Start Your Sales Letter With a Bang

by Jodi

If you’re writing a sales letter (or an email) the most important thing is to get the reader to open the envelope or the email. The next key step is the headline and the opening paragraph.

One way to get attention is to address the reader directly. Start with “you” to create a conversation, rather than “I” (which is more like a speech).
Keep the sentences and paragraphs short, so they’re easy to read and digest. Use that first sentence to introduce the conversation you’d like to have, and explain why the reader should keep reading.

Incite curiosity with a headline:

20 Ways to Market Your Business For Free

Sometimes, the best headline or opener is buried in the second or third paragraph. Read through the letter again and see if re-arranging it makes it better.

Ask a question that you know your reader will agree with:

Are you tired of spending money on IT support that leaves your wallet empty and your computer full of viruses?

Or, start with “because”

Because you’ve been a cardmember for 10 years, we’d like to reward you with a free gift.

Address skepticism about your product immediately, agree with it, then discuss (in the next sentence) why your solution is different.

“Email marketing is just junk and a waste of time. The truth is, I agree with you. The problem with most marketing is……What makes this different is…..”

Use memories and imagination. Conjure up a picture in the reader’s mind and tell a story:

Do you remember how much you enjoyed recess as a child?

“It was 1945, the war was over and my dad, Ed Cushman, had just opened a small store and fruit packaging plant here in West Palm Beach. One night (a night never to be forgotten by anyone in our family), everyone was waiting for a truck load of grapefruit. When it finally arrived, my dad took one look and said, “What the devil is this?”

[They were Honeybell oranges; and when I tasted my first one, I said pretty much the same thing.. what was that??!. It's sweet, juicy, and unlike any other orange I ever ate!].