How to write an effective sales email
(a handy checklist by Kieser.net, powering your web site)
Converting contacts into sales is a difficult task. Emails are a highly effective way of selling products, but only if you use this medium in the correct way. Get it wrong, and your email is labelled spam or unsolicited and you open yourself up to legal action against you as well as discrediting your product and yourself in the process. Get your emails correct, and you may find yourself with a very effective sales medium. Here is a handy checklist to ensure that your sales email is as effective as it can be:
Does your headline speak directly to your potential customer and give them a strong, specific benefit of your product or service?
Did you start with the strongest benefit of your product or service, then work your way down to include the least important benefits for your potential customer?
Do you explain how your product or service is better or different than your competitors?
Does your sales letter speak directly to your prospect? In other words, instead of saying, "people that like horses will love this book" you say, "If you love horses you'll love this book."
Do you use "you" twice as often as "I" in your sales letter? In fact, only use the word “I” if your email is written as a personal correspondence or recommendation, such as “Given your present requirements, I would suggest that our ABC product is best suited to your needs”. If you are writing a general sales email, avoid any references to yourself, unless they are absolutely necessary. They very seldom are. Rather, replace “I” with “we” or some other reference to your company or product.
Is your sales letter easy to read using short sentences and paragraphs? Short term memory is essential to understanding words and sentences. Humans have a maximum short term memory capacity of six items. Most people are comfortable with up to three new items in short term memory at any given moment. So what does this imply for your email? Short sentences are much easier to absorb than long, complicated sentences. Give one or two punchy facts per sentence. Avoid long sentences that pack many messages into them, no matter how well written these sentences are.
HANDY tip: If you are joining sentences together with “and”, “or”, “but” or “however” then consider rewording them into separate, smaller sentences.
Do you use power words and write with the goal of keeping your reader's interest? Does each sentence compell them to read the next?
Do you show your potential customer their problem; agitate it by telling them how troublesome it is, then offer your product or service as the solution?
Is your copy clear, easy to understand, and follows a flow from one paragraph to the next?
Are your strong words and phrases highlighted or bolded to draw attention and keep the reader focused?
Is your sales letter written in a friendly, active, conversational," me to you", tone of voice?
Have you used specific numbers and facts in your copy to build instant credibility?
Have you included credibility creators, like why you're an authority on the subject? Testimonials and case studies help to give you credibility.
Typing mistakes happen! Have you used a spelling checker on your email and ensured that, if you are writing in an UK English-speaking country (the majority of English speaking countries) that you are using a UK English dictionary and not an American English dictionary with you spelling checker?
Are you confident about your grammar? Poor grammar or spelling mistakes can damage your hard-won credibility. If you know that your written language is poor, did a suitable colleague check the grammar for you? Why lose valuable ground after all your hard work?
Little known fact: Watch out for the difference between its and it's. It's is short for “it is”. Its indicates posession, for example, “the dog wagged its tail”.
Bonus handy tip: The words and and or join two sentences together. You should not place a comma (,) in front of these two words in a sentence.
Does your sales letter have a nothing-to-risk guarantee that shows your confidence in your offer?
Do you include a reason why you're making this offer? Are you doing it because you are tired of seeing people scammed on the Internet and want to provide them with solid, profitable information they can use immediately? Perhaps you are giving them a low price because you have an overstocked inventory and it's costing you to store the product in your warehouse?
Does your email give your contact details? What should the customer do to accept your offer? For example: Call now. Or, “simply fill out the form below” and email it to ...
Do you make it easy for your potential customer to act on your offer?
Are you offering bonuses to increase response or do you create the perception of high value for your product or service?
Did you create a sense of urgency in your letter, explaining that the price is for a short time or quantities are limited?
Have you answered all questions a prospective customer has about your product? A handy trick is to keep track of the first three questions that clients ask you, then ensure that in future correspondence these questions are explicitly answered.
Of course, the best sales pitches should be backed up by the best web site services. Kieser.net provides you with reliable, high performance web hosting. We can even design and program your web site for you! Why settle for anything less than the best?