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PascalBizOpp INTERNET MARKETING NEWSLETTER
(Part 1)
In This Issue:
1. The Art of the Sales Letter
2. Subject Lines
3. Writing Sales Letters, Part 1: Styles & Methods
4. Editor's Opinion: "Don't Get Mad - Change Your Ad"
The Art of the Sales Letter
The most important part of your new business is, hands down, the sales
letter. The sales letter represents you, your business, and your
company. How your business performs depends mostly on your letter and
how it is written. The single largest reason new Internet Marketers
see their businesses fail is due to a lack of good ad copy. Having
excellent ad copy is key to your success. Good ad copy not only
entails the letter itself, but also the subject line. Anybody can sit
down and type a quick letter or sales ad. However, writing good sales
letters takes practice. Contrary to what you may have been led to
believe, writing a good sales ad is not easy in the beginning. I am a
hobbyist writer, creative writing, both fiction and non-fiction.
Writing comes very easy to me, and it always has. However, when it
came time to write sales ads, I was at a complete loss. My first
letters garnered no sales - very few hits. It took awhile, but I
finally found out why I was having problems making sales or getting
more hits. And, since that time, I have found most new marketers run
into the same problems.
This issue will begin focus on the art of the sales letter. This
subject will span over two issues. This is part of the "set up"
process. I would like to remind you that trying to begin even a tiny
business without the proper preparation will be met with failure -
every time. This is why the first few issues of this newsletter will
focus more on getting your ready to sell. it will do you no good if I
join the "gurus" and give you quick fixes or seemingly "easy" ways to
begin selling without first at least letting you know what is
necessary before you start sending out your first marketing letters.
By this issue, you should be set up with all or most of the
requirements set down in the last issue. I am assuming you are,
because if you are not set up, you will quickly find yourself in over
your head.
The articles below will show you why a subject line is just as
important, if not more so, than the actual sales ad, as well as the
styles & methods of sales letters (we will focus on TWO basic styles
and methods of mailing for each).
The next newsletter will show you, among other things, a few TYPES of
sales ads. Once these next two issues cover the basics of sales
letters, as well as some excellent resources to help you improve your
writing skills, we will finally begin delving into SENDING those ads.
So, bear with me - two more issues, including this one, and we'll
finally be at the point you wish to be. Again, I want to remind you
that preparation is key, so please pay close attention to these
initial newsletters to help you know what you will need and can do to
get yourself ready to actually begin actively marketing your product
or service.
Let us begin with Subject Lines . . .
Subject Lines
Probably the most important part of each of your sales letters will be
the subject line. The subject line is effectively a one line
description of what is contained within the actual email. However,
with sales letters, subject lines must be attention grabbing.
There is no one way to write good subjects. Really, it has more to do
with what you are selling and your preferences. There are some
definite "don't do's", and a couple of "must do's". However, how you
write is really up to you, otherwise.
I am going to assume you have not yet written your subject lines -
that you have not yet started sending out email ads to prospective
customers.
When most new people join a program or company, especially with MLM,
they are likely to fall prey to the idea that using the company's
provided sales letters or copying someone else's letters will work.
This could not be farther from the truth! NEVER use someone else's
writing, even if it comes from the company and they say it'll work.
Because, using someone else's writing will not work; it will not get
you hits or sales. That much is guaranteed. Always - always - write
your own. So, unless you are stubborn and insist on taking the lazy
way and thinking that using someone else's letters will work, I will
assume you take what I said above as the truth and we shall continue.
If you are stubborn, or require proof, then go continue the way you
intend until you realize what I said is true. Then come back to this
issue and continue.
You've never written a subject line, so how do you begin? There are
many ways. One way is to go take a good look at all the sales letters
you get form others. Take a quick look at them in your inbox, scan
quickly until you find one or few that catch your eye. It doesn't
matter why it catches your eye. It only matter that it did. Save those
letters to another folder in your email account, delete the rest. Done
yet? Good!
Let me explain this procedure, since it will seem silly. This is a
good way to go when starting out and learning how to write your own
subject lines. Remember what I said above? That writing good subjects
for yourself has more to do with what you are selling and your own
preferences? This part has to do with your preferences. We all have
our own "styles" and those styles are based with our personality. Are
you passive, aggressive, gentle, in your face? Whatever your
preferences or personality, you will do best writing as yourself. Even
subject lines will show if you believe in your product or if it is you
selling it or you through someone else's writing. Honestly, it really
does show, and even if they may not consciously know it, people
reading your writings can tell - it simply won't fit, somehow. So, the
ads that caught your eye will most likely be along the lines of your
personality and style. Keep that in mind.
Go into that folder and start looking closely at the subject lines you
saved. They caught your eye, so they will likely catch the eyes of
others. It is your job to figure out why - what drew you to that
subject and made your eyes linger, even for a second? Then, that will
give you a basic idea of how you will write your own.
Next, click on some of the emails. Do the ads within match the subject
flawlessly? Or, is the ad inside slightly different (or even totally
different)?
Subject lines that pull in sales, not just hits, are those that match
what is inside the email. Not only the subject of the email, but the
text itself. For example, an email with a subject "Take the next step
in life and work for yourself" is obviously the subject of an email
letting you know how to do just that. However, the real hits and sales
come when the letter matches the text. It doesn't have to be word for
word matching on text, it just must match the idea. Recall that
example subject line. The letter might start out either with that
exact text, and go into more detail, or it can simply start out
SIMILAR - such as: "Did you know that most millionaires have one thing
in common? A business of their own!" You can see how that text is a
similar match to the subject line. Now, if the letter actually started
out by saying, "I can help you become a millionaire - click the link
to begin learning how!" Even if that start has the same subject MATTER
at heart it doesn't match th e subject line. It SEEMS not to match,
even if it does when taken into context with the rest of the email. As
such, if it SEEMS not to match, you have already lost a good portion
of your audience and their sales.
As you will see from the emails you saved and are go through, there
are plenty of examples of mismatched subjects and ads. Even though
they have everything to do with the same subject, you get the feeling
in the back of your mind that it just doesn't add up. The above is why.
Keep looking at your junk mail until you can generate ideas of your
own for subject lines for your own product or service. Keep it
original. No matter how silly it sounds, write every idea for a
subject line on a notepad and keep it at your computer desk. NEVER use
a subject line as soon as you come up with it (in the beginning). Give
it a few hours, at least, or even until the next day. After that
period of time passes, go back and read them out loud to yourself. If
you still like the subjects, then mark them to be used. If not, cross
them off the list.
Now, sit back and come up with a few subject lines. Just a few will
do. As they occur, write them down and set them aside for later
consideration.
There is another way for beginners and pros alike to come up with
excellent ideas for formulate subject lines. There is an excellent
program called
Headline Creator Pro. In
two simple steps, you will have dozens of ideas for your subject lines.
This is normally a $30 program. Subscribers to PascalBizOpp newsletter
can download a free copy of Headline Creator Pro. My first thanks to
you for being a subscriber.
The program asks you to input some
information in step one about your product or service. When you click
into step two, it will allow you to generate the subject lines (or
website headers, if you wish). Now, beware! You will note many of the
subjects do not make any sense. What the program does is take the
words and sentences you write and puts them together in different ways.
Some of the subjects will seem too silly to use. But, the point here
is not to expect perfect headlines or subjects. The point is to
generate ide as - you can always rewrite an attractive subject line so
that it makes sense and still have it say the same thing. It is an
invaluable program for beginners and pros alike.
Perhaps you are wondering why this is different than using someone
else's writings? Isn't that the same thing as using software to do the
job for you? The answer is, no, it is not the same thing. Using
someone else's words and letters/subjects is using THEIR ideas and
wording. However, using software such as Headline Creator Pro you are
using YOUR words and descriptions to generate the subject lines and
headers. The software just takes your word and rearranges them
automatically.
The first time I tried this program, I used an old MLM I started with
(before I became a provider of products and services). When I put in
all the information and generated the subject lines, I found a LOT of
those lines were ones I could have used when I was promoting the MLM (way
back when). I wish I had that program back then . . . it would have
really helped when I was in a crunch for more subject lines and basic
email letter ideas.
Another use for subject lines is that they can be a jump-off (a
beginning) for your sales letters. Many people use their subject lines
as the opening sentence in their sales ads. This would be a good thing
for you to do in the beginning until you learn to say the same thing
in a different way, without taking away from the sales letter to which
it was matched.
On another point, you should have at LEAST
5 subject lines for EACH
sales ad you write. Use a different subject each time you
market, even if you are using the same sales ad. it keeps the ad "fresh"
if people don't constantly see the same subject line again and again.
Plus, having that many subjects for each sales letter will definitely
help when you send your emails to safelists using a submitter (imagine
someone who is a member of the same lists you are getting 15 emails of
the same ad with the same subject line). We will cover that in more
depth in a later newsletter. Lastly, your subject lines should be
rewritten and/or replaced every 2 weeks (same thing for your sales ad
- we'll cover that later). I know this is a real pain, but the average
lifespan of a subject line is 2 weeks, a sales letter 2 or 3 weeks (possibly
4). As you begin sending ads and seeing sales, you will know which of
your ads is good. But, you will note after a couple of weeks, your
sales will suddenly drop off, or even cease altogether. No matter how
good your subject lines and sales ads are, people will see them often
enough by that time that they'll start automatically tuning them out.
Their minds become accustomed to seeing the same thing over and over,
so they just shut them out after awhile. A change in the subject, as
well in the sales ad itself, will refresh your sales and hits. I do
not know why, exactly, but it's just the way it is. Think of it as a
mandate to further practice and increase your ad copywriting skills.
I should mention one HUGE "never do" -
NEVER EVER
have a subject line that is deceptive. Yes, you may be assured
someone opening an email and even clicking the link provided, But,
when they see they have been deceived, they will be a might upset and
not purchase. This is a fact. For example, if you have a subject line
such as "Please validate your submission" and it's a sales ad, they
may or may not notice your ad itself. They will notice the link and
click on it. What do YOU do when that email arrives? By now you may
know to open the email and click the nearest link without thinking
about it or reading the email. Especially if you just submitted
something that will require a validation through a clickable link. Now,
how would YOU feel if the link took you to a sales site instead of
what you expected? Angry, more likely. Irritated at best. That email
just wasted your time. And, you're not happy enough to care what that
site says and are likely to move on. So, never use decept ive subject
lines simply to get people to open the email. You sales will NOT
improve in the least.
What you should do now is take some time to sit down and come up with
some subject lines as outlined above. After awhile, you will be able
to do this in your sleep, it will become so easy. The sooner you begin
practicing your skills, the sooner your business will be properly set
up to grab some sales.
Writing Your Sales Letters, Part 1:
Styles & Methods
The next important part of your new marketing business is the actual
sales letter. once your subject line grabs someone enough to click the
email link, the ad copy takes over. This must be something that also
grabs the reader right away and keeps them interested all the way
until the end (or at least until they decide to click through.
Before I get into styles and methods, I want to say this: most people
make the mistake of trying to sell their product or service within
their email. This is a very grave mistake. Unless that product and
service is yours and they can buy right from that email (not advised,
since your payment provider can be notified with spam complaints
through their link in the email), do not try to sell the product or
service. Even if the product or service is yours, and yours alone, you
will have a website to do the selling. Sales ads are for telling, not
selling. TELL them about the product, and do it in a unique and
interesting way. Let them know how it helped you, how it can help them
(to fill a need or want), how it helped others. If you have
testimonials about what you are selling, include one of those. Tell
them your story about how this changed your life or business. Provide
a clickable link after each paragraph or two, to allow them to click
through if they are ready before the end
of the email. I will get into formats in the next newsletter. But, for
now, convince yourself not to write a sales letter that sells - write
it to tell. There is a website to handle the sales pitch - let that
site do it's job.
This is the point where you should have some experience with this
product or service - to tell the story, you must first have one. The
best way to go about that is to use the product until you know it (covered
in the last newsletter). Even if you don't use it on a regular basis,
knowing it enough to know how it CAN help others in their lives or
business will help you TELL your story about your experiences with
this product or service. Don't make the same lame mistake of giving
them a whiz-bang full blown sales pitch when there is a site to handle
that part. The reason is this - even if your letter is awesome and
they are ready to buy after reading your email, they will click your
link, be sent to the sales site, and be pitched again. By the time
they get finished reading that pitch, they will be (will be) mentally
exhausted and will probably not buy. If not exhausted, they will have
had time to think clearly after your sales letter and come more to
their senses. They start th inking "maybe I don't need this just yet."
Had you told them an interesting experience about your uses of the
product and let the site handle the sales pitch, they would have had
their emotional reaction with the site and would purchase. Please
understand, almost all purchases in ANY arena of sales (online or off)
are done without thought (impulse buys). Your job with your letter is
to get them interested, the site's job is to get them excited enough
to buy on impulse. Why else do you think sales sites are so full of
hype, examples, testimonials, and free extra offers if they buy? You
generate interest with your ad, the site generates the emotional
reaction (excitement), and a sale is made.
Now, let's cover the styles and methods. We will begin covering how to
write the sales letter for yourself in the next newsletter. For now,
you need to know a couple of minor things which will help you decide
which format you wish to use when mailing your ads.
By styles and methods, I mean the style of sales email and the methods
to send each style. Knowing what style to send and how to send it to
your intended lists is also essential to making sales. For this
particular part, there will be two styles I mention - the recommended
ways to send for best results will follow the examples and
explanations:
STYLES & METHODS
Full-Blown Sales Ad
A full-blown sales ad is very simply an ad that tells the whole story
about your product or service. You can view an example here:
http://www.mwenews.com/files/3kleadsamplelet.txt
As you can see form the example, it is familiar - you see something
like this every day. The email ad hides nothing, is as long or short
as you wish or need it to be, et cetera. The example has a disclaimer,
which denotes it is set to send through a bulk mailer. Omit the
disclaimer, and it can be used for safelists (which have their own
disclaimers, so you don't need to ad them). The ad has the format of
Intro, Paragraph, URL, Paragraph, URL, Paragraph, URL, and so on until
you reach the Signature line. This is a common technique, and it is
used to give the reader many chances throughout the sales ad to click
the link and take the next step into the sales website. It's not only
a reminder of the website, but multiple URL entries placed at
strategic points throughout the letter will allow the reader
to click if they are ready to do so before they finish reading your
ad. If your letters and very short, just a few lines, then only one
URL should be necessary (right before the sign-off). Sending these ads
depends on the list and forum to which you are sending. if it is
opt-in or safelist, it will be safe to send. Opt-in lists are
generally expecting emails to arrive form time to time, if not every
day. However, if you use TARGETED lists (email lists that are not
expecting sales ads, yet are extracted or otherwise taken from the web
from certain website and forums), it is best to use the "Teaser" Ad (outlined
below).
The "Teaser" Ad
The Teaser ad is a special ad. Teasers are easy to write. They are
just as the name describes - they "tease" the reader and should have
them at least wondering what it is you are offering them. A good
teaser ad will pull in those interested in what you have to offer.
However, teaser are different than straight sales ads in two ways.
One, they contain 3 or 4 short sentences that pique the reader's
interest. Two, it is flexible in that you can either have a URL or
autoresponder email address for the reader to click. I suggest using
an autoresponder. The reason for this is that you can then write a
SERIES of 5 or more emails that get the sales job done for you. With
an autoresponder series, you place your REGULAR sales ad (the one you
normally use) as the first one that goes out upon subscription. Them
the rest, write short emails detailing some of the features they may
find useful. Over the span of a week or more, the subscriber will
receive an automatic ad from your autorespon der (from you) hitting
them with offer after offer for your product or service (until they
buy or opt-out), each letter saying something different yet having the
same goal. In THESE letters, you place the URL of the sales site. So,
what the teaser does is "tease" the reader into wanting to know more.
if they do, they click on the link and either get subscribed to an
autoresponder series or taken tot the sales URL for more info. Teaser
ads are no less effective than straight out sales letters, and you may
use them with ANY email list. However, there are specific lists you
should always use teasers for - purely targeted. Let's say you are a
member of an email list club and you download weekly lists from them.
These are TARGETED leads, not opt-in. You will generate a few SPAM
complaints by sending ads to them. SO, a good way to help cover
yourself a bit more when sending to these lists is to send a teaser
ad. if they are interested, they'll click. If not, they won't and
delete
the email. if they report you as a spammer, then they will use
whatever info you have within the email body (return email address,
remove address, and website URL, typically). if you have a URL, they
can get your product or service sales account closed in a New York
minute. So fast, your head will spin. And, God help you if you had a
nice downline through that program . . . You can see a sample Teaser
ad here: http://www.mwenews.com/files/teasersamplet.txt
Always use a teaser ad if you are sending to anything other than
opt-in lists.
A last word before this article ends. The next section will begin
showing how to formulate and write your sales letters. There is a
program I do want you to at least check out called
Sales Letter Generator.
You can find it at:
http://www.saleslettergenerator.com/ Please go take a look at the
sales page (don't buy the program yet). Now, what would you say if I
told you that you can write a sales letter just like that page? Now, I
am not talking about the sales pitch - I am talking about the format,
organization. Replace that text with YOUR text, your story about your
chosen product or service. If you can write letters that read like
that page, would you be happy? If that program that is sold on that
page can help you do just that, would you consider buying it? of
course you would! Now, you can buy it if you wish, but I ask you NOT
to at this time. I want you to learn how to write your own sales
letter, from scratch, before you decide to buy a nice program that wi
ll help you do just that (by the way, that sales page, you can send it
in text or just copy the code into a mailer that'll send it just like
that - a nice HTML sales letter). Once you learn to write your own,
then you can think about saving time by using a program such as Sales
Letter Generator. At the end of the next newsletter, and a little bit
or practice afterward, you will be ready to buy such a program. Give
it a week from now. Don't worry, I'll remind you. :-)
But you should download the
Header Creator Pro right now, if you haven't already.
Click
http://www.pascalbizopp.com/Software/HCP.exe to do just that!
I'll see you on part 2, more sales letter instruction! After
that, on to the actual marketing.
Editor's Opinion: "Don't Get Mad - Change Your Ad"
Pascal Feuvrier-E.
pascal.feuvrier-e@pascalbizopp.com
http://www.pascalbizopp.com/
Useful Sites, Services, or Software
SALES LETTER GENERATOR
- creates cash producing sales letters, the same type I have used to
generate over $100,000 in 6 short months. Easy to use, very affordable,
an essential for anyone wanting to create the letters that pull hits
and sales. Check it out at
http://www.saleslettergenerator.com/
SUPER AFFILIATE’S HANDBOOK
- learn how one woman, with no business experience pulled in over
$140,000 last year selling other people’s stuff. Perfect for the
diversification of your business - outstanding step-by-step tutorials
and how-to’s that can get you making the money you want in less time
than you may think. Check it out at
http://www.pascalbizopp.com/PBO_Opportunity_Super_Affiliate.htm
HEADLINE CREATOR PRO
- create outstanding, eye-catching subject lines for your sales
letters. Get them to open that email and read - get more click, and
even more sales. Download it at no cost at
http://www.pascalbizopp.com/Software/HCP.exe
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