Sales Letters and Your Ego: Who’s Writing This Copy, Anyway?

Ever notice those long, terribly tacky sales letters floating around the Web? You swore you’d never publish one of those wretched things in your name… but now you have an info product that you’d like to make some cash on. So here comes the $64,000.00 question:

Is it possible to write a sales letter that does the job it was born to do (SELL), without sounding like a snake-oily used car salesman?

Of course it is! The trick is simple: Don’t let your ego write the copy.

Yes, we marketers all grapple with a common issue: when we’re talking about our businesses and our product… as much as we like to think we’re being objective, our egos tend to take over. We busted our humps over this, we’re darned well proud of ourselves, and we want to toot our horns. It’s okay to toot… but do it like Louis Armstrong, NOT Harpo Marx. Here are five elements of sales letter copywriting that are worth fighting your ego on.

Your ego will try to get LOUD on your sales page. We all do it - when we begin to talk about our business or product, our ego joins in and begins to sing along… loudly, and at times, even a bit off-key. You’ve seen those marketing lunatics, raving about their products. It’s almost like they were on speed when they wrote the copy, isn’t it? Word to the wise: don’t be that guy!

A better plan: Find that happy medium - copy that soothes and relaxes the reader just enough to clear his mind, then punctuate various spots with vivid imagery and energizing verbs that spur him on to action. At the end… tell your sales letter readers exactly what to do. “Sign up here.” “Enter your email address into the form below for more information.” You don’t have to scream to be heard on the Web.

Your ego won’t know when to stop writing. Not only do eager egos speak loudly when they write sales copy, but they also tend to ramble on… and on, and on! It’s great to cover all your bases when writing the product benefits. But there’s only so much a weary Web site visitor can take before they start to get that panicky feeling and the mouse hand begins lurching for that little X in the top right corner.

A better plan: Develop the USP (unique selling proposition) in a sentence or two. Then, list five to seven key features that support your argument. Bold each of those lines, and write a short chunk of descriptive text for each. Then… cut yourself off! Your ego will be able to handle it… and your bank account will thank you when those orders come pouring in.

Your ego will want to sneak other products onto this page. Why? Because your ego loves every single product you’ve ever developed. After all, each one is a part of him. But from your customer’s point of view, a ton of multi-purpose products serve as a mess of chaos and distractions. Think about it - you’re giving him choices. What do folks do when given too many choices? They become confused… and they leave.

A better plan: Keep this landing page tightly focused if you want your reader to make an informed emotional decision and buy. Stick to ONE product and ONE argument the whole way through. The sales letter formula = one product per sales page.

Your ego will want to add miscellaneous links. Our egos love the websites we build - because they played a key role in the creation process. Yes, we’ve all heard that links back to various pages of our websites are a good thing… sales letters being the ONLY exception. Extra links will only serve to distract your would-be customer and prevent you from closing the sale or getting that contact info.

A better plan: Tell your ego in a firm voice that there are NO other links allowed on the sales page other than the one that leads to your product order form. I mean NONE!

Your ego will want to include 25 testimonials on the page. Your ego enjoys the luxurious massage that comes with dozens of fawning testimonials. But remember that while you’re buttering up your own ego, your customer has his own ego to contend with, which is being denied at this moment. He “sees himself” in the story, and he wants a resolution.

A better plan: Share maybe five to ten success stories, then give your customer the info he’s burning for - how he can get access to this product that will be the answer to his prayers? How much does it cost? Can he trust you to deliver? Prove it to him in the copy. Now is the time.

Sometimes it’s difficult to write your own sales copy, isn’t it? There’s so much pride and perfectionism that gets in the way. If you feel like you’re duking it out with your ego in your own head, consider hiring a professional. The only thing you’ve got to lose is that hysterical salesy tone of desperation that you never wanted in the first place.

Copyright 2007 Dina Giolitto, Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing. All rights reserved.

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[tags]sales letter copywriting, sales copy, sales letter, sales page, landing page, persuasive copywriting[/tags]