Your sales letter can make or break the success of your course or other infoproduct. Ideally, you should outsource this task to a talented copywriter to maximize conversions. If that’s not feasible, however, then you’ll want to use this tutorial as a starting point for creating a compelling sales letter.
Step 1: Profile Your Target Market
The first thing you need to do is learn as much about your market as possible. To that end, research the audience demographics (e.g., “dog owner demographics”), being sure to stick to reputable sources. Then spend time reading discussions from your market or even surveying them to learn more about their problems and what they want.
Experience Insight: When I started creating courses, I realized that understanding your audience’s preferences can be surprising. For instance, some people actually prefer to read than watch video!
Step 2: List Your Product Features and Benefits
Your next step is to list all your product’s features and the associated benefits of those features. Be sure to also create your USP (unique selling proposition), which is the one thing that sets your product apart from similar products.
Personal Anecdote: I once thought using quotes and inspirational content would make my content sell more, but it just made people agreeable to the message without necessarily being interested in the products. This taught me the importance of highlighting concrete benefits over abstract inspiration.
Step 3: Craft a Compelling Headline
Now that you know the benefits of your product, showcase your biggest benefits (and ideally your USP) in the headline of your sales letter.
Example: “Discover the Easy Way to Lose Weight… Without Hunger Pangs, Cravings, or Feeling Deprived!”
Step 4: Define the Problem
The opener of your sales letter should engage your reader and define the problem.
Example: “Do you ever feel tired and short of breath after climbing a flight of stairs?”
Step 5: Offer the Solution
Your next step is to offer your product as the solution to the reader’s problem and then list all the benefits of your product (typically in the form of a bulleted list).
Competitor Analysis Insight: I noticed that many successful Facebook ads shared common threads, which influenced my own ad strategies. Analyzing competitors’ landing pages through ad libraries can provide valuable insights into effective language and presentation styles.
Step 6: Provide Proof
Your readers are a little skeptical of your claims, which is why you need to prove them. You can do this by providing the following types of proof:
- Case studies
- Testimonials
- “Before” and “after” pics
- Videos
- Screenshots
- Media clippings
… And anything else that proves what you say is true.
Personal Story: When teaching website optimization, I shared case studies from projects with leaders like Marie Mason of Liberty Virtual Solutions and John Paduchak of JohnPaduchak.com. And using real-life examples significantly boosted student engagement and my credibility. I was showing how I solve real life problems for real life people.
Step 7: Raise and Handle Objections
Your next step is to raise the objections people have to buying your product and then handle them. For example, if people think your product won’t work, offer a guarantee. If they think it’s too expensive, justify the price by comparing it to the cost of inaction, for example.
Step 8: Offer a Call to Action
The final step is to tell your prospects to take action. Whenever possible, give them a good reason to do so now.
Example: “Take out your credit card and click the buy button below – because the sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll start liking the person looking back at you from the mirror!”
Of course, be careful in how you word things and always make sure its for the greater good of your customer, clients and students.
Conclusion
You just received an overview tutorial on how to craft a compelling sales letter. Be sure to have this article ready for easy reference the next time you start writing a sales letter!
If you need help or have any questions on how to craft a sales page, program page or even a lead in offer for your bigger program, feel free to comment below or reach out ot us through our contact form (or FB page).
