What Are Sales Letters and Why Are They Important
The goal of a sales letter is to show a customer how their business will benefit from working with you.
Traditionally, it is a part of direct mail and usually comprises a sales letter and, perhaps, a brochure. You might wonder if email has replaced it. The two work differently because a sales letter is something the prospect can physically hold.
The sales letter has the sole intent to convey the value your product or service offers and its benefits.
For a sales letter to be effective, the writer must first be intimately familiar with all the technical aspects of the product or service, and its functions.
Secondly, the writer must also deeply understand the prospect and their needs. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of a sales letter and why you should use it in your business first!
The Importance Of Sales Letters
A well-written sales letter is one of the most powerful tools you have for generating leads and conversions.
They can be an integral part of any business’s marketing strategy and allow you to present your company in the best possible light before contacting potential prospects. A well-written sales letter will help to introduce your company and demonstrate its value proposition to prospective customers who might not know much about your company yet.
Sales letters should be short and concise, but there is no set length to which every one of them must adhere.
Some may only need a paragraph or two, while others will require multiple pages.
Regardless of their length, all good sales letters share certain qualities: clarity, brevity, credibility, and consistency.
So, what are the benefits of a sales letter, and how can you realize the qualities mentioned above?
Let’s find out!
The Personal Flare
In essence, the sales letter replaces the salesperson! It can thus add that personal touch to your advertising in a way that other advertising methods simply could not.
After all, a deep understanding of the audience is needed before you can draft the sales letter.
1:1 Communication
As we said, the sales letter steps in the place of a salesperson, so it needs to provide the product information and answer the most likely questions the reader may have.
A sales letter, therefore, allows for more personalized communication. That is if you do it right! So think in terms of – What objections will my clients have? What questions will they ask? How can I make this feel individualized?
The Convenience
Since the sales letter is sent directly to the prospect, you don’t have to worry about your competitors grabbing your prospect’s attention… at least for the moment.
The recipient provides their undivided attention to the copy.
And this, my friends, is the convenience factor in a sales letter – It is simply easy and comprehensible!
The Brand Trust
Having that one-on-one communication with your prospects helps build customer trust in your brand.
This will likely stay with them into the future and turn them into loyal, returning customers!
Therefore, the sales letter is not just a way to convince prospects to purchase your products but also shows that your business can consistently offer solutions to their problems.
Oh, It’s Dirt-Cheap!
Granted, sending an email or other forms of digital messages is the cheapest way for a business to communicate with prospects.
However, the sales letter is a close second and outperforms other forms of advertisement such as billboards. It is also way cheaper than other forms of paid digital advertisements.
So if you are looking for a cost-effective way to reach your prospects, this is it.
Covers A Wide Area
You might think that everyone is on the internet nowadays.
However, some people live in rural areas and cannot readily access the internet.
Sales letters can reach people in such areas and deliver the business message! Don’t write off traditional marketing methods!
Customer Education
Since it’s standing in for a salesperson, it needs to get the facts right.
A sales letter can be used to educate the customer on the service or product and its key benefits. Ultimately, it can be an excellent guide.
Providing all the information that a customer needs may be all the convincing that they need to make a purchase.
Serves As a Reminder
Businesses can also use the sales letter to convince first-time prospects and remind shoppers about a product!
Let’s say a shopper failed to complete a purchase. You can send a sales letter to remind them to finish their purchase. This is a great way to pull customers back to your business and improve conversions!
Distribution Through Canada Post
The ideal way of distributing a sales letter is through Canada Post, and directly to the prospect. Unfortunately, you do not always have their exact information, so you might need to cast a wider net and for that, we highly recommend their Precision Targeter. This tool allows for the selection of set postal code drops, but also provides you the demographic information for the population therein. Whether your goal is business offices or affluent neighbourhoods; this tool has got you covered.
Final Word
Done right, a sales letter earns its place in your marketing mix.
In this post, we’ve discussed the basics of what makes up an effective sales letter and tips on how to use them to drive your success.
We hope that you have found it helpful! Ready to write your own? Keep scrolling, part 2 walks you through exactly how to do that.
Part 2 – How To Write A Good Sales Letter
Seamlessly Eliminating The Salesperson Out Of Your Strategy!
The sales letter does essentially what your sales team would do— it promotes your business’s products or services.
To write the best sales letter, you have to start by understanding the needs of your target audience.
You also need to have a thorough understanding of your product.
It should tell your prospect why and how your products will help solve their problems.
It is about convincing them that your products are worth their time and money.
Let’s find out how to draft the best sales letter to help improve your business’s bottom line.
Identify Your Audience
The first step to drafting the ideal sales letter is identifying who your readers are.
Are they doctors, dentists, homeowners, or tenants? Your audience should fall within your chosen criteria.
After identifying the criteria, you will then create a mailing list.
When writing the sales letter, ensure that your recipient’s names are on the salutation and the inside heading of the letter!
Define Your Objective
Remember that the sales letter aims to grab and direct attention to your products.
You want to spark interest in the reader and prompt the reader to make a purchase.
It should therefore provide enough information about your business.
A good one also creates a lasting impression.
This will keep your business and its products in the minds of prospective customers until they are ready to make a purchase.
Identify The Scope
When drafting a sales letter, set up your pitch so that it speaks more about the benefits of your product and how exactly it could solve a problem the reader has!
It should always be about the reader and what they are getting from purchasing your products.
This is where the scope comes in.
Before drafting your sales letter, determine the need to be fulfilled, the desire to be met, and the problem to be solved.
Having done this, you can now set about drafting the sales letter.
Organizing The Letter
Now it’s time to determine how you will organize the letter! This is about ensuring the copy is well laid out and that it takes the reader step-by-step into understanding exactly how your products are here to help them.
Start by creating an outline of the significant points that you will present in your sales letter.
These will act as the backbone of your sales letter.
Keep your language short and simple. At the end of the day, nobody wants to spend their precious time reading through long copies!
Make it organized, concise, short, and straight to the point!
Drafting The Letter
Refer back to the outline. Under each heading, explain the point thoroughly, clearly, and concisely.
Talk to the reader as though you were talking to a person. This helps them feel comfortable and to relate better to your brand.
Ensure the copy provides the reader with all the relevant information they need to decide.
Once completed, please read it to yourself out loud and quickly to be able to judge the flow.
It should sound natural.
Remember that you’re creating a draft; therefore, any spelling or grammar errors should not be a concern at this point.
You will deal with this later as you enter into the editing phase.
Revising The Draft!
It is now time to correct any errors in the draft of your sales letter.
Look at grammatical errors, spelling, sentence structure, and the use of jargon.
Ensure that the reader has all the necessary information and that everything is laid out directly and concisely.
Once you’ve completed revising the draft, reread it aloud and quickly to judge the flow of the content.
As we said – It should sound natural and be simple to read.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to sales letters, there are many ways that you can go about them.
You can be persuasive or informative, use a narrative format or give the facts without any embellishment.
The best approach is often trial and error until you find what works for your product!
Test, evaluate, and double down on what’s effective!
Happy selling!