I can’t stand those long sales letters…Why would anyone use them?

by Kathleen Gage The Street Smarts Speaker and Author

During a recent teleseminar a listener asked why anyone would write long sales letters to sell something on the Internet. Here’s the exact question, “I’m still not sure I understand how effective they can possibly be. Because who would have the patience to read something that long?”

I love this question because it gives me the opportunity to explain the pros and cons of this type of sales tool.

Let me begin by saying, not every product and/or service needs a lengthy sales letter nor does everyone read these types of letter. Marketing and sales are not a one size fits all situation.

Some people require long letters to make a buying decision, while others don’t. The fact is, there are many different types of people who read sales information.  Some read a headline and immediately scroll to the bottom of the page to see pricing. Others skim the page catching bits and pieces of the copy. Still others read the entire letter down to the very last word.

So how do you know if the long letters work? Conversion rate and revenues. Simple as that.

Frequently, the people that protest the loudest about how these letters “just don’t work” have never tried them with their own sales process. They may have the misguided belief that if they don’t like it, nobody likes it. Huge mistake!

Let me give you an example of why I know the long letters work. The last free teleseminar I hosted and introduced a paid program from generated nearly $25,000 in backend sales within a few days.  The sales letter for the paid program was over 35 pages. I dare say there were those who thought, “Why would she have written such a long letter?”

As revenues poured in due to very well written (and long) letter I smiled and thought, “The long letters work…for my market.”

I wasn’t always convinced that the long letters were for me. There have been times I’ve tried shorter letters for similar services and amazingly, I didn’t do as well in sales. A couple of those experiences and I’m hooked on the long letters.

Here’s a rule of thumb I use…the lower the price, the less words you need to use.  The higher the price, the more detail. And detail takes words…lots of them.

The fact is when you are selling something from a web page you cannot be there to address people’s objections, concerns or questions.  The letter acts on your behalf to address these areas.

Again, many times the people who will tell me that long sales letters don’t work are the people who are not making money with their sales letters. I am blessed to have some of the best mentors in my industry who have worked with me on putting my sales letters together; people who are making millions of dollars a year. Guess what? They write long sales letters.  There’s something to be said for it.

Here’s another rule of thumb…Watch who you listen to or take advice from. If you’re listening to people who know nothing about what they are advising you on, you may want to stop taking their advice right now. Rather, find the experts who can correctly guide you. And…pay attention to what your market does and does not require.

It’s just good business sense.

 One of the most knowledgeable people in the world of Internet Marketing and writing revenue generating sales letters is Willie Crawford. Join me on Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 5 p.m. PST as I interview Willie on how to build a six and seven figure business in a downturn economy. http://www.streetsmartsmarketing.com/Willieinterview.htm

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