In internet marketing, our equivalent of a direct salesperson is our sales letter. In the same way that a poor salesperson will be unable to sell even the best product on the planet, at the best price to people desperate for that product, a poor sales letter will not convert prospects into paying customers.

It is therefore absolutely essential to your success that you have an utterly compelling sales letter, tried and tested, which pulls your prospects straight in from the "headline" to the "call to action".

Your headline should grab your reader by the eyeballs and not let them go. It should do this by connecting with your prospects emotions, wants and desires. This is when it becomes vital for you to understand exactly who your target market is and what it is they wanted. For example, if you are marketing a business opportunity to net workers, they want to know how they can drive high quality, targeted traffic to their site and then plug them into a turn-key system that will do all the selling and conversion into sales. They want to know how to build a business and make money.

Your headline, therefore, will promise them exactly this if they continue to read. For example "REVEALED: For more detail go to: www.sales-letters-secret.com.How I Built a Million Pound Business from Home on a Budget. Step By Step Instructions..."

Once you have got their attention, you spend the first few paragraphs telling your story. You can do this using a very simple formula:

Who you are. Allow the prospect to relate to you. Where you were. The journey you have been on. You experienced all the pain, set-backs and frustrations your prospect has, UNTIL, that is...

Where you are now. As a result of XYZ, your business opportunity, product/service.

By doing this, you allow the reader to relate to you. Remember, people will buy YOU before they buy anything from you. It is very important therefore, that the remainder of your sales letter emphasizes the value you can add to the reader and the benefits they will enjoy if they purchase something from you.

The final and very important piece of your sales letter is a strong call to action. Remember the reason for your sales letter in the first place; it's to make a sale! Don't forget to tell your reader what they need to do next. "Click to Buy NOW", for example, or "Purchase NOW by clicking here.