Sales Letters Are NOT The Only Sales Copy

Sales letters are not the The Only sales copywriting.

Good copy isn’t about just that.

Good copy starts like this.

It’s about understanding your customer, getting inside their heads, understanding how they feel, how they think, what their habits are, what makes them purchase, why they purchase and listing each word carefully like a careful yet obsessed scientist until you have a list of thoughts, feelings, words and actions that will describe the buyer.

Copy isn’t about writing for your client – NO – it never can be and never will be. It’s about the customer – the customer – the customer – ALWAYS! I do say that because you will get clients that tell you what you should write and how to write it. I simply fire those types after all what would they know about words, that’s why they came to you in the first place right?

Best Selling Sales Copy Can Be

  • Letters long and short

  • New customer letters

  • Thank you letters

  • Referral letters

  • Direct mail letters

  • Web letters

  • TV ads

  • Classifieds 

  • Google ads

  • Space ads for magazines or newspapers

  • Labeling

  • Sandwich wrapping 

  • ANYTHING with words that have to sell … this is COPY that you write … copywriting

I’ve seen adverts with 3 words and adverts with 3000 words – it’s all copy that has to sell. OK, have you got that?

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A Real Story From A Real Project From A Real Client Of My Own

I got asked to write a piece for a TV company based in London. They rent out their brilliant services to the big channels and film almost everything and anything for the TV shows we watch.

They wanted adverts for a glossy trade magazine that would blow the phone off the hook. 

There’s always a story to how I got that client or any client. This came from a speaking event I did in 2003 with Jay Abraham when I was first getting into being a full-time copywriter.

I got the speaking gig by pure cheek, but I’ll tell you more about that another time.

We Need SALES COPY

So the TV guys got in touch with me and asked me to write some ads for them. In fact they asked me to create some higher response adverts for them, as the adverts they had been running in trade magazines were getting zero response.

So I did just that.

As always I tell the client I will be around 8-12 weeks on delivery. They always pay 100% up-front; I then send them over a long detailed question sheet and ask for all historical adverts and materials that did and didn’t work. Until I get the sheet back I do not start the project, its up to them to move forward.

In the meantime I begin to look at the overall picture of the customer, the product, the client and anything else relating to the project.

Research

I write notes in pads, creates large sheets A1 size on my office walls and also write endless notes on my iPhone notepad. For ideas I look through swipes. I rarely look through adverts by copywriters unless I am really stuck for brain food. I prefer to look at industry outside the field of copywriting for my samples and swipes. 

For example I have a lot of books on advertising movies. Why? It’s a billion dollar business so I like to take ideas from the big guys rather than the same old stuff that most copywriters swipe.

I need an angle for the project, some unique information about the product or the company and then finally a strong offer that is to be woven through the copy. I also like to think about the imagery. Why? Images have never been more important in advertising. With the mass use of social media like Instagram and literally dozens more social channles there are times when you get literally seconds to get a response. Writing a letter or advert as long as war and peace won’t get the result.

For example again have you noticed the adverts at the start of YouTube videos? After five seconds you can switch off the advert yet here is the crazy thing. I am yet to see an advert that tells me what it’s about in that five seconds and I personally have never watched any advert at the start of a video. 

Have you? So copy has to sometimes be one or two or three words and that’s it. And if that’s the way you write an advert, it better be dammed good!

After I have spent time researching I then leave it to move around in my head. I allow time to pass and get on with other work in the meantime.

The reason I create my copy this way is I believe my experience and my mind will come up with a great angle and great result.

The Formulation For Sales Copy

After a few weeks (and sometimes hours) I begin to formulate the advert and build in the mindset, products benefits, the unique angle, create a great offer, formulate a headline, create a really strong story, add a strong call to action and more than ever today, great eye catching design.

So that’s what I did. This advert increased their takings to £250,000 per month (3 million per year). This advert and another they ran at the time.

  1. Researched customer mindset

  2. Research client mindset

  3. Research product

  4. Research angle

  5. Research offer

  6. List power words

  7. Formulate a headline around the angle

  8. Create a powerful story

  9. Add a strong call to action

  10. 10.Create great but simple design

So let’s look over the advert.

The advert is locked for my Copywriting Mentees only but please leave a comment below.

Peace.

Your Copywriting Mentor

Alan Forrest Smith

Updated by Tamara Forrest-Smith

Copywriting Mentor, Copywriting, Sales LettersAlan Forrest Smithcopywriting mentor, copywriting, sales letters