Occassionally, I'm approached by a new client asking for a U.S style, 2-3 page sales letter. While I am always happy to help new customers, I'm not a fan of these types of letters. Before I explain why, let me first explain exactly what type of letter I mean when I say 'U.S. style'.
If you live in the UK, you'll probably receive Reader's Digest direct mail every so often (they probably direct mail people in other countries too, but I can't say for certain). Now, if you've ever bothered to open one of these letters, you'll see that they nearly always start with a statement to grab your attention - ususally it is to do with you being on the shortlist to win a large sum of money. From that point on, you'll see repeated statements about how you could win a larger sum of money and how that could change your life...and all you have to do is respond to the letter. That's the hook. You'll see that the letter is usually quite long, repetitive, and uses the type of language you'd associate with a hard sell. Of course, Reader's Digest aren't the only people that use this approach, and if you search for health products or cures online, you'll find plenty of examples of web sites using the same angle. I call this approach the 'U.S Style' because I see it predominantly on American web sites (and I'd guess it started on the other side of the pond).
If so many people are using it, it must work, right? Well, in my opinion, no.
Thanks to the media, in particular consumer tv shows and press articles, most of us are aware of get rich quick schemes and various money-making scams. They have been well publicised, and usually, they all involve a direct sales letter that uses the U.S. style. And that is precisely why I urge customers to use a more subtle approach. Because people are savvy to these marketing techniques now and know that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is.
So why would you want your sales letter to look and read like something people associate with a scam?
It is vital that your sales letters are relevant and worthy of your target market's time. They will be bombarded with junk mail every day, just like the rest of us, and that's why it is important that your letter stands out as being genuine and of real interest. To achieve this, you don't need to make extravagant claims or continuously repeat key statements - you simply need to connect with the reader. And the best way to do this is to get to the point and be honest and open. Sure, you need to use persuasive language and structure your letter correctly, but there's a fine line between an effective sales letter and one that ends up not being read.
If you need help with a sales letter, please get in touch via www.straygoat.com and ask for a quote.
SEO copywriter, Web copywriter, Web content writer
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