How to Write a Great Web Sales Letter that Gets Results - Every Time!

Whether you’re new to selling on the web or your product just needs a little spark to get sales back on track - a well-written sales letter can do wonders for your website. 

Even if you flunked high school English (and especially if you flunked!), you’ll find that writing a great sales letter has nothing at all to do with anything you learned in school - so you can forget about worrying what an adverb does or counting the words to see if you have a paragraph or not.  With that in mind, here’s how to write a compelling sales letter that works!

 Every sales letter follows a certain proven formula that’s been used and re-used time and time again with spectacular results.  Online, your job is to grab your visitor’s attention by writing something amazing, profound or something that sparks their curiosity and makes them want to read more.  That’s the job of the headline.

1.  Writing a magnetic headline - Your headline works to “pull them in” like a magnet.  Headlines are usually a sentence or two (but not more), and often ask a question that drives the reader to want to learn more.  For example, I recently wrote a sales letter for a fellow selling a CD that reveals the dangers lurking in commercial pet foods. To help jerk the reader’s awareness into reading more, the headline read: What Do Dirty Chicken Feet, Syrupy Sugar and Contaminated Restaurant Grease Have to Do with Your Pet?  (The answer is: “They’re all Hidden Ingredients in the Food They Eat - Every Day!)

   Now if that isn’t enough to shock a devoted pet lover - nothing will!  Of course, along those same lines, make sure that whatever you write is truthful, honest and of course, legal.  You can’t say “Make $10,000 overnight just by surfing the web!” because it’s impossible.  

   That said, if you can find a unique or creative writing “curve” that shocks, arises curiosity, engages a definite need or focuses on some weakness the reader has, you’re more likely to get their attention and move right along, to the body of the sales letter.

2. Writing a Compelling Body - The body of the sales letter is the “meaty” part. It’s where the customer is introduced to your product.  On the web, this can also be the longest part of the letter.  There are debates online over which works better - longer sales letters or shorter - and my answer is - “just enough to sell - not one word more”. To write a good sales letter body, especially for web pages, you need to tell the reader up front exactly how he or she will benefit from your product.  Describe the problem in detail, including how the reader might feel frustrated, embarrassed or even angry before your product was introduced to them.  Show them how your product works to overcome those deficiencies or issues they face.
3. Show them they can trust you - The next step is to prove your trustworthiness.  On the web, this is more difficult than offline, where you can converse with the customer face to face.  Online, your words will do the selling for you.  To help build trust and credibility, tell them about your expertise or experience. For example, if I were asked “Why should I trust you?” when it comes to building a website, I would describe my background as having over 10 years of web design experience, including a Master’s degree in the media and design field.  I’ve helped my clients make millions of dollars in sales and go from a “start up idea” to a “business success story” - often in record time.  I know what works because I’ve tested, tracked and proven it - time and time again.
4. Make it Believable - Remember, this is the web, and skepticism is high because of all the fakes and hyped-up products out there.  Your potential customer wants to believe you offer a solution, but they aren’t ready to commit to a decision just yet.  To help encourage them that their investment in you and your company is sound - offer testimonials.Testimonials are like your virtual cheering squad.  They’re real revelations from people who’ve used you and experienced great results.  Collect and use testimonials everywhere you can - and especially in your sales letter.
5. Offer a Guarantee - As if testimonials weren’t enough (and oftentimes they aren’t), you want to make sure the buyer feels completely at ease with you.  This is generally done through a money-back guarantee.  If you really want your product to stand out and get noticed, offer a guarantee your potential customer simply can’t refuse.  For example:“If XYZ brand carpet cleaner doesn’t remove tough stains - like grape juice, coffee, pet stains and dirt - from your carpet after just one use, return the empty bottle for a full refund.”
   
   The customer immediately thinks, “Hey, this stuff must work because I can use a whole bottle of it and if it doesn’t remove the stain after the first try, I can still send it back!”  This shows that you have full confidence in your product enough to make a seemingly outrageous guarantee.  Just be sure to back up your guarantee and give the refund if asked!  Word spreads quickly online if you refuse.
6. Let them order, and make it obvious!  Many web sites follow all of the steps above perfectly, but when it comes time to order, they fall flat on their face! Make it easy and effortless for the customer to buy from you.  Make a big red button and label it “Buy Now” if you must.  Whatever gets their attention and shows them the way to make a payment.  Don’t hide the price at the very bottom either. People hate scrolling to find out how much it costs and will resent having to hunt for the price.

If you keep these copywriting tips in mind, you’ll be able to craft an outstanding sales letter that brings in more orders, without a lot of extra work on your part!  Just keep asking yourself, “If I were a customer, would I buy this, and why?” to get to the heart of the real benefits.