Howto write a salesletter?

[windmedia]

Hi! I'm kind of new to this. I have a Dog training product, ready to launch. Im on a no-spend budget, so I cant afford an expensive copywriter.

Any tips on how to write my own copy?

And does anyone have a good way to set price on a product? I have a 8 weeks training program, with a 4-10 pages PDF with training tips + "homework" every week. I'm thinking of charging per month (for two months obviously). I've thought about 19,99 or 29,99? Any thoughts?

[Kevin-VirtualProfitCenter]

Second question first: Price point is determined by the quality of the sales process and copy. If the sales materials build the value to a high point but the price is low it can actually hurt sales. If the sales materials don't build enough value to justify the price, then that will obviously hurt sales.

Once you have your sales process and copy test out different price points.

Now about how to write a sales letter...

That's a tough one to answer in a post. It goes beyond the scope of a simple answer. Read copy for sites that sell dog training products. Notice not only what their sites say but also HOW they say it and HOW the sites function. Imitate those successful tactics (don't steal, imitate.)

[Paul Hancox]

Originally Posted by windmedia

Hi! I'm kind of new to this. I have a Dog training product, ready to launch. Im on a no-spend budget, so I cant afford an expensive copywriter.

Any tips on how to write my own copy?

Well, I have a blog and some videos in my sig, which should help with the structure of writing copy.

I second what Kevin suggested, about looking at other people's copy (especially ones in your niche) and see what they're doing, to get some ideas.

And does anyone have a good way to set price on a product? I have a 8 weeks training program, with a 4-10 pages PDF with training tips + "homework" every week. I'm thinking of charging per month (for two months obviously). I've thought about 19,99 or 29,99? Any thoughts?

The crucial factor is whether your visitors will see this as good value for money or not, which is partly what you're copy is designed to establish.

If you think it's worth 29.99 a month then PROVE it to your visitors in your sales copy. Don't rely on them to tell you whether it's worth it or not - they don't know, because by definition, they don't own it!

It's up to YOU to establish and prove its value in their minds.

[Zeus66]

There's an entire section here devoted to copywriting issues. Check it out, engage the folks who hang out there, and ask some questions. Above all, do some research first by using the forum search capability. You'll get lots of help from that alone.

John

[Mark Riddle]

The best advice I can give on one post to help you write a sales letter is to tell you to head over to the copy writing forum and read everything you can.

There are suggestions on all areas of copy, from best books, to styles, its contains more info than my whole AWIA Copy writing courses I have, that includes the masters course !

Mark Riddle

[Pipinscott]

There are several sources of good information with personal twists to writting effective sales letters. They all boil down to a common denominator, dont discount the twists however, Draw attention to the pain and present your product as the relief and cure.

I know that is very over simplified, but if you were able to write a course on dog training then you know the problems that dog owners are having and you know that you can teach them to overcome them.

Try a story of Joe or Jane Dog Owner with this embarassing or scarey incident with the Devils Dalmation. Use some bullet point common problems. Then share the benefits of your training.

Dont forget to grab them with a good headline. A couple of flavors that work well universally are...
the How to.... headline.
What the Heck?... you know those that just make your mind say what? and you have to read the prose to get the answer.

This was real down and dirty and very over simplified but should get you started.

Biggest tip that I have learned from the experts here...It doesn't get written once, you will always be tweaking little things to increase the conversion rate.

Cheers

[Pipinscott]

Note to self, have coffee before attempting to write and use spell check....Sorry all for the amaturish grammer and spelling efforts...hope you can get something out of the previous answer anyhow....

[Gabriel_C]

Here's a small tip:

Write down all the helpful things your product offers without giving out too much detail.

Write down questions someone looking for dog training might ask.

Maybe have a "FAQS" section.

You don't have too make your sales letter so long either.

Just write something like "Training your dog doesn't have to be frustrating blah blah my ebook will tell you everything you need to know blah blah "

[Bill Jeffels]

Here's a basic structure to write your sales letter.

It's a acronym A.I.D.A, Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

First you want to get the attention of your prospect this is achieved by your headline... your headline your have a benefit to your customer curiosity to get them to keep reading.

Then Interest. You could ask a question. "Do you want a easy way to train your dog so they will listen to every command you give them?.

Desire. This is where you state all the benefits that your customer will get by purchasing your product. Everything that is in it for them. Make your product so irresistable that they would feel like thier missing out if they don't buy your product.

Action. Why they should take action... and take action right now or their going to miss out. Limited number of copies... then the price goes up. Limited number of people in the doggy membership club. You want to have them take action right then and there, if you give them a chance to wait you could lose the sale.

Hope that help's.

Bill Jeffels

P.S., Yes, come over to the copywriting forum lot's of great tips and tactics on how to make your sales letter compelling and persuasive.

[windmedia]

Thank you for all great answers!

This stuff can be really confusing. And I understand there is an awful lot of stuff to think about, when writing copy.

I'll just take my time and make it as good as possible, and like you said, tweak and polish it after launch