Something new to challenge sales letter?

Personally, I do not like sales letters. I won't even read them unless I see something truly different and that's pretty rare as, by definition, a sales letter is a formula.

I also see SEO advantages in a more informative, non sales-letter approach to a website.

Having said that, I use a sales letter as my front page (along with lots of other content). I've tried every other thing I can think of but nothing else converts like a sales letter... and that's the whole point of the exercise, isn't it?

But I still often wonder if my alternatives failed because the sales letter is simply superior, period, or because the other options were not well-executed. After all, it took me a long time to get my sales letter working. Maybe I just need to persevere in other directions.

Alternatives I have tried include advertorials, extremely short copy (more or less a banner) and high-gloss graphics.

A trusted source recently suggested that my site would do better as an informative site without a sales letter. However, I've found that people simply don't buy without a push.

Is there anything that will ever replace the sales letter?