Welcome to Part 3 of a series on Writing Effective Sales Letters. If you missed the last two issues and would like to read Parts 1 and 2 of the series you can find them here. 

Today we'll pick up where we left off in Part 2 – talking about effective writing in the body of your sales letter – your body copy. 

Body copy is a third element in a sales letter in which you establish your credentials and credibility, bond with your readers, focus on the reader's problems, emphasize the benefits of your solution and talk persuasively about the value of your offering. You can do this in several different ways. 

    1.   Use the words "you" and "yours" early and often. Personalize your sales letter as much as possible and, at the very least, address your copy to the reader as if you were talking to them personally. Focus on their problems, needs and wants – not on yourself or your company. 

    2.   Tell stories. People love stories. Stories help the reader feel a part of something – they're not alone with their problems. Others have experienced the same "pain" and have found success in overcoming it by using your product or service. 

Stories also involve the reader in the romance, lore and history of a product – particularly useful in creating value and exclusivity. Think J. Peterman, Sharper Image and Hammacher Schlemmer catalogs. Remember that most purchases are first based on an emotion and then justified with facts. 

    3.   Use common, conversational language. Don't try to impress your readers with big words. Keep it simple. Use short sentences and paragraphs. Avoid industry jargon that is not commonly understood. 

    4.   Include quotes and testimonials. As much as possible, include statements from your customers that illustrate and emphasize the value and benefit of your product or service. Put the statements in quotes and attribute them with as much detail as your customers will allow. It's more credible to use a full name and business name or hometown, for example, than to just use initials. 

    5.   Insert your personality into your copy. People like to feel a connection to those with whom they're doing business. They like to do business with people they know, like and trust. Help them get to know you by letting your personality show in your copy. Be genuine. Let your readers know you care about helping them. 

    6.   Communicate benefits. Spell out the benefits of purchasing your product or service. Sometimes the benefits are not obvious to uninformed readers. Don't assume that they'll make the leap from feature to benefit on their own. 

    7.   Write your copy "lean and mean(ingful)." Write as much copy as you need to communicate your value, benefits, offer and call to action. But don't make it unnecessarily long. Pare out extra words – words that don't advance the sale. 

Avoid becoming emotionally attached to your copy. If you're unsure as to the value of something you wrote or how you wrote it, give it a rest. Take a day or two to let your subconscious mind work on it, then go back and make your edits. 

    8.   Give perspective to your offer. We've all heard or seen comparison statements such as, "For the price of a good dinner out with your husband (wife, etc.), you can learn how to ensure your financial well-being – forever." This comparison is obviously not "apples to apples." But it does put the offer into perspective. It says to the reader, in an easily understandable format, that the benefit of your offer far outweighs the modest purchase investment. The statement helps readers see the value of your offer in common, everyday terms. 

    9.   Repeat yourself. That is, repeat yourself. Use repetition to drive home your value, benefits, offer and call to action. Often it takes readers multiple exposures to the main points of your message to have the message actually become meaningful. You can help that process by repeating your main points, perhaps in slightly altered language, throughout your sales letter. 

 10.   Employ the P.S. advantage. Write a postscript that will put the "icing on the cake" for your readers. There is common consensus among seasoned copywriting professionals that many readers will skip immediately to the postscript. (Go figure.) Your postscript should be a strong and compelling closing statement to your sales letter. So this is a good place to make your "last, best offer" – perhaps a bonus for acting promptly. 

 11.   Give preference to "action words" in your copy. Adjectives are nice but verbs are nicer. Adjectives are descriptive and sometimes emotional but they don't call readers to action. Limit your use of adjectives in favor of verbs to get the best response from your readers. 

Throughout this article I've referenced the terms value, benefits, offer and call to action a number of times. We'll explore those terms and how they fit into a sales letter in the next "episode" of this series. Look for it in a couple weeks. 

"See you" then. 

Ó 2007 Patrick A. Hassett. All rights reserved. 

Pat Hassett draws on more than 30 years experience in sales, sales management and sales support roles across several industries. He stands ready to help you increase your sales, your profitability and your customer loyalty through the use of customer-centric sales methods, high level customer service and customer relationship management tools. To learn more about how SalesNow! can help you, go to www.salesnowonline.com or write to infalesNowOnline.com.