How to write a sales letter that someone will read
You have spent time building a prospect list, shaping an offer and getting a sales letter ready to send. The last thing you need is for it to be ignored because the address is wrong, the message is buried or nobody knows what to do next.
A 2014 direct marketing roundup citing MarketingProfs.com reported that 73% of people preferred post to other methods of communication. Companies including Next also reported sales benefits after bringing direct mail back into their marketing mix.
Those examples are historical, but the basic lesson still applies. A physical sales letter can get attention when the data, copy, design and offer all work together.
Here are five common direct mail mistakes sales teams should avoid.
1. Start with accurate mailing data
Bad data is not only a problem with purchased mailing lists. Businesses often send direct mail without checking the customer and prospect data they already hold.
That can mean sales letters going to incomplete, outdated or incorrectly formatted addresses. Returned post can reach peaks of 10%, turning a straightforward campaign into wasted print, postage and follow-up work.
Before sending, run your addresses through Royal Mail’s postcode address finder and correct anything that does not match.
It is not the glamorous part of direct mail marketing, but neither is paying to send a beautifully written letter to an address that does not exist.
2. Write clear sales copy without the buzzwords
Awesome. Extraordinary. Crazy.
If every sentence tells the reader that your offer is unbelievable, they may decide not to believe it.
Your sales letter still needs to be compelling, but the strongest copy usually explains the offer in plain English. Tell the reader what the product or service does, why it is relevant to them and what makes it worth considering.
A specific benefit is more convincing than a pile of adjectives. Keep the message focused and cut anything that does not help the reader understand the offer.
The joke should be on the complicated sales process, not the person receiving the letter.
3. Give the reader one clear call to action
It is surprising how many sales letters go out without making it clear how the reader should respond.
Your call to action might ask the prospect to call, visit a landing page, book an appointment, request a quote or visit your business. Whatever you choose, make it obvious.
Do not make people search for a phone number in tiny print or type a long web address from the bottom of the page.
The easier it is to respond, the more likely somebody is to do it. If the next step feels like work, the letter may end up becoming expensive recycling.
4. Use white space to make your sales letter easier to read
White space, sometimes called negative space, is the empty area around the copy and design elements on a page.
It matters because it gives the reader somewhere to look. Short paragraphs, clear margins and space around headings make a sales letter feel easier to understand.
Trying to fill every corner with another offer, testimonial or product benefit can make the letter harder to scan.
More information does not automatically mean more sales. Give the strongest message enough room to do its job.
5. Make sure the print design supports the message
Bad design can undo good sales copy very quickly.
WordArt, clashing fonts and pages packed with competing messages make it difficult for a prospect to know where to look first.
Check whether the main message is clear at a glance. The headline, offer and call to action should guide the reader through the page in a sensible order.
If design is not your area, consider working with a professional. Freelance platforms such as Upwork can make specialist print design more accessible to smaller businesses.
Designers understand how type, spacing and layout behave in print. That matters when your sales letter has a few seconds to earn the reader’s attention.
Send sales letters online without managing the post yourself
Once the data, copy and design are ready, somebody still has to print every letter, prepare the envelopes and get the mailing into the post.
Postworks Send lets sales teams upload documents online while Postworks handles the printing, preparation and postage.
There is no minimum mailing volume, so the same process can be used for a small test campaign or a larger sales letter send.
Before choosing between in-house printing, a franking machine or an online print and post service, compare the full cost of the process. Staff time, paper, envelopes, equipment and trips to the post office all count.
Use the savings calculator below to estimate how your current mailing costs compare with Postworks Send.
