The sales letter is an integral part of internet marketing and typically takes the form of a webpage. During your product launch, its main purpose is to build interest and persuade your prospects to purchase your product. It’s your ‘pitch’ to get them to click on your Buy Button.
Types of Sales Letters
Let’s take a look at the types of sales letters that you can construct for your product launch.
The Traditional Sales Letter – Pure Copy
While all sales letters focus on selling your product, a traditional sales letter is one which is primarily made up of text or copy, instead of graphics and visuals.
We call this sales letter format Pure Copy.
It doesn’t contain any video and instead focuses more on its advertising copy. This form of sales letter may sound somewhat old-fashioned but the fact that this archaic method is still being used today is testament to its effectiveness.
While the copy is by far the core element of Pure Copy sales letters, they usually do contain some images and visuals of the product. Without them, a sales letter just wouldn’t be complete. No matter how brilliant your copy might be, people work in a way whereby they need to see a product before purchasing it, so the use of product photos are still very important. However, in a Pure Copy sales letter, the visuals are used sparingly.
A Pure Copy sales letter focuses more on structure to entice prospects. What is meant by “structure”, in this case, is not only how the copy is written in terms of language and sentence structure, but also the format in which information is presented.
It is very ineffective to have a sales letter that is strictly paragraph after paragraph of text – it makes information much harder to stomach. This is why Pure Copy Sales Letters make good, strategic use of bullet points, tables, and, as mentioned previously, visuals.
Pure Copy Sales Letters are great because full-page copy is less likely to have problems loading on your prospects’ browsers. You could add a few photos to this Sales Letter and it should still load without error. This is compared to video sales letters, where heavier video files need to be uploaded and are more susceptible to error.
And no matter what, writing copy will always take less time than creating a video sales letter, so that’s definitely a plus point to consider.
However, the Pure Copy format only truly works if you’re good at writing copy. Because everything is so heavily reliant on your content, the sales copy has to be razor sharp and attention grabbing – which is harder than most people think.
The length of the copy is also something that needs to be looked at – if the copy runs on for too long, it’s highly unlikely that your prospects will want to stay on your page and read on. Though, a fair amount of editing and a good copywriter would be able to help you fix these issues.
Video Sales Letters (VSLs) – 100% Pure
Another option for Sales Letters is to use video instead of copy. These types of sales letters are called pure video sales letters or Pure VSLs for short.
First of all, Pure VSLs are pages where there is only a video and an opt-in form or any other call-to-action. This is where the video does all the selling without the aid of text or copy. The page itself can usually be seen in whole without having to scroll down.
This kind of sales letter is more contemporary. Nowadays, communication has gotten more visual-heavy and Pure Video Sales Letters embody that change. A good Pure VSL should be direct and easy to navigate. Having that simplicity and directness prevents the page from being cluttered with copy, images, and unnecessary distractions. Often times, the prospect only needs to click the Play button on the video.
To make up for the absence of a copy in Pure VSLs, the script plays an important role. It may sound easy to write a script but, just like copywriting, it is an art of its own, so take some time with this or hire a writer to write one for you.
The presenter in the video, usually the product vendor, has to have a spokesperson’s charm. All the qualities needed in face-to-face marketing are needed when you record a Pure VSL. Things like having a controlled tone of voice, clear and crisp pronunciation and a strong command of language play a big part in selling to your audience. Two other aspects to take note of are your body language (which people will read subconsciously) and your charisma, which you have to continuously build on.
The simple and modern design in most Pure VSLs helps make your page look more credible. A good video helps to boost your image in the eyes of your prospects as someone who is professional and takes their work seriously.
Also, a slick and clean design with a strong video presentation, has the power to be far more convincing than just copy. Your visitors do not have to read lengthy copy and can instead have you pitch to them, face- to-face, which makes it easier for visitors to absorb information.
As for drawbacks, there’s a high risk of technical errors when it comes to a Pure VSL. If an error were to affect your video therefore making it unplayable or if someone on a weaker internet connection fails to load your video, there is nothing on your Pure VSL page that they can turn to. This is unlike a Pure Copy Sales Letters, whereby even if the images fail to load, your visitors would still be able to read your copy.
The Best of Both Worlds – Hybrid Sales Letter
If Pure Copy and Pure Video Sales Letters aren’t your thing, why not try a Hybrid Sales Letter instead. A Hybrid Sales Letter is, essentially, a combination of both the Pure Copy Sales Letter and the Pure Video Sales Letter. In many ways, it has the best of both worlds.
A Hybrid Sales Letter has a sales video, which is usually the first thing the audience sees, at the top of the webpage. It is usually located directly below or above the headline. Unlike in Pure Copy Sales Letters, the headline is not the main attention grabber, though it is, of course, still important.
Underneath the video, you will have copy. It’s important to note that this copy should NOT be a word for word transcript of your sales video. While you may reuse most of the information from your sales video (anywhere up to 90%), it’s good to play around with the structure and phrasing. Try making the copy more reader-friendly with bullet points and formatting.
As for the length of the copy for the sales letter, it is entirely up to you. However, it’s important to note here that the length of the copy is not the thing you should be most concerned about. A lot of people nitpick on being below a certain word count, when in fact, long form copy has proven to sell as effectively as short form copy.
One of the best reasons for choosing the Hybrid Sales Letter is that, as mentioned, it has the advantages of both Pure Video Sales Letter and Pure Copy Sales Letter.
The video allows your visitors to get all the offer information delivered to them in an easily digestible manner. They will not need to read through lengthy copy to find out what they need to know. On top of this, the video works as an attention-grabber and it is very effective in keeping the audience interested.
With the copy beneath the video, it also gives your prospects the option of reviewing your offer, without having to re-watch the video. The Hybrid Sales Letter basically gives your prospects the option of how they’d prefer to find out about your offer. This is why this sort of Sales Letter has become a popular choice for a lot of internet marketers today.
That said, there is a downside to using this type of sales letter – but it’s not a big one. With the Hybrid Sales Letter, you will have to do almost double the amount of work for your launch. On top of creating a video, you’ll also have to spare some time to write the copy.
While it may seem time-consuming to create both video and copy, the rewards and success of your launch will make the effort worth it. Besides, you always have the option of delegating some of the work to creative professionals – sites like Fiverr are a great place for you to outsource tasks to capable creatives for cheap.
The Essential Sales Letter Formula
Your sales letter is so important – it does the bulk of the selling for you. A well-written and professionally produced sales letter truly is a vital aspect in your overall launch.
Below, you will find the formula for creating an amazing, irresistible Sales Letter. If you can effectively execute this formula, you will have a sales letter that is ready to go and create profit.
Know The Angle of Your Story
When you start your sales letter you need to come from a specific angle. Is this a real-life rags to riches tale? Is this a fictional or hypothetical story of what can happen to your prospects?
If your sales letter is a story, what you want to do is always end on a happy note, whereby the main character succeeds. A positive outcome is likely to put your prospects in a better mood and will motivate them to make a purchase. You should also include a cliffhanger in your story. Psychologically, humans crave closure. If you leave them with a cliffhanger or open loop, in terms of your sales letter, they will seek closure by continuing to read or listen to you.
The Who, What, When, Why, How
When it comes to writing your sales copy or creating your video sales letter, you need to give them important information about your product. Ideally, you should explain:
- who you are
- what you can do for your customers
- why they should purchase your product
- how they can follow up with you
- when they can expect results
Those are the bare essentials. Before you start working on anything else, make sure you get these points in your sales letter.
Bold Headline
A very important element that influences the effectiveness of a Sales Letter is the headline. At the end of the day, headlines determine whether the visitor will stay on your page and continue reading or move on to something else. You only have a very short period of time to engage a visitor that lands on your website. Make sure that your headline addresses their problem and offers a solution to it. It has to make a bold statement that entices your visitor to find out more.
Solving Problems
Be sure that your sales letter offers a solution to your prospects’ challenges and problems. Reveal to them why most people have failed to get passed these obstacles. Then, you want to offer them a solution – let them know that you’ve experienced and overcome these challenges yourself and reassure them that they can do it too!
Features and Benefits
While it’s important for you to promote your product and its features, you need to have accompanying benefits to help balance it out.
Features are what your product can do. Benefits are what said features can do for your customer. In your sales letter, both of these should be 50-50. Remember – the sales page is meant to create interest in your visitors and you can only do that with a balance of information and persuasion.
Selling the dream
In your sales letter, you also want to focus on selling the dream. What you need to do is show your prospects how this product will not only solve their immediate problems, but also increase their happiness and improve on their quality of life. You need to get them passionate and enthusiastic about their own lives before they can be passionate and enthusiastic about what you are selling.
Put emphasis on bonus offers
When you create a product, you will also be creating a sales funnel. In this sales funnel, you will have upgrades and bonuses – like extension packs. Be sure to emphasize on these bonuses as these will be where the bulk of your profits will come from. Assure them that there is more to your offer than just a one off product.
Add Visual Elements
Photos and visuals of your product are really important when it comes to getting people to click on the buy button so make sure your graphics are clean and professional. At the same time though, you want to keep in mind to not flood your sales letter with too many images – they should complement, not overpower.
Build Credibility with Testimonials & Endorsements
You need testimonials! Without testimonials, you’re just a person on the internet. With them, you build your credibility and establish yourself as someone who can be trusted and is capable of creating success stories.
If you have big name joint venture partners, get them to write in as well to endorse your product. People need a reason to take your word and testimonials and endorsements will bring them one step closer to believing in you.
Include a Call to Action
You have just set up a great story with convincing points and have gotten your visitors interested. Now it’s time for the final pull – assert a call to action. Guide them towards the action they need to take to get started with your product. Don’t let them wonder whether they should click on the Buy button – tell them to do it.
