People like dealing with those who are friendly. When interacting in person, we take visual cues from each other. Subconsciously, we note whether the other person is smiling, happy, sad, sincere, trustworthy, etc. We listen to verbal clues as well to gain insight into their personality. We do this without even realizing it. After meeting someone new, we know in less than a minute whether we like that person or not, and we may not even know why.

On the Internet, we don’t get visual or verbal cues. We can’t hear the enthusiasm in someone’s voice. Much of the information we receive there is through the written word. When I first started out, I had an experience that has stayed with me and served me well.

Shortly after starting in this business, one of my subscribers contacted me by email. He addressed me by my first name and his email was written in a pleasant conversational tone. It sounded like my subscriber, whom I’d never met and did not even recall, was writing to an old friend. Because of the regular emails that he received from me, he felt as though he was talking to an old friend.

I thought, “That’s really nice. He feels as though he knows me through the regular messages sent out by my autoresponder. And through his tone, it sounds like he thinks I know him too."

Ever since I received that email, I make a special effort to write my autoresponder messages, sales pages, and Ebooks as though I’m talking to a friend. Notice that I didn’t say friends (plural). I want each reader to think that the information they are reading is a personal message I crafted just for them.

I start out with a friendly greeting and address them by their first name whenever possible. I use the terms “you" and “I" liberally in the body of my message. I try to use a conversational tone, similar to what I would say if I was talking to them in person. In my sign-off, except for the first few mailings, I use just my first name.

If I can make one suggestion to you, always write in a friendly conversational tone. People are more inclined to buy from someone they like and trust. Convey those traits in your writing style and you will attract friends as well as success.