Top Ten Checklist for Your Sales Letter

Every product and service you sell needs a sales letter. You need a short sales letter to prompt new ezine subscribers. You need a longer one on your Web site for coaching and other services. You need a sales letter for each book you sell.

If your web site or emails are not attracting buyers, you need this top ten sales letter checklist:

1. Include on your home page (if you have more than one product or service) a strong, benefit-driven headline for each with a link to your sales letter.

The following phrase is a link to the marketing your business online sales letter by your coach. "Discover How in Only Four Months You Can Quadruple your Monthly Income and Reach 10,000 to 100,000 Internet Users Who Want your information--GUARANTEED-To Move you to the Top Profits You've Been Dreaming About."

Without a headline that hooks your potential buyer or client, you will not convince they must have your product or service.
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2. Prepare for your Sales Letter a List of 5-10 Benefits.

Many professionals get mixed up as to what are benefits and what are features. Know that benefits sell and features explain. What will your customer experience after they buy your service? These outcomes (benefits) usually include a completion of a goal, or an understanding of a concept to help your audience do something better. The biggest benefits? Saving time, saving money, creating money, and creating great relationships. They want to know what value they will receive when they buy.

Now, list these in order of the biggest benefit to the smallest. For instance, for your book coach's ebook on how to get a book written and published, the biggest benefit is that it will bought by many and make you life long income. Other benefits include: you will become a leader in your field and you will feel happy your message reached your audience. Writing benefits include more compelling, easy-to-read, and organized chapters.
Tip! No, one word or turn of a phrase won't necessarily make or break your sales letter. But better technique, a stronger word here, a more impactful phrase there -- little by little it all adds up.

Be sure to include visual and feeling words such as "Imagine yourself in your perfect relationship," or "See yourself..." or Feel more energetic, happier, enthusiastic...."

Without benefits bulleted throughout your sales pieces, your potential buyer won't have a reason to buy.

3. Prepare for your Sales Letter a List of 5-10 Features.

For a book, features include the number of pages, tips, how to's, practices, exercises and pertinent quotes. For coaching, a feature could be, "gives you email backup as an added value," or "devotes total attention to your challenge each session," or "gives you field work to move you through your process easier and faster."

It's a good idea to combine benefits and features. "Save yourself disappointment and money down the drain with my "Fast-Forward Writing Technique," or enjoy your life to the fullest when you follow the Five Steps to "The Easy and Fun Life" book.

4. Explain how your product or service is better or different than your competitors.

You always need to give your potential customer a reason to buy. Think about your uniqueness. What makes you stand out from the crowd? Study other people's web sites and their sales letters. Notice how they approach this challenge.

My mentor is Dan Poynter, author of the "Self-Publishing Manual." My book on how to write your e or print book takes off where his book ends. It teaches authors to pre-market with the essential "hot-selling points." and it shows them step-by-step, how to put each chapter together--the" fast-forward writing technique."
Tip! Another reason that you should use a post-script is strictly elementary. Studies have shown that most people, when reading a sales letter will read the headline and then immediately zoom right down to the bottom of the page to check out the price, and see if your offer is anything that they'd be interested in.

Think about gurus in your field, and compare yourself to them. If possible, create a one-sentence sound bite that people will remember.

5. Share what your product or service is not.

Clarify your service. If you are a coach, how does that differ from a consultant? When you share the downside, you let your visitor see the human side of you. If you have a book, you can establish more rapport with your potential buyer by saying something like, "It alone can't change your life; you will need to take some action on the steps offered."
Tip! The gurus study the factors that make people buy. They read books full of sales letters that they can learn from.

6. Present the "YOU" point of view in your sales letter.

When you refer to others such as we or they, you don't speak directly to your to be buyer. Involve them with phrases such as, "You will feel renewed energy after you read this book, so much so, that you'll ask your kids to dance with you." Or, "you can finish your book in less than a month, and get it selling immediately, so you can take that Caribbean trip, pay for your children's college, or buy that new car you've been wanting.

One big mistake is to use too many "I's" in your sales material. That's self-serving and people don't care about you; they care about what you can do for them.
Tip! 1) The 25% Rule: Simply stated, if the first quarter of your sales letter isn't absolutely compelling and interesting enough your sales letter will bomb. So here's what you do.

7. Make your Online copy easy to read.

Online copywriting is different than print. People don't want to see long paragraphs or long sentences. They will tune right out. Instead, keep your sentences under 15 words, and include only 3-4 sentences in your paragraphs. Apply this technique to your articles, tips, ezines and sales letters.

Use one-sentence paragraphs for emphasis or drama.

8. Use power words to attract your waive ring potential client.

Power words elicit emotion. They create visual pictures in your readers' mind. Bring a sound or feeling to mind, and imply a reason to buy. When you use my service, you will feel confident you are on your way to solve your challenge, or you look as fresh as a spring day in New York. Here are a few of the most important ones: FREE, NEW, DISCOVER, AMAZING, BREAKTHROUGH, LATEST, PROVEN, GUARANTEED, TOP, SECRETS, ACT NOW, and EASY.

Make sure your power words address your audience's challenge.

9. Write your sales letter in a friendly, conversational style.

People love to read a short story, so if you have one from a client or yourself that will relate to others, be sure to use it. If you want a shorter piece, then use an analogy.
Tip! * Offer quantitative proof why your product or service is better than the competition. For examples of how to show proof that your product is better than the competition, your sales letter should make statements that you can prove such as, your widget lasts 3.

Start your letter, "Dear Fellow Coach... or Dear Fellow Small Business Person....

Open your letter with the challenge of where your potential client is right now. Address the problem, then follow with what you can offer and how you will deliver it. "Are you disappointed and tired of time and money down the drain using traditional marketing? How would you like to attract more clients than you ever dreamed of in less time and never have to leave your office?"

Here's an example for book coaching: "You will be working with a person who lives a balanced life. I love my work, enjoy friends and family and relax enough to feel energetic each day to enjoy it all--with a sense of humor."
Tip! Generally speaking, the ONLY link on your page is the link to the Pay Button, there should be no other links in your sales letter.

10. Make sure you include information to create a high-perceived value for your service.

In one coaching letter, I make these services known:

-On a path of mastery, I keep myself abreast of what's important in publishing, promotion and marketing. An expert with Internet marketing, I share this avenue with you freely so you can hit the ground running and sell your books or service. You learn what I learned and what I am learning.

-As your success partner, we come together as prepared as possible. You have done your assigned bimonthly fieldwork of writing 5-6 pages to discuss and brainstorm with, and share with me where you are now. Each session you bring questions you want answered in addition to receiving feedback on your writing that helps to make it more organized, easy to read, and compelling.

-As you need them, I freely give special reports for a particular skill you need to work on. These give guidance in between our calls. You can also email me with a question that needs answering right now.
Tip! You want your sales letter to be interesting without being exaggerated so a good strategy is starting out by using what I call an introductory sales letter. It's a softer sales approach that sells your product or service but doesn't do it aggressively.

-When you become a committed, ongoing client I am totally devoted to you. I give you full support in our partnership.

If you haven't finished your sales letter for your service or product, use this checklist and contact a writing coach who can help you create a sales letter that attracts new clients and customers. Your web site copy must back up your other promotion, or you will experience lackluster results.

Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people's lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Author of Write Your eBook or Other Short Book Fast and 10 others, she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, "The Book Coach Says. . .," and "Business Tip of the Month." at http://www.bookcoaching.com. Email her at Judy@bookcoaching.com or Cullinsbks@aol.com Phone: 619/466-0622 -- Orders: 866/200-9743