Writing Sales Letters: Checklist – 9 cosmetic do's and don'ts

Digital sales of my book are now almost as high as actual hard copies on amazon.  It’s amazing how many people read digitally.  (41, 5-star book ratings doesn’t hurt, either!) 

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Here’s a little checklist to go through, after you’ve written a sales letter or ad, and before you take it “live.”

The purpose of this is to provide good ‘eye relief’ for your readers.  You don’t want anyone to feel like it’s “work” to listen to whatever you’re saying.  Of course, if your copy isn’t interesting, all the eye relief in the world isn’t going to make it any easier to get through your message…

But that’s another problem for another day.  So without any further ado, here goes:

You want to format your message so your reader doesn’t feel like it’s challenging:

1.  Use short sentences – sometimes even a word or two.

If it’s too long to say it, out loud… then it’s DEFINITELY too long to say in print.

Got it?

2.  Use short paragraphs – usually no more than two or three sentences long.

3.  Use the largest font you can, for the amount of space you have.

Of course, always let your copy dictate how much you have to say — not the size of your font.

4.  Whenever you can, use bullets to summarize your ideas.

5.  If you have a LOT of bullets, and they are unrelated, number them.

This positions you as an authority, and it gives you the flexibility to discuss different things.  Bullets, on the other hand, should all be about a relevant topic.

Bullets and numbered lists, also give people who skim through your material, a reason to read.

6.  Use sub-headlines.

A good rule of thumb is, at least one per standard sized letter page, or 1-3 per column, depending on how big your ad is.

7.  Make your sub-headlines centered and in bold.

8.  When you center anything, if it spills over into another line, make sure the two (or three) lines have some sort of balance to them.

If you say something
like this… it’s O.K.

But believe it or not, many people do it like
this.

Which is not O.K. — it looks and feels “off.”

9.  Lastly, if you’re not using a newspaper advertorial, you should make your sub-headlines in a different font – a different color even, if you’re online.

If you want to see how to use each one of these rules in practice… check out any of my products or services listed on the products page and you’ll see how it’s done.

O.K., that’s it — I have a TON of work to do today before the weekend, so it’s time to get moving.

Have fun :-)

Now go sell something,  Craig Garber

P.S.  Little Mistakes That Keep Men Poor – now save $52

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About the Author

Craig GarberAuthor of "How To Make Maximum Money With Minimum Customers, " and publisher of Seductive Selling - an offline marketing newsletter currently read in 15 countries, world-wide. In a nutshell, I do two things: 1. I show you how to attract a reliable, steady stream of pre-qualified leads who are ready to do business with you NOW... 2. And I increase your net profits and cash-flow, by increasing your customer, client, or patient value -- often, dramatically. How do I do this? By developing, and helping you implement, unique, personalized lead generation and marketing strategies... using compelling sales messages that push your customers emotional buy-buttons. I've worked with over 300 clients in more than 104 different industries, since March of 2000, and I really enjoy what I do. I'm a stable, reliable, happily married family guy with three kids who loves life and always follows through on my commitments and promises. I love to listen to music, workout, read, travel with my family, take pictures, and go bass fishing. I always say "Yes," when it comes to good cigars, good books, and good coffee :-)

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