I am doing what you do, sitting at my computer, trying to get my thoughts out of my head and into a written form that will help you make a decision. In this particular case, I am trying to write a few intelligent remarks about sounding conversational on paper. You know, how to write a sales letter that sounds like it came from the mind of a person and not an institution.

I suppose the first thing I can tell you is that you should write the way you talk, unless, of course, you talk in halting sentences punctuated with “ya knows” and “like, you know what I mean?”

And if you usually write sales letters that are signed by someone else, your marketing manager, for example, then you need to write the way that person speaks.

The secret to sounding personal and conversational on paper is to imagine that you are actually having a conversation with your customer or prospect. A back-and-forth exchange where your reader asks questions and you supply answers. That way, your letter sounds like it is written by a living, breathing person, since it addresses issues that are important to the reader, and does so in a warm, lively style.

Which reminds me, try to keep your sentences short. Not like the one that ended the last paragraph.

What else can I tell you? Rhetorical questions are one device at your disposal. Rhetorical questions, as I am sure you know, are questions that are asked for rhetorical effect, not expecting an answer. You can use one or two in your letter if you like. Rhetorical questions create the sense that a conversation is taking place between you and your prospect or customer.

I don't have to tell you that another way to sound conversational is to use the first person a lot. That means you say, “Your business means a lot to me,” instead of saying “Your business means a lot to us,” or, even worse, “Purchases made by your company are appreciated by my firm.” Remember, business people buy from people, not businesses, so you want to sound like a business person, not an impersonal business, when you write your sales letters.

I just thought of another one. Without being fake or insincere, mention that you thought of your client today, or yesterday, or recently, showing that there is a relationship between the two of you. Naturally, only say “I was thinking of you this morning” if you actually were. Otherwise you will be making stuff up.

You may be relieved to know that you can be colloquial, too, which is a humdinger of a way to establish rapport and sound genuine. If your buyers know what a humdinger is, then by all means throw one into your letters at least once a year.

Your goal in all of this, if I may say so, is to sound authentic without being overly familiar or coarse.

Another way to sound conversational is to be open in the way you talk about things. Give your customers a glimpse into what life is like at your organization.

You probably want an example of what I mean, so here it is (here are two examples, actually):

Commercial-ese: “Shipments are dispatched from our warehouse in a timely and an efficient manner in accordance with our ISO 9000 designation.”

Conversational: “Our warehouse manager, Bob Fletcher, will make sure your shipment is headed towards your plant by end of day today.”

Commercial-ese: “Our sales department is in receipt of your order of Jan 23.”

Conversational: “Kathryn in our sales office told me about your recent order. Thanks for your repeat business, Alan!”

Another sure way of avoiding “bureaucratic-speak” is to say everything in the active voice. Don't say “money is saved” when you can say “you save money.” Avoid writing “operating costs are reduced” when you can instead write “we reduce your operating costs.” See the improvement? Passive voice sounds institutional. Active voice sounds conversational.

I suppose if you went back to the start and began reading this message again, you'd pick up a few methods that I did not mention (using parentheses like this, for example, which looks as though you are lowering your voice and whispering a piece of inside information to your reader).

I hope that these tips help you write effective sales letters. Ones that come from your heart, and are effective mainly for that very reason.

© 2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the Author" message).