10 Ways To Begin An Internet Sales Letter

The first sentence of an internet sales letter is like a hook. It
must grab the reader's attention and lead them into reading the
entire letter.

According to copywriter Joseph Sugarman, the purpose of the first
sentence of a sale letter is to get the reader to read the next
sentence. And the second sentence? To get the reader to read the
third sentence.

This becomes even more crucial on the internet than in print,
since attention spans are very short online.

There are certain types of letter openings that prove very
effective in pulling the prospect into the rest of the copy.
We'll briefly look at the ten most effective ways.

1. Tell a Story

Stories have been used for ages to relate lessons. From bedtime
stories to the greatest philosophers, we all love a good story.

A story creates empathy with the reader and helps to draw him
into the sales pitch. This works best if the story identifies
with the problem that the prospect is now experiencing for which
you've found the solution. Some of the most effective direct
mail pieces used this technique.

2. State the offer upfront

If your product or service is well known to your audience and
doesn't need any special introduction, then you can just state
the offer right away. This serves best if your offer is a very
attractive one. In this case the real appeal is in the offer
itself.

A common example is if you have a free offer or deep discount on
products your target audience is already interested in. Your
entire sales letter can then be based on the offer and not on the
product features or benefits.

3. Use a startling quote or statistic

This type of opening is really intended to get the reader to sit
up and pay attention. It should be 'newsy' and have some
'shock value'. It should raise a question in the prospect's
mind and build some curiosity to read the rest of the letter.

4. Make an announcement

This will work best if you have a new product that you are
introducing to the market. This should sound like a press
release. In other words, there should be little 'hype' and more
factual type statements emphasizing what's new about this
product.

5. Ask a question

Questions are very effective in pulling the reader into your
sales letter. This is especially true when the answers to the
questions are very important to the reader. These questions also
force the prospect to think and get involved with your copy. The
questions remain unresolved until you answer them in the copy.
Questions also make the letter sound conversational and more
personal.

6. Write to the reader as a colleague

If your target audience consists of a narrow special interest
group then you can address the reader as such. You may address
the reader as "Business Owner", or "Webmaster".

Right away this qualifies the prospect and saves them having to
read further to know if the letter is of interest to them. It
also serves another purpose: to make the reader feel as part of a
special group-a type of flattery.

7. Offer a free report

This will work best with higher ticket items. In this case you
want the prospects to send for the "special report" that will
further sell them on your product or service. The report must not
be pitched as a salesletter but as providing genuine information
that the reader can benefit from

8. Pinpoint the reader's problem

Most products or services provide a solution to a problem. You
can therefore start the letter by stating the problem that your
product solves. This will immediately qualify the reader and
provide a logical transition for the letter in explaining how the
product solves the problem in the next section.

9. State your strongest benefit

If your strongest benefit has a real striking appeal to your
prospect then you may start by stating this benefit upfront. This
benefit must reach out to the reader's self-interest and go
beyond just addressing a feature of your product. Copywriters
commonly refer to this as selling the sizzle and not the steak.
Just think about it, if your strongest value you are offering the
reader doesn't capture his interest then the others will fail
also.

10. Offer some 'secret', privileged information

You can make an offer that is not open to the 'general public'
but only to a select few. This will work well with your present
customer base who may receive this announcement ahead of other
people. The point here is that the reader feels special because
they are getting the 'inside deal'. This will also work well
with any select group such as new subscribers, repeat buyers or
any group you care to 'invent'.

This list is not exhaustive but shows those techniques that I
find most effective as I create salescopy for my online clients.
If you fail to grab the reader's attention in those precious few
opening seconds then the entire battle is lost. The majority of
online readers simply scan before they choose to read the entire
letter. If the start of the letter doesn't capture their
attention then they are lost for good (or 'bad' really).

Sometimes the conversion rate for a website can be drastically
increased by just changing the opening paragraph for the copy.
Use anyone of these ten techniques to boost your online sales.

-Ray Edwards