From the desk of: Andre Bell
Whether your goal in 2006 is
to enjoy more free time,
attract more new business, boost sales conversions, or make more money
without increasing your marketing budget a single penny,
this is a report you can't afford to ignore.
I've
spent 27 years studying copywriting and I still don't
know everything. No one does. I will admit too, you know
more about your business than I'll probably ever know.
One thing I do know though after all these years is how to tell the difference
between a valuable direct mail template or marketing course and an outright
scam. If you get this wrong you end up in a deeper hole
than when you started.
Don't get me wrong.
Knowing how to make money with
the power of your pen or keyboard
is a great feeling. I love it when a program I put
together on or offline starts bringing in the bucks. I
know of no other way to bring in cash so quickly and
consistently (short of robbing a European bank for
millions--and even then direct mail still can make more
money).
Direct mail sales total over two trillion dollars annually.
Obviously direct mail works.
But you already knew that. Otherwise you wouldn't now be searching for free
sales letter examples or free sample sales letters templates.
Whether you're just getting started at writing direct
mail copy or have been at it for years you've probably
tried free direct mail templates or have
even been scammed by products that sounded like they
would work, but didn't. I must admit, I have too.
After all these years of study I think I (mostly) have gotten it
right.
Let me take a moment to explain to you the things you
also must do with your copy if you want to
stop spinning
your wheels trying to figure out what works and what
doesn't work. I also want to tell you how to get your
hands on direct mail templates and get your hands on an "insiders guide"
to copywriting success that will make you rich. But more
on that in a minute.
First, lets talk about what you need to do with your
copy if you want to make money just from the words you
type out of your computer keys.
These Little Mistakes Are Costing Companies
Billions
-
Mistake #1: Sending a single letter and then sitting back crying because
the mailing costs exceeded the income earned. The majority of your sales
come from mailing multiple messages to each recipient, not just one letter.
If you plan on mailing only one letter I suggest not mailing at all. Your
profits will likely remain the same. Zero.
-
Mistake #2:Sending the letter to the wrong people. My goodness, this is
so heavily violated that it should be the Eleventh Commandment: "Though
Shall Not Mail to Complete Strangers Who Have NOT Identified Themselves As
Having A Connection With You Or A Prior Interest In What You Offer!"
Don't waste time mailing to an untargeted list. It won't work.
-
Mistake #3:And the Twelfth Commandment: "Though Shall Not Put People
To Sleep With A Boring and Passive Sales Message!" -zzzz
How To Create Direct Mail Copy That
Sells
After you've eliminated those
mistakes from your marketing you must next write content that is compelling and
interesting.
Your message must grab your reader by the eyeballs and make it impossible
for them to bat an eye for fear of missing something juicy. That's what effective
direct mail copy does for you.
So what are the steps in creating content that
will keep
your readers glued to your sales letter?
Here they are:
-
Write compelling content that magnetically attracts readers
like sugar water attracts humming birds--it's impossible for them to resist
you.
-
Use a powerful "hook"
throughout your message. All great ads use a hook to set the ad apart from every other message that competes for the attention of the same market. The
last thing a sales message should do is sound like every other ad that is
out there. When it comes to marketing, sameness will kill your sales.
-
Focus your message on benefits to your reader. Remember
W.I.I.F.M.
-
Use plenty of credibility statements.
-
And most of all...
...PREACH TO THE CHOIR!
Communicate your message to people who have a
predisposition towards wanting what you're selling, or have shown they
already have a
predisposition to believing you.
It's easier to preach Jesus to
Christians than to atheists. It's easier to persuade Buddhists
to follow the ways of Buddha, than to get a Christian to do so.
The same holds true to what you're selling. It
is far easier to sell to people who already want what you're
selling than to sell to people who must first be convinced of the
value of your product or service.
The secret to copywriting success is to filter
out those who don't have an interest and communicate only to
those who do.
If you are looking for sample sales letters to emulate, Google lists a number of great sales letter samples. I suggest searching through Google for a few templates.
Discover The Secrets For
Turning Your Words Into Cash
Also, above is a sample sales letter
layout for you to review.
Once you have your layout the way you like, double check your work. Make
sure your sales letter contains each of these elements, as a foundation for
great copy:
-
the hook
-
the offer
-
the guarantees
-
reason-why
-
benefits
-
sample direct response headlines and
subheads
-
use of emotion (this is a big one)
-
use of postscripts (P.S.)
-
and urgency
Those areas are just the beginning to writing a powerful sales letter.
There are hundreds more 'tricks of the trade' that get inside
the head of your reader and prevents them from putting down your sale piece
until they finish reading it.
I'll give you an example in a minute.
But first, double check your
direct mail sales letter to see where improvement can be made.
By the way, if any of those copywriting elements sound unfamiliar to you or you need help
applying them to your message then I strongly suggest you get your
hands on the copywriting 'cheat sheet' templates listed
at the bottom of this article.
You'll get a collection of pre-written, copyright free sales letters and templates that you can use in any business -- even if you've never
written a thing in your life -- so you never have to write another sales letter
from scratch again.
And what's nice about this is you don't have to spend time studying the
mechanics of a good sales letter to get this right. These templates and
copyright free sales letter examples will instantly give you a strong sales
letter that will pull in sales, for almost any business.
You also learn so much more that I just don't have the space to
list it all here.
If you're serious about making your next direct mail project work you absolutely must
add my recommended product to your library. I did and I refer to it several
times a year as a refresher, to make sure I stay fresh and accurate in my
writing.
The Proof Is In The Pudding...
Hey, do you remember I said, "There are hundreds more 'tricks of the trade'
that get inside the head of your reader and prevents them from putting down your
sale piece until they finish reading it..." ?
Here's a copywriting secret you won't find
available to the general public. The human brain is designed to solve problems.
If you give it a situation that is unresolved it will continue until that
problem is solved or can be erased or forgotten. It hates cliffhangers.
So if
you want someone to keep reading what you have to say you simply tell them
something like,
"I'll give you an example in a minute. But first..." then you go onto some other
subject.
I used three cliffhangers in this article. Did you catch them?
Did you scroll to the bottom of the page to see if what I hinted at was there?
Or did you keep reading all the way through?
Cliffhangers are designed to make you do that. Use them and your readers will be forced to continue reading or skimming until they find what you were
holding out from them. Just like you did ;-)
That's just one way to guarantee your message is read.
Consider that a free copywriting lesson. To get more "meat" of copywriting I
suggest you get the guide below. You can either
continue surfing for "free sales letter templates" that don't work, or you can
cut to the chase and start making money with your words now. Either way it's
your choice.
Yours In Success,

Here's the set of direct mail copywriting templates and sales letter examples I
highly recommend: Copyright-Free Direct
Mail Templates