Is Your Sales Letter Too Long Or Just Plain Old Boring?
Copyright (c) 2006 Stuart Elliott
Interestingly enough the majority of people who ask me
whether their sales letter is too long have missed the boat
somewhat.
You see, their mind is focused on the length of their sales
letter rather than the job the sales letter has to do, and
when they do that it is impossible to write in a manner
that will convince the reader to take action and buy their
product.
No, your main focus when writing a sales letter must be on
the job it has to do and that, in a nutshell, is to
convince the reader that he or she needs to buy your
product.
Pay special attention to the word ‘need’ here. You must
focus upon the emotional need of the reader - this could be
nothing more than simple ‘one-upmanship’ over a neighbour
instead of a logical need.
For it is a fact that man..
“Buys based upon emotion and justifies that decision with
logic.”
Just think about that statement for a second. When was the
last time you bought something based purely upon cold hard
logic? Probably never right? It was your emotions that
directed you toward the purchase and the logic that
justified it.
Take a shiny new car as an example. (And by the way, ’shiny
new’ is a subtle emotional trigger…)
If you were to look at the purpose of a car through the
eyes of cold hard logic then there would be very little
reason to buy one with all the latest gizmos that are
designed to pamper you. (and cost you more)
All a car has to do is get you from A - B safely, dryly and
quickly. Given that logical explanation, who has need of a
radio, electric windows, self adjusting vibrating seats,
automatic distance sensor for reversing and so on?
They don’t help you in the primary purpose of getting from
A - B do they? No, rather they serve to pamper you at an
emotional level.
So going back to your sales letter you need to identify
these emotional triggers inside your prospect and write
about them in an exciting way that is sure to trigger those
emotional needs further.
If this means that you have to write 30 pages of copy to do
so then do it!
The more you have to write the better the chances you will
have of getting the sale.
However…
Don’t just go and write thirty pages of waffle or
repetition. You should ensure that your pages are full of
emotional excitement and not just page after page of boring
old features.
You also need to prove how your product has helped others.
Social proof in the form of testimonials from other
satisfied customers is a powerful addition to your sales
copy. They are usually written in a persuasive, emotional
way - after all the writer has bought your product and it
has helped him or her - and are often all that needs to be
added to your copy to convince your reader to buy.
Going back to the car again…
Here are a couple of features that will do nothing to add
excitement to your sales letter:
Auto reversing distance sensor…
It has the latest auto-reversing, distance sensing device.
“So What?” You say, ” What use is that to me?”
——————–
Vibrating Seats:
The seats vibrate as you drive.
“Er… Excuse me?” You think, ” Why do I need a car that
has seats that shake about when I drive? I mean if I drive
over a bumpy road I’ll get the same effect won’t I?”
——————–
Blah, blah, blah… What is this doing for your prospects
emotional needs? Nothing! It’s just another page full of
boring old words, Goodbye!
Now if you change the above sentences to something like…
For the auto reversing sensor:
Save Money On Your Insurance Premiums…
The truth about sky rocketing premiums is out. Major
insurance companies have admitted that 60% of all claims
for minor bumps on vehicles they insure is due to parking
bay mishaps.
“Many people just don’t know how big their car is and
accidentally bump into another one when manouevering around
in busy parking lots…” Quoted an Insurance company
spokesperson.
The shocking truth is, Your premiums are being loaded due
to others carelesness, but…
Now you need never worry about those fools or how big your
car is again, because XYZ model will actually tell you when
you are getting too close to another car. This means you
have the pleasure of driving and saving on your insurance
premiums at the same time.
——————–
For the vibrating seats:
Personal Masseuse, Yours Absolutely Free With Every Car…
Imagine your very own personal masseuse… yours to pamper
you as you drive… takes away the stiffness in your back
and legs in an instant… You stay fresh and alert whilst
you drive and arrive safely at your destination - No other
car has massaging seats that will pamper you like a king.
——————–
Don’t these two paragraphs create a little more excitement
in your mind?
All you have to do when you write your sales letter is keep
building more excitement with every word until your
prospect suddenly says “Wow! I gotta have one of those!”
It doesn’t matter if you have to write 50 pages of copy to
create that feeling, as long as you keep the excitement
building up your copy won’t ever be too long.
Remember that your sales letter has to be exciting and long
enough to do it’s job otherwise you won’t get the sale.
—————————————————-
Stuart Elliott is a world-class copywriter who has written
numerous articles about sales letters and copywriting. Drop
by: http://howtowritekickbuttcopy.com to pick up your Free
Copywriting Power Guide.
