How to write a sensational sales letter: what's more important; what you say? Or how you say it? The answer is that presentation and style are just as vital as text itself.

• Author: Wachtel, George
• Position: Fundamentals

Writing a great sales letter is more than putting smart words on a page. It is also understanding the audience, physically structuring the piece and using effective writing techniques to grab--and maintain--the reader's attention.

Years ago, banks practiced "mass marketing"--where large, general-exposure newspaper ads were the staple of the advertising program. Today, budgets are tighter and competition for the prospect's attention is much stronger. Therefore, banks have to market smarter. That's why good direct mail is a necessity.

Before starting a sales letter, the key question to ask is: "Why am I writing this letter?" Is the objective to just inform customers about a change in policy? Or is it to motivate customer/prospects to take some action? If the latter, what action should they he taking? Only after answering these questions can the writing begin.

Writing a good sales letter, like all successful marketing, starts with knowing the target audience. What is their age, education level, personal situation, hopes, desires? All these factors will help you structure the letter and choose the best words for the text.

The basic consideration, of course, is the level of education and sophistication of the readers--or their perceived level of sophistication. On the extremes, one writing style would be used to reach chief executive officers of large companies (selling the benefits of commercial accounts) and a completely different style to reach children (promoting a kid's savings program).

But more subtle differences come into play. For example, consider the time prospects may have to read the letter. A communication to seniors will normally be read more thoroughly, with less pressure; but, a message to a business executive will get a quick scan and only be read thoroughly if the message is of critical importance (and maybe not even then).

Knowledge of the audience will help in many ways: It will lead to the most effective letter length, determine the proper tone and choice of vocabulary, and help select the prime benefits for highlighting.

The letter length

Research shows there is a seven-second window of opportunity to motivate the reader to open the mall and read the letter. The reader will pick up the piece and make a quick value judgment: Does this look like something of interest? Is this from a company I care to do business with? Is it too long to read right now?

With this small window of opportunity, the physical structure and look of the letter are critical. Picture prospects opening the envelope, unfolding the letter and looking it over. They will be making a judgment--based on what they see--of "read or toss."

The writer's first consideration: "How long should my letter be?" There are many direct mail writers who have successfully used long letters of two, three, four, six or more pages to make the sale...