9 Actionable Tips To Write A Better Sales Letter

By Yuri Burchenya read
13 May, 2015

Nobody cares about you, they care about themselves.

If there’ll be only one thing you remember from this article, remember that.

Always think about it when you write your sales texts.

Don’t write how many hours you spent making your product.

Nobody cares.

What they do want to know is this:

HOW will YOUR PRODUCT benefit THEM?

But before you ever have the chance to explain, you have to do this ONE THING:

#1 Grab Their Attention

Here’s the deal:

Your sales letter will land in inboxes of the people who gave you their emails.

This means one thing:

You can grab their attention through your name, subject of the email and the first six words of the email itself.

Admittedly, that’s not a lot of room for manoeuvre.

So you need to make it really focused. Do not underestimate the importance of this. People who would otherwise buy from you, will fail to do so if they don’t open your email.

Here’s what I need you to do:

Create a curiosity gap.

Provide just enough information in your subject line (and first six words) so the reader will have no other choice but to open your email.

So if you’re selling a recipe book, try something like:

”[New Recipes]: Impossible to fail”

Everyone at least REMOTELY interested in cooking will be interested in these impossible to fail recipes. Are they so easy and simple? They’d hate to continue their day without finding it out.

#2 Identify Their Big Problem.

Stories sell.

Why?

People are psychologically wired to connect with them.

After all, stories were the only means of communication thousands of years ago, when our ancestors were sitting around the fire, listening about that latest hunt.

Tell a story. Make your potential customers relate to it.

Make them say:

“That’s how I feel too!”

#3 Show Them How Your Solution Can Relieve Them From Pain.

Chances are, there are a lot of products just like yours out there.

Truth be told, there are a lot of products out there that are better than yours.

And that’s ok.

As long as your product solves a pain for your customer.

There are a lot of recipes and cooking books out there.

Differentiate by promising to relieve some of the pain points associated with cooking.

Promise that all the ingredients can be bought in one store.

That the recipes are so simple, that even a person with no cooking experience can complete them.

Or that the clean-up is kept short.

Or all the above.

#4 Prove You Are The Real Deal By Providing Social Proof.

Promising stuff is easy.

Everyone can do that.

I can promise to take you to the moon and back, but can I deliver?

That’s what everyone wants to know.

Why should they trust you?

And don’t rush to interrupt me here, by saying something like:

“They really have no reason to trust me. I don’t have any experience with this. I don’t have a large following.”

I bet you can find 3, 2 or even as little as 1 person, who will try your product and tell you why they liked it (provided you put your best effort into it).

Offer it for free to someone with large following in your niche.

And ask them what they think about it.

Now that’s a client testimonial right there, and it’s authentic and true.

#5 Make A Compelling Offer Packed With Value.

Price and value.

These two things look like they have a lot in common, but most of the sellers miss the point.

If you want your viewer to pull the trigger and buy, you don’t need to prove to him that this is the best deal because it’s so cheap.

You want him to buy because your offer is PACKED WITH VALUE.

If you’re selling a course, promise to invite them to a closed facebook group, where the experts in field hang out. If you’re selling an education ebook, promise a 15-minute skype call as a bonus.

#6 Inject Scarcity To Prompt Action.

Here’s the brutal truth:

Most people who view your product don’t buy it. And there are two surprising reasons for that:

-) They are too lazy;

-) Or they are too busy.

And there’s a centuries old trick that sellers use to overcome these constraints:

They include an element of scarcity in their product offer.

Tell your fans something like:

”You’re one of my most loyal fans. Thank you. Here’s a 25% discount for “The Last CookBook You’ll Ever Need” that will expire after 100 people will buy it.”

Discounts without context don’t work. By including this element of scarcity and making your buyer feel like a part of a select privileged group, you are dramatically improving chances of sale.

#7 Take All The Risk Out Of The Deal.

Even if you manage to convince a person that they really need your product, the fear of being unsatisfied with it might take over.

Act BEFORE this happens, and eliminate this fear by taking all risk out of the deal.

Give them a 30 day guarantee.

“No results after 30 days – I’ll insist you make a chargeback.”

This promise alone will convert more than one person in doubt.

#8 Tell Them What To Do Next.

It’s easy to send a link and assume that the person on the receiving end knows exactly what to do with it.

That’s just lazy.

Always explain exactly what they need to do next.

This includes explaining what will happen when they click your product link.

Clearly and concisely tell how to take action. And provide a strong call to action.

#9 Always Include A PS.

Always include a PS section at the end of your sales letter.

It’s the only section that will be read by the majority of those who opened your email.

Use it to re-state the benefits and remind about the limited availability of your offer.

Or use it to emphasize your refund policy, like Bryan Harris did for his email list building course:

PS: My ebook comes with a 30-day MANDATORY refund policy. If you don’t get 100 new email subscribers in 30 days, I require you to return it for a full refund.

So, if you’re on the fence, buy it and get to work. If the strategies don’t work for you, I’ll make you get a refund (and I’ll let you keep the bonuses).

Over to You

Did you find any of these tips useful? What is your process for writing an effective sales letter? Are you using a formula or just sit down and bleed? Let me know in the comments section below.

Yuri is a Content Crafter at Sellfy. He's focused on inbound marketing, copywriting, CRO and growth.