How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter

csgcsg · 09-22-2009, 04:08 AM

I have listened to many professionals and attended seminar on sales letter writing and will be sharing 23 tips that will skyrocket your products or services you are promoting.

1.Use no more than 17 words in your headline.

2.Use a strong call for action on the PS and probably a link to your order button. It is a fact that your potential customers will spend between 3-7 seconds only on your site so you need to fully maximize their time.

3.Try to use a 360 days money back guarantee where possible. It will increase your conversion rate by 6% and reduce chargeback by 38%.

4.Use a favicon. This will create professional branding when they bookmark your page and separates you from amateur sites. For more information visit (just search google)

5.Use a yellow highlight background for your pre-background.

6.Use 20 point striking red Tahoma font for your headline. Remember to keep it less than 17 words. This will increase your conversion rate by 17%

7.For normal text, use 12point Aerial font. Will increase readership by 30%

8.Use a dropcap letter as this will increase your readership by 40%. This is widely used in novels and books.

9.Use headline in your testimonial boxes. This will increase conversion rate by 34%

10.Put your best testimonial below your PS, this will increase conversion by 19%

11.Always write and promote about benefit to the customers and not features of your products. For example you are selling SE Nuke, do not promote that it is able to bypass all captcha automatically but instead promote that you can save customers’ precious time and focus on more money making activities.

12.Use video testimonials instead of written text if possible. Video connects on a more personal level to your audience.

13.Use easy to read sub headlines throughout your copy. Do not write long essays and bore your audience. Create catchy, benefit driven headlines for your customers.

14.Insert your order link near testimonials. Sometimes you trigger the exact emotions to buy and they want to order immediately so spread out your order buttons to make things easier.

15.Use large yellow button that says ‘add to cart’ for your order button. Increases conversion by 14%

16.Insert money back guarantee below your order button.

17.Put a red dash form around your order button. Increases order up to 28%

18.Offer value bonuses and highlight them. Do not treat your customers as just cash cows, offer them value and spend time explaining what are the bonus values they are getting.

19.Change your pricing to end with the number 7. $19.97, $29.87. This is said to increase conversion by 17%

20.Use your digital signature below the headline, will increase conversion by 19%

21.Offer scarcity or scare tactic, ‘will be sold to 15 customers only’ or ‘price will be back to normal in 48 hours’ and honor them! Again this is the Internet, so cheat your customers and words will spread like wild fire that you are a big cheat.

22.Use dear friend throughout the sales letter. Supposedly to make the reader feel warmth.

23.Use good words such as ‘Discover’ instead of ‘Learn’. People associate learn with hard work.. Never use ‘that’ in your copy as this is the no.1 bad word. The 3 best words you can use will be ‘free’, ‘you’, and ‘your’. Pick up some ebooks or search for strong keywords to use for your sales letter.

I hope with these tips, you will see an increase in your opt in list or sales and all the best in your Internet Marketing.

PS: Had to remove the links as the system requires me 15 post.

JBorhez · 09-22-2009, 05:00 AM

WOW! Thanks for great information. End the price with a 7 huh? Very interesting!

Thanks,

JBorhez

csgcsg · 09-22-2009, 05:05 AM

Mostly I am involved in CPA where they have nice landing page ready but these datas are from experts who charge $100k per sales letter so if they say it works, I'll follow

DavidO · 09-22-2009, 05:35 AM

You've made some good points and I appreciate the effort. However, you can't simply boil things down to specific rules like this (no more than 17 words in a headline). It doesn't work like that.

For the same reasons, you can't simply predict precise changes in conversion. There are sales letters that break every one of your rules and convert very well.

These are guidelines, not rules set in stone. But thanks for the guidelines.

csgcsg · 09-22-2009, 06:12 AM

Very true David, like I shared earlier, this is based on data collected from the experts and professionals. I do agree that there is no specific rules to it and what probably works today do not work tomorrow especially in the Internet age.

Thanks for the feedback.

MikeHumphreys · 09-22-2009, 06:25 AM

Good effort Charles but I could show you million dollar sales letters that don't follow one or more of your guidelines.

The only way to truly know what will work or won't is to test and track your own results. What worked 2 years ago doesn't mean it will work today.

Daniel Scott · 09-22-2009, 07:01 AM

I'm sure I have read this somewhere else fairly recently... but I could be wrong.

To the OP... how did you get those figures RE: increases in conversion rates etc?

Something smells fishy...

-Dan

Hugh Thyer · 09-22-2009, 07:09 AM

There are some good points in your list. Some I agree with, some I don't.

For example, there is no hard and fast rule on headline length.

Video testimonials should be used in conjunction with written ones. After all, some people dont want to watch them and you can ruin the flow of a letter expecting someone to watch one when YOU want them to.

All your stats on increasing rates by x% if you do certain things are almost certainly not verifiable.

Look, while your checklist is good its way too mechanical. Its like the guy with 50 sexual positions but he's got no date on Saturday night.

Good copy is all about connection and relevance. Getting inside the head of your prospect. Its all about psychology, not rules.

If I were you I'd start with rules like:
1. You must enter the conversation that's already going on in your prospects head.
2. Good copy is all about connection and relevance.
3. You must have a killer offer, something they want
4. Your headline must get them to read the first line of your sales copy. It has no other purpose.
5. Your opening line must get them to read the second line.
6. You should identify the dominant emotions of your prospect. Is it anger, fear, greed, power?

If you blindly follow technical rules your copy will never sell. It will look great but that ain't its job.

Paul McQuillan · 09-22-2009, 07:11 AM

There are some good guidelines here, but there is not a question
there have been lots of successful sales letters that have done
well not sticking to these.

Most of this stuff is in every copywriting book I have. What were the links
that were removed, examples?

Collette · 09-22-2009, 11:14 AM

How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter?

Start with a Million Dollar Market.
Find a Million Dollar Product that the Million Dollar Market wants to buy.
Write a clear, coherent letter which tells the Million Dollar Market about the Million Dollar Product and tells them how to buy the Million Dollar Product.

If your product is crap and/or you have no market for it, all the formulas in the world aren't going to help you.

And if you want the chops to be able to write a Million Dollar Letter, you're going to have to do a lot more than slap down some "fill-in-the-blanks" template.

Million Dollar Copywriters don't just follow a formula. Because at this level, it 'ain't about the mechanics.

It's about knowing HOW and WHY the mechanics work.

And then applying the mechanics appropriately.

You want to know what "formula" will give you a Million Dollar Letter for your market?

Test...

Test...

And test some more...

The results will tell you whether you have a Million Dollar Letter.

David Babineau · 10-01-2009, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daniel Scott

I'm sure I have read this somewhere else fairly recently... but I could be wrong.

To the OP... how did you get those figures RE: increases in conversion rates etc?

Something smells fishy...

-Dan

Perhaps in Ryan Deiss's "43 Split Tests"?

43 Split-Tests and Other Sneaky Marketing Tricks

I'm looking through my copy now and most of these stats (especially specific #s) come right straight from this product...

David Babineau · 10-01-2009, 01:21 AM

Thanks for the list. I agree withe other posters here that's it's way too mechanical but good things to keep in mind none the less..

Huh - 1st time I hear that "that" (oops use it there..) is the #1 worst word to use.

I can't imagine a full sales letter that doesn't contain that. Am I missing something here?

Cheers,
David

Paul McQuillan · 10-01-2009, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BargainCopywriter

Perhaps in Ryan Deiss's "43 Split Tests"?

43 Split-Tests and Other Sneaky Marketing Tricks

I'm looking through my copy now and most of these stats (especially specific #s) come right straight from this product...

That looks like a good product to have!

Oddly I have never seen it. Thanks for sharing the link

jukeboxhero · 10-01-2009, 12:27 PM

That's funny a $hit, When I was reading it, I started going through my copy notes because all of those facts and figures seemed to match some notes I'd taken....

I've got about 200 pages of notes taken on about every decent IM product on the market so you saved me some effort...

highprofitdi · 10-01-2009, 01:32 PM

Thanks for sharing your info, there are definitely some good points to think about. However I must agree with the consensus on this topic too many changes too fast continuous testing is the only way to honestly create the winner.

Richard B Riddick · 10-03-2009, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Collette

How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter?

Start with a Million Dollar Market.
Find a Million Dollar Product that the Million Dollar Market wants to buy.
Write a clear, coherent letter which tells the Million Dollar Market about the Million Dollar Product and tells them how to buy the Million Dollar Product.

If your product is crap and/or you have no market for it, all the formulas in the world aren't going to help you.

And if you want the chops to be able to write a Million Dollar Letter, you're going to have to do a lot more than slap down some "fill-in-the-blanks" template.

Million Dollar Copywriters don't just follow a formula. Because at this level, it 'ain't about the mechanics.

It's about knowing HOW and WHY the mechanics work.

And then applying the mechanics appropriately.

You want to know what "formula" will give you a Million Dollar Letter for your market?

Test...

Test...

And test some more...

The results will tell you whether you have a Million Dollar Letter.

I agree about the market.

I disagree about the formula. And I highly disagree about mechanics.

Here's why:

1) The top copywriters of all time have been sensational writers, on their own merit. Yes, both uses of the word sensational.

They're eloquent heart-string pullers and vicious closers.

... But they also follow a...

2)... Formula. Even the top copywriters - and prodigies like Schwartz - Had a formula they stuck too.

Maybe it's a time they write. Maybe it's a place. And for a few, it's a temperature or way of breaking up work.

But creating a ritual that works for you is ESSENTIAL for writing winners.

As far as "mechanics" not being important...

... Especially selling "mechanics"...

... Well, I challenge you to find a winning ad in today's market that didn't swipe - HEAVILY - From techniques of the old masters.

That's my friendly opinion.

- RR

Collette · 10-03-2009, 12:36 PM

Hi Richard,
Million Dollar Copywriters don't just follow a formula. When you reach that level of proficency, you understand how to take a formula and make it work for your specific market.

Yes, anybody can take a basic template and fill in the blanks. Yes, anybody can follow AIDA or the copywriting formula of their choice.

But that will not automatically produce a Million Dollar Sales Letter.

Clayton Makepeace, Doug D'Anna, or John Carlton may use a formula. But the result is not formulaic.

Because a copywriter of that calibre knows why they're doing what they're doing. Which means they can twist or break - or even ignore - the "rules" to suit their purpose.

If you follow a proven formula AND you have a knowledge of the market and excellent writing skills to boot - you have a good chance of producing a hit.

If you follow a proven formula, and DON'T know your market, and/or can't form a coherent sentence, much less an entire paragraph, just following a formula will NOT produce a Million Dollar sales letter.

If you follow a proven formula, know your market, and have sufficient wriiting skills to convey your thoughts clearly, you will produce a letter that converts at some level. To produce this kind of letter, you DON'T have to have Million Dollar Copywriter chops. You just need to be a halfway decent writer and do some research.

The problem is, most people who buy these "magic" sales letter formulas don't WANT to do any work. They want to "plug 'n play". Which would be fine, if their expectations were realistic. Mostly, those expectations are not realistic.

As for the mechanics... I never said the mechanics weren't important. Far from it.

However, the point I was trying to to make is that, like a formula, just mechanics aren't enough.

The top copywriters know HOW to swipe from the great ads of the past - and how to do it effectively - because they understand how the mechanics of selling work.

On the other hand, people who do not understand how the mechanics work usually swipe very, very badly. For examples of this, you need look no further than the plethora of exceedingly lame "Who Else Wants..." headlines.

Or the avalanche of horrendous 85-word headlines imitating - but not understanding - the mechanics of a John Carlton headline.

The result is sales copy roadkill.

IMO, promises that someone can create a "Million Dollar Sales Letter" using an uninformed "monkey-see; monkey-do" approach are pure hype and a rip off.

David Babineau · 10-03-2009, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul McQuillan

That looks like a good product to have!

Oddly I have never seen it. Thanks for sharing the link

No problem Paul!

Yes it is a great product actually, a lot of good content and the materials you get access to in the "Total Access Club" (their continuity program) are pretty good too...

Cheers,
David

Johnny12345 · 10-10-2009, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by csgcsg

22.Use dear friend throughout the sales letter. Supposedly to make the reader feel warmth.

23.Use good words such as ‘Discover’ instead of ‘Learn’. People associate learn with hard work.. Never use ‘that’ in your copy as this is the no.1 bad word. The 3 best words you can use will be ‘free’, ‘you’, and ‘your’. Pick up some ebooks or search for strong keywords to use for your sales letter.

Csg-squared:

Nice job... overall. But be honest -- after number 21, you just started making things up to see if anyone would read all the way to the end, right? Good one. You got us.

The truth is, if a copywriter were to use "Dear Friend" repeatedly throughout a sales letter, he would probably end up sounding like a bit of a dolt. Seriously... once, at the beginning, is more than sufficient.

And where did you hear that... umm... "that" is a bad word? It's not. It's actually a very necessary word, at times.

Johnny

09-22-2009, 04:08 AM	#1
csgcsg Warrior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 7 Times in 1 Post	How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter I have listened to many professionals and attended seminar on sales letter writing and will be sharing 23 tips that will skyrocket your products or services you are promoting. 1.Use no more than 17 words in your headline. 2.Use a strong call for action on the PS and probably a link to your order button. It is a fact that your potential customers will spend between 3-7 seconds only on your site so you need to fully maximize their time. 3.Try to use a 360 days money back guarantee where possible. It will increase your conversion rate by 6% and reduce chargeback by 38%. 4.Use a favicon. This will create professional branding when they bookmark your page and separates you from amateur sites. For more information visit (just search google) 5.Use a yellow highlight background for your pre-background. 6.Use 20 point striking red Tahoma font for your headline. Remember to keep it less than 17 words. This will increase your conversion rate by 17% 7.For normal text, use 12point Aerial font. Will increase readership by 30% 8.Use a dropcap letter as this will increase your readership by 40%. This is widely used in novels and books. 9.Use headline in your testimonial boxes. This will increase conversion rate by 34% 10.Put your best testimonial below your PS, this will increase conversion by 19% 11.Always write and promote about benefit to the customers and not features of your products. For example you are selling SE Nuke, do not promote that it is able to bypass all captcha automatically but instead promote that you can save customers’ precious time and focus on more money making activities. 12.Use video testimonials instead of written text if possible. Video connects on a more personal level to your audience. 13.Use easy to read sub headlines throughout your copy. Do not write long essays and bore your audience. Create catchy, benefit driven headlines for your customers. 14.Insert your order link near testimonials. Sometimes you trigger the exact emotions to buy and they want to order immediately so spread out your order buttons to make things easier. 15.Use large yellow button that says ‘add to cart’ for your order button. Increases conversion by 14% 16.Insert money back guarantee below your order button. 17.Put a red dash form around your order button. Increases order up to 28% 18.Offer value bonuses and highlight them. Do not treat your customers as just cash cows, offer them value and spend time explaining what are the bonus values they are getting. 19.Change your pricing to end with the number 7. $19.97, $29.87. This is said to increase conversion by 17% 20.Use your digital signature below the headline, will increase conversion by 19% 21.Offer scarcity or scare tactic, ‘will be sold to 15 customers only’ or ‘price will be back to normal in 48 hours’ and honor them! Again this is the Internet, so cheat your customers and words will spread like wild fire that you are a big cheat. 22.Use dear friend throughout the sales letter. Supposedly to make the reader feel warmth. 23.Use good words such as ‘Discover’ instead of ‘Learn’. People associate learn with hard work.. Never use ‘that’ in your copy as this is the no.1 bad word. The 3 best words you can use will be ‘free’, ‘you’, and ‘your’. Pick up some ebooks or search for strong keywords to use for your sales letter. I hope with these tips, you will see an increase in your opt in list or sales and all the best in your Internet Marketing. PS: Had to remove the links as the system requires me 15 post.
	Let's Talk on Skype - charlesgregory MSN - clayssories@hotmail.com Last edited by csgcsg; 09-22-2009 at 04:09 AM. Reason: removing links

09-22-2009, 05:00 AM	#2
JBorhez HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 109 Thanks: 36 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts	Re: How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter WOW! Thanks for great information. End the price with a 7 huh? Very interesting! Thanks, JBorhez
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09-22-2009, 05:05 AM	#3
csgcsg Warrior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 7 Times in 1 Post	Re: How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter Mostly I am involved in CPA where they have nice landing page ready but these datas are from experts who charge $100k per sales letter so if they say it works, I'll follow
	Let's Talk on Skype - charlesgregory MSN - clayssories@hotmail.com

09-22-2009, 05:35 AM	#4
DavidO Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: United Kingdom, Spain Posts: 1,748 Thanks: 1 Thanked 45 Times in 38 Posts	Re: How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter You've made some good points and I appreciate the effort. However, you can't simply boil things down to specific rules like this (no more than 17 words in a headline). It doesn't work like that. For the same reasons, you can't simply predict precise changes in conversion. There are sales letters that break every one of your rules and convert very well. These are guidelines, not rules set in stone. But thanks for the guidelines.

09-22-2009, 06:12 AM	#5
csgcsg Warrior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 7 Times in 1 Post	Re: How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter Very true David, like I shared earlier, this is based on data collected from the experts and professionals. I do agree that there is no specific rules to it and what probably works today do not work tomorrow especially in the Internet age. Thanks for the feedback.
	Let's Talk on Skype - charlesgregory MSN - clayssories@hotmail.com

09-22-2009, 06:25 AM	#6
MikeHumphreys Copywriter and Marketer War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Philly Suburbs, USA Posts: 2,011 Thanks: 128 Thanked 175 Times in 104 Posts Social Networking	Re: How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter Good effort Charles but I could show you million dollar sales letters that don't follow one or more of your guidelines. The only way to truly know what will work or won't is to test and track your own results. What worked 2 years ago doesn't mean it will work today.
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09-22-2009, 07:01 AM	#7
Daniel Scott Cash-Producing Copywriter War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Australia Posts: 1,355 Thanks: 134 Thanked 154 Times in 98 Posts Contact Info	Re: How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter I'm sure I have read this somewhere else fairly recently... but I could be wrong. To the OP... how did you get those figures RE: increases in conversion rates etc? Something smells fishy... -Dan
	*Turbo-Charge Your Website With Compelling, Cash-Sucking Sales Copy* That Gets Serious Results - http://www.noriskcopy.com**

09-22-2009, 07:09 AM	#8
Hugh Thyer HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 102 Thanks: 5 Thanked 36 Times in 17 Posts	Re: How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter There are some good points in your list. Some I agree with, some I don't. For example, there is no hard and fast rule on headline length. Video testimonials should be used in conjunction with written ones. After all, some people dont want to watch them and you can ruin the flow of a letter expecting someone to watch one when YOU want them to. All your stats on increasing rates by x% if you do certain things are almost certainly not verifiable. Look, while your checklist is good its way too mechanical. Its like the guy with 50 sexual positions but he's got no date on Saturday night. Good copy is all about connection and relevance. Getting inside the head of your prospect. Its all about psychology, not rules. If I were you I'd start with rules like: 1. You must enter the conversation that's already going on in your prospects head. 2. Good copy is all about connection and relevance. 3. You must have a killer offer, something they want 4. Your headline must get them to read the first line of your sales copy. It has no other purpose. 5. Your opening line must get them to read the second line. 6. You should identify the dominant emotions of your prospect. Is it anger, fear, greed, power? If you blindly follow technical rules your copy will never sell. It will look great but that ain't its job.
	Direct Response Copywriter For Hire Do YOU get my weekly articles on copywriting and direct response marketing? You should. Get on my notification list now-> www.salescomefirst.com

09-22-2009, 07:11 AM	#9
Paul McQuillan Sales Page Writer War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Minnesota USA Posts: 806 Thanks: 98 Thanked 208 Times in 134 Posts Social Networking	Re: How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter There are some good guidelines here, but there is not a question there have been lots of successful sales letters that have done well not sticking to these. Most of this stuff is in every copywriting book I have. What were the links that were removed, examples?
	Paul McQuillan (my fabulous blog) Need a Killer Sales Page?- click here

09-22-2009, 11:14 AM	#10
Collette HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 433 Thanks: 89 Thanked 187 Times in 104 Posts	Re: How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter? Start with a Million Dollar Market. Find a Million Dollar Product that the Million Dollar Market wants to buy. Write a clear, coherent letter which tells the Million Dollar Market about the Million Dollar Product and tells them how to buy the Million Dollar Product. If your product is crap and/or you have no market for it, all the formulas in the world aren't going to help you. And if you want the chops to be able to write a Million Dollar Letter, you're going to have to do a lot more than slap down some "fill-in-the-blanks" template. Million Dollar Copywriters don't just follow a formula. Because at this level, it 'ain't about the mechanics. It's about knowing HOW and WHY the mechanics work. And then applying the mechanics appropriately. You want to know what "formula" will give you a Million Dollar Letter for your market? Test... Test... And test some more... The results will tell you whether you have a Million Dollar Letter.

10-01-2009, 01:21 AM	#12
David Babineau Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Ottawa / Moncton Posts: 72 Thanks: 18 Thanked 22 Times in 18 Posts Social Networking	Re: How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter Thanks for the list. I agree withe other posters here that's it's way too mechanical but good things to keep in mind none the less.. Huh - 1st time I hear that "that" (oops use it there..) is the #1 worst word to use. I can't imagine a full sales letter that doesn't contain that. Am I missing something here? Cheers, David

10-01-2009, 12:27 PM	#14
jukeboxhero Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 69 Thanks: 6 Thanked 25 Times in 10 Posts	Re: How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter That's funny a $hit, When I was reading it, I started going through my copy notes because all of those facts and figures seemed to match some notes I'd taken.... I've got about 200 pages of notes taken on about every decent IM product on the market so you saved me some effort...

10-01-2009, 01:32 PM	#15
highprofitdi Active Warrior Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 30 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter Thanks for sharing your info, there are definitely some good points to think about. However I must agree with the consensus on this topic too many changes too fast continuous testing is the only way to honestly create the winner.

10-03-2009, 12:36 PM	#17
Collette HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 433 Thanks: 89 Thanked 187 Times in 104 Posts	Re: How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter Hi Richard, Million Dollar Copywriters don't just follow a formula. When you reach that level of proficency, you understand how to take a formula and make it work for your specific market. Yes, anybody can take a basic template and fill in the blanks. Yes, anybody can follow AIDA or the copywriting formula of their choice. But that will not automatically produce a Million Dollar Sales Letter. Clayton Makepeace, Doug D'Anna, or John Carlton may use a formula. But the result is not formulaic. Because a copywriter of that calibre knows why they're doing what they're doing. Which means they can twist or break - or even ignore - the "rules" to suit their purpose. If you follow a proven formula AND you have a knowledge of the market and excellent writing skills to boot - you have a good chance of producing a hit. If you follow a proven formula, and DON'T know your market, and/or can't form a coherent sentence, much less an entire paragraph, just following a formula will NOT produce a Million Dollar sales letter. If you follow a proven formula, know your market, and have sufficient wriiting skills to convey your thoughts clearly, you will produce a letter that converts at some level. To produce this kind of letter, you DON'T have to have Million Dollar Copywriter chops. You just need to be a halfway decent writer and do some research. The problem is, most people who buy these "magic" sales letter formulas don't WANT to do any work. They want to "plug 'n play". Which would be fine, if their expectations were realistic. Mostly, those expectations are not realistic. As for the mechanics... I never said the mechanics weren't important. Far from it. However, the point I was trying to to make is that, like a formula, just mechanics aren't enough. The top copywriters know HOW to swipe from the great ads of the past - and how to do it effectively - because they understand how the mechanics of selling work. On the other hand, people who do not understand how the mechanics work usually swipe very, very badly. For examples of this, you need look no further than the plethora of exceedingly lame "Who Else Wants..." headlines. Or the avalanche of horrendous 85-word headlines imitating - but not understanding - the mechanics of a John Carlton headline. The result is sales copy roadkill. IMO, promises that someone can create a "Million Dollar Sales Letter" using an uninformed "monkey-see; monkey-do" approach are pure hype and a rip off.