It seems the art of letter writing is disappearing fast.  It?s a shame, not only from a handwriting point of view, but also because a simple letter can still be an effective sales tool.

Here?s a quick guide for writing an effective sales letter – put it in your marketing toolbox, it?s not a dodo yet!

1.  At the top of your sales letter, use a strong headline that states the most important benefit you are offering.   This headline should be bold and a larger font size than the font size you use for the body text in your sales letter.

2.  When writing your sales letter, use a friendly conversational style. Do not try to write “corporate” where you use large words and try to impress your prospects with your command of the English language. All that does is turn people off. Instead, write your sales letter as if you were talking to your best friend.

3.  Your sales letter needs to explain the benefits your potential customer will receive. Understand that everybody cares about one thing in life – “What?s in it for me?” Put yourself in your customer?s shoes and ask yourself, “If I was receiving this letter, why would I want to buy the product or service being sold?  What?s in it for me?”

4.  Ask your prospect to take action such as to call you for more information or to visit your website.  If you do not ask your prospects to take action, they won?t.

5.  Include testimonials from customers. Testimonials are one of the most powerful sales tools available, so always include at least one testimonial in your sales letters.

6.  Use a P.S. in your letter and restate your most power benefit and sales offer in it. Most people will read a P.S. first before reading the sales letter, so it is important to make your P.S. have a very strong sales message and a call to action.

7.  Make sure to include all of your contact information – telephone number, email address, postal address, and your website address.  It adds credibility to your letter and personalises it at the same time.