Spring clean your copy
Direct mail is a powerful sales weapon. In combination with other marketing strategies, a well-written sales letter is still tops when it comes to reaching a targeted audience.
And judging from the recent spate of enquiries from business owners looking to freshen up their sales message, isn’t it time for you to:
- Brush away cobwebs from existing copy
- Ditch the well-worn sales pitch
- Create a new business buzz
Sales letters that sell
As part of our free service to review current marketing literature, we often come across a range of copy clangers and direct mail mistakes. If sent out, the results for your business can be disastrous.
For direct response advertising to work, you need these key ingredients:
Hook your audience with a headline
To attract readers, a headline has to command attention. Since the headline has selling power, it has to be appealing and satisfy customers’ needs.
Successful headlines create anticipation, desire and curiosity.
All of these examples do exactly this:
- Revolutionise your marketing strategies
- How to find your perfect partner
- Save 30% on energy bills by making the switch
- Discover how to double your sales
- The secret to successful marketing revealed
A headline with an irresistible offer is enough to hook any reader.
Get to the point at the start
Companies often make the mistake of introducing themselves in the first paragraph, in a bid to impress readers that they are dealing with a reputable firm. Problem is, no one is interested in you. They want to know WIFT. (What’s in it for them)
To avoid your letter joining the junk mail stockpile, always open with:
- A challenging statement
- An impressive fact
- A key benefit
- A story the reader can identify with
- A problem … and how you are the solution
Get them to act now
How do you close the sale? If you don’t ask, you don’t get!
Be direct … tell your readers what to do and when. And make it easy for them to contact you by including a SAE, a free phone number and website address.
Create a sense of urgency using these phrases:
- Contact us today on…
- Complete the enquiry form and send without delay…
- Visit the store today to find out more…
- To avoid disappointment, place your order before…
- Call now to arrange your free consultation…
- For a free demonstration, simply…
- Order by 30th June and you’ll receive…
- Send for a free copy of…
Watch sales sizzle with an irresistible PS
Did you know that 95% of readers look at the end of a letter first? This is why a PS is imperative.
If your PS has ‘wow factor’ the reader will invest time in reading the rest.
So, make sure your PS introduces an irresistible offer. A strong message at the end of the letter acts as a ‘nudge’ to propel your readers to act.
Ideas for your PS:
- A gift or extra bonus
- Money back guarantee
- A no-obligation free trial
- A killer benefit, previously not mentioned
- A discounted offer, if the reader responds today
- Your unique selling proposition (USP)
- A price slash for this month only
Other sales letter must-haves:
- A testimonial from an existing customer
- Cliffhangers at the end of paragraphs and pages
- A personal signature
- Five times as many ‘You’ words than ‘We.’
Make the best impression
Follow these principles and your direct mail campaign will be a great success. A sales letter is worth investing time in as you only get one chance to make a good impression on the reader.
If you still need extra help with your direct mail letters, speak to a professional. Of course, you can always take advantage of our copywriting review service to get the ball rolling.
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