The Perfect Salesletter: Stories, Humor, or Education?

by rimam1
12 replies
I've always wondered about the best format for a sales letter for an info-product. Of course, you have to understand your ideal customer before you can even answer that question, but I wonder what type of sales letter works best.

I know stories are the holy grail of marketing, but stories can be boring and make the reader think "what's in it for me?"

Humor seems like a great way to establish rapport in a sales letter. I read a quote from Jerry Seinfeld about keeping people's attention:

"There is no such thing as an attention span. There is only the quality of what you are viewing. This whole idea of an attention span is, I think, a misnomer. People have an infinite attention span if you are entertaining them."


Then there is education. Every info product I've ever bought had a strong education based sales letter. For example, MAX Workouts by Shin Ohtake - High-Intensity Workout Routines That Get You Lean & Fit, Fast! for fitness and Persuasive Selling Skills For Sales Professionals for sales people who want to sell more.

As I understand copywriting is an emotional art that challenges the marketer to uncover the pain, and the problems that the buyer is experiencing, and show how our product helps relieve that pain. The biggest hurdle is to get the prospect to trust us.

So I wonder, is this best done through stories, humor, or education?

Raza
#education #humor #perfect #salesletter #stories
  • Profile picture of the author Danielle Lynn
    Originally Posted by rimam1 View Post

    I've always wondered about the best format for a sales letter for an info-product. Of course, you have to understand your ideal customer before you can even answer that question, but I wonder what type of sales letter works best.
    You already stated the issue about answering this question above.

    It really is going to depend on your market, your product, and what you're trying to accomplish.

    In general, I enjoy doing what you're calling the 'educational' approach with a lot of emotional triggers, tied in with story/humanity aspects.

    But it fully depends on what I'm writing for and what the copy is trying to accomplish.

    I know stories are the holy grail of marketing, but stories can be boring and make the reader think "what's in it for me?"
    If there is a story, and it's boring, then the copywriter isn't doing it right.

    The type of tone you take (i.e. whether you use things like humor or not) is going to depend on your positioning, brand, and your market.

    Humor is not a sales letter staple. There are products/services that want to be sophisticated, serious, compassionate, etc.

    I know this wasn't the answer you were hoping for. This is the sort of thing that will come to you with researching the market for the project you're working on.
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    • Profile picture of the author cindytsmile
      Originally Posted by Danielle Lynn View Post

      If there is a story, and it's boring, then the copywriter isn't doing it right.
      I thought the exact same thing.

      Humor should be avoided in sales letters. There are other ways to connect with your prospects.
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  • Profile picture of the author ThomasOMalley
    I would not recommend humor in your sales letter. This approach doesn't work well unless you are already a really good copywriter.
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  • Profile picture of the author gjabiz
    RESULTS.

    As for copy, find something which gets results...then test against that.

    And as always, TARGETS (and Traffic) before COPY!!

    gjabiz

    Originally Posted by rimam1 View Post

    I've always wondered about the best format for a sales letter for an info-product. Of course, you have to understand your ideal customer before you can even answer that question, but I wonder what type of sales letter works best.

    I know stories are the holy grail of marketing, but stories can be boring and make the reader think "what's in it for me?"

    Humor seems like a great way to establish rapport in a sales letter. I read a quote from Jerry Seinfeld about keeping people's attention:



    Then there is education. Every info product I've ever bought had a strong education based sales letter. For example, MAX Workouts by Shin Ohtake - High-Intensity Workout Routines That Get You Lean & Fit, Fast! for fitness and Persuasive Selling Skills For Sales Professionals for sales people who want to sell more.

    As I understand copywriting is an emotional art that challenges the marketer to uncover the pain, and the problems that the buyer is experiencing, and show how our product helps relieve that pain. The biggest hurdle is to get the prospect to trust us.

    So I wonder, is this best done through stories, humor, or education?

    Raza
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  • Profile picture of the author JasonParker
    It all works (even though humor is the hardest to pull off... the "bibles" of copywriting like Caples and Hopkins say to avoid humor at all costs).
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
    Originally Posted by rimam1 View Post


    I know stories are the holy grail of marketing, but stories can be boring and make the reader think "what's in it for me?"
    Of course a boring story doesn't work. If any part of the copy bores a reader, not just the story, he's gone... never to return.

    When telling a story in copy, make sure it 1) demonstrates empathy and 2) includes persuasion elements such as credibility, proof, and objection resolution.

    Alex
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    • Profile picture of the author rimam1
      Here's the thing about humor (or at least being humorously quirky): it seems to have worked amazingly well for Woot.com (acquired by Amazon) or what about the AppSumo guys and their KopyWritingKourse?

      I'm no copywriter and couldn't write a salesletter to save my life, so I have a lot of respect for people who understand, and implement copywriting fundamentals. But I can't help thinking that there's value in "zigging" when others "zag".

      Of course it warrants testing, but why don't people test it more often, especially since the afore-mentioned companies have done quite well with it?

      When I read a long form sales letter, my immediate "bs detector" gets activated. But obviously, since GOOD salesletters are written in a way to build trust and answer objections, it does a good job of retaining my attention.

      But when I read or watch something funny, like anything from TheOatmeal.com I'm hooked from the beginning.

      Thoughts?

      Raza
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      • Profile picture of the author Andrew Gould
        Originally Posted by rimam1 View Post

        Thoughts?
        Craig Garber's most recent email was on the subject of humor in copy:

        Subject line: that's not funny

        A lot of people try and use humor in their sales letters,
        but in general... it's not a good idea.

        And before we talk about why, let me address something you
        might be thinking;
        "Yeah Craig, but you're funny in these e-mails every once in
        a while."

        And this may be true. But... these e-mails are an ongoing
        running conversation you and I are having. And they may
        DIRECT you to sales pitches I've created.

        But you'll never see humor in any one of these sales
        pitches, I assure you.

        Make sense?

        OK, good. So now let's talk about why humor is such a
        'no-no.' Because at first blush, it would be normal to
        think... "Since everyone loves to laugh, why not use humor
        in selling?"

        And the answer is simple.

        For starters, not everyone has a sense of humor. Sure,
        maybe the people YOU speak to have a sense of humor, but
        that's because you're attracted to these people.

        Believe it or not there are people out there who have as
        much interest in laughing as I have in staying in a Motel 6.
        They may seem odd to me and you, but so do a lot of things.

        Second, just because someone has a sense of humor, doesn't
        mean they'll laugh at YOUR jokes... doesn't mean they like
        YOUR sense of humor.

        So you run the risk of being offensive, or even worse --
        boring -- instead of funny.

        Plus, it's really difficult to communicate things in print.
        And the humorous quip you're trying to deliver, may be taken
        out of context when it's delivered in print, and without any
        of the non-verbal cues that usually make things even
        funnier.

        Lastly... there's really nothing funny about asking someone
        to give you money. I mean, seriously -- these two things
        are as mutually exclusive as tree bark and tampons.

        Sure, people want to do business with people they like. And
        perhaps one of the things that makes you endearing is your
        sense of humor.

        BUT... you're going to have to find some way to share that
        sense of humor with them, other than in your sales pitch.

        When people are placing trust in you... when they're
        desperately hoping you help them solve a problem... they
        want to know you're dead serious about the task at hand.

        They're not looking to hire Bozo The Clown. They want
        someone who will put them first, and someone who's committed
        to doing the right thing.

        Which is why there's simply no room for humor in your sales
        pitch.

        Got it?

        Good. So these three guys walk into a bar...

        Now go sell something, Craig Garber
        Signature

        Andrew Gould

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        • Profile picture of the author JasonParker
          Originally Posted by Andrew Gould View Post

          Craig Garber's most recent email was on the subject of humor in copy:
          What Garber said is pretty much Scientific Advertising 101.

          It's been a long time since I read it, but I think Hopkins said something like this... If someone were selling you door-to-door, would you want to buy something from a clown who shows up at your door or someone who comes up and flat-out talks to you about something you care about?
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          • Profile picture of the author Enfusia
            A sense of humor works really well in article writing but not in copywriting.

            I wrote a funny article about stopping your dog from barking that went out to 2 of the top pet ezines and pulled over 220,000 unique visitors lifetime. But the sales letter it went to was serious.
            The conversions by the way were awesome.

            With copywriting every word tells and every word sells.

            How long should your copy be? Not one word longer than the minimum necessary to extract the maximum conversions from your audience.

            What kind of copy is best? The one that speaks to your prospect at the deepest level possible.

            Patrick
            Signature
            Free eBook =>
            The Secret To Success In Any Business
            Yes, Any Business!
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            • Profile picture of the author Jeremey
              If Jerry Seinfeld wrote sales letters, he'd probably be preaching a different point of view...

              The thing is, you don't want to entertain prospects with a sales letter. You want to engage them.

              You want them to read your letter or email or watch your video and say, "yep, yep, yep, that would be great...where can I get that...enough bullshit, how much does it cost...here's my money, take it!"

              You don't want to entertain them, you want to create the path of least resistance between their money and your wallet.

              Now you mentioned a few companies where quirkiness and humor is a positioning tactic...they have a target market they've cultivated to expect a certain "personality" behind what they do. That's great, and the same tactics can be used for any niche that has cultivated a brand based on that image.

              And it's not only humor...there are businesses that basically say "if you don't 'get' what we do and how we do it, we simply don't want you as a client.'"

              And that's fine...but how many marketers fall into that category? How many copywriters are skilled at developing that kind of positioning? Those that are usually do it for their own business, because they have an intimate knowledge of their market and what they want to hear.

              There's quite a few comedians who do pretty well writing copy. Not because they have the funniest copy out there or because prospects are lining up to hear a witty riff on weight loss or raising troubled teens. It's because good comedians know what is going to really resonate with people and elicit a response. And that's the key to an effective marketing piece.
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