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.
A sales letter can be mailed as a physical piece or delivered digitally, such as by email or on a web page. This guide focuses on direct mail, where the reader receives a printed letter and may also receive a brochure. Choose the format that fits your audience, budget and communication permissions.
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
A physical letter gives a recipient something they can read or keep at their convenience. It still has to earn attention: make the opening relevant and the next step easy to find.
The Brand Trust
Clear, accurate information and relevant evidence can help build customer trust. Explain the offer honestly, support any claims and make it easy for the reader to contact your business with questions.
How Much Does a Sales Letter Cost?
The cost of a mailed letter depends on writing, printing, postage, list preparation and distribution. It is not automatically cheaper than digital advertising or other channels.
To evaluate whether it is a cost-effective way to reach your prospects, track total campaign costs and the number of responses, qualified leads and sales. A dedicated URL, phone number or offer code can help identify responses.
Covers A Wide Area
Mail can reach homes or businesses within selected delivery areas, including communities where a physical message may be useful. Check the available coverage and targeting options before choosing a distribution method.
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
For an unaddressed direct-mail campaign, Canada Post’s Precision Targeter can help you plan neighbourhood delivery routes. Enter the size and weight of your piece, select a delivery area and property types, and optionally use available demographic filters. Review the route map and estimated costs, including transportation and taxes, before placing an order.
Choose the distribution method based on your audience and goals. Area-level demographic filters do not identify individual recipients, and delivery does not guarantee a response.
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
Start by identifying the people your offer can help, such as homeowners, businesses or a particular professional group. Consider their needs, location and the problem your product or service addresses.
If you have accurate recipient names, a personal salutation may make sense. For an unaddressed neighbourhood mailing, use a relevant greeting and tailor the message to the intended audience rather than inventing personal details.
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
Use your outline to explain the reader’s problem, the benefit of your offer, credible evidence and a clear next step. Write naturally and revise for accuracy.
For example, a local landscaping business could write:
“A busy schedule can make seasonal garden maintenance easy to put off. Our team offers scheduled visits to keep your garden cared for throughout the season. We’ll provide a written plan and quote before work begins. Visit our website or call us to request your estimate.”
This is an illustrative example. Replace the details with your actual offer and add a relevant testimonial or other evidence only when you can substantiate it.
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!