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Do those long-copy sales letters actually work?

Guest post by: Michele Pariza Wacek

Article Overview: As a direct-response copywriter, this is a question I hear all the time. The answer may surprise you.

Do those long-copy sales letters actually work?

Do those long-copy sales letters actually work?

This is one of those questions I get ALL the time.

"I never read those long-copy sales letters. They can't possibly work, can they?"

"MY target market doesn't read those long-copy sales letters, they want shorter letters."

"I can't imagine anyone reading that much."

And so on.

Okay, before I get around to answering the question, let me quickly explain what a long-copy sales letter is. It's those sales letters that are dotted across the web where you have to scroll down and down and down before you finally find the price.

Yeah. You know the ones.

So do they work? Yes they do -- IF they're done right.

Here's the thing. The reason they work is NOT because they're long. Length doesn't equal sales. What DOES equal sales is if you properly answer all of your ideal client's questions and objections and demonstrate your product/service/program will solve your ideal client's problems.

And all that takes words. How many words depends on how expensive an investment your solution is.

Think of a conversation. Let's say it takes you 30 minutes to have a sales call with a prospect. Well, if you take that call and transcribe it, it's going to be around 10 pages long depending on how fast you talk. And that's just one person.

Now you have a call with another person selling the same program. That person asks different questions, but it's still 30 minutes. Now you have 20 pages worth of transcripts.

Are you starting to see how the long-copy sales letter gets so long?

Granted you're probably not going to hear completely different questions time after time. But you can see how the pages will start to add up. (The reality is, a sales letter is actually much shorter than any of your one-on-one sales calls.)

Okay, so now you understand how these letters get so long. But what about the whole "you-don't-read-them-or-your-ideal-clients-don't-read-them?" Well, I have 2 reasons why that happens:

1. You're not the ideal client. I don't care how great or how poor the sales letter is, if you're not the ideal client, you're going to have very little interest in reading the letter. (And here's the kicker -- reading is a hypnotic activity, which means you don't remember when you ARE reading but you DO remember when you don't finish something. So you're going to remember all those half-read sales letters much more clearly than the ones you actually finish.)

2. The sales letter is poorly written. This is probably even more common than the first one. Look, you can't bore anyone into buying anything. And there are a lot of people who don't understand the long-copy sales letter, so they simply throw a lot of words on the page and hope for the best. That is NOT how to write a sales letter. You need to connect with your ideal client and do it in such a way that they feel compelled to keep reading. A whole bunch of words ain't going to make the sale (especially a whole bunch of boring words that don't inspire anyone to do anything).

Bottom line -- studies have shown over and over again that long-copy sales letters sell more then shorter sales letter. (Just as long as they're well written.) So, even if you don't completely understand it, don't worry about it. Give your ideal clients what they want to make a decision to invest with you -- a well-written, interesting long-copy sales letter.

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Article Tags: copywriting, direct response copywriting, online copywriting, online marketing strategies, small business marketing strategy, strategic internet marketing



Related Forum Posts
Re: Sales Letters: Do they work? - Sales letters are a unique and very beneficial element to almost any businesses marketing and sales letters, if done professionally and ethically. According to Rudyard Kipling, 'words are the most powerful drug we humans can deliver' the reason these letters and sites work, and they do, trust me, is people they are targeted to a very specific type of person/demographic. The more you understand your market, the better you can write your sales letters and collateral material. Every form of communication essentially uses this format, identify the pain propose a solution offer proof - through testimonials outline the benefits make an offer they cant refuse etc etc if your radar flags when you read some one else's letter, that only speaks to your own integrity and how you want to be seen. In fact, some of the best sales letters every written have been for World Wildlife Fund, Foster Parents Plan, Canadian Cancer Society etc. The difference is that now mainstream businesses and especially information marketers are using these tactics. Personally the formula is used all the time in every successful campaign - you only need to decide what you are comfortable with. As far as one of the links Shri provided, I'm very familiar with his work and quite frankly wouldnt bother recommending it.... But to sum up - sales letters are an old and traditional way of motivating someone to buy - right now. dont knock it - if you aint tried it. But make sure you are 100% acting in integrity and within the comfort level of your audience. Jude
Re: Can you really get google ads for free? - hi.. well, Long sales letters are good and short sales letters are equally good as long as the products are of good quality.
Re: How to be a Sales Superstar by Mark Tewart - The only questions *I* have right now are financial ones... am I going to get to keep my hard-earned money or is the guvmint going to increase my taxes so they make sure the auto execs and the bank execs continue to get their multi-million dollar salaries! Long sales letters vs short sales letters, a topic I've always wondered about! I don't know if that'd be an appropriate question for your show tomorrow, but I'd be interested in insight on what's the best way to sell something - as for example an ebook - on the web. A whole website geared to the book, or just one long, long, long page...
Want some idea about Clickbank ebooks - Have you thought of doing a direct response sales letter? This would be your landing page. It doesn't have to be hyper copy like you see in many sales letters.
Re: eBook Testimonials Needed - And I see it's offered in the form of a long sales letter.... How about an experiment? (We've been having a discussion in a different folder on what sells better, long sales letters or small websites.) Redo that sales letter into a 3-4 page site with all the text above the fold, and see which one sells the product better?


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