Over the years, certain ideas have emerged about which parts of the sales letter are required. Copywriters tend to be an opinionated bunch, and many have written books about this very issue.
What follows is a listing and explanation of the four parts which I see as the absolute most important for your sales communications. Surely there are other required building blocks too; however, these particular pieces are the most crucial.
1. Your headline.
The sales letter’s headline is hands-down the most critical element. Here are a few reasons why this is the case.
Most of this is quite logical if you give it some thought. The sales letter headline sets the context of the letter. It helps the reader set the expectation of what the rest of the letter will cover. If the reader cannot see a good reason to continue reading… based upon the headline… in all likelihood, they will not.
You can see why many copywriters spend more time on the headline than on any other part of the sales letter.
2. The offer.
What is being offered to prospects? If that in itself is not attractive to the prospect, or even if it’s not positioned in such a way that makes them see why they would want it, you will be disappointed in your sales. Quite simply, the offer has got to be done right.
3. Testimonials.
Why use testimonials? It’s simple, really. The objective opinion of an outside party holds much more weight than that of you, the seller. It is ingrained in human nature to assume that people lie and exaggerate, and the right use of testimonials at least partially comes to your aid in this matter.
4. Handling objections.
This part of the sales letter might not even be a separate section but rather, is sometimes woven into the letter. Regardless, here is why it exists. People naturally have buying resistance. Just think about the last time you went shopping for a major item. If you’re like most people, prior to laying your money down you have several misgivings pop into your head. A good sales person knows how to answer these objections.
Selling in print works similarly, with this difference: copywriters do not have the chance to actually hear our prospect’s objections out loud and see their facial expressions. This is why we have to learn what the primary objections will be and craft our best responses to them ahead of time.
Final words.
It should be stated that other sales letter elements are important too. However, the copywriter will generally focus on these four. They are like the four legs of a stool. There might be other components to the stool, but without the four legs… it will not stand.