How to Write the Perfect Sales Letter
By Dean Rieck, direct mail copywriter

Despite all the new marketing media and technologies available today, the sales letter remains one of the most powerful and practical selling tools available.

It's personal, easy-to-read, and inexpensive. In many cases, a simple, unadorned letter can create more sales than slick, expensive mailers. That's because people are programmed to read letters. And getting people to read your copy is half the battle in direct mail.

However, the results you get with a sales letter depend on how the letter is written. It's as much art as science. Fortunately, years of refinement by master copywriting craftsmen have revealed a few basic principles for creating letters that work.

Here's a step-by-step formula for writing the perfect sales letter. Not every sales letter should be written this way, but this basic outline can help you craft solid, workmanlike sales letters for nearly any promotion.

• Include a headline. This telegraphs your main point, arouses curiosity, and provides context for the information in the letter body. Keep it simple and direct. Don't try to be clever. If you have a strong offer, state it in the headline.

• Use an appropriate salutation. Personalization is best when you can do it. Otherwise, use a salutation that connects with the reader as closely as possible. “Dear Friend” is safe but general. “Dear Cat Lover” is more targeted and specific. If you’re mailing to a business audience, use the occupational or professional title.

• Grab attention with your first sentence. Don’t waste time with a long windup before your sales pitch. Keep it short. Involve the reader immediately. Make a startling statement. Start an interesting story. Hit an emotional hot button. Or just state the offer and get to the point. This last approach is often the best tactic and offers the least room for error. Subsequent sentences can expand on this first sentence to pull the reader into the body copy.

• Present your offer on page one. If you don’t give your offer in the headline or first sentence, you should put it somewhere early in the letter text. The better your offer, the earlier you should mention it. Be clear and specific about what your reader will get by responding.

• End the first page in the middle of a sentence. Whether it’s curiosity or an urge for closure, dividing a sentence at the bottom of a page helps encourage the reader to turn the page, finish the sentence, and keep reading. You can also use this technique on successive pages.

• Keep your copy on track. You’re not writing a novel, but your main idea should be a thread that weaves through the whole letter. At minimum, present your theme on page one and end on a similar note on the last page.

• Make the body of the letter work hard. Once you’ve grabbed your reader’s attention and generated interest in your offer, follow immediately with benefits, details, word pictures, testimonials, and proofs to eliminate doubt.

• Call for action. Quickly restate the main points of your offer and ask for the response you want clearly and directly. Restate information on involvement devices, motivators, incentives, etc. Restate the big benefit.

• Make response easy and clear. How should the reader respond? Give your toll-free number. Explain the ordering process one-two-three.

• Guarantee your offer. Assure the reader that there is no risk. State your guarantee in strong terms. This should directly follow your call to action.

• Stress urgency. Why should the reader respond now? Is it a limited-time offer? Are supplies limited? Are prices going up soon? Give a logical, sensible, and honest reason why this is the best time to respond. And be clear about what will happen if the reader does not respond. Mention the lost opportunity or the consequences.

• End the letter when you’re finished. Just as your letter shouldn’t have a long windup at the beginning, it shouldn’t prattle on at the end. End a letter as bluntly as it began. Often this is a quick restatement of your instructions for responding or a simple “thank you.”

• Have the right person sign your letter. Your letter should be signed by the highest-authority person available or by someone relevant to the reader. Ideally, the signature should be in blue ink. (Hint: Consider how the signature looks. Does it suggest confidence and believability, or is it shaky and uncertain?)

• Use your P.S. effectively. The postscript is one of the most-read parts of a letter. It should present an important message, a prime benefit, a restatement of the offer, a reminder of the deadline, a sweetener, or whatever you feel is most effective in this prime spot. Some call the P.S. a headline at the end of the letter. Ideally, it should be short, about one to three lines.

---Source: Dean Rieck is a leading direct mail copywriter. For more copywriting and selling tips, sign up for Dean’s FREE direct response newsletter and get a free report, 99 Easy Ways to Boost Your Direct Mail Response.