the perceived
value of your offer.
__________________
8. Give a
Guarantee
__________________
To
make your offer even more irresistible you need
to take all the risk out of the purchase.
Remember, that people have a built-in fear that
they are going to get ripped off. How many times
have you purchased a product and got stuck with
it because the merchant wouldn't give your money
back?
Give
the absolute strongest guarantee you are able to
give. If you aren't confident enough in your
product or service to give a strong guarantee
you should think twice about offering it to he
public.
In
reality, almost all small businesses already
have a very strong guarantee, but don't realize
it! If you had an irate customer that wanted
their money back would you just say, "No, I'm
sorry. I will not give your money back."?
Probably not. If they insist on getting their
money back, in most cases you'll give it back to
them.
You
see, most businesses already have a strong
guarantee and don't hold it up and trumpet it
for fear that a lot of people would take them up
on it. That's simply doesn't happen. When was
the last time you asked for a full refund on
something? If you're like me, it's been a
while.
Here
is an example of a guarantee that I give for one
of my products:
* * "100%, No Questions Asked,
Take-It-To-The-Bank Guarantee" *
*
I
personally guarantee if you make a diligent
effort to use just a few of the techniques in
this course, you'll produce at least $4,490
profit in the next 12 months. That's right,
$4,490 extra profit you never would have seen
without this course. If you don't, I'll refund
the entire cost of the course to you.
Actually,
you get double protection. Here's how. At any
time during the 12 months, if you sincerely feel
I fell short in any way on delivering everything
I promised, I'll be happy to give you a complete
refund. Even if it's on the last day of the
twelfth month!
This
guarantee extends for an entire year and that
they will receive specific benefits (in this
case it's money). It they don't get what they
expect, they get their money back with no
questions asked. This virtually eliminates all
the risk for the buyer.
Hint:
Your offer may be so good that people won't
believe it. You've heard the old axiom, "If it's
too good to be true, it probably is." To avoid
this thinking, give the reason why you can give
such as great offer. For example, you might have
goofed when ordering inventory and now you're
overstocked and that's why you can offer such a
great price. When people read the reason why, it
will help them reconcile your irresistible offer
in their mind and make it more
believable.
__________________
9. Inject
Scarcity
__________________
Most
people take their time responding to offers,
even when they are irresistible. There are many
reasons why people procrastinate investing in a
solution. The following are just a few:
-
They don't feel enough pain to make a
change
-
They are too busy and just forget
-
They don't feel that the perceived value
outweighs your asking price
-
They are just plain lazy
To
motivate people to take action they usually need
an extra incentive. Remember when I said that
people are more motivated to act by the fear of
loss rather than gain, that's exactly what you
are doing with you inject scarcity into your
letter.
When
people think there is a scarce supply of
something they need they usually rush to get
some of it. You can create a feeling of scarcity
by telling your reader that either the quantity
is in limited supply or that your offer is valid
for only a limited time period.
Your
offer could sound something like this:
"If
you purchase by (future date) you will get the
entire set of free bonuses"
Or
"Our
supply is limited to only 50 (product or
service) and will be sent to you on a 'first
come, first served' basis. After they are gone
there won't be any more available."
Or
"This
offer is only good until (future date) after
which the (product or service) will return to
its original price."
One
word of caution: If you make an offer you need
to live up to it. If you go back on your word
after the deadline date you will begin to erode
the trust and confidence your customers have
come to expect from you.
_________________
10. Call to
Action
__________________
Do
not assume that your reader knows what to do to
receive the benefits from your offer. You must
spell out how to make the order in a very clear
and concise language. Whether its picking up the
phone and making the call, filling out an order
form, faxing the order form to your office etc….
you must tell them exactly how to order from
you.
Your
call to action must be "action-oriented." You
can do this using words like 'Pick Up the Phone
and Call Now!" or "Tear Off the Order Form and
Send It In Today!" or "Come to Our Store by
Friday and …" Be explicit and succinct in your
instructions.
Plant
your call to action throughout your letter. If
you are asking the reader to call your free
information line then perhaps some of the
testimonials might say, "When I called their
free information line" or in your offer you
might say, "When you call our free information
line…" Then when you give the call to action at
the end of the letter, people won't be surprised
or confused. It will be consistent with what you
said all throughout your letter.
__________________
11. Give a
Warning
__________________
A
good sales letter will continue to build
emotion, right up to the very end. In fact, your
letter should continue to build emotion even
after your call to action. Using the "risk of
loss" strategy, tell the reader what would
happen if they didn't take advantage of your
offer.
Perhaps
they would continue to:
-
Struggle day to day to make ends meat
-
Work too hard just to get a few
customers
-
Lose the opportunity to receive all your
valuable bonuses
-
Keep getting what they've always got
-
Watch other companies get all the
business
-
Etc.
Try
to paint a graphic picture in the mind of the
reader about the consequences of not taking
action now. Remind them just how terrible their
current state is and that it just doesn't have
to be that way.
_____________________
12. Close with a
Reminder
_____________________
Always
include a postscript (P.S.). Believe it or not,
your P.S. is the third most read element of your
sales letter. I've seen good copywriters use not
just one postscript, but many (P.P.S). In your
postscript you want to remind them of your
irresistible offer. If you've used scarcity in
your sales letter, include your call to action
then remind them of the limited time (or
quantity) offer. It sounds like a simple step
but postscripts get noticed.
Viola!
You now have a powerful sales letter. Using this
12-step formula anyone can write an effective
sales letter that sells. The following are a few
extra tips to help you write an even better
sales letter:
Tip
#1: Write the Features/Benefits - The
biggest hurdle to writing a great sales letter
is just getting started. Many people have a fear
of writing. One way to get your letter started
and develop a helpful guide for your letter is
to write a feature/benefit list.
Take
a set of 3 x 5 cards and write all the features
you know about on one side of the cards. Then
turn the cards over and write a benefit for each
feature. You'll have started your letter and
produced a list of benefits you can use to write
your letter.
Tip
#2: Let Your Letter Cool Off - Once you have
completed the letter, let it sit for a day or
so. This will allow you to be more objective you
when you edit your letter. If you've just spend
the last few hours working on your letter you
will find it hard to catch the mistakes or edits
in the letter because you're just too close to
it.
Tip
#3: Develop a "Swipe File" - Your swipe file
will be a source of great ideas and help get
your creative juices flowing. When you see a
great ad or receive a particularly effective
letter in the mail, keep it in a file that you
can refer back to again and again. Companies pay
thousands of dollars to develop their marketing
materials; you might as well take advantage of
that by using it as a model for your own
work.
Tip
#4: Develop a Customer Profile Sheet -
Before you start writing your sales letter,
develop a customer profile sheet by documenting
every thing you know about your target customer.
Some great copywriters put a picture of a
typical customer in front of them as write their
letter to help them remember to whom they are
writing the letter.
Tip
#5: Don't Worry About the Length - I often
get the question, "How long should my sales
letter be?" and my answer is, "As long as it
needs to be." Each part of your sales letter
should be building your case. If it takes ½ page
to build your case then that's how long your
letter should be; however, I use a 24-page sales
letter to successfully sell one of my
products.
Most
anyone can write a powerful sales letter by just
following this simple 12-step process. Make sure
that you include each of the steps because each
step builds your case in a unique way and adds
to the reader's emotions.
 Happy letter
writing!
_________________________________________________________
Author:
David Frey David@MarketingBestPractices.com
David
Frey is President of Marketing Best Practices
Inc., a small business marketing consulting firm
and the editor of the Marketing Best Practices
Newsletter, the web's leading free small
business marketing newsletter. Subscribe now at
http://www.marketingbestpractices.com/.
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