II. READING.

A sales letter is written to persuade the reader to buy a product, try a service, support some cause, or participate in some activity. A sales letter can also serve as a method of introducing yourself to potential customers. As a writer of a sales letter you will face a lot of competition that you will have to overcome.

 

To write an effective sales letter, you have to do three things.

 

1. Identify and limit your audience.

2. Find out exactly what the needs of this group are.

3. Determine precisely what you want your readers to do after reading your sales letter.

 

In deciding whom you want to reach, you will also be investigating the needs of your audience. Some helpful considerations in audience analysis are occupation, age, consumer needs or habits, geographic location, and memberships. Once you have selected those who should receive your letter, you have made a great deal of headway in knowing what you will say to that audience.

The 'you attitude' is crucial. Here is a safe rule to follow: Don't boast or be a bore. The sales letter is written to persuade readers to buy, support or join. The central question is: What are we trying to do for you, our customer? Ask yourself that question before you begin writing and you will be using effective reader psychology.

 

Sales letters follow a time-honored and workable plan; that is, each sales letter follows what can be called the ‘four A's’:

 

1. gets the reader's Attention

2. highlights the product's Appeal

3. shows the customer the product's Application

4. ends with a specific request for Action

 

These four parts may be handled in less than four paragraphs. Holding a sales letter down to one page or less will keep the reader's attention.

 

Getting the Reader's Attention

 

Your opening sentence is of most importance. If you lose readers here, you will have lost them forever. That first sentence is bait on a hook. It must show readers how their problems could be solved, their profits increased, or their pleasures enriched. The reader's attitude will be ‘What's in this for me?’

 

Avoid the opening that is flat, vague, or lengthy. Tell them something that will appeal to their wallets, their emotions, or their chances to look better in the eyes of others.

 

The following five techniques are a few of the many ways to begin a sales letter. Each technique requires you to adapt it to your product or service.

 

1. Asking a question. Mention something that readers are vitally concerned about that is also relevant to your product or service. Avoid such general questions as ‘Are you happy?’ or ‘Would you like to make money?’ Use more specific questions. Since your main goal is to persuade readers to continue reading your letter, choose a question that they will want to see answered.

2. Employing a 'how to' statement. This is one of the most frequently used openers in a sales letter. The reason for its success is simple - the letter promises to tell readers something practical and profitable. Here are some effective 'how to' statements: ‘We can show you how to increase all your plant growth up to 91%’ ‘This is how to provide nourishing lunches for less than eighty cents per person.’ These 'how to' statements attract the readers' attention by introducing a subject that promises rewards and then shows how to gain those rewards.

3. Using flattery. Appeal to the reader's ego. But remember that readers are not naive; they will be suspicious of false praise. Select some compliment that affects the reader professionally or that praises the reader for some specific actions. An effective sales letter for a school supply shop was sent to every new member of a campus announcing, ‘You've made the right choice in joining Delta Zeta. Now, let us make the right choice in helping you select your supplies this term.’

4. Offering a free gift. Everyone likes to receive something for nothing or to boast about a bargain. Often you can lure readers further into your letter by telling them that there is a sale going on and that they can save a lot of money or that they can get a second product free or at half price if they purchase the first one at full price.

5. Using a comparison. Compare your product or service with conventional or standard products or procedures. For instance, a jacket firm told road maintenance workers that if they purchased a particular jacket from them, they were really getting three in one, since their product had a lining for winter and a covering used for greater visibility at night.

 

Calling Attention to the Product's Appeal.

 

Once you have aroused the reader's attention, introduce the product or service. Make it so attractive, so necessary, and so profitable that the reader will want to buy or use the product or service. Don't lose the momentum you have gained with your introduction by boring the reader with petty details, flat descriptions, elaborate inventories, or trivial boasts. Appeal to the reader's intellect, emotions, or both, while introducing the product. Here is an emotional appeal by the Gulf Stream Fruit Company.

 

Can you, when you bite into an orange, tell where it was grown? If it tastes better than any you have ever eaten...full of rich, golden flavor, brimming with juice, sparkling with sunshine... then you know it was grown here in our famous Indian River Valley where we have handpicked it, at the very peak of its flavor, just for your order.

From a leading question, the sales letter moves to a vivid description of the product, name of the supplier, and the customer's ability to recognize how special both the product and he or she is to the Gulf Stream Fruit Company.

Showing the Customer the Product's Application.

 

The third part of your sales letter lets the readers know how and why the product is worthwhile for them. You have to be careful, though, that you do not overwhelm readers with facts, statistics, detailed mechanical descriptions, or elaborate arguments. Emphasize convenience, usefulness, and economy of your product or service. For example, an ad for a greenhouse manufacturer stressed that in addition to using its structure just for a place to grow plants, customers would also find it a ‘perfect sun room enclosure for year-round 'outdoor' activities, gardening or leisure health spa.’

 

Worth mentioning also are warranties, guaranties, services, or special considerations that will make the customer's life easier or happier.

 

You may be obligated to mention costs in your letter. Do not bluntly state the cost. Relate prices, charges, or fees to the benefits provided by the services or products to which they apply. Customers then see how much they are getting for their money. An electric blanket ad tells customers that it costs only four cents a night to be warm and comfortable. That sounds more inviting than just listing the cost of the blanket as $40. Relate costs to the readers profit or convenience.