“A copywriter is a salesperson sitting in front of a typewriter.” Well said, even if no one of us is using a typewriter these days. The principal, however, remains the same.

No matter what business you are involved in, there is one thing you must do to make the most of your business, and that is copywriting sales letter. If you don’ know how to write a business letter, you will radically decrease your chances of success.

A well-written sales letter is the most vital piece of any direct response marketing campaign. Write a good one and you can literally make a fortune. Write them regularly and you can make excellent money helping others to make fortunes.

What You Need to have in order to create a sales letter that kills:

- Good writing skills – Since you will be writing your own sales copy, you will need to have good writing skills and a good command of English, at least.

- Personality – You need personality. You will be writing somewhat a personal letter from you to your prospects so be friendly and open-minded in your letter. Don’t write a rigid letter, because not only it is boring to read, but also it turns people away from your web page as fast as you get them!

Inject your personality as much as possible into your copywriting sales letter. Be creative, be yourself, feel free to inject humor, and try to have fun as you write your sales letter. You’ll be amazed by the response.

And last but not least, you need…

- To take action! There is wealth of information on copywriting sales letter at your fingertips. Use them to learn, model them as the PRO do, but don’t waste them by not doing anything with the information!

How to practice copywriting sales letter!

1 – If you’ve never written one of these letters, we’d like you to try an exercise. Write a sales letter and keep it to one or two pages. Tell your potential customers everything s/he ever wanted to know about your product in your sales letter. Focus on you product’s benefits. Write how your product can benefit them, how it can make their life better, why it is useful and which problems it helps to solve.

It doesn’t stop there! You’ve got to tell the client about the benefit in an interesting, let’s say, compelling way.

Make sure you create curiosity so the reader has to read on to know. The longer you can keep the reader hanging, the more likely they’ll read to the end and take action.

Create an eye-catching headline that grab the reader’s attention and pulls them to read more. Use power words like, “new”, “revolutionary”, “discovery”, etc, to arouse curiosity and entice the prospect to read further.

2 – Select a sales letter that you think is pretty good (you can do a search on Google for a good sales letter). Paste the business letters into a separate word document and save it into a new folder on your hard drive for easy retrieve.

3 – Compare your sales letter to the letters you found and saved earlier.

- Analyze your selected sales letters. How has the writer attracted your attention? What about the copy keeps you interest? Are you stimulated to want to know more about the product being advertised? What action must you take? Are all of these points covered in the sales letter? How strongly are you “turned on” by the sales letter?

- Read your sales letter over a couple of times, and write a short comment: Does your business letter have the same impact and tone? Is it bad, so-so, or good? If it’s bad, why? Is it lost in the crowd, doesn’t attract attention, doesn’t hold the reader’s interest, nothing special to make the reader want to own the product, no demand for action, etc…

- Rewrite your sales letter. Do what it takes to create an effective sales tool. Include the missing elements until you fell you’re satisfied that the sales letter you’ve rewritten is perfect.

Do the same exercise each day for the next month or so and remember, the more business letters you write, the easier the writing process will become.

It takes time and regular practice to master copywriting sales letter, but you can do it.

Author: Gley Yahya
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty

You’ve done it. You’ve achieved a lifelong dream and penned a book certain to be lauded through the ages as a literary masterpiece. Yet one last obstacle stands between you and publishing success attracting the attention of someone who can get your book into print.

In reality, catching an editor’s attention is not difficult. All you have to do is follow the rules by sending what industry insiders refer to as a “query letter”. A query letter is one or two pages written in the format of a formal business letter. It should be brief, and it should pique the interest of any publishing executive who reads it. After all, if you can’t sell a single individual on the merits of your book, why should a publishing house believe you can sell to an audience of thousands or millions? If you want some inside secrets to crafting a perfect, attention-grabbing query letter, then you’ve come to the right place. Cover each of the following points, and I guarantee you’ll have an editor calling within one week of sending your query letter.

Point #1: Approach The Right Publisher: This seems obvious, but you wouldn’t believe the number of writers who make this mistake. Be certain that the publisher you choose to contact is in the business of publishing your genre. If you write fantasy novels, then don’t send a query letter to the editor of a computer manual publisher. It will be thrown in the trash without a second look. The best way to find the right publisher is to find books similar to your own and open them. Who is the publisher of each book? Does one particular publisher’s name keep turning up? If so, that’s the one you want to contact.

Point #2: Selling To The Right Person: Never mail a query letter addressed to “Editor” or “To Whom It May Concern”. Such a letter is destined for the “slush pile,” and eventually, the trashcan. Once you’ve identified your ideal publisher, consult a book such as the latest edition of Jeff Herman’s Writer’s Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents (most libraries or large bookstores will have it). The book will provide a page or two of information on the publisher in question, including the name and contact information of the person to whom all queries should be directed. Usually, this is an executive or managing editor. Address the query letter to that specific person and make sure to use the correct gender and spelling when using their name.

Point #3: Your Opening (Especially the First Sentence): The first paragraph of your query letter should get right to the point. Tell the editor why you are contacting him/her. Did someone they know refer you? Has someone famous praised your work? Either one will capture instant attention. But the most important thing you can do in your opening is to define the audience and market for your book and state why your book is unique or has sales potential in the marketplace. Be specific. Don’t say “all women will want to read my book”. Say “five million women between the ages of 40 and 55 who watch The Oprah Winfrey Show will want to read my book”. The editor will determine within the first sentence or two whether or not to continue reading the rest of your query, so it’s extremely important to spend time crafting the best opening possible. If you have any media contacts or a way to position your book so that it will be irresistible for the media to cover, then say so in the first sentence. Media attention sells books, and that’s what publishers are in business to do.

Point #4: Describe Your Product: In the second paragraph, provide a brief overview of your book. Give the editor a brief summary just as it might appear on the book’s jacket. If possible, reference bestselling books within the same genre and point out why your book is different. Present facts about your work, not opinions. “The potential market is 5.8 million single women” is a fact. “This is the greatest book ever written” is an opinion. Tell the editor why your book will fill an unmet need in the marketplace. Keep it brief, and don’t ramble. This is a case where less is more.

Point #5: About The Author: In the third paragraph, talk about yourself. Why are you writing this book? What are your credentials? Are you an expert in the field? Have you ever been published before? Do you have media experience or media contacts? If so, then let the editor know. If you have limited experience, say so. Be honest and straightforward. Experience helps, but lack of experience will not immediately disqualify you. Adding “fluff” to your resume will. Under no circumstances should you include information about your personal life unless such information is pertinent to selling the book.

Point #6: Leave Them Wanting More: Conclude your query letter by thanking the editor for his/her time and by offering to send your full book proposal (for non-fiction) or the first few chapters of your book (for fiction), and dont forget to provide your contact information. If your query letter sparks the interest of the editor, he/she will contact you and ask for more information. So don’t send a book proposal or sample chapters without being asked. Also, if you’re sending a query to more than one editor, let them know that you have sent simultaneous queries. Likewise, if you’re offering the editor a two week period of exclusivity (the method I recommend), then say so. Finally, don’t include a SASE with your query. A SASE is most often used to send a form rejection letter back to the author. Don’t leave the impression that you expect rejection. If interested, an editor will contact you immediately by phone or email. They wont use snail mail.

Point #7: Proofread, Proofread, Proofread: A query letter is the first sample of a prospective author’s writing that an editor will see. It should be perfect. If you can’t produce a one-page letter professionally and free of error, why should anyone believe you can produce an entire book? Don’t rely on spell check programs to find your mistakes, and remember that solid writing is produced by rewriting, rewriting, and rewriting. Rework each individual sentence until it’s the best it can be. You’ve spent countless hours perfecting your manuscript. You can certainly spend a few hours perfecting your query letter.

Point #8: Presentation: You’ve spent the necessary time to create a knockout query letter. Now you have to present it to the editor in the correct fashion or else risk being dismissed as an amateur. It’s important to print your query letter in black ink on 8 1/2 x 11, high quality, plain white paper using a LaserJet printer (no dot-matrix). If you have a letterhead, use it. But don’t get too fancy. Don’t use border patterns. Anything that detracts from the substance of your letter could trigger a rejection. When it comes time to mail your letter, use FedEx. This serves two purposes. First, because of the expense involved, it signals that you are a professional who obviously isn’t sending mass queries to publishers all over the globe. Second, and most importantly, it gets opened. A FedEx envelope simply doesn’t get thrown into the “slush pile”. Other than concise, professional writing, using FedEx is the #1 way to differentiate yourself from the thousands of authors who query a publisher in any given year. Finally, don’t use “gimmicks” or send gifts along with your query letter. Bribery and clever stunts can not replace great writing or a unique product idea. If you compose your letter correctly, you should be confident it will merit the response it deserves.

Utilize each of the 8 points above while drafting your query letter, and I guarantee it will be better than 99.5% of the queries a publisher receives in any given year. In addition, if a market exists for your book, a query letter crafted to the specifications of this outline will almost always generate a request for a book proposal or sample chapters within one week. At that point, you’ve got an editor interested in your book, and you’re already halfway toward seeing it in print. So start working on your knockout query letter today!

Author: Britt Gillette
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cellphone news

Through my various websites and my editing service I receive scores of letters (as well as other docs) that people have drafted but want me to review, revise and finalize for them. Over time, I have noticed that there are some common errors that many people make when drafting letters in particular.

Based on those observations I have put together a list of what I call “The 7 Deadly Sins of Letter Writing”. Keep on reading to find out what they are…

In case you’re wondering, in my view the term “deadly” is entirely appropriate here. After all, it just takes one sloppy and/or unprofessional letter to cause serious damage to your personal credibility or that of your business.

So, here are what I have observed to be “The 7 Deadly Sins of Letter Writing”:

1. Too Long

Most people have a tendency to draft their letters too long. Letters involving business (personal or corporate) should be concise, factual and focused and should not normally exceed one typical single-spaced page of 350 to 450 words. If you can’t get your point across in 4 to 5 short paragraphs you probably haven’t done enough preparatory work prior to drafting the letter. If necessary, phone or e-mail the recipient to clarify any fuzzy points and use the letter to summarize the overall situation.

2. Weak Opening

Many letters I receive launch straight into the details of the subject without setting things up to provide a clear context. The introductory paragraph of your letter should be one or two short sentences that state the specific reason for the letter and specify what the primary focus will be.

3. Lack of Focus

Many letters I receive for editing are all over the place, in terms of subject. In other words, it is often not at all obvious to me what the main point or the desired outcome of the letter is. Prior to drafting the letter you should decide on a number of specific points that you want to focus on and what the bottom line of your letter needs to be. Ask yourself what exactly you want the letter to achieve in terms of an action or a response from the addressee.

4. Too Confusing

People often jump straight into their letter without first organizing their thoughts in some sort of logical order. Even if you have a clear idea of the points you want to cover, it is important that when you present them, one point should flow naturally and logically into the next. It is always worth the few minutes it takes to jot down the logical sequence of your letter in sequential point form before starting to write the letter. This practice will invariably result in an improved final product.

5. Poorly Formatted

If your letter isn’t properly formatted, in terms of layout, it will look unprofessional which will diminish its credibility and thus its impact. Once you have your words finalized, make sure you clean up the format of the letter in terms of margins, paragraph breaks, address blocks, signature blocks, etc., before sending it. A very common error that I see these days is when people add their own extra space after a period at the end of a sentence. This is NOT necessary since word processing programs automatically insert some extra space at the end of each sentence. This practice is a carryover from the days of the typewriter (Anyone remember those?) and is no longer necessary.

6. Weak Closing

Frequently I see closing paragraphs that don’t clearly sum up what went before and what is supposed to happen next. Similar to the opening paragraph, the closing paragraph should also be short, comprised of one or two sentences. One sentence should briefly summarize the overall conclusion that can be drawn from the points presented in the letter; a second sentence should clearly state what you will do next and/or what you expect from the addressee as a result of them receiving the letter. Depending on the situation, the final sentence can also provide contact info such as phone number and/or e-mail address.

7. Too Many Errors

You would be amazed at the number of spelling and/or obvious grammatical errors I see in the letters submitted to me. That’s fine if you are asking a professional to edit your letter. However I have the impression that many people send their letters out riddled with these types of errors. Sending your letter in such a condition is a serious credibility destroyer and will definitely hurt your reputation as a professional in the eyes of any knowledgeable recipient. Make sure you use the spell checker feature of your word processing program and if you aren’t sure of your grammar get a professional to edit your letter before it goes out.

As I said above, I see these kinds of errors on a regular basis. In addition to getting professional help if you need it, I recommend that after you have drafted your letter you read it out loud to yourself. I find that if something doesn’t sound right when I read it aloud it’s usually something that needs to be corrected.

Author: Shaun Fawcett
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The letter should be written in the appropriate letter head which should carry the companys address and the name of the person who writes the letter. In the absence of such a companys letter head, an A4 white paper is enough. In that case the complete postal address of the company and the name of the person who writes the letter should be clearly mentioned. The absence of this information will create suspect in the addressee. This kind of negative image should be avoided at any cost in order to maintain the dignity of the company.
Then the date on which the letter is written should be mentioned so that the letter will be kept for future reference. This date-matter will give the addressee a fair idea about the urgency, if any, of the matter that the letter carries.
Then the address of the person to whom you write this letter should be mentioned. His/her designation should be mentioned so that the letter will get the touch of professionalism. If a letter is addressed to an individual rather than to the designated person, in the future the letter may go invalid.
The reference number, if any, (the reference number means if the letter is in continuation to any other previous letter, the date of the previous letter can be treated as the reference number) should be mentioned so that you can right away go into the subject mater of the letter.
A proper salutation should be used to address the addressee. Dear Sir is the usually used salutation. In the case of a lady, use Dear Madam.
In the absence of the reference number and in the case of drafting a new letter, you should mention in the first paragraph itself the subject matter of the letter. You need not present all the matters in depth in the first paragraph itself. Just brief introduction will do.
In the next paragraph, write the subject matter clearly in a simple language and in an unambiguous style. Since a business letter is only a tool to make few business-things done, brevity is what all the business-people expect in the letter that they receive.
Never beat around the bush. Simply be brief in your communication. Whether you purchase goods or you introduce your company or you bring the mistake in the accounts to the attention of the addressee, you should be brief.
Use the final paragraph to wind up the letter. Never hesitate to be forceful in you communication. Any lethargic approach will not be tolerated by the addressee. Only forceful and firm people are respected by the eminent business people.
Use the correct for of leave-taking. Yours sincerely and yours cordially are the widely used forms of leave taking. Use any one of them.
Then add your signature in the proper place. The letter without the signature of the writer will be treated by the addressee. It carries no weight. Please keep in mind to add your official signature before you put the letter in the postal cover.
Then check the spelling of your letter. You can at least use your computer to do this job. But do not rely on the computer soft-ware. You should do the job for yourself so that you will remain assured. If you find that your English is not up to the mark, it is better for you to learn English using an online English course.
Use a clean and appropriate cover to post the letter. Your official cover can be preferred. Paste the cover. Write the addresses of your addressee and yours in the appropriate places.
Paste adequate stamps. If not, the letter may bounce. What will be a disgrace to you that a bounced letter.
Follow this method every time you write a business letter. Then you will become your real master of your business.

Author: Ravi Thangavel
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cellphone news

Communication is the most important thing in today’s business. In fact, without communication, business cannot prosper. In addition, sales letter is one of the most important tools of communication with your clients. So writing a profitable sales letter is very vital.

Writing a productive sales letter is a tricky job. We read number of sales letter daily but when it comes to writing it ourselves, we are at a loss! We have to include so many things in the letter, but we lack the knowledge of how to demonstrate them in the letter, how to start, how to end, which of them to be mentioned first and which of them to be mentioned later.

However, writing an effective sales letter is not that a difficult job if we keep in mind certain things while writing.

Structuring the letter

The most important technique of writing a sales letter is the structure of the letter. Your letter should be written in such a structure that right in the beginning it is able to drive in the attention of the reader. It should boost his interest by giving him something to think about it. Then once the interest is built, it should build in the desire for your services or products in them and finally you want them to act on their desire and so your letter should provide the information of how can they do so by giving in the information of contact.

Simple yet professional

The next thing, which is important, is the language. Your sales letter should be written in a language, which is formal as that will make your letter sound professional but keep a check that the language does not become too formal or harsh, as that sounds a little negative and may affect the relation with your prospective customers.

Originality should be maintained

Then, the letter should be original and not a copy of some other letter of other company. Your clients must be receiving plenty of letters daily, so the only way to keep at par with the other companies is that your content should be original.

Short and compact letters

Your letter should not be lengthy. It should be short, crisp and to the point. Time is an important factor in today’s business. Your clients do not have much time to spend on your letter, as they need to go through many letters daily. Therefore, if your letter were lengthy, then they would loose interest in it after sometime and may leave it unfinished.

Sustaining the objective of the letter

Moreover, the most important thing, while writing does not forget the objective of the letter. Most of that and us while writing get caught up so much with the rest of the requirement that we forget the main objective of writing the letter are to sell our product or service.

Confidence

Sell your product or service hard and with confidence in the letter. Clutch your products or services’ best benefits in the letter and write them in small bulleted headlines. This will help in leaving a long lasting impression.

Understanding the client

Write your letter from your customers’ or your clients’ perspective. Keep yourself in their shoes and feel what they will feel when reading your letter. In this way, you will be able to write a letter, which will deliver exactly what your customers want.

If these small yet important things are kept in mind while writing a sales letter, you can write a million dollar letter for your company. Remember, an effective sales letter is one of the keys for successful business.

Author: Aakash Shah
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: How Electric Pressure Cookers Work

Each sign in an analysis has meaning, but is reliable only as one aspect of the total analysis. So although the following letters are strong indicators by themselves, they cannot be regarded as proof of any fact about the writer until they are properly weighed.

There are many different ways of forming the letters of the alphabet:

A

Picture the letter a (or any letter for that matter) with two hooks. A hook by nature grabs, hence it shows greed. The double hook implies avarice.

Imagine the left leg extended far to the left (past). The fact that there is also a blotch hints of a “blotch” in the writer’s past, which is very much on his mind.

Consider the letter that is called a block letter. Its construction is simplified, showing intelligence and culture. Most books use block letters, and this may be an unconscious imitation.

The markings on top of the letter are inexact and unnecessary. This shows inexactness on the part of the writer, but the fact that he did write the letter in such a manner shows him to be an unusual character.

Picture the letter that shows a large loop with a knot. Loops made bigger than necessary to read the letter show pride. This particular form has been found among writers who take pride in their families.

Imagine a knot in the letter. This shows toughness, hardness-someone who is apt to be thorough in what he undertakes and will not give up easily.

Consider that the starting point of the letter is thick and close to the body, not extended to the left. The thick writing shows a materialistic nature.

Capital letters, among other things, show an image of ego. Thus, the thin, narrow capital letter indicates shyness.

Picture the left leg considerably longer than the right one, as if the man were running. It shows aggression and ambition.

A round block letter depicts a form of construction of some kind and therefore shows a constructive thinker.

The letter may be constructed in a square fashion, showing an interest in architecture or in mechanically related fields. The shape itself looks like a building brick.

Imagine the left leg longer than the right, as the letter we spoke of above, but it descends deeper. This is the meddler. Because of the position he gets himself into, the writer will become argumentative when the person he is annoying flares up at him.

Consider the capital A in the form of a small a. Since the capital letter shows the ego of the writer, a small letter indicates humility and modesty.

When the bar of the A is missing, it shows carelessness and neglect. There are times when the A bar may be omitted and not have these meanings-when the writer is in a hurry, for instance-but if the writer always forms his A’s like this, it implies slovenliness.

Picture the arc that points back to the capital letter (the ego) and therefore shows egotism.

Imagine the left leg stretching out to the left, showing a strong attachment to the past. Often these writers have a difficult time getting started on projects or even everyday things.

Consider (a) crossings that are both inexact and their lack of completion forms what graphologists call open-mouthed ovals, which shows talkativeness. The more open the ovals are, the more talkative the writer is. When these letters are a regular feature of someone’s writing, he can be said to be both open and honest. However, if there were no oval letters closed, it would be best not to tell the writer any secrets-he may have difficulty keeping them.

Of course, all these writers represent only different degrees of open-mindedness and openness; there are those who thirst for knowledge, and those who are merely curious; those whom we call frank, and those who are tactless; but none of them can be called selfish. A few overdo the openness, too. To entrust such a writer with a delicate secret may be disastrous, for he probably is not able even to hide his own; and since the opening exposes the lower zone, this may suggest a quality of indelicacy, possibly the exhibitionism of a libertine.

Picture the letter showing an angular form. This indicates rigidity and hardness.

Imagine the low ‘A’ bar. Like the low t bar, it shows an inferiority complex. Since the capital letter reflects the ego, this low bar hints at reduced self-esteem.

Consider the letter that shows a peculiar shape. Whenever strange looking shapes appear, we see sexual perversion and a strong sexual imagination. (However, these letters should be compared with the rest of the writing.) If this distortion is what he thinks the letter should be, imagine what he thinks a sexual relationship should be.

Picture the letter resembling an A bar, which in reality is an in-turned arc, piercing the capital (the ego). The writer is destroying his ego, showing strong depression and suicidal tendencies.

A similar meaning is indicated when the A bar strongly descends -its very direction implies that the writer is down in the dumps.

The letter, which is encircled several times, reflects the feeling of living in one’s own world of imagination. The writer is trying to protect himself by not allowing anyone else in. If anyone ever does penetrate, he will not find it easy to change the writer’s ideas.

Loops by nature are showy; therefore, such a writer discloses vanity. (Note: Do not confuse loops with knots, which show a different meaning).

The upward rounded stroke reveals the performer, the entertainer. You can almost see him bowing to the audience as he makes this flamboyant upward stroke.

Imagine the letter, which is ink-filled, pasty, and blotchy. It shows sensuality, as if the writer’s guts were pouring out on the page from the passion inside him.

Consider the oval letter open at the bottom. (Before you can analyze this letter, you must make certain that it was not the writing tool that erred. Pens do sometimes “gap.”) This shows the embezzler, the crook, the hypocrite. The fact that there is something missing in its construction implies a similar lack in the writer’s makeup. What is missing is honesty, as though there were a hole inside him, where everything decent fell through.

Picture the left side of the oval open. This writer cleverly conceals this side of his nature (the opening is tiny), but his motive is strictly for himself, and he is greedy. Obviously, he is also untrustworthy. Often people who write like this are found to be neurotic.

Imagine the person who writes as if he were bending away from something that may hurt him; this reveals himself as touchy and sensitive. The inward, bent right stroke shows him protecting himself.

Consider the letter that is knotted (not to be confused with a loop). The knot shows that, although the letter was already closed, the writer added the knot, just to make sure. It shows secretiveness, reserved manner, introversion, and one who rarely allows people to get to know him. When coupled with other signs in the writing, this form often appears in the writing of dishonest people.

Letters may be written quite square-shaped. People who write in this fashion show an aptitude for construction and mechanical ability.

Author: Joel Engel
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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