Let me be blunt for a moment - writing a killer sales letter that makes a ton of money takes time and effort. And it’s rare to hit a “home run” on your first attempt.
The best copywriters I know - they’re the best because they do it so often - so don’t be discouraged if you find it particularly difficult on your first attempt.
Over time, it starts to come naturally - as if its part of your DNA, or that it’s just like breathing or walking.
But when you’re just beginning, there are a few simple steps you can take to make copywriting a sales letter a much easier task, and get a much better result from your sales letters.
Step #1: Preparation Matters
Preparation is really the key to writing a great sales letter. And the fact is, 95% of the effort you will put into a sales letter happens in the preparation stage.
It’s not uncommon for top copywriters to spend several weeks preparing to write a sales letter, and just a few days writing.
So how do you prepare?
Well, the first thing that you can do is to get inspiration.
Look around in your industry, and beyond, for examples of written advertisements. Read as much as you can, and scan and save the ads that you find particularly persuasive, in one folder.
Click http://www.onlinedocumentconversion.com upload & convert scanned ads into text/RTF files and save them. Next open converted text/RTF ads files & hand write each line next to converted line of text… word for word.
I know, it sounds tedious, but the best way to write great sales letters is by writing great sales letters. So I repeat, open each converted file and write word for word by hand - right next to each line underneath.
Don’t believe me?
Write a headline of your own… at the same time scan & convert txt/RTF 50 headlines from the pro’s … then go back and write another headline of your own.
Is the second one better than the first?
You’d better believe it!
Step #2: Work out who you’re writing to.
We’re still in the preparation phase right now…
Grab a pen and paper, and write down the answers to these two questions:
- Who am I writing to?, and;
- What do I want them to say yes to?
The more specific that you can be in your “Who am I writing to?” answer, the more targeted your sales copy will be, and the more of those people will buy.
Step #3: Work Out what you’re REALLY Selling
A wise marketer once said “Sell the sizzle, not the steak!” People don’t buy “steaks”.
The easiest way to do this is to take out several sheets of paper, and start writing a long list of EVERY feature that a customer might experience when they’re buying your product… Everything from “no interest finance” to “free delivery” to your “defects”
Step #4: Why Should I Care About That?
Don’t assume that your customer knows why they need your weather stripping feature, Spell it out for them!
- Feature Benefit
e.g. “No interest finance - saves $1,000’s off the lifetime cost of purchase, means you can afford to buy now.” etc
- Benefit Feature
e.g. “Save Money on All Orders with Free Shipping”
Here’s a tip: It’s EASIEST if you go find about 50-100 feature-benefit points from other convincing sales letters (google them & convert online at above site and tweek one of them).
Step #5: Start Writing Your Sales Letter Tip: Don’t waste your time (and the reader’s) telling stories - get straight to the point.
The easiest way to write a great headline for your product is to re-write existing great headlines for other products, and tweak them so that they suit your product.
Write dozens, and pick the best one and then Test Test Test!
