Hook Your Direct Mail Sales Letter Readers With Good Transition Sentences

Anglers in Maine catch trout using dry flies with barbless hooks. Unless they keep tension on the line all the way to the net, they lose the trout. Your sales letters must do the same. But how?

One secret to keeping busy business readers hooked is to use irresistible transition sentences. Transition sentences come at the end of one paragraph and the beginning of the next. Good transition sentences leave your readers hanging in a number of ways.

One of them is to tell your reader that a number of things are coming up, forcing your reader to transition to the next paragraph to learn what some of those things are. If you've ever listened to a person with a pronounced stutter, you know how hard it is to wait while that person completes a thought. Your prospects are the same. If you almost complete a thought at the end of one paragraph, they will begin reading the paragraph that follows to complete your thought. But that's not all.

Another way to keep your reader hooked throughout your copy is to end one paragraph with "that's not all" or a similar phrase. Or to start your next paragraph with the word "another." Each device shows the prospect that you have not finished, that the prospect has more to learn. And so the prospect keeps reading. And yes, there are some other hooks you might want to try.
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You can start a paragraph with the word "you," the one word that prospects and customers never tire of seeing in print. Or you could try another proven tactic.

And that is starting a paragraph with the word "and." Read the Gospel of Mark in the Bible sometime. It's one of my favourite books. You'll find the narrative almost impossible to stop reading, it's so exciting. That's because the writer begins so many of his sentences with "and" that you are compelled to continue reading to discover what comes next. (I won't give away how the book ends. Read it and find out.) But there's another device that's just as powerful as the word "and." Do you know what it is?

It's the question mark. Put one at the end of one paragraph, with the answer at the beginning of the next paragraph, and you'll keep your readers headed towards your net.

So here's the one thing you need to remember. You've figured out by now that the secret to effective transition sentences is to keep your prospective buyer in a state of suspended satisfaction, one where they must keep reading your letter to the end before they feel gratified. And there's only one sure way of doing that.
Tip! The reason for this is simple: you want to get your prospects to read your sales letter from top to bottom, keep their focus on your words and make the decision to buy your product right there and then without having to click away to another page to find out more info.

© 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the author" message).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter and lead generation specialist who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using business-to-business direct mail marketing. Learn more about his creative direct mail writing services and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com.

How To Write A Smooth Flowing Sales Letter That Produces Profitable Results

Here's the scenario: Your company has made the final cut and you and a partner are scheduled to make the Big Presentation to the purchasing committee. Close the deal and the two of you will split a high five-figure commission, with significant residual income throughout the life of the contract.

No question about it, you and your partner are going to spend a substantial amount of time preparing, organizing and rehearsing your presentation. You'll make sure you cover every key benefit and that you give extra time and attention to those features and benefits of particular importance to your prospective client. And because you've been told that every presenter will be given exactly 90 minutes, you'll take pains to see that you have a tightly organized presentation, where each point quickly and smoothly transitions to the next.
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How to make your copy flow so that more people will read it

Here's my point: If you want your direct mail program to be successful you'll be sure to put forth the same effort on every sales letter you write. (After all, it well may have been a sales letter that triggered your prospective client's initial inquiry and ultimately led to the Big Presentation.)

And just as in the Big Presentation, you should pay careful attention that each point in your sales letter quickly and smoothly transitions to the next. Because a sales letter that has an easy and natural flow to it is more likely to get read and acted on.

Giving the thoughts and ideas expressed in your letter a smooth and easy flow may be as simple as beginning a sentence with "and" or "so." Here's an example from my own files:
Tip! Kristy Taylor is a syndicated freelance journalist with articles and short stories strewn across all forms of media. To add personalization and pizzazz to your sales letters visit http://www.

"Ouch! Renewing your property lease in a tight market can be painful. And let's face it, we both know that's the type of market we're in right now.

"So what do you do?

"Do you just take a deep breath, take out your pen and "re-up" at higher rates? Maybe. And maybe not. But one thing's for sure…"

Notice how the ideas in each sentence and sentence fragment are logically connected to one another -- and the smooth and easy flow of thoughts from one paragraph to the next?

In addition to single word transitions such as "so" and "and" there are a number of excellent transitional phrases that can be used quite effectively. A couple of my favorites are "what's more" and "most important." These phrases can be of great help to you when you want to transition from benefit to benefit. Here's an example of both, again, from my own files:

"Years of experience have brought us proficiency, skill, expertise -- or as you and I might call it -- just "plain ol' smarts." The "smarts" that enable us to know what questions to ask. And, after listening carefully to your answers, quickly determine how bar coding technology can benefit your company.

"What's more, in short order, we'll give you a good idea of how much of an investment your system will require. As well as how fast -- and how substantial -- your payback will be. (Most bar code systems pay for themselves in a year or less.)
Tip! * To get your prospects to take action, your sales letter must ask your customer to purchase by a specific date and give them a bonus for ordering by a specific date. For example, “Buy our widget by March 25 and get an instant 10% off”, or, “Buy our widget by March 25 and get a second widget at half price.

"Most important, when you deal with the experts at BCI…"

Other excellent transitional phrases are:

# "Best of all,…
# "What does this mean for you?
# "That's why…
# "The result?
# "That's where _______ fits in.
# "So remember,…
# "And that's not all!
# "These are just a few of the…
# "But there's even more."

Tip! Leave the selling to your sales letter.

Put these tips and pointers to work, and your "presentations on paper" are sure to have a smooth and easy flow that keeps your prospects reading, and ultimately pays off for you in more profitable results.

© 2006 Ernest Nicastro

Ernest Nicastro, a direct marketing consultant, copywriter and lead-generation specialist, heads up Positive Response, an award-winning marketing firm specializing in B-to-B marketing and lead-generation. For your FREE copy of the Positive Response Special Report, 77 Sure-Fire Marketing Tips Guaranteed To Boost Results, email Ernest (subject line Tips) at ENicastro@positiveresponse.com Or, contact him by phone at 614.747.2256. For more information visit http://www.positiveresponse.com