Sales Letters Part 2: How To Create High-Converting Sales Letters For Your Sub-niche Products Let's jump right in with point 7 and it's 7) The Points. Using a “bulleted list” of benefit points is one of the most effective ways to really drive home the “reason why” the reader would want to purchase your special report. It also allows you the opportunity to address several different “angles” of the information you include – one of which might be that special “hot button” with the reader that seals the deal. You’ve seen them on just about every sales letter. Here's a quick screenshot of some example bullets... Three quick things I want to mention about these “points”… Stress benefits not features, stress particulars not generalities, stress majors not minors. Stress benefits, NOT features. The classic statement about benefits vs. features is this: “no one cares about your lawn mower, they only care about their lawn”. Your special report might very well have 10 ready-made lesson plans included … but what does it mean to the reader? It means they don’t have to spend time developing the lesson plans themselves; it means they don’t have to be in a rush; it means they can use their saved time doing something more enjoyable. A benefit is simply WHY the reader should care about your feature. Stress particulars, NOT generalities. It’s not “Helpful ways to…”, it’s “11 helpful ways to…”. It’s not “lose weight”, it’s “lose 7 pounds in 2 weeks”. The more specific you can be, the better. And, let me mention something that really adds credibility to your bullet points is to list a specific PAGE in which the information is found in your special report. What I do is write something like (Page 7) – separated by parenthesis – after the bullet point so the reader can know exactly where to find what I’ve mentioned in that point. Very, very effective. Here's an example: 11 helpful ways to lose 7 pounds in 2 weeks (Page 7) Stress majors, NOT minors. You should only use about 6 or 7 bullet points for your sub-niche “sales letters” – so make them count. You want to stress the most desirable benefits to the reader … the “major” helps included in your special report. It’s important that you fire your biggest guns. And try to focus on different aspects of the information you’re sharing in the special report. Example: One bullet point might focus on the “quickness” of forthcoming results, while another bullet point might focus on the “ease” of forthcoming results, while another bullet point might focus on the “responses of others” in relation to the forthcoming results, etc. As you can tell, bullet points are really similar to headlines in that they focus on showing your readers the benefits of your product. You can use the previous headline templates to create your bullet points too, plus you can use the additional six bullet templates download at the bottom of this module. Now, after you’ve got your bullet points in place here, it’s time for the next “part” of your sales letter, which is ... 8) The Pull. That is, your “call to action”. You know the drill from every commercial advertisement you’ve seen on television… “Operators are standing by … place your order NOW!” Don’t delay. Quantities are limited. The next 10 callers get xyz. Yada, yada, yada. Blah, blah, blah. While I’m certainly not a believer in using psychological mind games to prey on the emotions of readers to push them over the edge, it is important that you point them towards a decision. It is important that you instruct them to take advantage of your offer and place their order. Now, every good copywriter will tell you: it’s all about creating urgency. In other words, you don’t want them to delay in making the decision to buy … they might not ever be back again. You’ve got their attention RIGHT NOW, so you want them to make their decision RIGHT NOW. Perhaps the best way to get them to do this is to impose some kind of deadline or limit which makes it necessary to order soon in order to take advantage of a special price, extra incentive or availability. You can also use... A Special Price. By offering a discount to all who purchase within a specific period of time (or to a selected number of people who order … I.E. The first 100), you can create a sense of urgency. This isn’t going to be as useful to you as a writer of low-priced special reports simply because, let’s face it, the difference between the “regular” price of $15 and the “discount price” of $10 isn’t substantial enough to be alluring. Example: order now and you can take advantage of the introductory price of this report of just $10 – that’s a 50% discount off the regular price! Extra Incentive. You may want to consider offering an additional bonus to those who order within a specified time or specific number. This CAN be an effective option for you to use. For example: If your special report is about “setting up a sales letter” you might state, “The first 100 people who order will receive a free copy of a legal disclaimer you can use on your website to protect you from FTC lawsuits and seizures…” Availability. Another option is to remove the special report from circulation after a specified date or a specified number of units is sold. I don’t like this one for obvious reasons: I’d like to sell as many copies as I can sell! However, one strategy that I do see merit in using is taking a special report “off the sub-niche” for an unspecified period of time. In other words, you “retire” the report for several months and then bring it back later – or even add more information to it and convert it into a larger product. Or, another idea is to no longer make it available from your website and only offer it as a backend to a second report you create later, etc. Still another idea is to create a bonus offer that is ONLY available for a limited time or in limited quantities. Example: “Be one of the next 97 people to order now, and you’ll also get [specifics of bonus] absolutely free!” Now, a limit or deadline isn’t as necessary for low-cost special reports as they are for full-scale, premium-priced products … so don’t waste a lot of time on this. I will give you three age-old, still-effective ways to “encourage” people to order in your call to action that have “built-in” urgency The Rule of RESULTS. Stated simply, “the longer you wait to get started, the longer it will be before you see results”. The flipside is also true: “the quicker you get started, the quicker you’ll see results”. Example: “So order now… because the sooner you do, the sooner you’ll fit into your skinny jeans again!” The Rule of RESPONSE. There is much information that isn’t as effective as more people begin using it. This is especially true of “sub-nicheing” or “business” information. Example: “Order now to gain the edge on your competitors – you’ll kick yourself if you don’t get this report today!” The Rule of RESTRICTION. There are many times when a delay in buying and applying information restricts the reader in what they can accomplish. Example: “Time is running out! If you want to take advantage of the Christmas rush, then you need to get your website up and running today. So click here to order now while there’s still time to get your business ready for Christmas!” By using these three “built-in” triggers to create urgency, you can reasonably point your site visitors to a buying decision without resorting to high-pressure sales tactics. Speaking of pressure – your next “part” of the sales letter certainly helps remove it... 9) The Promise. In other words, your “guarantee”. Risk reversal is the ultimate way to remove any remaining barriers between you and your potential customer. Make it clear that THEY have “nothing to risk”. If they are dissatisfied for any reason, you’ll refund their money with no hassles. Note: It’s important that you include any “terms” relevant to your guarantee. For example: how long does the customer have in order to obtain a refund should they choose to do so? In many cases, it’s the law to provide at least 30 days. And, depending upon whom you choose to process your orders, there will be requirements from those companies that you’ll need to comply with. We’ll talk more about that later. The important thing is that you communicate to your site visitors that you are committed to their absolute satisfaction. Ultimately, they only pay for what they are pleased with having bought. Let me give you a template you can use to create your own guarantee. Simply tweak this to fit your needs: Your Satisfaction is 100% Guaranteed! Download [Name of Report] right now, and you’ll have a full [number] [time frame, such as days/weeks/months] to read every page of the report and use every strategy to [get some benefit]. If you’re not absolutely satisfied for any reason, and if you don’t agree that this is the best way to [get a benefit], simply contact me by [instructions for what to do, such as email you or contact your help desk] within [length of guarantee period] and I’ll promptly and cheerfully refund every penny. No questions, no quibbles, no hoops to jump through… so order now risk free! And with that… 10) The Order Process. Finally, you’re ready to take orders and start making money! (Congratulations, by the way!) You’ll want to include three simple things here in this order process that are worth mentioning… Last-Minute Instructions. Let them know how the order will be fulfilled (I.E. “Instant download” or “shipped within 24 hours”, etc.) Mention any bonuses they’ll receive. If there are any special instructions (I.E. Register for free updates on the download page, etc.) then mention those as well. Links. That is, your order link(s). I usually have the link read something like “Click Here to Order Now” or “Get Instant Access By Clicking Here” or some similar statement. Obviously, the actual link itself will need to lead to an order processor to accept payment on your behalf. This link will be provided by whatever processor you use to handle your orders … which we’ll talk about in our next section. Legalities. Always, always, always include appropriate legal statements to protect yourself. You can hire an internet attorney to create your documents for you. Of course, you can also obtain legal forms from other sources, just make sure you have some kind of disclaimers in place to protect yourself. 11:47 back to legalities 1221 A popular option that many people use is http://www.Autoweblaw.com. Also, I really like Legal Suite Pro. All you have to do is install the plugin and activate it. It automatically sets up your legal pages on your site for you. Easy peasy. So, here’s an example “order process” portion of a sales letter… [Read text] Now, the legal links here in this example are contained in the order form section of the sales letter. You can also put them at the very bottom of the page. That's what I normally do. If you use the Legal Suite Pro plugin then it will automatically add those pages to your footer for you. And that brings us to the final “part” of your sales letter… 11) The Postscript. Immediately below your name at the bottom of your sales page should be a “postscript”. You know the drill, “P.S. Blah, Blah, Blah”. Why include a P.S.? Because people WILL read them. Sometimes they’ll even jump to the bottom of the page and read that first. (They’re usually looking for the price.) Regardless of the order in which they get there, they will get there. And they’ll read your P.S. So, since you’re gonna have their attention at this point, it’s important that you make the most of it. Three powerful ways to finish strong in the sales process is to use your postscript to “recap”, “remind” or “reinforce”… RECAP the offer. That is, in ONE sentence, give a brief account of what the reader will be receiving when they place their order. Example #1: “P.S. This is a no-brainer: you’ll get 3 years of homeschooling research boiled down to 12 pages of ‘nofluff’ content in detailed, step-by-step format for only $10.”) Example #2: “P.S. Order now and you’ll get instant access to [name of report] plus [name of any bonuses, if applicable], all for the low price of just [$ price]. So order now, because [give a benefit]!” REMIND them of a key benefit. Take a sentence to point out once again a desirable result the reader can be experiencing by making the purchase. Example #1: “P.S. Don’t forget, in less than 24 hours you can actually see your first order ... isn’t that exciting!?”) Example #2: “P.S. You won’t find a better way to [get some benefit] and [get some other benefit], so order now!” REINFORCE the call to action. Did you impose a deadline or limit? Did you mention an extra incentive? Did you pose a challenge? Use your “postscript” to reinforce some element of your call to action. Example #1: “P.S. Unfortunately, when the remaining 17 copies are gone, this offer won’t be repeated. Order now.” Example #2: “P.S. Remember, if you order now you’ll also get instant access to [name of bonus product] – but hurry, this special offer ends [list when it ends]. Now let’s pull all these pieces together to create your sales letter. In the downloads section you'll find a powerful, short-cut template you can use. Just fill in the blanks and upload to your site! I feel like, even if you use the template, you should still understand the elements of a sales page. That's why I went over all of the parts. It will help you craft more powerful sales material if you know why and how each part works. All right, you’ve just been given a crash course in copywriting! If you make your way through these 11 “parts” of your sales letter, you should have a nice piece in place that should convince visitors to your site to buy your sub-niche special report. I'll see you in the next module!