How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter

by csgcsg
17 replies
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.
#dollar #letter #million #sales #sales letters copywriting #write
  • Profile picture of the author JBorhez
    WOW! Thanks for great information. End the price with a 7 huh? Very interesting!

    Thanks,

    JBorhez
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  • Profile picture of the author csgcsg
    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
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    Let's Talk on Skype - charlesgregory
    MSN - clayssories@hotmail.com

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    • Profile picture of the author DavidO
      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.
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  • Profile picture of the author csgcsg
    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.
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    Let's Talk on Skype - charlesgregory
    MSN - clayssories@hotmail.com

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    • Profile picture of the author MikeHumphreys
      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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      • Profile picture of the author Hugh Thyer
        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.
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        Ever wondered how copywriters work with their clients? I've answered that very question in detail-> www.salescomefirst.com
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  • Profile picture of the author 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
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    Always looking for badass direct-response copywriters. PM me if we don't know each other and you're looking for work.

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    • Profile picture of the author Collette
      How to Write a Million Dollar Sales Letter?
      1. Start with a Million Dollar Market.
      2. Find a Million Dollar Product that the Million Dollar Market wants to buy.
      3. 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.
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      • Profile picture of the author Richard B Riddick
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        • Profile picture of the author Collette
          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.
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    • Profile picture of the author David Babineau
      Originally Posted by Daniel Scott View Post

      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...
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      • Profile picture of the author David Babineau
        Originally Posted by Paul McQuillan View Post

        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
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  • Profile picture of the author David Babineau
    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
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  • Profile picture of the author jukeboxhero
    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...
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  • Profile picture of the author highprofitdi
    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.
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  • Profile picture of the author Johnny12345
    Originally Posted by csgcsg View Post

    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
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