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Inner Circle Roundtable of 21st Century Marketers |
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Chapter Forty-Three Write To Sell
By Ben Hart
I believe the most valuable skill you can ever learn is how to write a great sales letters, advertisements and websites.
The rules for writing powerful sales copy for offline media are almost exactly the same as for the Internet.
For the purpose of this chapter, we’ll mostly just refer to both letters and ads as letters. Most of my selling sites are formatted to look like letters, not ads, because letters usually work far better than ads.
Short ads work well for lead-generation. But for selling, you need a letter. People read copy that’s formatted like a letter. People tend not to read copy that looks like an ad.
That’s why I often use courier type for my sales letters on the Internet.
Courier type is the font that was used on the old-fashioned manual typewriter. I like courier font for my sales letters on the Internet because this instantly communicates to a Web surfer that this is a letter.
People tend to stop and read letters.
Now, there are several reasons for why knowing how to write a great sales letter is just about the most valuable skill you can learn. For one thing, a good copywriter is expensive.
I charge between $5,000 and $15,000 for a direct mail package. I charge about the same to write copy for websites designed to sell. Plus I usually charge a royalty – usually 5% of all sales generated by my sales copy. I don’t accept copywriting projects that a believe do not have the potential of generating at least $1,000,000 in sales.
A selling website is very similar to the offline direct mail package. It’s just on the screen instead of on paper. I like the entire sales presentation on one long scrolling page because its easier for readers to scroll than click.
Clicking requires the reader to wait while the page loads. Scrolling allows readers to skim quickly at the headlines and sub-heads and decide if the page is worth reading.
So a good copywriter doesn’t come cheap.
But let’s say you are not a writer. Let’s say writing is just something you hate to do. Then you might outsource it. But you still need the knowledge of what should be in a good sales letter.
You’ll need to know how to distinguish a good sales letter from a poor sales letter.
So even if you are not planning to write your own sales copy for your websites, keep reading. What you will read here applies to all your marketing and selling. Plus, there are a lot of pretend copywriters out there who have done almost no serious study of direct marketing.
You don’t want to hire one of these pretenders. You want to hire a true pro.
You don’t want a dilettante piloting your plane or doing your surgery. You want a true expert. You want the best.
And you certainly you do not want a dilettante pretend copywriter writing your sales and marketing websites.
It’s not that this is all that difficult. But most people who try to pass themselves off as direct marketing copywriters have never even read a book on the subject.
They think if they can string some sentences together that make sense, that’s all it really takes.
Now, they might be able to write fine. But that does not mean they know the basics of how to write a successful sales letter.
To write a successful sales letter, you don’t need so much to study how to write. You need to study how to sell. If you have not studied marketing and what makes people buy, you should not be writing sales letters and marketing letters.
It would be like diving into the ocean before you learn to swim.
The results won’t be good . . . because much of what you think would work doesn’t work. For example, you might think short letters would work better than long letters because people just don’t have time to read an 8-page letter or a 16-page letter or a 32-page letter.
Wrong. Long letters perform better 90% of the time.
And it’s no different online than it is offline.
Long scrolling letters on a website work far better than short letters. And the only way we know that is through experience, from the results of our tests. We never would have guessed this on our own. We find a lot in direct marketing that goes against what we would think.
Professional website designers hate my sales letter sites. Designers like to have the entire web page fit on a screen. To achieve that, they fill the screen with tiny 10-point Arial or Verdana type that you can barely read. The site will look pretty and neat. But these sites don’t sell.
Sites that sell look a lot like the old fashioned printed direct mail sales letter.
Now, let me also emphasize this point.
Your sales letter site does not need to be perfect for it to work. You don’t even need to be a good writer. Just write how you naturally speak in everyday life. You don’t need to be a great writer to do that. Just be yourself.
But what you do need are the essential building blocks.
Writing a sales letter site is a lot like building a house. Certain essential elements must be there – like a solid foundation and support beams and so on. If the basic building blocks are not there, your sales letter site will be like a house without a foundation or the proper structure.
It will collapse. But also understand this.
This science is not that difficult once you know the basics, once you know the formula.
We copywriters are not original thinkers. We are not great writers. All we do is follow the basic rules for what works, and what will always work.
What we do is study the great sales letters that have worked the best in the past. That’s really all we do. Writing sales letters is science, not art.
Okay, before we dive into the xx keys for writing a great sales letter site, let’s first review the five absolutely essential elements that need to be in place for any marketing campaign to be successful.
You Must Offer What People Want
This may seem obvious, and is just another way of saying, “You’ll have a very difficult time selling ice to Eskimos or down parkas to people who live in Ecuador.”
It’s amazing how many business people keep pounding their heads against the wall trying to persuade people to want their wonderful product. Those businesses are not around long.
The greatest salesman in the world won’t succeed in selling products people don’t want. This is why your product development people must also be marketers.
So often I’ve seen brilliant software architects scream, howl, jump up and down, and treat the client like he’s an idiot when the client doesn’t like the software. “This software is great! This software is brilliant!” screams the software architect. “Why can’t they see that?”
The problem is the client doesn’t like the software, doesn’t need it, doesn’t want it, and wasn’t looking for it. And there is nothing a marketer can do to change that fact. Much better to find out what the customers want first, and then develop the product tailored precisely and exactly to what they want. This is called “market research.”
The product or service you are selling is critical to your marketing. The #1 rule of successful marketing is: If you offer people what they want anyway, you eliminate the need for salesmanship.
You Must Have an Irresistible Offer
Your offer boils down mostly to dollars and cents. Your reader wants to know what they are getting for their money.
Your reader might like to try your new cola drink, but not for $5 a can.
You must learn how to construct powerful offers, offers that only an idiot could pass up because it’s so good.
“Buy two, get one free” is an offer. “Free 30-day trial” is an offer. “Free toy with your Happy Meal” is an offer. “Free” shipping is an offer.
Notice you see the word “Free” a lot when an offer is made. That’s because “free” is still just about the most powerful word in advertising and selling.
Your offer is the most important element of any marketing campaign. A great offer will succeed even if you write poorly. But the greatest sales copy in the world cannot sell a lousy offer.
This is another way of saying, “people are not idiots.”
They count their pennies. They make mathematical calculations before they part with their hard-earned money. They want the best deal. If they find a better deal somewhere else, they’ll take it.
So . . . what exactly is an offer?
An offer answers the "How much does it cost, and what am I buying for my money?" question.
It's the "getting down to brass tacks" part of selling.
It's the part where you are trying to persuade your prospect to pay, to part with cash.
This is the part of the transaction where both buyer and seller get their calculators out, put their green eye-shades on, put pencil to paper and decide if the transaction makes economic sense.
If someone offered you a Mercedes for $10, you would take it.
No sales presentation needed. That's an offer. But you'll go broke if you make offers like that.
The trick for a business is to construct irresistible offers that don't cause you to go broke.
The way you do this is to deliver a product that has enormous perceived value to the customer, but that does not cost you a lot to produce.
That's a big reason "information products" are so good. Information products are very cheap to produce, and can have enormous perceived value to the buyer.
How much would you pay for a weekly one-page newsletter from Bill Gates on how to build a profitable business?
How much would you pay for a one-page monthly newsletter from Warren Buffet on what stocks to invest in and why?
Probably a lot, even though a one-page newsletter does not cost much to produce.
But understand this.
The toughest part of any sale is to persuade your prospective buyer to part with cash. Your prospect must be absolutely convinced about the value of the product before any money will exchange hands.
That's why people much prefer to pay later. No one ever wants to pay now.
Of course, people prefer not to pay at all, but they also know that's not the way the world works.
With this principle in mind, let me outline for you one of the most powerful offers I have run across in my 20+ years in direct marketing.
There are four basic reasons people do not hit the order button and get out their credit card to pay you money:
1) They have no interest in what you are offering.
2) They don't want to pay what you are charging, or can't afford to pay.
3) Your offer did not get your reader's attention, so they never considered your offer.
4) Your reader does not believe your claims.
The fourth reason is usually the biggest stopper for getting the sale.
The reader does not believe what you are claiming and promising.
The biggest challenge we face as marketers is persuading our target audience that we are not lying, that we are not exaggerating our claims.
Today, more than ever, people are skeptical of the claims of advertisers.
People just don't trust your promises and claims. They don't believe you.
So, what is the best way to persuade our skeptical reader that what we are claiming is true, that we are not blowing smoke?
The best way is to let them try it for free . . . for a while. Maybe for 15 days, or 30 days or 45 days. And once they’ve had plenty of time to try your product and have determined that your product does what you say it does and that you are trustworthy, you send them an invoice.
That’s what Rodale Publishing does. And their sales are in the hundreds of millions of dollars a year. That's also what Time, Newsweek and the big magazines do.
They let their customers "pay later."
When Rodale sends out a direct mail offer, they don't ask you to pay anything in advance. Instead, they just include an order form that you sign and return to them if you want the book or the magazine.
The order form says something along these lines:
“Please send me the xyz book. I will then decide if I am satisfied with the book within 30 days. If I am happy with xyz, I will then pay for it when your invoice arrives. If I am not satisfied, I will return the book to you and owe nothing.”
These are not the exact words, but you get the point. Rodale gets about a 75% “pay-up” rate.
Some books are returned. Some books are just kept and never paid for. But 75% are paid for.
But here’s the rub.
This offer will generate at least 300% more “YES” answers (orders) than if Rodale required payment with the order. I won’t bore you with the math. You can do it yourself.
But the math works out to approximately a 100% increase in profitability if you don’t require payment up front – but instead allow this “pay later” plan . . . and only if completely satisfied.
This is a little like a guarantee, but it’s far stronger than a full money-back guarantee because no cash is required to order.
Remember, everyone hates to part with cash. A “Money-Back Guarantee” does not address this key objection.
The big magazines use this same basic offer. “Try Newsweek for three months free. If you don’t like it, just write cancel on the bill we’ll send you in 90 days.”
It is very difficult to sell any kind of subscription without this offer.
Another variation is the offer you see from book clubs. “Pay 10 cents and choose any of these bestselling books.”
By doing this, you are enrolling in a “book-of-the-month” type program. What happens then is that a new book arrives each month unless you take an active step (send back the form) to tell the book club either 1) to send a different book than the one you’ll be getting by default; or 2) not to send any book next month.
Most people don’t bother sending back the form each month, and so they end up getting, by default, whatever the book club wants to send them, and then they are obligated to pay for the book arrives (unless they return it unread, which rarely happens).
This is sometimes called the “negative check-off” option.
That’s when you must take some specific action to stop something from happening.
But the big principle here is to require “no money now” – or, in the case of the book club offer I just described, to ask for a token payment of 10 cents or $1 in exchange for something that ‘s obviously worth a whole lot more than that – the “I’ll give you this Mercedes if you pay me $10” offer.
But then they are enrolled in your program.
So you end up building a enormous list of customers, people who you know with 100% certainty are interested in what you are selling and who have either agreed to pay you if they are satisfied with the product they received from you, or who have paid something, even if it’s only a token amount like 10 cents.
Now, this is very important.
What you are doing with offers like these is essentially paying for customers.
This won’t work very well if you only have one product to sell. You need a near endless stream of follow-up products to sell to your customer list – products that are very similar to the first product they bought from you.
Take Gevalia coffee. I’m enrolled in that program. This is just like the “book-of-the-month” program I just described.
You get a new shipment of your favorite coffee every month.
The first month is free and you can cancel at any time. Same with Omaha Steaks.
Your first month in the program is free, and then you get a new shipment of steaks every month that you agree to pay for, unless you take an active step to cancel.
I use a variation on this to sell my Inner Circle program. I offer a $1 trial for 14 days. For that, trial members receive printed copies in the mail of How To Write Blockbuster Sales Letters, Automatic Marketing, are invited to attend my telecast seminars every other Thursday night and have full access to an archive of more than 80 hours of seminars on marketing, plus all my ebooks, articles and “white papers.”
This is what I call the “value pile-on” offer.
For $1, you get all this – book after book, seminar after seminar, article after article, “white paper” after “white paper” until my prospect finally says “I give up. I’d be an idiot not at least to try this.”
Think of how you can apply these kinds of offers to your marketing challenges, not just your sales letters – but for all your selling.
Require no (or very little) cash up front. Allow your customers to pay later after they’ve had plenty of time to try the product, and only if they like the product and want to keep it.
By using these kinds of offers – offers that require “no money now” or “10 cents for any four books of your choice” – you will triple your sales.
You Must Have an Eye-Popping Guarantee
This is another critical step for putting together a strong offer.
It’s no longer sufficient simply to include a money-back guarantee with your offers. There is nothing remarkable about a money-back guarantee, since all marketers include it. Snoresville.
The challenge is showing your reader that your guarantee means something, that it’s real. This reminds me of the Chris Farley line from the movie “Tommy Boy”: “Look, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it ‘Guaranteed,’ I will.”
That’s about how much credence your readers place in the word “guaranteed” today.
How do you make your guarantee mean something? How do you make your readers pay attention to your guarantee?
What’s required today is a super-charged guarantee—a guarantee, frankly, that requires brass balls (if you’re a guy). Nordstrom’s guarantee is one of the most famous.
Nordstrom promises that you can return a Nordstrom product anytime and get a full refund, no matter how long you’ve had it, no matter how much you’ve worn it.
There’s a story (probably an urban legend) about a guy who brought in a set of tires to Nordstrom, asking for a refund. Nordstrom granted the refund even though Nordstrom has never sold tires. Even though this story is probably myth, the fact that the story is out there just underscores the legendary fame the Nordstrom guarantee has achieved.
Everyone knows about the Nordstrom eye-popping guarantee. The Nordstrom guarantee is so famous that it’s now part of the Nordstrom brand. This extraordinary guarantee is what people think of when they think of Nordstrom.
The Nordstrom guarantee communicates far more than just the purchase is “risk-free” to the customer.
This super-charged guarantee communicates that Nordstrom has confidence in the quality of its merchandise, and also that Nordstrom trusts its customers to treat Nordstrom fairly. A relationship of trust is established.
Nordstrom is telling customers that the store is staking its entire business on the quality of its products and on customer satisfaction. In a sense, Nordstrom has built its business and reputation on the attention-getting strength of its guarantee.
And what a brilliant marketing strategy this is, because without this memorable guarantee, Nordstrom would not stand out in people’s minds as any different from Nieman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, or a dozen other department stores that offer the very same merchandise. The stunning Nordstrom guarantee is what makes Nordstrom different.
I know an accountant who promises his customers that if they ever feel he has failed to save them at least double the cost of his fee on their income taxes versus what they would have paid if they had done their own taxes, he will refund his entire fee.
This accountant has no shortage of clients. As far as I know, he has never been asked for a refund.
A client of mine was selling golf shirts online. He was buying the shirts in Taiwan for $8 each and selling them online for $38 each. The shirts were nice.
He offered a standard money-back . He was doing all right with that offer, but not well enough to quit his day job.
I urged him to offer a double-your-money-back guarantee.
He balked. He worried that scammers would buy the shirts and then cash in on the double-your-money-back guarantee just to make a little fast cash.
I urged him to try it. Launch a little campaign on Google AdWords. Run it for a couple of days. Then shut it down and see how many cash in on your double-your-money-back guarantee.
So that’s what he did.
What he found was that refund requests rose from 2% to 3.5%. But his sales tripled – vastly outweighing the slight up-tick in refund requests. He has now quit his day job to become a full-time etailer – buying items oversees (mostly from the developing world) and then selling them online.
Sure there will be a few jokers out there who will cash in on your money-back-plus guarantee, but very few. Most people (98% or more) truly are people of honor and integrity. People on the Internet looking to buy golf shirts are interested in the golf shirts, not ripping off the merchant.
Nordstrom would have gone out of business long ago if the average consumer had any interest in cheating the store.
Contrary to the impression we might have from the nightly newscasts, the wonderful truth is that the vast majority of people are decent, honest, hardworking folks who won’t take advantage of you and won’t try to cash in on your super-charged guarantee.
Should You Emphasize or Deemphasize the Price?
The answer depends on what you are selling.
For Wall-Mart, its low prices are key to its offer. McDonalds puts its 99 cents for price as the most prominent item on its enormous posters. For these companies, their low prices are the offer.
But Mercedes does not advertise its price. It focuses on how great the car is -- the superb engineering, the comfortable quite ride, and that it’s built to last forever. Also that it’s prestigious to own the car.
So you don’t see the price of the car on a Mercedes ad, but you will for a Ford Escort ad.
For high-priced luxury items, you need to build up desire in your reader before you reveal the price. You need to build up the value of what you are offering by describing all the benefits.
You’ll want to bury the price. We have just spent quite a lot of space on the offer. And there’s a good reason for that. The offer is absolutely the most important part of your sales presentation.
You can’t start writing until you have figured out your offer. Now onto the writing.
People Don’t Buy Products
People don’t buy things or products. People buy great results. You’re not buying leather seats for your car; you’re buying comfort, beauty, and prestige.
Am I selling drivers to golfers, or am I selling long straight shots guaranteed to take balls an extra 20 yards down the fairway?
Before I start writing, I list on index cards all benefits (results) I can identify the product achieving for the prospect. I then organize them in order of priority. I ask others to organize the cards in the priority they think is right.
I take a kind of mini-poll because what I think is important might well be wrong. The larger your poll sample, the better your data will be. Ask as many people as you can to help you prioritize your benefits index cards.
If you can find a “hidden benefit,” that can further strengthen your appeal.
Anytime you can share a secret, show people something “hidden,” ears will perk up. A hidden benefit of aspirin is that it helps diminish the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes by thinning the blood and thereby unclogging arteries.
Wow! That’s a pretty good benefit. We’re now supposed to take an aspirin-a-day, whether or not we have a headache. And that’s great news for the aspirin makers, who were on the ropes because of Tylenol.
A hidden benefit of the time-management program you are selling is that not only will it make your reader more productive and his business more profitable, but he’ll have a lot more time for family, golf, and for doing the things he loves doing.
In almost every product you sell, you can find “hidden benefits” that might be even more attractive than the obvious benefit. “Hidden benefits” are like “hidden treasures.” They are so much more exciting to read about.
Describe Your Most Important Benefit in Detail
Your readers must be persuaded that your claims are true. You must prove your claims.
You do this by going into a fair amount of detail about how and why your product will achieve the wonderful benefit you are describing. You don’t do this with a lot of hype. You don’t do this by using empty words like “amazing” and “incredible.” You do this with facts, reasons, and interesting little-known details.
The great advertising writer Claude Hopkins, way back in 1919, was hired by Schlitz beer to craft an ad campaign that would rescue the company. Schlitz at the time was running about fifteenth in beer sales and was in deep trouble.
Hopkins made a trip to Wisconsin to visit the brewery. He needed to learn more about how beer was made. Hopkins knew that it was impossible to sell without a thorough knowledge of the product being sold.
The folks at Schlitz showed Hopkins the entire brewing process, step by step. They showed him how deep they had drilled their wells to find the purest water.
They showed him the glass enclosed rooms that kept the water pure, the kind of yeast they used and where they got it. They showed Hopkins the place where the bottles were cleaned, re-cleaned, and sanitized a dozen times.
“My God,” Hopkins said, “Why don’t you tell people in your advertising about all these steps you are taking to brew your beer?”
But, answered the Schlitz people, “all companies brew their beer about the same way.”
“Yes,” Hopkins countered, “but the first one to tell the public about this process will gain a big advantage.”
Hopkins then launched an ad campaign for Schlitz that described in detail the company’s step-by-step brewing process for making the beer.
Within six months, Schlitz jumped to the #1 selling beer.
Hopkins proved with his ad campaign that there are no boring subjects, just boring writers.
“Who wants to hear a story about the step-by-step brewing process of making beer?” one might wonder.
Turns out those who love beer are fascinated by the subject.
They want to know exactly and precisely why they should pick this beer above all others. Claude Hopkins understood this law of marketing and went on to turn the brewing process into an exciting story, full of detail—and of riveting interest to beer lovers.
Craft a great headline that highlights the most important benefit of buying what you are selling
Headlines are absolutely essential for grabbing the attention of your reader. Headlines are what people read to see if they have any interest in what you have to say.
The headline writers at the New York Post and National Inquirer are masters of the craft. People buy these newspapers entirely because of the headlines. And people read the articles because they want the details that justify such amazing headlines.
Your readers, if they don’t know you personally, will give you about three seconds to get your point across. You need to highlight that with your headline.
The headline should highlight the main benefit to the reader for continuing to read your letter.
Your letter must have a headline that grabs the attention of your reader.
The job of the headline is to create interest and intrigue so that your prospective customer wants to read the rest of the story to find out what justifies such an fascinating headline.
To learn how to write great headlines, pick up a copy of The National Enquirer and read the ads in there. Almost all these ads are direct response ads.
The world’s greatest direct response copywriters are running ads in The National Enquirer. One ad that’s been running for as long as I can remember starts with this headline:
“Corns Gone in Five Days or Money Back”
I think this ad has been running in every issue since I was a kid and never changes. So it must be working fantastically well.
Notice how direct this headline is. The entire benefit and offer is contained in just eight simple words. And a money-back guarantee gives credibility to the claim.
Everything you need to know is in the headline.
The claim is also very specific. The corns are not just going to be gone, they will be “gone in five days or money back.”
Looks pretty simple doesn’t it. But a headline like this is worth millions of dollars in sales.
Notice also that this headline does not try to be funny or clever. It does not try to impress you with stylish writing. This headline is simple and direct.
This headline passes what I call the “bumper sticker test.” You must be able to fit the main benefit of what you are selling on a bumper sticker.
Your reader will give you three seconds, at most, to get your point across. If you can’t sum up the main benefit of what you are selling in a way that it will fit on a bumper sticker, your ad will fail.
This “Corns Gone in Five Days or Money Back” headline is just eight words long.
Your headline should never be longer than 12 words. If it takes you more than 12 words to sum up the main benefit of what you're offering, you'll need to go back to the drawing board.
The next time you're in the supermarket, pick up a copy of The National Enquirer.
Don't laugh. Direct mail marketing is not a field for elitist snobs who look down their noses at average folks. The National Enquirer has more readers than The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal combined.
Study the "Corns Gone in Five Days" ad . . . and the other ads you see in this tabloid.
Nope, these aren't the kinds of ads that are created by a Madison Avenue ad agency. These aren't the kinds of "image building" and "brand awareness" ads run on prime-time network TV by the Fortune 500 companies.
These ads won't win awards for cleverness, wit or creativity. These are direct response ads that bring in millions of dollars in orders. These are money-making ads, not "brand awareness" or "image building" ads. These ads do one and only one thing -- they SELL.
Another headline I love is Apple’s headline for the iPod:
“1,000 Songs in Your Pocket”
Nothing in this headline about gigibytes or all the things the iPod can do – just the #1 benefit to the user: “1,000 Songs in Your Pocket.” An eight-year-old can understand this.
Headline writing is critical in all sales and marketing copy.
Here are some fill-in-the-blank headline formulas you might find useful.
“21 rules for writing headlines that sell”
“Seven predictions for 2008 that can change your life”
How to Fix Your Leaky Pipes Permanently So You Don’t Need to Keep Calling a Plumber
“Eleven secrets of successful investing”
“How I lost 10 pounds in 10 days”
“How moving to Nevada saved my company $1,000,000 the first year”
“How I slashed $50,000 off my income tax bill”
“Why I’ll never let my kids sit in a classroom”
“The biggest mistake made by parents”
“Why my 10-year old boy would rather read a book than watch TV”
“How I beat cancer by knowing what questions to ask my doctor”
“How I solved my sex problems without Viagra or any other drug”
“How I put excitement back in my marriage”
“How I got my wife to stop nagging me and start praising me”
“How I motivated myself to get in shape”
“If you like to write, I can teach you how to make $30,000 a month from home”
“35 rules for staying in the lives of your kids when they grow up.”
Can you see the pattern?
These headlines are aimed at hooking your reader. And they emphasize a big benefit to the reader. Notice that nearly every one of these headlines taps into a fear or an anxiety people have. The word “secret” is an attention-getter. People want secrets.
I would like to know the secret to a consistent golf swing that will produce consistently straight shots.
The word “hidden” is another word that triggers interest. People want to know where the “hidden” treasure is. Hidden implies almost no one knows about it. I just need a map. I just need someone to tell me where this “hidden” treasure is.
“How To . . .” and “How I . . .” are often good ways to start a headline.
Numbering the ways or items in your headline can be effective: “Seven Habits of Successful People.”
A number suggests that the program is limited, definable, achievable. “If I do these seven things, I will be successful. I just need to complete the program.” These are the thoughts we try to trigger here.
And notice, too, that good headlines always create mystery and intrigue, telling the casual reader what the big benefit is without giving away any answers.
The headline tells the reader, “Here’s what this letter is about. But you’ll need to read it to find the answer to your problem and to satisfy your desire.”
By the way, your sales letter site should include some actual answers. Some professional direct marketing copywriters make the mistake of having their entire letter be almost nothing but headlines and intriguing statements with no real answers.
Your letter does need to deliver the goods, or your reader will just be frustrated. Your reader will see you as just another huckster, probably with nothing much of real value to offer.
Never be afraid to give away some of your product. Those who like it will want more. In addition, they will trust you. If you cannot communicate what you are offering and its main benefit to the reader in less than three seconds, your sales letter site is doomed. Your Web surfer will be off to the next site.
You catch the attention of your Web surfer with headlines and sub-heads.
Tell The Full Story
And that’s another big reason you need headlines and sub-heads – to break up all that copy.
The reason long letters almost always work better than short letters is this.
Once your headline has captured the interest of your reader enough that your reader is now taking the time to read your ad, your reader wants all the details.
If your reader is not interested, he won’t start reading. The details are for those who are interested enough to invest some time to learn more about what you have to say. They want the facts. They want the full story.
And they will be very disappointed if you fail to deliver the goods promised by your great headline. I have often been a bit annoyed when I bought a copy of The National Enquirer because of a fascinating headline that screamed at me from the newspaper rack. The article then fell flat.
It did not include much detail. It left my questions unanswered. I wanted to learn more.
When finishing the rather lame article, I have sometimes felt ripped off by the spectacular headline.
If you are interested enough to start reading something, you want the full story. You want all your questions answered.
Stephen King is in the business of selling books. His stories are 600 pages and 800 pages long. He sells millions of books because his stories are so fascinating.
He’s a great storyteller.
Golfers will read article after article on how to improve their scores. There’s no limit to the amount of information you can deliver to an avid golfer. Your long-copy letters and ads are for those who are interested in the topic you are addressing.
Those who are not interested will not read a word of what you have to say, no matter how short your letter or ad is. Your long-copy sales letter site is for those who are interested.
But you need headlines and sub-heads to catch the eye of your interested readers, to break up the big blocks of copy and to keep your reader reading your ad.
Some of my most successful direct mail letters are eight, 16 and even 32 pages long. The more you tell, the more your sell.
But Don’t Waste Words
Don’t write a long letter just because long copy usually works better than a short letter. Don’t pad your copy with fluff. You should have a purpose for every word you write. Your letter can be long, but the writing should be tight and powerful.
The Bible is long, but the stories are short and tight. They leave a lasting impression on the brain -- powerful, like acid. Edit your copy ruthlessly. Strip out all excess words.
A big reason for the long letter is that you must write for both the impulse shopper and the one who needs all the information before deciding to buy.
Research shows that of those who buy in answer to a direct response ad or letter, about half are “skimmers” and about half read every word.
Your headlines and sub-heads are for your skimmers.
They will buy just because they want what you are selling.
They don’t need all the information. They just want it and want it now and don’t have the patience to read all that long copy.
But about half your buyers won’t buy until all their questions are answered.
Your long letter or long news article-style ad copy is for those who want all the information.
Write About Your Reader
Avoid using the words “we” or “our.”
Look for ways to rephrase your “we” and “our” statements to use the word “you.” Instead of saying “We make the most durable car,” say “You will benefit from this car’s unsurpassed durability.”
You may not be able to completely avoid using the words “we” or “our,” but always look for ways to rephrase your statement to use the word “you.”
With each statement, always strive to answer the question, “How will the reader benefit from what I’m selling?” And “why should the reader care about what I’m saying?”
Your headlines and main message of your sales copy should answer the “So what?” question. After every line you write, ask “So what?” Asking this question about every line your write will help you write much stronger sales copy.
Prove Every Claim You Make
People are more skeptical today than ever of advertising claims.
Anything the salesman has to say is going to be met with skepticism, no matter how compelling the story and claims, and no matter how exact the details are described.
You need others—preferably famous and respected people—to confirm that what you are saying is true.
If you are selling a fix for muscle pain, you should have endorsements by top doctors -- perhaps doctors who work for professional sports teams.
An endorsement of your muscle pain cure from the official team doctor of the New York Giants would be impressive.
But it’s also important for endorsements not to be just hype. Endorsements are best if they are mini-stories — a mini-story on how the recognized expert discovered your product and then a fairly detailed description of exactly what your product achieved for him is an effective, believable testimonial.
The more testimonials you have the better.
Get testimonials on audio and video and put them on your site. And if you have favorable news coverage about you, highlight that as an exhibit.
There are really three kinds of proof you can present to show your reader that your claims are true. There’s what marketing professionals call social proof.
These are your testimonials from those who have bought your product, used it and loved it.
Then there is technical proof. It’s often strong to show that your claims have been scientifically validated. Including quotes from an article from a respected scientific journal can be a good way to do this.
And then there is factual proof. Perhaps you have a great track-record of success. If you are offering investment advice, what are your five-year and ten-year returns on investments? How do your returns compare to your competition? A chart showing this comparison can be powerful.
People love to study charts and diagrams.
A sales presentation is not just a letter. You also need supporting exhibits. Your website should be a show-and-tell presentation. Your letter does the selling. Your exhibits provide the supporting proof that your claims are true.
The longer you hold your reader’s attention,
The car salesman wants to keep you in the showroom.
He knows that if you leave the showroom, the chance he will ever get the sale is almost nil.
If your reader puts your letter aside, thinking “I’ll come back to it later”—you can be near 100 percent certain she will never be back. If she ever comes back, it’s a bonus.
On the other hand, if you can write in such a way that captivates your reader (like Stephen King writes), you have a great chance of getting the sale. The longer your visitor stays on your site reading, the better chance you have of getting the order.
There is only one reason your prospect will stay on your site. You are striking a chord with your visitor.
What you are saying is of intense interest to your visitor.
Your visitor will continue to read only if it’s more difficult for your reader to stop reading than to continue reading . . . because what you are saying is so fascinating.
Write in a Casual Friendly Style
People make writing much more of a chore than it needs to be. Write as you actually speak in everyday life.
Don’t worry about having perfect grammar. Don’t be an illiterate. But don’t worry too much about split infinitives and ending sentences with prepositions. You’re not trying to impress your high-school English composition teacher.
You’re trying to sell.
Your sales letter and copy should strive to approximate a one-one-one conversation you would have with a prospect over a kitchen table.
You don’t use the King’s English in your conversations with people, and you shouldn’t in your ads. When you’ve finished drafting your sales letter and other web copy, read what you’ve written out loud to see how it sounds.
Does it flow easily?
If you have young children, try reading what you’ve written to them. Can a fourth-grader understand what you are saying?
Are you keeping their interest? If not, simplify your writing. And by the way, you should write at a fourth-grade level not because your readers are stupid. They are wizzing from one site to another. They aren’t going to pause to figure out what you are saying.
Show Your Readers the Real You
People love to be a “fly on the wall” in people’s private lives.
People magazine is one of America’s most popular magazines because people love gossip. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
Yes, people love gossip. But more than that, people just love hearing stories about other people -- the good, the bad and the ugly news.
Let your readers know things about you. And it should not always be about how great you are.
Don’t be afraid to let people in on some of your weaknesses and flaws. This is especially important for blogs.
But it’s important also for your sales copy. It will make your writing so much more interesting to read.
People would much rather do business with people they know. Let your customers and prospects know who you are. Let them see the real you.
Plus, just straight forward honesty about who you really are is one of the most powerful and effective sales tools.
Don’t try to present yourself as someone you are not. Americans have become experts at immediately detecting scams and false claims because they have now seen so many.
An exaggeration, a claim that seems the least bit suspect, will cause your readers to dismiss everything else you have to say. In fact, they will just stop reading as soon as they sense they are the target of a snow job.
That’s why in all my sales copy I make sure to clearly state—even highlight—my weaknesses and shortcomings right up front.
Why do I do this?
Well, for one thing it’s probably readily apparent to anyone who meets me what my strengths and weaknesses are. It would be a completely futile exercise to try to present myself as something different than what I am.
Another reason to admit your weaknesses up front in any sales presentation is that it establishes your credibility. It’s disarming. You will immediately see your listeners’ guard come down.
And then I will turn my readily admitted weaknesses into strengths.
For example, I usually tell audiences of aspiring entrepreneurs that “I can’t hold down an office job in a big company for long, which is why I had no choice but to go into business for myself.”
Who would ever admit such a thing?
The audience’s ears immediately perk up. They want to hear more. After that shocking admission, I then say something like:
The truth is, most successful entrepreneurs would be fired instantly from most jobs at big established companies . . . because they like doing things their own way. They don’t have much patience for bureaucracy and meetings. They have no time for office politics. They are men and women of action. They don’t wait for orders from headquarters. They hear the gunfire and ride to the sound of the guns. They don’t wait for the committee to decide what needs to be done. When the entrepreneur sees a problem, he tackles it, instantly.
The entrepreneur is not worried about covering his rear end. He just wants to get the job done, and done now. Unfortunately, this is not a personality that is appreciated in most large corporate bureaucracies. Corporate bureaucracies can’t act quickly, which is why they always hire consultants like me to do what needs to be done . . . because I can be easily fired. And I don’t mind one bit. As a consultant, especially as a marketing consultant, my entire job is to solve a marketing problem and then get fired and move on to solve someone else’s marketing problem.
Admitting your weakness up front makes everything else you have to say more believable.
Admitting your weaknesses and shortcomings also helps define who you are and what you do, why you are different from your competitors . . . who will never admit their weaknesses.
We’re not big, established, famous, or prestigious. But because we’re small and new, we’re more flexible. We’ll work harder for your business. Your hard-earned dollar will go a lot further with us. We’ll care more about you; and your account won’t be handled by an inexperienced junior account manager. You’ll be dealing everyday with the head of this company, who has more than 20 years experience in this industry.
Avis deployed this ad strategy brilliantly against Hertz, which is the bigger car rental company. Avis admitted in its ad campaign: “We’re #2, so we’ll try harder.”
What an endearing ad campaign. Plus, Americans love an underdog. Avis is not likely ever to pass Hertz as the biggest car rental company. But being #2 isn’t bad. Most of us would take it.
So, not only is straight-forward honesty a moral imperative, it’s an extremely effective sales strategy.
Think of this truth this way. Your customers, your clients are not idiots. They are very intelligent people who hear sales pitches all the time. They know when they are being conned.
When a salesman walks into their office or when a direct mail pitch arrives in the mail, their immediate reaction is to get rid of the salesman as quickly as possible and to pitch the direct mail piece in the trash.
That’s always your potential customer’s first impulse. But obvious honesty and candor where you admit weakness instantly diffuses skepticism.
The skeptic’s antennae start to go down. Your prospective customer starts to like you and believe what you have to say—that is, until you make a claim that appears to be hype.
A Simple, Clear “Call-to-Action”
Tell your readers exactly what you want them to do and when.
Do you want them to order?
Have an order button that says “Order Here.”
If you have a long scrolling sales letter, include several “Order Here” buttons spaced throughout the page. Be sure to mention the deadline for ordering and reason for the deadline.
If you have some extra bonuses for ordering early, be sure to list them. Be sure to connect the main benefits of your offer with your call-to-action. Remind your reader what they will get by ordering.
Order forms should look like order forms. Your order page should include a list of everything your visitor will receive, and when. When I hear a radio ad for a product that I want, I’ll pull off to the side of the road, find a pen and write down the toll-free number.
That’s the reaction you want with your “calls-to-action.”
Your simple clear call to action is absolutely critical to your success. Don’t assume your reader will know what to do or how to do it. You have to tell your reader what to do in simple clear steps.
Drive Your Key Point Home Many Different Ways
I began my professional writing career as a speechwriter.
I wrote speeches for President Reagan and President Bush the elder, as well as many other well-known political figures. The basic formula for an effective speech is to tell your audience what you are going to say, then say it, then conclude by telling your audience what you just said.
You do not, of course, repeat the same words. You make your main point in different ways – for example, by telling an interesting story that illustrates the main point you want people to grasp and never forget.
You come at the same point from different angles. That’s how you sell one thing with long copy. The main points in the Bible are summarized in the Ten Commandments, and restated in a different way with the Sermon on the Mount.
The points are also illustrated with stories, which is why the Bible is so long.
Follow this same time-tested and proven formula for effective communication with your advertising copy. Perhaps the biggest mistake you can make with your marketing is to assume that you have communicated your message.
Never assume that your message has not gotten through.
The Most Persuasive Word in Sales
Again, contrary to conventional advertising wisdom, the most persuasive words in selling are not “free” and “new.” The word “BECAUSE” is far more persuasive.
Why?
BECAUSE this word signals to the reader that you have reasons for making the claims you are asserting . . .
BECAUSE this word instantly lets your reader know that you have facts to back up what you say . . .
BECAUSE this word shows your reader that you have put thought into what you are writing.
BECAUSE is a great word for building credibility.
The word BECAUSE signals that you have facts to support what you are saying. “Hire me BECAUSE . . .” is so much stronger than just leaving it as “HIRE ME!”
And adding an exclamation mark does not strengthen the argument one bit.
Facts sell. And reasons sell . . . BECAUSE facts and reasons persuade.
The word “BECAUSE” tells your reader that the rest of the sentence will be “a reason why” what you claim is true, or a reason why I am asking you to take some action.
Suppose your 10-year-old child made this request: “Mom, can I come home later tonight and miss dinner?”
Your response would not be, “Sure, no problem. Come home whenever you can.” It would either be to say “No, absolutely not. Get home right now and start your homework.” Or, you might come back with a very skeptical, “Why?”—knowing your answer would still be “No.”
Your child would have a far greater chance of getting an immediate “yes” if he asked the same question this way: “Mom, can I come home after dinner tonight BECAUSE I’ve already finished my homework and BECAUSE Jimmy’s mom has invited me to have dinner there with them.”
The word BECAUSE is very disarming BECAUSE this word tells you that your child is about to follow his seemingly out-of-the-ordinary request with a set of reasons and facts that can easily be checked out.
You might still answer “NO” after hearing his reasons and facts. You might indeed have a stronger set of facts and reasons for denying his request. But the conversation is now engaged. And your son has a far greater chance of getting a “yes” answer from you . . . all BECAUSE he immediately followed his request with the word “BECAUSE.”
Remember, it’s facts, reasons, logical arguments, fascinating details, and a great story all help you sell.
The fastest way to guarantee your visitor hits the exit button on your site is to use the typical empty hype-words amateur writers use all the time in their sales letters.
You know these words well—words like “amazing,” “incredible, “awesome,” the “best ever,” “colossal,” and the “greatest.”
With compelling facts, reasons, and a good story to tell, there’s no reason to use these kinds of meaningless hype words.
But these hype words are used so often that not only are they not attention-getting in the least, they have actually become trigger words that cause a reflex action in readers to stop reading immediately.
Most amateur sales writers think raising the volume and screaming at the reader is the best way to make sure the reader listens—when actually it’s the surest way to cause your prospect to tune out.
Good copywriting does not imitate the approach of street corner huckster. The best salesmen are those who have a knack for selling without their customers even realizing they are being sold.
The instant your prospect sees that she is being sold, the truth detector machinery in the brain kicks onto full alert and your reader becomes a super skeptic.
Who are you more likely to hire to do a job?
The fellow who is trying to sell you hard, the fellow who seems desperate for work?
Or the fellow who does not need the job because he has plenty of business already, the fellow who must clear a spot in his schedule for you because his services are in such demand?
When Stephen King writes, does he use a lot of hype to generate reader interest? Does he scream at the reader?
Does he say, “Okay reader, now get ready for the scary part, because this is going to be really, really scary”?
No, he simply tells the story. Readers are pulled along by the fascinating details, the mystery, the intrigue, the suspense, and the storyline.
This is how Stephen King gets people to stay up all night reading one of his 600-page books.
Great writers know how to hold the attention of readers without the empty hype. Study Stephen King and how he holds your attention. You will then write much better letters.
Remember, Stephen King is a salesman too. He sells books for a living, and he’s sold a lot of them. But it does not matter one bit to his customers that Stephen King is selling them books, because we are completely immersed in the story he’s telling, and the fascinating details.
We want him to keep writing books . . . so we can buy more.
The First Line
Your first line is the most important line of your letter after the headline.
The job of the first line is for it to be interesting enough that your reader wants to read the second line. And you need to get to the point of why your are writing immediately.
Has a salesman ever come to your door and stood there talking with you for minutes without saying why he’s there?
He asks you how you are doing. He talks about the weather. He comments on how nice your house is and how nice your kids are.
You then finally ask, “What are you selling?” . . . if you haven’t slammed the door in his face with an “I’m not interested.”
The reality is, as soon as your readers open your envelope and see your letter, they instantly know they are being pitched—sold something. And they won’t take more than about three seconds to figure out what you’ve got to sell.
They aren’t going to read a page or two to find out what your pitch is about. They’ll judge it by the first sentence.
James Bond movies always start with a great action sequence. Never will a James Bond movie start with a long-winded conversation. Opera fans do not go to operas to hear singers clear their throats. They go for the performance. Your readers want the performance to start with the first sentence.
Because this first line is so critical, I will sometimes think for hours, even days about the all-important first line.
A good way to come up with a great first sentence is first to write a draft of your entire letter, then put it down for 24 hours and come back to it. Then read through your entire letter and pick the most exciting line you find in your letter.
More often then not, you’ll find the best line of the letter somewhere in the middle of all that you have written. Rewrite your letter and start with that line.
If I have the right first line, the rest of the letter is easy to write. It almost seems to write itself.
Every sentence flows so easily if you’ve started with the right first sentence. You know you’ve chosen the wrong first sentence if the rest of the letter is very difficult to write.
In fact, if your letter is difficult to write, chances are it will be difficult for your reader to understand. You should probably just stop writing and go back to the drawing board.
The first sentence is like the foundation upon which you build a house. If the foundation is wrong, the entire structure will collapse. The all-important job of the first sentence is to interest your reader enough that she continues to read your letter.
Your first sentence must be so captivating that it’s more difficult to stop reading than to keep reading.
That’s no easy task. What you want to do in the first line is underscore the big benefit of continuing to read your letter.
You want to create interest and intrigue. And you want your reader to know instantly that there is a big payoff to the reader for continuing to read.
Here are some of my categories of first lines:
1. The damaging admission
If an idiot like me can write ads that take in more than $50,000, then I’m betting you can too.
If a person of average intelligence like me can earn $400,000 a year sitting in my boxer shorts on the couch tapping away on my laptop computer keyboard, I’ll bet you can too.
The reason the damaging admission is so strong is not only is that interesting, but that fact that you are admitting a weakness helps make you credible.
The damaging admission can be a great way to start a letter.
When I give a speech, I can see ears perk up and eyes focus when I launch into a story about something I did that was really stupid or really embarrassing, or some big mistake I made that cost me a lot of money.
2. A startling, frightening statement
The startling and frightening statement is a great way to get the attention of your reader. Examples of this include . . .
If your child is still lagging behind his peers in school by the fourth grade, he will likely lag behind his peers for the rest of his life.
If you are 15 pounds overweight, the odds are your life will be 10 years shorter.
3. The proposition
People love to read propositions. Sometimes the first line of my letter will be simply “I have a proposition for you.”
That line just about guarantees that my reader will at least read the second line.
People’s ears perk up when they hear propositions – I think because propositions are believeable. People know nothing is really free in this life.
They know there is a catch somewhere.
Simply stating right up front that you have a proposition will cause your reader to pay attention.
Here are some examples of starting a letter with a proposition.
“If you will give me just 30 minutes of your time a month, I will show you how to double your income in less than a year.”
“If you are a non-smoker, you can save 50% a year on life insurance.”
“If your firm needs temporaries, we’ll give you your first temp for free.”
“If you’ve written a book, we’ll show you how to get it published.”
“If you’ll give me a few minutes of your time, I’ll show you how to collect from Social Security no matter what your age.”
4. A question that engages the reader
“If I could show you how you can add 20 yards to your drive in just six swings, would you be interested?”
“Did you know there are still some people who do not know that . . .?”
“Do you fear public speaking?”
Questions are great because a question puts the reader in charge of the conversation.
When you ask a question, you are not preaching at the reader. You are not screaming at the reader.
You are simply asking a question – a question that is carefully crafted to engage the mind of the reader in such a way that they will want to hear your proposition.
Now, here’s anonther caregory of opening line, and that’s . . .
5. A question that puts your reader on the spot
This is a less welcome kind of a questions – a question designed to create anxiety in your reader.
Remember, fear is probably the #1 reason people buy. Fear, anxiety, insecurity. Starting your letter with a question along these lines will trigger anxiety in your reader . . .
“How much do you love your family? Enough to make sure they are financially secure in the event something happens to you?”
“Are you ashamed of the smells in your kitchen?”
“Are you embarrassed to try for high-paying jobs because of your poor vocabulary?”
“Are you respected by your employees, or do they laugh at you behind your back?”
“Does your low income embarrass you?”
So those are questions designed to create anxiety in the mind of your reader – questions that put your reader on the spot.
6. The mysterious preview
“If you will just give me six minutes of your time and read my entire letter, I expect it will be the most profitable six minutes of your life.”
Remember, you don’t want to give away your entire message right away.
You want to create interest and intrigue. This is a pretty good way to do it.
I’ll use this approach if my message takes some explaining – in other words, if I cannot fit my central point on a bumper sticker.
8. Reliance on experts
“What do doctors use when they have headaches?”
“What does Tiger Woods do when his swing goes off track?”
“As the team doctor for the New York Yankees, _______is what I give the players for their muscle aches.”
9. Rooting for the underdog
People love to root for the underdog, and love to hear undergod stories. It’s a little like the damaging admission category. Examples of using the underdog story . . .
“They laughed when they saw me strap on a snowboard, but not when they saw me come down the mountain like a pro.”
“They chuckled when I volunteered to test my skills against my judo teacher, but their laughs turned to amazement when he was lying on the mat.”
10. Riveting story that can be told instantly
Here’s an example.
“Three years ago, my wife died of lung cancer. Had I known then what I know now, she would still be alive.”
When I tell you that stories sell, they only sell if it’s riveting. And the story needs to be short and powerful.
Look how quickly the above story is told. It’s an attention-grabber.
13. Free gift incentive to act now
“I have two tickets to the Yankees-Red Sox game for you, but I’ll need to know by Tuesday if you can use them.”
“You’ve won a free trip for two to Las Vegas. It includes non-stop airfare and two nights at the spectacular Mirage hotel. All you have to do is call by Thursday, May 23, to pick up your e-tickets and hotel reservation confirmation number.”
“If you will complete the enclosed survey and mail it back to me by July 3, I will send you my new book.”
To write a powerful first sentence, you want to tap into as many emotions and desires as you possibly can.
Then get to, or at least hint at, what you are offering or the opportunity you are presenting, while at the same time creating enough intrigue and mystery so that your reader has little choice but to keep reading.
Can you see how none of these leads scream at the reader?
These lead sentences are all factual, no empty hype like “I have an incredible offer for you.”
Empty hype words like “incredible” and “amazing” are, in fact, the quickest way to ensure your reader stops reading.
If you always write with the attitude that your readers are as smart, or smarter, than you are, you will have a far more success.
Have One Big Idea that Holds Your Entire Offer Together
What this really means is, understand what you are really selling.
Am I selling cosmetics? Or am I selling the hope of the reader becoming irresistible to men?
Am I selling clothes? Or am I selling a transformed life that will lead to romance and success?
Am a selling a car? Or am I selling excitement, comfort, and an image for the driver?
Am I selling refrigerators? Or am I selling fewer trips to the grocery store because of all the added space, plus dramatically improving the appearance of the kitchen because of the fine cherry wood paneling?
Am I selling vacations? Or am I selling an experience that the reader and her children will remember for the rest of their lives?
Am I selling gym memberships with treadmills and weights? Or am I selling a new body that will make male readers attractive to women and give them a longer, healthier life?
Am I selling a seminar? Or am I selling a way to give those who enroll an advantage over their peers and competitors that will last a lifetime?
Is Starbucks selling coffee? Or is Starbucks selling an experience, a place to hang out, and even a social life?
Are florists selling roses? Or the easiest way for a guy to get back on the good side of his wife or girlfriend?
Is the phone company selling communications equipment? Or a way to stay connected with friends and loved ones?
Understanding exactly what it is you are really selling will improve the results of your sales letters exponentially.
Keep it Super Simple
This is the famous KISS rule.
Part of that principle means that your sales letter must sell one and only one thing.
Do not offer a menu of items for sale with your sales letter. Sell one and only one thing.
You have 3-5 seconds to get the attention of your reader with your headline and deliver your message.
What would your headline be if you are offering many different items: “Here Are Several Options for Getting Rid of Your Corns”?
Doesn’t sound quite as persuasive as “Corns Gone in Five Days or Your Money Back,” does it?
The instant your reader is confused by your presentation is the instant she will tune out.
Complexity is the enemy of sales. In fact, complexity is the enemy of communication.
Sell just one thing. Ask for one decision, not many decisions with lots of options. Make your instructions clear, direct, and easy to follow.
Simple, clear sentences. Simple, clear action steps. Simple, clear order form. Simple, clear headlines. Simple, clear reasons. Simple clear offer
Tell readers what bad things will happen if they fail to act now
Your readers must be given good reasons to act now, not tomorrow.
People buy more out of impulse. If your prospect leaves your site to go onto something else, your offer is probably doomed.
Your reasons to act now, not tomorrow, must also be credible, not hype. For example:
The registration deadline for my Direct Marketer’s Boot Camp is September 23.
I’m limiting enrollment to just 24 people to ensure that each participant receives personal one-on-one coaching, which includes an analysis of your current direct marketing offers.
I am accepting enrollment applications in the order of their arrival. The Boot Camps always fill up long before the deadline date. So your best course of action is to enroll right now by hitting the “Enroll Now” button below.
Can you see how the reason I give for my reader to answer my letter immediately also restates some of the key benefits of the seminar?
In this case, it is the personal one-on-one coaching and analysis of the customer’s current direct marketing offers. I might also mention that “this is the last time I’ve scheduled a Boot Camp in the Cleveland area. I’m sure I’ll be back again, but maybe not for another couple of years.”
Suggesting to your reader that this is a “last chance” opportunity to do something or buy something is always strong. When Seinfeld, or M*A*S*H, or Dallas announced their last and final shows, when we were told there would never be another show made, these last and final programs were some of the most widely-watched TV shows in history.
You might not be looking to buy a gun. You might never have thought of buying a gun before. But what if you knew that all gun purchases would be banned after tomorrow?
And that after tomorrow, you would never be allowed to buy another gun? You would see a stampede into gun stores. “Last chance” arguments for acting now is a proven formula for success. But, as with all your sales letters and presentations, the claim must be believable.
Avoid using shopworn phrases used by amateur writers like “Supplies are limited, so act now.”
Everyone knows you probably have a warehouse full of the junk. Stronger would be a more credible:
“We’re down to the last few books, and it could be many months before we go back up on press with another printing. So I encourage you to hit the “Order Now” button below. That’s the surest, fastest way to secure your book.”
This says almost same thing, but it’s far more precise. The reasons are solid. And there’s no hype, just good solid facts and reasons for acting now and not waiting until tomorrow.
The point is, you must have a deadline for ordering – because you don’t want you reader to feel she can put off ordering until later. And you must have good solid reasons for your deadline.
Tell Readers Exactly What They Will Get
Your customers want to know exactly what they will be getting for their money.
When you buy a car, you want the exact specifications, so that when you compare prices with other dealers you know you are comparing apples to apples.
When you buy a computer, you need to know the specifications:
How fast is it? How much memory does it have? How big is the screen? How clear is the resolution?
Feature a beautiful picture of the computer you are offering. Include all the information.
If the information is highly technical, such as with computers, you might include all the specs on its own page that opens in a separate window. Technical specifications make for boring copy, so the complete list should not be included in the letter, just the highlights. But a complete list should be included somewhere in your presentation (out of the way, but in a place where your reader can easily find it).
If you are selling a study-at-home course, you should include impressive photos of all the materials that will be arriving in a box.
Your sales site is like a show-and-tell presentation. Provide all the information. Give your reader a lot of great material to study.
Figure Out Your Unique Selling Proposition
What is it that’s different about your business, your product, your service?
What is it that your product does that no other product does? What makes you different from your competitors?
We marketers toss around the term “unique selling proposition” all the time. But I’ve found very few small businesses that can tell me in 50 words or less why I (or any other consumer) should buy from them as opposed to all the other choices I have.
All this takes is a little thought and creativity.
Maybe what makes you different is that you are local. Or maybe you’re different because you’re national. Maybe your advantage is that you’re small, or that you’re big. Maybe your advantage is that your staff is old and “experienced” or that your staff is young and “energetic.”
If I were to start a competitor to the National Rifle Association, I would not start an organization that does exactly what the NRA does. I would try to figure out what needs to be done in the Second Amendment arena that the NRA isn’t doing.
I would try to find a task that needs doing that no one else is working on. Perhaps I would try to be even more hardcore and purest on the Second Amendment issue than the NRA.
By taking this approach, I would never become as big as the NRA, but I might become 20 percent or 10 percent the size of the NRA. I would try to find some niche to dominate and become known for, some niche not occupied by the NRA.
It would be hopeless to try to compete directly with the NRA, as hopeless as it would be to try to compete with Coca-Cola by launching an imitation cola.
Yes, other companies have done it. Pepsi did it successfully with many billions of dollars in advertising. Of course, Pepsi will never surpass Coke.
Pepsi will always be the #2 cola drink, and that’s not bad.
But even Pepsi emphasizes its differences with Coke. Pepsi is “less syrupy,” has a “cleaner, more refreshing taste,” “is chosen by 70 percent of people in blind taste tests,” and is for a “younger generation” —or so the company claims.
Pepsi never says it is the same as Coke, but rather claims to taste better than Coke.
But most of us don’t have billions of dollars to compete with the CocaColas of the world, so we need to do something different, something that’s clearly not being done by some other organization that’s a lot bigger and richer than we are.
So figure out, or manufacture, what makes you different from your competition, and hammer your theme into the minds of your customers and potential.
Of course, your USP must be a difference that’s both needed and sellable. No point in having a USP no one wants, like diet pizza.
Understand the Purpose of Graphics
Graphics and appearance are crucial to the success of your sales site, but not to make your site look pretty. The purpose of graphics is to allow you to instantly communicate your message to your reader. You do this principally with headlines.
The purpose of a headline is to reach out and grab the reader—to tell the reader what your letter is about, to create enough intrigue and interest for your reader to want to keep reading.
More often than not, graphics on sites actually obscure the message of the site. Graphics should enable your reader to grasp the message of site in three seconds or less.
Simple layouts are best. Simple layouts are less costly to produce, load faster on computer screens and communicate far more effectively.
In direct marketing it’s “plain Jane,” not the prettiest girl at the party, who wins. Words, not graphics, not even pictures, are the most powerful way to communicate ideas.
If you use photos, they are to reinforce your words. Photos may or may not be useful in your sales presentation and can help you get the attention of your reader. But it’s the copy that does the selling.
You can sell without pictures; you can’t sell without words. The Bible has no pictures, only words, and it’s the best selling book of all time. Of course you want your site to look clean and professional. But the purpose of graphics is to grab the reader’s attention and help your reader know instantly what you are saying.
Your site must be “scannable”—easy on the eye, with no large blocks of intimidating text. There’s no greater stopper for a reader than to see a large block of undifferentiated text on the page. Yuck!
Use bullets when you have a list of points. Use indented paragraphs in bold to set certain paragraphs apart from others. Use sub-headlines throughout your letter and copy — lots of sub-heads if you have a lot of copy.
Underlining a few key phrases and putting them in red can also help catch the eyes of your readers and keep them reading. But don’t overdo it, or your underlining and red text will lose impact.
Other graphic devices include:
Numbering items in a list. Boxes. Handwritten blue notes in margins. Red type in the body of your letter. Lines and boxes made of asterisks ************** Screens (washes of light color over a block of text you want to set apart). Photos Be sure all photos have captions.
All these graphic devices make a long copy sales presentations easier and more inviting to read. And the use of these graphic devices should never be left up to the site designer. The copywriter is the only person who can decide what, when, and how a graphic device is to be deployed.
Remember, the purpose of graphics is not to make the site look pretty; it’s to strengthen the communication of your message. Only the copywriter can know what to emphasize, what points to draw the reader’s attention to.
Once you’ve finished the writing, your job is only half done. You must then sit with your site designer (often for many hours) so that your sales site looks exactly the way you want it to look.
The most important graphic elements of a selling site are the headlines and sub-heads – which snag the eye of your reader.
Add Video and Audio to Your Site
People learn, absorb and remember information in three ways from media -- by reading, by hearing and by seeing.
You can add audio and video to your sales and marketing presentations for almost zero cost. Audio and video can turn your website into a potent talking sales force that can make your sales presentation to thousands of people, even millions of people. Audio and video helps get the attention of the Web surfer, add impact to your message and helps your message stick in the mind of your visitor. I have found that adding audio and video to my sales presentations on my sites often doubles or even triples response.
If you use video, keep videos short – not more than 8 minutes. Video takes longer to load. I mostly use audio. But video is great for testimonials. Seeing and hearing real people tell their stories about how your product changed their lives in some dramatic way will make a far greater impression that just reading the same testimonial in print.
People are also nervous about doing business over the Web. People like to know who they are doing business with. A video of you talking about your product or service can dramatically reduce anxiety people have when doing business with a stranger . . . IF your video or audio presentation is good.
A poorly delivered audio or video presentation can kill orders. If you come across as a huckster, that will kill orders. If you have a slovenly appearance in your video, that will kill orders. If you have an odd sounding voice, that will kill orders. Some people are just not good speakers. No audio or video is far better than bad audio or video. As with everything you do in marketing, TEST.
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