Most sales letters aren’t even opened.

Even if they are, most people stop at the headline.

Here are some tips that will help to keep your prospects reading, right to the very end.

1. Make sure the envelope looks personal, or very important. Sometimes a company logo or name on the envelope shouts “I’m a sales letter! Ignore me!”.

2. Your headline MUST be attention-grabbing. It must persuade your prospect to read more. Don’t say “We offer a great service”, or “We’re brilliant”. Try one of these…

• state a clear offer – “half price hotel rooms if you book today”
• state the main benefit – how will your product or service improve your customers’ lives?
• start with “how to” – this compels us to read on
• use a testimonial
• pose a question – we’re subconsciously tempted to continue

3. Keep your sentences and paragraphs short: they’ll be easier to read.

4. Break up the text using bullet points, lists and subheadings. It will be more appealing to the eye. Also, if your reader is a ‘skimmer’, they’ll immediately see the key points of your offer.

5. Talk to the reader – use the word ‘you’ as often as possible. Too often, sales copy is filled with the word ‘we’. This doesn’t engage people and they’ll quickly lose interest.

6. End one or two sentences or paragraphs with … (an ellipsis). Your reader will be compelled to continue.

7. Give the reader an order. Tell them that they’re going to read every word. “As you read this letter, you’ll discover how to…”

8. Use ‘linking text’ between paragraphs. This helps them flow and encourages the reader to move from paragraph to paragraph. Here are some examples…

• But that’s not all…
• Better yet…
• But first…
• And in addition…
• Here’s why…

P.S. Make sure you add a P.S. at the end. After the headline, it’s the second thing your prospect will read.

P.P.S. And, whatever you do, don’t forget your call to action!

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