First of all, a general comment about a sales letter; – “The clue is in the title”, as the saying goes. Always treat your sales letter as a letter, as if you were writing to a friend or colleague. Always open your letter with a greeting and end it with a goodbye in some form. The main body of the letter is where you would put before a customer the benefits and the value of your product or service, but it is at the end where you make the actual sales pitch. The more convincingly you have presented your product in the main body of your sales letter the easier it should be to clinch the sale. However, there are certain important aspects which need to be included to get the best conversion rate possible.
There are two particular issues which are an essential part of any online sales letter; they are the guarantee and the bonus or collection of bonuses. Remember we are initially selling to people who do not know us and who have not had the opportunity to look at, handle, or peruse the item we are asking them to buy. If they were making a purchase in a shop all those things would be possible. Our sales letter must reassure them that they would be buying a quality item, getting value for money and that their money would not be wasted.
We address the issue of value for money by adding value to what is being purchased. Another quality item would normally be added to the main purchase which in some way enhances what is being bought. To a DVD set on the topic of gardening might be added a bonus DVD which shows how to build nesting boxes, bird tables, etc. to draw different kinds of birds to your garden. Alternatively, a report on how best to rotate your crops in a vegetable garden might be seen as an incentive to buy. The additional item MUST be good quality and must be related to the main product being retailed. Someone who is looking at an offer on “Rose Gardening” would not be incentivised to buy by a bonus e-book on Early Phoenician Embroidery; – if there is such a thing!
This added value will often swing it for the marketer, but, to repeat myself, the bonus must be of high quality and relevant to your main offer.
The second part of the crucial sign-off sequence is the guarantee. With internet marketing this should always be a “100%, no questions asked, cast iron guarantee”. If the potential customer is made convincingly aware that, should they not like the product for any reason, they can get their money back without any quibble, they are more likely to buy. They will make the purchase feeling that there is no financial risk involved.
A very successful tack is to offer a 60 day guarantee pointing out that the customer effectively has the product for two months to assess it at leisure at home before deciding whether they wish to keep it or not. It is also usual to make the bonus item a gift they can keep even if they choose to return the main product. Anything which enhances the value of the offer in the eyes of a customer will increase your conversion rate and reduce your returns. There will always be returns which should be refunded immediately without hesitation. The nature of the ‘distance selling’ makes returns inevitable.
End your letter with a relevant signing off phrase. This may be just, “regards”, “kindest regards’ or perhaps in the case of a business offer, “I wish you success in your business”. If the offer is dog-related perhaps “Woof-woof” might be appropriate. (Not really; only joking!) Always try to make your reader feel that the letter is addressed to them personally. A PS added after your sign-off would then be used as one final reminder of a particular benefit or the valuable bonus being added.
Always treat your customers as friends and they will reciprocate.