Sales Letters, one of the great internet tools of all time, and one of the most difficult things to do for many years for many online merchants.
Before writing this article it occurred to me to do a test on a US site looking for a good Copy for Sales Letters for Coaches products. In that test I was looking for someone who had demonstrable experience in writing sales letters that were converting and that made at least the sales letters that these professionals had written had an average of at least a 5% conversion rate.
The answers were varied, but to give you an idea, a good copywriter with experience is already charging between $1,500 and $3,000 for writing a good sales letter that has an intention of converting at least 5% of the users that enter it. Not bad, considering that the type of Coach service I was considering can have prices in the range of 900â’¬ to 2.500â’¬, some of these services with this conversion could amortize the price of this investment with a single customer.
Converting Sales Letters, what makes them different?
As you can imagine, sales letters are not products of the imagination of a hallucinated person who makes them and gets conversions, but they have their technique and nowadays that technique has a very important base in Neuromarketing, both for products of an online store and for eCommerce in general of services, and of course, they have a technique that is necessary to apply to get excellent conversions.
do you want me to save you $1,500 explaining to you how to make a good sales letter?
Well, even if you never thank me, I will, because I believe in you and I know you deserve it.
Sales Letters and The Mind of Your Customer
Before anything else, to develop a conversational sales letter you need to understand the mind of your customer, that’s fundamental. And one important thing, if you have several types of customers you need to understand the mind of all of them, as you will need to target a sales letter for each customer profile.
In order to get into the mind of your customer you need to define who that customer is, i.e. define your target audience, this is the key to making sales letters work. And, of course, in addition to things like demographics (where they are located, age, gender, etc.) you have to get into the most important part of their mind: Their fears.
To develop a good Sales Letter you need to know your customer’s fears very well, because from the fears you are going to build the Sales Arguments, and from the sales arguments you are going to build what the customer really wants to get.
And notice that I emphasize the word WANT because that is the key to the sale, it is about focusing on offering him to buy what he wants, not what he needs, most people have no idea what they need, but they know what they want. At this point just ask yourself one thing: Do you really believe that iPhone users need that smartphone to live? Or that they have it because they WANT it
To get the most relevant data from your customer’s mind I leave you with a series of questions you need to know about them, BEFORE you start writing any sales letter.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
- how old is he/she? What is their age?
- What is their height?
- what is your hair color?
- what is your job?
- how much money does he/she earn?
- What car does he/she drive, assuming he/she has a car?
- what is he/she currently wearing?
- are you married? What is your wife’s or husband’s name?
- do you have any children, how many, and what are their names?
- do you live in a house or apartment?
- do you live in a city, suburb or town?
- What magazines or Publications do you read?
- What blogs, Websites, or Apps do you follow?
- what kind of conferences, events, meetings, etc. do you attend? Regularly or sporadically?
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PERSONALITY
- What do you believe in, main or core beliefs?
- what is your attitude towards the world and life?
- what bothers you the most?
- what do you normally do on a Friday night?
- what do you normally do on a Sunday morning?
- what are your hobbies?
- what emotion(s) do you feel at the moment just before you make a purchase of a product/service?
- what does your inner voice tell you? What specific words and phrases do you use? What story do you tell yourself?
- what fears does he/she have that something will be known about him/her?
- what worries him or her the most and what keeps him or her awake at night and unable to sleep?
- what does he or she not look at because it scares the hell out of him or her?
- what is the worst-case scenario you can imagine in your life?
- and what is the worst scenario, even worse than your worst scenario?
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Assuming that worst-case scenario were to happen in your life
- how do you think others close to you (close friends, family, partner, clients) would react if they knew?
- what do you fear would fail or fail in your life if that situation continued or worsened?
- where would you lose power, influence or control in your life if things don’t change or if they get worse?
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Assuming you can define an ideal situation, what would it look like?
- what is the ideal situation you dream of or would pay for it to be?
- what is true about your current situation, what percentage of it is true?
- If you could have that situation, what would the story you would tell be like?
- how would others react if you achieved that ideal situation?
- what will you be able to do, achieve or accomplish if that ideal situation becomes a reality?
- where would you be most powerful and influential in your life if the ideal situation became a reality?
Once we have all these details answered we can generate a target audience profile for the Sales Letters which is now called “Avatar”, well, we generate an Avatar. And to this Avatar we are going to put name and surname, to be able to have it well in the mind since it is to whom we are going to write the Sales Letters.
Conversion Sales Letters, Key Details
Once we have our Avatar or target customer, and before we start writing the sales letters, we have to be clear about some points that are ultra-important when it comes to writing them, which are the following:
- 1.- Write directly to our avatar, keep it in mind at all times, it is a person called Pepe or Maria and he is the one to whom we are writing the sales letter.
- 2.- It is important to have a defined story, since we need to explain it to Pepe or María and it has to be credible and for that we need to have at least imagined it.
- 3.- Try to hook Pepe or Maria’s attention from the first line, don’t think that you will be doing it in the text, think that from the first word he or she has to feel attracted, and go all out from that moment one when you start writing the sales letters.
- 4.- Write the sales letters as if you were writing to a friend, in a natural way, do not force the writing, do it as if you were talking. And use a lot more words like “You” or “Yours” rather than “I” or “mine”, that is, put yourself in the shoes of the person who is reading it.
- 5.- Sales letter paragraphs should be short, between 2 and 4 lines maximum.
- 6.- Use simple words, try not to get into too technical words, sometimes we think that it has to be different if the avatar is someone very technical, in that case no matter how many technical words you use they will never be enough and any possible detail that could have a different reading will have it and the avatar will stop being interested, so it is better to keep it simple
Whoever wants to know more should ask you. - 7.- Focus on a single product or service for each of the sales letters, do not start including several products in a single sales letter because that generates dispersion when advancing.
- 8.- The sales letters must be credible, do not think of putting things like “Earn $5,000 in the first week”. This is not credible unless you offer real proof and it is feasible to get it, otherwise, the problem will be buyer’s remorse, which is much worse than not getting customers.
- 9.- Include Deadlines. It is fundamental to incite the Avatar’s action, if not, he will think that he can always have access to that service and he will forget about it, you have to use time as a key factor in the decision-making process of the sale.
- 10.- Include a Money Back Guarantee. This is fundamental to generate trust, it must be temporary, something like including a 30-day Money Back Guarantee.
Sales Letters. Structure
To start defining the structure of the sales letters it is fundamental that we understand that we are going to work with two key factors, one of them is the problem that the customer wants to solve and the second is the solution that we are going to offer the customer to solve his problem.
Based on this we can work with 2 sales letters;
- Long Sales Letters: This sales letter is very interesting because it implies that if a customer reads it completely it means that he is very interested in acquiring your product, if he spends time reading it it also means that he is interested in investing in your product.
- Video Sales Letters with a Button below the video: They usually have a fairly acceptable conversion and can also be long, sometimes with videos that take quite a long time but if the potential customer reads it is possibly because he is very interested in buying.
- Mixed Sales Letters: It is about working long sales letters with a video that is the same sales letter to make it easier for the customer to read.
Sales Letters: Elements of the Structure and Sample Letter
(1) Header, Headline: This is the key point of the sales letter, since it is the one that will get the customer’s attention when entering the page. Here you have to include the most irresistible Benefit you can, but always tangible and quantified.
(2) Beginning or Opening: It is a presentation of who you are talking about, where you come from and how you are selling a product.
Here you have to tell your story (or the story by which you got to the current point). I recommend that you tell the story with an initial problem and how you overcame it by doing something that the user who is reading you wants to achieve as well.
By commenting on that initial problem, the reader should feel identified and that you are empathizing with him/her. It should always be short, that is, it should be read quickly to get people’s interest.
(3) Extension of the story: It is about commenting on the problems that the product you are selling solves in a more extensive way, in the extension of the story of the sales letters it is essential to explain more details and that the user empathizes with you as much as possible, so that he can see himself reflected.
(4) Why I (or your company or your product) am the right person to help you: This is the point where you are going to generate credibility with the user. The reason why you use the product or service you sell, what you have achieved thanks to using this service or product, what things you have improved in your life thanks to this product or service.
(5) Initial presentation of the product or service: Here you are going to tell him that, just as you have achieved ABC, he can also achieve it, without any doubts. Through the product XYZ, and here is where we begin to talk briefly about the product or service and especially about the benefits of the product, what things you can achieve with this product or service.
(6) List of Benefits why the customer will not be able to resist your product or service: Here you explain clearly what are the main benefits that your customer will get by buying a product, and a list of between 5 and 9 main benefits is generated.
It is recommended that if the product is very visual and has a very image-oriented approach, the points you put should be as close to 5 as possible (usually B2C), since the customer will probably be very visual. However, if the product is a B2B product or a very technical product it is recommended that you go for the 9 main points or benefits.
(7) Real guarantees that you provide in the purchase: You have to include a warranty period, or of use and if you do not like it you can return it, since this way you ensure that the customer will not have purchase regrets if he does not use the product from the first day. The reality is that if you put a guarantee (such as the money back in 2 days)
(8) Testimonials of third party product purchase: At this point it is very important that you include testimonials, but WARNING, not about the product itself, but about ONE result that the product has achieved for a person.
And it is also important that not all the testimonials are positive, there may be some neutral, which is not bad but not good either, because in this way you offer a credibility that is also HUMAN, that is, if we see everything very well at the end we can distrust.
(9) Who the product is NOT for: Include the things why this product is not for you, that is, things for which the product or service is not useful. Example: This product is NOT for you if you want to -A -B -C
(10) Who the product IS for: This includes the things why this product is for you, i.e., this product is for you if what you want is ABC
(11) What it IS OR what this product is NOT: You have to make a special emphasis on what this product IS or IS NOT depending on what you want to explain, and you have to explain it even if it is very obvious, but if there is something you want to make clear about what the product is or is not in the sales letters is an important point to emphasize.
(12) Call To Action: This is a way to incite action to take action to do something very simple that will allow them to start the buying process. The most common is to encourage them to click on a link or button to get the product.
(13) Price of the service or product: You can includethe price as a price per date or a final price, but something that works really well is the price crossed out and the final price next to it.
(14) Frequently Asked Questions: This is quite important and are a real trigger of purchase in sales letters as they allow those small doubts that a user has to enter directly into the call to action, and are those details that a prospect who is about to close make the final decision in many moments.
(15) Call To Action (Call To Action) AGAIN: It is also important that in the final part of the text of the sales letters you include the Call To Action again, so that once they have seen the FAQ they naturally have a new entry into action.
And as it would be an example of a sales letter dedicated to coaching, here is an example of a sales letter dedicated to coaching.
Examples of Sales Letter Texts for Sales of a Training Course
This content, as well as the sample letter are FREE and prepared for COPY PASTE, but to see it I need you to share the post in one of your social networks to see it.
(This example is about a sample product, but the texts define in the right way the sales letters for the same)
(1) Example: Learn how to make 3 Types of Photographs that will take your hands off your hands
(2) I’m Pedro and I’ve been a professional photographer for 20 years, but I haven’t always lived from selling my photographs, before I was a freelancer working for others, until I decided to dedicate myself to create my own photography products and, although I made many mistakes, in the end I found a type of photography that everyone wants to buy.
This was not easy and it took me several years to come up with this vision, but I can say that today I live from the photographs I take and I only do photography services when I consider it worthwhile or when I feel like it.
(3) One of the most difficult things in the world of photography is to get to sell your own products or your own creations and also to have an audience that you know will always want to buy the product when you put it on sale, and many of us have to be selling our photography services almost always competing on price and also investing heavily in equipment.
(4) If you are at this point and every day you have to be competing to sell your time at a lower price to be bought, I am the person who can help you to get out of this dynamic and start to change the focus of your business and your life towards a way of understanding your profession as a business model that will allow you to earn income doing the photography that you like the most and with which you feel identified and fulfilled.
(5) And the way I can help you is through a course I have created called:
The 3 Types of Photographs Everyone Wants
(6) What you are going to get with this course is:
- To know what types of photographs people buy the most
- To know where you can sell your photographs for prices that are interesting for you
- To know how you can turn your photographs into a recurring income
- To create your own business of making and selling exclusive and massive photographs
- To make a living from the work you love
- To get your services paid for 10 times what they can pay you nowadays.
(7) And to show you that this is true, I will show you my paychecks for the last 5 months:
PHOTO 1, PHOTO 2, PHOTO 3
(8) What do the students who have already taken the course think?
Loli Pérez – I am a professional photographer and I am delighted with the course “The 3 types of photographs that everyone wants”, in 3 months I have sold more than 300 photographs
Antonio Perez – I am a professional photographer and 6 months ago I was always competing with other photographers to get jobs, now I work for myself
Pedro Suárez – The course is good, I haven’t really started it yet, but I hope to do it soon
(9) Who is this product NOT for?
- For people who don’t want to make a living from photography.
- For people who think that things are done by themselves.
- For people who are not passionate about photography.
(10) Who is this product for?
- For photography enthusiasts.
- For professional photographers who are looking for additional revenue streams
- For professional photographers who want to reach many more customers
(11) What exactly is this product?
It is a 20-hour course, with real and live experiences, for a maximum of 10 people who will attend the course from day XYZ to day ABC.
(12)Button – Buy Now –
(12)Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Will I be able to leave the course with income potential?
R. Yes, you will be able to without any doubt.
Q. Will I have to make large investments to start generating new lines of income?
R. If you are a professional photographer and you already have your equipment, you will not have to make new investments.
Q. Will I be able to sell my photographs to customers in English speaking countries?
R. Yes, of course you can, not only English, but also Japanese, Chinese, etc.
Q. How long is this course fee?
R. We can only maintain it until next Monday, January x
(13) Course Price
The price of the course is $297 plus tax, but if you take action before day Y, the price will be for you as low as
$97*
(it can also be)
Before day 5 -> $97*
Before day 15 -> $197
Until the 20th (Course start date) -> $297* -> $297
*(All prices are subject to taxes)
(14) Money Back Guarantee
If once you have done the complete course, and doing what we indicate you do not get your first photo sale in 30 days, we will refund your money
(15) Buy NowButton
More information about Sales Letters. In this case it is a video by Phil Alfaro that I hope you like.