Sales Letter Writing

When developing a website sales letter the writer should step away from the product/service and enter the though stream of the potential consumer. The writer has to establish the demographic they are catering for and the demands of the consumers they are choosing to target.

Our company was recently commissioned to complete a sales letter for a software product that targeted webmasters. Working with the client we completed split testing in an effort to maximise conversion rates. During the testing phase we achieved returns that were 0.7% higher from the sales letter that addressed the reader under the assumption that they had prior knowledge in the field. Although we achieved higher conversion rates from this approach we were still able to utilise the other sales letter under PPC terms which suggested a less savvy audience.

A problem that is prominent in most sales letters is that the writer attempts to cater for every possible consumer. This is particularly prominent in the B2B market where companies claim that their product/service is suitable for a wide range of businesses big/small and from any sector you could possibly think of.

The fact is that a writer should aim to entice the consumer towards the suitability of their product through explaining functionality and benefit whilst allowing the reader to reach at least some conclusions at their own free will. During the development of a recent sales letter for a Lay-betting membership website, I refrained from quoting figures that outlined the owner's lay betting revenues. Instead I drew on the fact that the website owner had several members of staff that he employed to "lay bets". This would surely provoke the consumer to reach the conclusion that the owner had managed to achieve revenues that could support three people comfortably. In the copywriting services field this is known as "persuasive assumption" and can be powerful tool in converting the most cautious of website visitors.

A question that I am often asked by clients is how I am going to illustrate their product in a better light than their competitors. Many clients have asked me to mention specific companies and raise flaws in their product, services and claims. Although every sales letter should be written in a bespoke manner I would recommend that writers avoid this as a general rule. When a competitors name is mentioned the consumer is automatically compelled to consider the prospect of contracting with them. In order to outshine the competition a writer should inform the reader of a feature being a benefit of their product, rather than a weakness in their competitors.