Simplicity and Benefits in an Effective Sales Document
Simplicity
Keep your writing simple. If the reader cannot understand your mailing, they won’t respond.
Jargon, technical words, and slang should always be left out where possible.
“Purchase our Graphical Interface based Information processing unit at wickedly cheap prices!”
Most readers will have one response to the above wording, “What?!” followed by the letter landing squarely in the bin.
“Buy our easy to use Database program at reduced prices!”
I’m sure you will agree, this wording is much easier to understand, and gets across the same points in a much more effective way.
Acronyms (BBC, ITV) should only be used if necessary or well known (e.g. CD, TV), and should always be clearly labelled with the full details on the first writing.
E.g. If you use the acronym APR, on the first instance of the acronym you should put “Annual Percentage Rate (APR)” so that the reader knows the meaning for future references.
To the Point
An important part of simplification is keeping to the point. Don’t waste words.
You are competing for the readers time, every word that doesn’t sell or inf orm is a word wasted.
Let’s be honest, even the most dynamic and influential 2 page sales letter will never get read by the vast majority of people. Consider a 1 page letter, and a leaflet with pictures.
Keep the number of pages as small as possible for the information needed, and keep each sentence short. Bullet points are a good way to get a number of facts across in a short space.
If you need 2 pages, and the subject is historically difficult to write on over a one-page letter (E.g. Financial products, engineering, IT services) then it is better to add a page than miss vital information out.
Benefits not Features
Remember; your reader doesn’t care about the features. They care about what benefits those features will give them. What it is doesn’t matter, what it does is vital.
The reader won’t care about a radio having 4 wave bands. What the reader cares about is that these 4 wave bands let them hear their favourite stations and songs.
In the same way, the reader doesn’t care about a Dual Voltage power supply. What the reader cares about is that the dual voltage power supply lets them use the radio when abroad.
Features may impress, but benefits sell.
Target Possible Questions
Make sure the reader has all of the answers they need to stay focused on your letter. Any uncertainty for the reader will lose a potential response.
Tell them:
- Who you are
- What is offered
- How much it costs
- How to find out more
- How to order
Don’t leave them guessing, or if answering every question is not possible (e.g. for legal reasons), then make sure they have very easy to follow contact details to get it.
White Space
Don’t be afraid of blank space! Cramming the page full of text looks unprofessional, and makes reading more difficult.
It is of course possible to have too much white space, but small amounts of space around important areas will help the readability of the text enormously.
Example 1
Buy product x now, available on a special offer price of £25 for the first 300 people to reply to this advert. Simply send the postage paid form to us today and ensure that you get product x delivered to your door. Remember that product x comes with a 2 year guarantee on parts and labour, and if you are unhappy we will gladly refund your money immediately.
Example 2
Buy product x now, available on a special offer price of £25 for the first 300 people to reply to this advert.
Simply send the postage paid form to us today and ensure that you get product x delivered to your door.
Remember that product x comes with a 2 year guarantee on parts and labour, and if you are unhappy we will gladly refund your money immediately.
Effective use of white space will make the text more attractive to the eye, as well as separating relevant points for easier reference.
Eye Movement
Fortunately, after years of research, we now know how most people respond to letters. This allows the design of letters to maximise their viewing time, and to put the right points in the right places.
When the letter is opened, most people will:
Look at their name
To find out if the letter is personalised and what salutation (e.g. John / Mr Smith) is present.
Scan down the page for key words to identify the contents of the letter
During this scan a person is looking for key words and points that provide clues to the contents of the letter and how much use it will be to them.
Look at the signature
The signature helps identify who is writing. A difficult to read signature can create a negative attitude as it makes identifying the writer harder. If the signature on your letter is hard to read, put a printed name underneath.
Look at the postscript (if there)
The postscript (i.e. PS) is usually the first part of the letter to be properly read!
After checking the signature, most people will look at the postscript before deciding whether to read the actual letter. This means that a postscript should mention important details that will provoke interest in the rest of letter.
Return to key points
Even after the postscript, most readers will still not read the full letter. Instead they return to the key points they found on the way down to the signature. They will go over these words, and the sentences around them. Only then, if still interested, will they read the full letter.
Any essential information must be made clear, or at least pointed to in these few seconds.
Z Movement
When reading (in most western languages), the standard movement is always a ‘z’ pattern.
A sentence is followed from left to right, then back to the left as the eye moves down to the next line. If your letters and leaflets are designed for this movement then it will appear easier to read and more attractive to the eye. Boxes and pictures scattered about the page will make the page appear complex and harder to read.
Images/Pictures
Research suggests 3 key points to remember when putting pictures in your letters.
1. Pictures of people will be looked at before pictures of objects.
2. Colour pictures will be looked at before black & white pictures.
3. Large pictures will be looked at before small pictures.
So make sure your pictures are arranged correctly, a big colour picture with people in it will be looked at more than any other type of picture.
Be sure to avoid placing priority pictures in the bottom right hand corner, as they attract attention towards the end of the page, giving incentive to turn the page or put the letter down without giving it further attention.
Article Index
- Writing a Sales Document or Business Letter
- Simplicity and Benefits
- Getting a Response to Your Sales Document
- Related Articles
