Writing your first sales letter can be intimidating, especially if you’ve been told that you need to write a lot of copy to make a sale.
The truth is, shooting for a certain page count or word count is counterproductive. You should write as much as you need to, no more and no less. That could be 2 pages or it could be 10 pages.
With that in mind, here’s a simple way to tackle your first sales letter. Simply answer the five questions below. Type out your answers in a free-flow format.
When you’re done, you’ll have the raw material for your sales letter. Let’s examine these six questions.
Question #1: What is the problem your market faces?
Start off by introducing the problem your market is facing — the problem that your product solves.
In this part of the letter, it may be best to simply dramatize the problem without mentioning your product.
Talk about the problem itself and the true costs of the problem to your prospect.
Question #2: Who are you, and why should anybody listen to you?
Introduce yourself and why you are qualified to talk on this subject. The reason you are qualified might be based on real credentials or on your personal experience.
Marshall whatever facts and resources you can to build your credibility.
Question #3: What is your product, and how does it solve this particular problem in your market?
Now it’s time to talk about your product. What is it? What does it do? How does it work? Why would your prospect be interested in buying it?
Think of your product as the “hero” that solves the problem you talked about in the beginning of your letter. And make sure to mention the features of your product as well as the benefits (what those features really mean to your customer).
Question #4: What should a person do to order your product?
Explain how to order your product and remove as much risk from the transaction as possible.
What is the cost? Should the prospect click a link or make a phone call to order? Is there a guarantee?
These are all questions that should be addressed in this part of the letter.
Question #5: Why should people order now instead of later?
Finally, why should your prospect order now instead of later?
Is it because the cost of not having your product is greater than the cost to get your product? Or is there a deadline to get a discounted price?
A sense of urgency can be created for just about any product, and I’m not talking about “fake scarcity” either. All it takes is some creativity and you’ll be able to think of a believable reason to buy now.
Tying It All Together
Finally, after you’ve answered the above questions, you’ll only have two steps left:
1. Write a compelling headline.
2. Take the copy you’ve written and string it together with some well-written transitions. (Basically, just make sure the copy flows well from start to finish.)
And with that, you’re done! You’ve just completed your first sales letter, and all you did was answer five relatively simple questions.
– Ryan
P.S. To learn more about how to turn your words into wealth, check out Copywriting Code.
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October 27th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Awesome Ryan.
I follow Yanik Silver’s 14 point copywriting, and also an awesome technique I learned from Eben’s guru mastermind program, but I must say that this one is short and to the point.
It’s great to get started.
I write most of my sales letters myself, and sometimes, I get others like Stephen Dean to make a rewrite.
Franck
October 30th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Hi Franck,
Thanks for commenting! Glad you liked the article.
Like you, I learn different approaches and blend them to create a process that works for me. So the model I’ve shared here may work in some cases — particularly if you’re suffering from “writer’s block.”
And no matter what, it’s always good to get a second set of eyes to look at a sales letter. I try to do that with most of my letters as well.
Take care,
Ryan
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:08 am
Great blog Ryan. I was reminded of the WISP marketing model I learned a couple of years ago. Will I Solve their Problem – and run it through like this.
1 Identify the pain/problem.
2 Identify the benefits of the offered solution.
3 Why should they trust me.
4 The features of the solution, leading to the…
5 Call to action
John S
November 11th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Hey John!
Thank you for the compliment, and thanks for sharing that WISP model.
Simple writing models are great because they’re easy to remember and implement.
Ryan