Wednesday 1 September 2010

How to make your sales letters sing

There is a free sales letter template on my website.

It's not new, but it gives what I think is still good advice. There is, however, something it doesn't mention, and that's about the content. The letter should not just be about what you do, and what's in it for the customer, it should also explain why you and why now.

It's not enough to say 'It's a good idea to make a Will' or 'Cheap mortgages now available'. You have to say why they should go to you for their Will or mortgage - you have to provide your USP (Unique Selling Point). Maybe it's 'Our Wills are 40% cheaper than average' or 'We've had 20,000 mortgage applications accepted so far this year'. (I'm not suggesting these are headlines, this information should be in para 2 or 3, where you explain your credibility.)

Even if you manage to convince readers who've read your letter so far, they may still let it languish in a drawer (or the big round filing basket a.k.a. the bin). You have to incentivise people to respond within a timescale. For example 'Reply within 28 days and get 5% off' or 'Book an appointment by the end of this month and you'll be entered into the free draw to win a plastic daffodil.' You don't have to give away money or prizes, it could be a free report or anything that adds value.

I seem to be explaining this a lot to clients at the moment. Now, all I need to do, is point them to this blog post!

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