THE POWERFUL SALES LETTER
By Steve Cuno
How to Spot an Effective Sales Letter
 
he sales letter is fast becoming a lost art.
          I mean the true sales letter. One that reads like it’s from a real person offering you (and just you) a once-in-alifetime deal. One that makes you check YES on a reply card and mail it with a check, or reach for your credit card and phone.
          That kind of sales letter is more than mere words on a page. It’s a selfcontained, successful salesperson in its own right that presents, persuades ... and closes the sale.
          All by itself.
          You don’t see too many of those letters any more. For one thing, there aren’t too many people left who can write them. For another, two fastgrowing weeds masquerading as sales letters are choking out the real thing.
          The first imitator is the corporate blitheretto. It reads something like this:

          Dear Friend:
          Monoflorb Corporation is proud to be your neighborhood supplier of quality products since 1987. Our motto has always been “excellence is excellent.” Hence, our commitment to you, the customer, in our many uncompromising standards of ...

          It’s the kind of thing the president of the company and spouse enjoy reading to each other over and over. But no reader on earth will get past the greeting. When was the last time you bought from a sales person who talked like an annual report?
          The second is the adverklünkken. A skilled agency copywriter types “Dear Friend” but follows up with ad copy, not sales letter copy:

          Dear Friend:
          This summer, why not let us float you a loan for that family cruise you’ve always wanted to take? Or let us steer you into a new auto loan ...		           When was the last time you bought from a salesperson who dazzled you with puns?
          With so few left who can write a bona fide sales letter, it’s no wonder that so few clients know when they are — or aren’t — getting one.
          In case you’d like to be able to tell, here are a few acid tests you can apply to the next “sales letter” that walks through your door. These are not my inventions, but a condensation of wisdom from the masters who have practiced and measured these techniques over the years. Apply them, and chances are you’ll end up with sales letters that really are sales letters.
          1. Does the sales letter use a conversational tone? Professorial language never sells. The tone should err on the side of how you’d talk to a friend, minus slang, stammering and redundancy.
          2. Does the sales letter look like a personal letter? The trick is to avoid an over-produced look. A letter should look and feel like a personal communication, not like a fancy piece designed to be mailed in the millions.
          3. Is the sales letter written in first person? “We” do not write letters. “I” do. The reader is not “the reader” or “the customer,” but “you.”
          4. Does the sales letter use short paragraphs? Short paragraphs will make your English teacher squirm, but your reader will be able to get through with a lot less effort. Speaking of making your English teacher squirm ...
          5. Would the sales letter make your English teacher squirm? While your English teacher’s discomfort is not the goal, the rule is: “If you’re selling, let the teacher squirm.” So go ahead and use prepositions to end sentences with. And, fragments. Throw in informal language, like “throw in.”
          6. Does the sales letter get to the point quickly? That is, within three or

four brief sentences, are you telling your reader why you’re writing and what’s in it for him or her?
          7. Does the sales letter persuade, not entertain? Avoid any device that calls attention to the writing instead of to what’s for sale. Strike all puns and clever turns of phrase. Resist indulging your funny bone. Pare your words to one convincing, motivating, persuasive sock in the jaw.
          8. Are the salient points accessible at a glance? Most people have better things to do than start with “Dear” and read your letter to the finish. So organize your paragraphs, double indents, underlines and bullets to enable a reader to skip around and still get the message.
          9. Is the letter long enough? There are no length rules. Use at least one page, and as many as you need after that to do the job.
          10. Is the letter short enough? Practice the art of using as few words as possible. Do not use one more word than necessary to make the sale, no matter how much fun it is to see your own words in print.
          11. Most important: does the sales letter make you want to leap from your chair and spend money? Does it make even you marvel at just how good your own product really is? These are good signs. But if the sales letter makes you say, “This is clever stuff,” throw it away.


© 2006 RESPONSE Prospecting & Loyalty
Strategies, Inc.
7050 Union Park Avenue Suite 420
Midvale UT 84047
Phone 801-352-9100
All rights reserved