No doubt about it, sales letters are promotional material. They promote products and services with the ultimate intent of creating sales.
But, and it is a big but, just because a sales letter is an ad doesn’t mean it should look and sound like one.
Why this bad?
Well there are several reasons, the first is that people LIKE to buy, but they DO NOT LIKE to be sold to.
There are many reasons for that including, among other things: a loss of control and mistrust that the seller isn’t going to necessarily have the buyer’s best interests in mind.
The second reason is that people have developed a sort of “blindness” to ads.
That is, when something looks like an advertisement people subconsciously tune out, sort of like fast forwarding through the commercials of some TV show you’ve recorded.
People will just skip right over something that seems to be trying to sell them.
This is, obviously, not good for copywriters, but can you avoid or overcome it?
One simple answer is that you do not make your copy look like an ad; duh.
But, since a sales letter is an ad, how do you hide your ad without requiring the skills and mastery of a Dan Kennedy.
One very effective way is to…
start your copy with valuable information led into by an editorial-style headline.
I can hear you are asking, “what are editorial-style headlines?”
Instead of a long explanation just let me just show you some.
- “7 Fatal Mistakes That Most Online Business People Make And How Not to…”
- “Can Using Video Increase Your Sales Conversion Rate 100-1,000%? A Startling New Survey, Conducted By a Leading Research Group, Reveals The Truth!”
- “10 Essential Facts You MUST Know Before Purchasing a Flat Screen TV”
Editorial headlines give the reader the impression that what follows, your sales letter, will give them valuable information that will bring them pleasure, alleviate pain or protect them in some way.
This will immediately attract them and will get them to read your sales letter; or at least start reading it.
But, if you are sharing valuable information how do you keep the essence of a sales letter – that is, to sell?
The trick lies in being subtle about the sale.
Weave your sales pitch in with the valuable information you are sharing in a way that makes it seem that your product or service is perfect for the situation — or be nearly perfect; it isn’t usually good to be perfect because then that sounds too good to be true).
For example, when talking about the 7 fatal mistakes that online business people make, weave into your copy how your product or service has helped online businesses succeed.
Another example is when going through the 10 essential facts they need to know about flat screen TVs make sure that your product is on the plus side of most of them and weave that into the sales copy but be sure to also include something that your product doesn’t do; this makes things more believable and trusted.
The key take away from this is to present the reader with factual, highly informative content that will excite, attract and educate.
They will then have the desire you’re looking for and, at that point, you integrate your offer in a “matter-of-fact” manner which makes them want to buy without you actually selling!
Do you have informational sales copy? Post a comment as I’d love to see what you’ve done.
Talk soon,
The Shameless (Ethical) Marketer
http://www.8-8-8Sale.com
http://www.MusicForInternetMarketers.com
http://www.MadMondaySale.com
http://www.2ForTuesdaySale.com
http://www.SecretsOfGoogleAdwords.com
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