How is it possible to write a sales letter in a week or less?

Maybe they are not including their research time into the writing
as mentioned. I'm not at the stage of writing a sales letter in
2 hours, maybe some people can but I know that 90% of my
time is spent researching and coming up with a hook and
structure for the letter. I can't do all that in 2 hours.

So yes, it does take time to write a decent letter.

-Ray Edwards

The copywriting market's just like any other market.

Not everyone has a budget that can stretch to hiring someone for "weeks of research".

When I work with someone in a long-term relationship and help them become the leader in their market, it gets easier and easier to write their copy.

Some of my client relationships are over two years old.

There are instances when I write for them that I can knock a piece out in 10 minutes.

Whereas...

...If I had just started writing for them, I would spend hours of research time and creative-pondering.

Presently...

I'm working on three sales letters.

And I would NOT send them to market until I've had time to reflect on them and make the revisions I KNOW will help them convert better.

Remember...

When you're crafting a sales letter, it's about making absolute certain that your copy resonates with the audience you're selling to.

From my perspective, if you don't take your time constructing, organization and infusing your latest epiphany into the copy, you're very likely short-changing the client (and yourself.)

That being said...

I've hit a sales letter out of the park in a day.

It's just not commonplace... for me.

Mark Pescetti

P.S. I know that the mentality is "the sooner, the better." But it shouldn't be. The focus should always and ONLY be on making sure you're hitting all the right triggers and making the offer compelling so that massive action is ensured!

I think that if you can't write it in a week or less either you shouldn't be going after that client or you're doing too much research.

Baby shoes, never used.

How's that for a sales letter that took Hemingway less than a minute to write.

Okay, it wasn't supposed to be a sales letter.

I read that it took Makepeace 2 hours at the pool to write a sales letter that eventually pulled in millions.

Familiarity with the subject matter, belief in the product, an understanding of the target market and a great paycheck does wonders for unclogging the pipes and ratcheting up the speed.

All things are relative. If you have none of the above -- it'll take you forever to write a sales letter. Then again, if you have none of the above, should you even attempt to write a sales letter?

The fastest I ever did one was in about 35 minutes.
that particular product has done well over five figures and continues to sell.

Now mind you
a) I knew the product like the back of my hand (it was mine)
and
b) I used dragon naturally speaking

BTW, I've written sales letters in less than a day, because I had "all of the above" mentioned above.

But the client would never know that.

I normally quote a minimum turnaround of two weeks on any project, unless it's for one of my retainer clients. But even for them it's never the same day, even if it only takes me a few hours (unless it's a bonafide emergency).

The project pipeline also plays a huge role, too. The most I've ever been backed up is 3 months. So even if I could write a letter in an hour -- it would take me 2 months to get to it.

Like I said above, everything is relative.

Besides, one should always let the copy marinate, at least over night -- you'd be amazed how much you can tweak copy for the better after a good night's sleep.

If a copywriter is getting paid a reasonable amount of money, then a copywriter will spend the required time to do a good research job and write the copy accordingly.

If a copywriter is not getting paid much, I doubt much research is done.

How is it not possible is the question you should be asking

It all depends on how you manage your time and your energy. I've written entire books in just a few weeks and entire sales pages and brochures, long ones, in just a few days.

The most important part of this for me has been selecting a few niches or industries that I know well and that I'm interested in and writing only for them. When you research and write in the same few niches long enough, you get fast.

How is it possible to write a sales letter in a week or less?

Simple answer: Betcha it isn't, very often, except for a special few.

But oh how I wish it were possible for me.

I don't want to speculate about those who can consistently pull this off. I'll just say it definitely is possible for (1) any professional copywriter who knows the topic by heart or (2) any self-proclaimed "copywriter" who is inexperienced and untrained and turns out crap and has clients that can't tell the difference.

The fastest I ever wrote a sales letter was two days (what a joy), but I had been writing for that client for years. Otherwise three to four weeks is my range because of what I put into it, and it consistently pays off for the client with better-than-expected results. Including NO changes to Draft One in most cases... a bonus whose value is not recognized by inexperienced clients.

There's a question about differences in cost to the client in this thread. It assumes slow would cost more than fast. Maybe not. The fast one could easily charge more for the rapid turnaround. Like the nature of the work itself, there are variables.

Thanks for the irresistible question.

Best from the one on the left at MBDirect.

I think the biggest key is your attitude and what you think is possible. What you think is protocol and what kind of limiting beliefs you're willing to break through.

Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay to Rocky in a couple of days. Yeah, he knew the subject matter, but I'd say writing a salesletter, even in an area you're not familiar with, is infinitely easier. Sales is sales.

It takes as long as it takes.

That's all there is to it. You can't sit there and say "Right, every project I do from here-on out will take precisely 4 weeks".

It just isn't realistic. Things take as long as they need. No more, no less. Some projects take hours, some days, and some weeks.

Like others have said, a lot depends on...

-Pre-existing knowledge of the niche/company etc
-Past history with the client
-Whether you've worked towards selling products towards the same target audience

And so on. Also, some people are naturally gifted at this kinda thing, and can write sales letters in a day. Just how it is!


Ben.

The hard part is creating the outline or the concept, but sometimes it just clicks and you can do everything in an hour.And often the best way is to do it quickly - get feedback - and optimize.

but real creative takes time

If you have a full day or two to devote your time to research and writing, I can not see it taking more than a week to produce a great sales email. If you spend a week or two writing up this long, informative email to a company who already knows what they do... they could overlook it and ignore it leaving you at the drawing board.

My personal experience always leaves me having to write a few more emails after my initial sales email, in order to nail the sale.... so I don't spend more than a couple of hours (2 days max) on my initial sales email.

Hope this helps to the TC.

I have a lot of skepticism about people who claim to consistently write good copy in a few hours. Sure you may get lucky, but to strike it rich 9 times out of 10, yeah right.

And if its someone elses money your playing with, thats not cool. Its one thing to screw around with your own money, its another to screw around with someone elses.

I think anything worth doing is worth doing well, and you should take the time to do things right. To me its total bs about writing a piece of copy in 2 hours unless everything you need has been handed to you on a silver platter.

Copy gets better with time, like wine. The working and reworking of copy until its pitch perfect is what seperates okay from exceptional. I just see it as a waste of the copywriters talent and a waste of the clients time to churn out something in a few hours. Why not take the time to do something well, just spitting out a first draft and calling it finished is pure laziness to me.

You can always beat your first ad, you can always make it better. Why settle for mediocre quality? This is what I like about Steve, the dude really forces himself to rewrite and rewrite, that is a winning formula. Never accepting what you first write, and always working on it to make it better until neither you nor anyone else can find a way to strengthen it.

Then you've done your job right. Just to do editing of the first draft takes at least 2 days because you have to set it aside, forget about it, then go back to it to see your mistakes. Theres no way you could do that in a few hours.

Gary Halbert once spent 3 weeks working on a single word in a sales letter. One word. He kept going over every possibility until he found something that was just perfect psychologically. Of course he did other things too, but that shows you the kind of dedication he had.

Writing a top quality sales letter that converts well, I usually need to invest minimum 5 working days ( that makes a week) for extensive research on the product and its background, features. I always take notes on important points side-by -side while performing research.

Once the research is done, it is only a matter of 12-14 hours to assimilate all this points properly in a professional format.

Thanks.

I've written a couple letters for my own wares in a matter of hours/days. That's because I'm coming to these letters "warm" to the details of the client (me) and the product (that I created.)

But "cold" client letters where those details need to be discovered and "brain-bolted" together into a cohesive pitch are almost always 3 to 4 to 5 week affairs.

--- Ross

Hi Cab,

This is what I think... please take it with a grain or maybe a whole bucket of salt!

You write copy to match and fill the need and it takes as long as it takes.

I usually write video scripts in 1 day, 1,200 to 1,500 words = 7 minutes of run time, but then I KNOW the subject well. Take a day to let it simmer, then edit it and polish it to fine tune it...so minimum is 3 days for a video script.

Long form sales letters are a different animal...

They can not easily be "written off the cuff" like a video script can be.

So figure at least 2 to 3 days for research (unless it is handed to me). Make sure you have a superior questionaire. Send the questionaire to the client and get them to fill it out in detail.

My sales letters for Clickbank run a couple of days, mostly time to review the product use it and then write my own thoughts of why it is great and why they NEED/WANT it EMOTIONALLY -- NOT logically.

I do my best to write the copy using the underlying reasons why they buy (not the obvious benefit oriented ones.) I do my best to sell it -- with a softer sell using NLP and subliminal copywriting following what Harland Kilstein teaches. I have several of his courses and I highly recommend them.

If your questionaire is killer (like mine is), it almost writes the sales letter in rough form all by itself.

My questionaire asks many of the "need-to-know questions" and uncovers many hidden "hot buttons" that push the visitor to buy. This helps uncover the reason behind the reason they would want to buy -- not logical reasons but deeply emotional reasons. Many times having the client write in depth about their product and the reasons why THEY thing it would sell reveals hot buttons I had not even thought of.

It is best the client fills in the answers and then you print it out and go over the answers on the phone or skype to make sure you are clear on any details.

The reason why you do it this way is the client has a very intimate contact with the product. They live and breathe it. So they will know it 100 times better than you can even with days (or weeks) of research.

Some clients don't like filling out questionaires, but I just tell them this:
"The better you fill out the questionaire and completely answer the questions, the higher will be your final conversions..."

That usually is a big enough push to get them to do a good job filling it out.

They get to really think about how to sell the product -- via the visitor's eyes.

This focuses not so much on the fact that "my product is a great product and I love it so the visitor should too". But rather gets them to think outside the box as to the underlying reasons why a visitor would buy. This helps dig up a better hook than the obvious ones that have been used over and over.

So take the time to create a great questionaire, and then use it.

Take the time to discuss the questionaire results with your client and it will be worth the time to do it.

As far as how long it takes to write a sales letter it just depends.

On how well you...

1. Know the subject matter
2. How experienced a writer you are
3. The length of the copy that needs to be written
4. How much research you feel you need to know the subject well enough to write about it confidently. Remember you can over do research so don't get caught in that trap! Too much research can numb your mind and confuse you.
5. How much you are paid

Good luck writing!

Jennie

1. What are the three most important ingredients of a sales letter?

2. How can I boost my credibility in the letter?

3. When should I personalize a letter?

4. Do I need an order form?

5. Is there anything else that boosts response?

No wonder my sales letter written in 15minutes isn't converting, 2 weeks research really?

A-hem...
Received in the mail...
Not about sales letters but writing is writing...

“The highest-earning self-publishing authors write 31% more words per day than their less successful self-published colleagues, but they spend 62% more time doing it. This translates to spending 24% more time per word.” — data from the Taleist Self-Publishing Survey

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