Copyright 2006 Stuart Elliott

Which type of sales letter generates the most sales, a long one or a short one?

No prizes for guessing correctly - A long, INTERESTING sales letter consistently converts more prospects into paying customers.

(And notice I capitalized the word 'interesting' because if your sales copy is boring nothing will keep the reader glued to it - no matter how short it is.)

Why is the long sales letter more effective?

A long and exciting sales letter keeps your prospects glued to your page from beginning to end, it focuses them on your words, words that will produce a strong feeling of companionship with you and make your prospects want to take your desired action which is to buy your product.

Long copy also gives you the opportunity to tell your prospect everything about your product, you can create word pictures in it so that your prospect can see your product in his mind and imagine himself getting the benefits from owning it.

If you write only a short sales letter you never have the chance to fully explain the benefits of your product or answer any questions that your prospect may raise.

You are not able to talk to your prospect in person so you have to rely on your sales letter to do the talking for you. This means that it must answer every possible objection, displace any resistance and fully implant in your prospects mind the better life he will have from owning your product.

This is almost impossible to do with short copy.

The concept of companionship is also very important and is something you should always keep in your mind whenever you write a sales letter.

You have to identify with your prospects and really get to know their wants and desires. Your words must tell them that you understand where they are coming from and what their problems are.

They must let your prospects know that you genuinely feel for them.

This will build up a strong sense of security and trust with them, they will believe you can help them in their need and eagerly await the solution you have to their problems.

For this very same reason you have to address your letter to one person and talk to him/her as you would a cherished friend. (I have a post it note with these words written out in capitals, glued to the top of my monitor to remind me!)

Once you have gained a prospects trust they will eagerly become a customer and await further recommendations from you.

A trusting customer...

This is where you start to make real money - by repeat selling to a list of hot customers.

Trusting customers will eagerly buy products that you recommend and you may be lucky to develop such good relationships with your customers that they become life-long customers and buy on your word alone.

This puts a big responsibility on your shoulders - trust is the key issue here and never to be undervalued.

So, whatever you sell, ensure it is of a genuinely high standard and that you've tried it out yourself before offering it to your client.

To sum up...

The more relevant, interesting copy you write, the better.

Yes, some people will say they do not like to read a long sales letter and when they say that you know that they are NOT going to be your customer.

Also, if they were to become your customer, they probably would not have the patience with your product or service either, which can often lead to increased support requests and requests for refunds.

Is this the type of person you want to do business with?

No!

So longer copy can also act as a qualification step for your prospects - you want to build up a customer base of highly targeted clients who will buy at your recommendation because of the trust you've built up with them.

Use your sales copy to weed out the 'rubbish' so that you only work with clients who have a genuine interest in working with you.