If you've ever read a sales letter (and if you've been interested in internet marketing for any length of time, I know you have!), were you aware of how you read it? Think back to the last sales letter that you came across.
What happened? Did you read the whole thing? Or did you just glance at it and then hit delete? What you want out of your own promotional material is for your prospects to read the whole thing, right? Then, of course, pull out the proverbial credit card and start buying.
Let's talk about an important part of the sales letter that helps get all of this done.
If you're like most direct mail readers, you read in this order.
You read the headline and then make a split second decision to keep reading.
You might skim the first few words of the letter if you decide to continue, but what you probably do is you flip (or scroll) to the bottom of the letter to find out what the letter wants you to do and how much it's going to cost you.
Right there, when you read the call to action and you decide...
Hmmm, I've been wanting one of those thingy's, and $49.
97 is not a bad price.
Right there you need a nudge.
What happens next.
With most readers, you notice the P.
S.
and if there is one, the P.
P.
S.
, and you read that.
This is a make it or break it point! If your P.
S.
is in effect a very short mini-sales pitch, then you're on the right track as a sales letter copywriter, because when the reader reads the P.
S.
, he/she knows what's being sold and what the price is.
The P.
S.
needs to tell your reader why he/she needs to buy this thing.
So, you want your P.
S.
to contain your main benefit of your product.
Not the main feature, but the main benefit! WIIFM! What's In It For Me! Once the P.
S.
is read, most readers will return to the top (if they're interested in the product at all) and more carefully read the whole thing, or at least your bullet points.
A well crafted P.
S.
can go a long way towards keeping a lot of buyers you might normally lose!