What is a sales letter?
A sales letter can be a direct sales letter (the physical version that goes to a mailbox and the recipient tears it open with their fingers), or a sales letter sent over email.
Sales letters attempt to sell a product or service to a specified target audience in one swoop. They are results driven, and require clever crafting to get them right.
People are generally averse to direct sales letters and emails. Often the only way to capture their attention is to intrigue them, or make an immediate promise to solve a difficult problem they’re facing. That’s why it can really help to have an experienced copywriter craft it for you.
How long is a sales letter?
There are two forms of sales letters: long form and short form.
Long form sales letters can be monumental, and run for up to 2000 words.
Short form sales letters (and particularly emails) are generally one page or up to around 400 words.
What is the layout of a sales letter?
- Loaded headline (intriguing or a strong promise)
- Talk about the situation they’re in
- Explain how your service fills the gap
- Bold key words or phrases
- Dot points to break it up
- Short paragraphs
- Strong call to action
Why do a sales letter?
Sales letters are known to have a fairly low success rate (approximately 1-5% of all that get sent out). However, if you have a database of 20,000 people and you only convert 1%, you’re still looking at 200 sales.
Sales emails that go out to an EDM (electronic direct mail) database, may also be used to improve existing customer experience and loyalty – rather than just pushing for a quick sale.
For example, your marketing plan may have a 5+1 strategy: 5 relaxed, informative and useful emails, followed by 1 more direct, sales-oriented email.
Benefits of sales letters include:
- Builds relationships
- Deepens loyalty
- Keeps your business top of mind
- Keeps customers up to date
- Reaches a new audience
- Drives sales