Sales letters are one of the most popular forms of advertising

today, and have been for some time. The reason for this is

simple: they work. However, with no pure form and no specific

requirements for format, length, etc., writing a truly effective

sales letter can be a daunting task for even the most seasoned

marketing professional.

To come up with a sales letter that sizzles without turning your

prospects off, there are a few general rules you'd be wise to

follow.

First, let's talk about length. In my line of work, I see a lot

of sales letters. Most of these are one to three pages long,

which is generally appropriate for a sales letter. Just the

other day, however, I got a call from a man who wanted to know

how much I would charge him to edit his sales letter, complaining

that he just wasn't getting the results he wanted. When I asked

him how long the letter was, he replied, "it's about twelve

pages." Twelve pages!! Would you want to be pitched to for

twelve whole pages? Yuck!

When you sit down to write your sales letter, ask yourself how

much patience you have when reading something of this nature.

Would you get bored, even angry, if someone expected you to keep

reading their sales letter for five pages? Three pages? When

writing your letter, be mindful of your target audience and their

schedules. If your prospects are unlikely to have more than five

or ten minutes to devote to your sales pitch, try stick to one

page.

Now let's talk hype. Most of the sales letters I've come across

are full of hype, because that's what the customer wants. Hype

can be effective or ineffective, depending on your business and

the kind of people you're trying to sell to. If you're selling

an MLM business opportunity, hype can work well. On the other

hand, if your intended audience consists of savvy, experienced

business people, you'll probably do better with a brief

introduction followed by an explanation of what your product or

service can do for their business.

In either case, be careful about using too much bold type or

screaming your message at customers. Putting important points in

bold type or caps can be an effective marketing tool, but only

when used in moderation. Exclamation points can also be helpful,

but use them sparingly. When reading back through your letter,

pay attention to the tone. If you feel you're being yelled at,

tone it down a bit.

A well-written, well-targeted sales letter can do wonders for

sagging sales. For tips on writing effective sales letters, see

http://www.drnunley.com/copywriting.htm.

Meredith Pond is editor and manager of DrNunley's

http://CheapWriting.com. See her low-cost writing and editing

services for students and business people, including a web site

rewriting package. Reach Meredith at meredith@drnunley.com or

801-328-9006.