Step 1 - Who Do You Think You're Talking To?



Before you sit down to write your email sales letter, you've got to determine

exactly who your audience is. This is a master key to getting results from email

marketing.

Offer Immediate Gratification - "With Empowerism RSVP, you can start the money

wheels turning before the sun goes down tonight"

Write at least 25 subject line before you decide on which one to use. Take the best

two and test them against each other in your marketing campaign. (Save the "losers"

to use for other purposes or spruce up later.)

Step 3 - What's in it for Them?

Sit down and write every conceivable benefit your product has. Don't know the

difference between features and benefits? Features describe the product; benefits

describe the results of using the product. Features appeal to Logic. logic justifies

emotion. Emotion drives sales.

Here's a rule of thumb for benefits: ask yourself "What can my product or service do

for my customer?" Then begin to write your letter telling your reader What's in it

for Them. Tell them how much better life will be for them after they buy from you.

Tell them how much better they'll feel. Tell them how their peers will respect them

more.

Step 4 - An Emotional Appeal

When promoting anything to anybody, you must remember that buying decisions are

based upon emotion and later backed up by logic. Before you write a single word,

determine what emotional hot buttons you need to push to "jumpstart" your prospect.

Selling health supplements? Go for the "fear of illness" button with "A Natural Way

to Save Your Eyesight." Selling political bumper stickers? Hit the "anger" button

with: "Let the President Know What You Think of His Policies." Other buttons include curiosity, greed, ego, vanity, hope, and/or fear of scarcity or security.

Step 5 - A Name You Can Trust

To convince people to buy your product or service, you must make them believe that

your offer is credible and that you (or your product) will deliver as promised.

How do you do that? Here are three ways you can build credibility with the readers

of your sales letter:

- Provide testimonials. - Include endorsement letters from authority figures in your

industry. - Make your offer and promises sincere and believable.

Step 6 - A Guarantee

Nowadays, trying to sell without some type of guarantee is a losing proposition.

You've got to have one. And the stronger your guarantee, the better your response

will be. And, believe it or not, although most people will not ask for a refund,

they'll trust your offer knowing that you stand behind it.

You can offer a 24-hour, 30-day, 60-day, 90-day, or even a full-year. And here's an

interesting fact: The longer the time period, the fewer returns you'll have! It's

human nature to procrastinate, so the more time someone thinks they have to get a

refund, the more they'll put it off or forget about the refund altogether.

Step 7 - Don't Forget to Ask

It happens all the time. Someone makes a fantastic sales presentation, and then

doesn't close the deal because he/she didn't clearly ask for the order or made the

process confusing rather than simple.

Statistics show that you need to ask for the order at least three times to close

substantial sales. (Some studies put the number at 7!)

If you can, offer several ways for your prospects to Order. Consumers love choice.

It tells them, "You're talking directly to me and meeting my unique needs." If you

only offer one way to order, make it crystal clear how and how easy it is. Describe

it in detail and ask for the order. Then ask again.

Step 8 - The Eyes Have It

It's a well-known fact: Large blocks of copy are intimidating and will often send

people running for the hills or at least the Delete button.

The solution? Break up paragraphs into two to four sentences. Use several

subheadings throughout the email letter. And use asterisks, dashes, and ellipses to

give your copy more rhythm. Bullet points are excellent eye-catchers - use them

whenever appropriate.