Write a shorter sales letter

Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.

-Joseph Pulitzer

Keep your sales copy lean and mean. Trim it down. Cut away the fat. Get rid of any fog that creeps into your writing.

Don’t write the same boring, cheesy sales letters that thousands of mediocre Internet marketers churn out by the minute. Stay in touch with the desires and needs of others.

Keep these basic guidelines in mind whenever you write sales copy:

• State your purpose in the first sentence. Even better, put it in a boldface headline above the body of the sales letter.

• Write direct, clear, conversational sentences.

• Keep your paragraphs short. Long, unbroken paragraphs are the hardest kind of copy to read. Bullets and sub-headings keep the text flowing. Short paragraphs are easier to scan for information.

• Be merciless with your delete key. Eliminate everything that’s not central to the main thrust of the letter.

• Turn down the volume. The soft sell works better on the Internet. Engage your reader’s senses—customers can relate to that kind of writing.

• Keep the letter short. The shorter the letter, the greater the chance that someone will actually read it.

• When you get stuck, ask yourself how you would say it so your best friend would immediately grasp your point. With practice, this simple technique will solve every writing obstacle you run into.

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