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Atricle Dump - Connect to Your Customers with Superb Sales Letters
Fundraising letter templates are a mistake. They insult donors. They mislead fundraisers. And they don’t work. You cannot generate sustainable income, build relationships and retain loyal donors by mailing fill-in-the-blanks letters. Here are some sound reasons for avoiding boilerplate appeals.1. They are, by definition, too genericOn the website of one fundraising coach is a “very general donation request letter” that you are encouraged to customize by filling in “the details that are specific to your organization.” The problem with this approach is that non-profit organizations are radically different.What, for example, does Mothers Against Drunk Driving have in common with the Boy Scouts of America? What common goals does the Sydney Opera House
2. Stop Thinking about Yourself
Knowing what your audience wants and needs means you need to know who they are. For example, a letter to your grandmother will differ a great deal from a letter to your spouse. Your grandma obviously has different interests than your spouse, so you’ll make decisions about what to include in the letter. Besides the
Why Is is Print Advertising Important?Marketing is one of the most important factors facing your business each day. When you think about it, marketing has a direct impact on every factor involved with your ultimate success or failure. With this in mind, it becomes obvious that a healthy advertising strategy is vital to the health of your business.Direct marketing offers many benefits that might not immediately seem obvious. Sure, direct marketing generates outstanding short-term results - but it also develops, strengthens, and maintains affiliations between your target groups and your brands, which are extremely important in the future.Sales, expansion, retention, profitability, lead generation, telephone calls, competition, ROI, strategic planning...sound familiar? They should, b
But don’t let the “junk” connotation steer you away from using this approach in your marketing efforts. Why do you think you get so many? Because direct mail marketing and promotions work. Sales letters allow you to communicate with your target at their convenience, and yours. Plus, if you have a message that may benefit your target, maybe a new product, service, or guarantee, then your letter is anything but garbage. The key is to make sure this critical message comes across to your reader before he or she has a chance to toss your letter in the recycling bin. If you want to make your sales letters stand out, use the following three strategies.
1. Grab Their Attention
When your prospect opens your letter, the first thing they will see is the headline. If your headline doesn’t get their attention, it will be the last part of your carefully crafted message that they will bother to look at. Therefore, your headline is really the most important line on the page, and at least the line that has to do the most work. So what makes a good headline? You can make your readers an offer they can’t refuse, such as, “Get Free Delivery on Your First Order.” The word “free” alone inspires a reader to keep going because they immediately know that you have something they can get at no cost. After all, everyone likes free stuff. Plus, this particular example reduces some of their risk with the free delivery, which makes them feel like they have less to lose in buying from you. You can grab them with a benefit, such as, “With Our Continuous Supply Updates, You Can Stop Worrying about Your Inventory Running Out.” This style gets noticed because people really don’t like to read about you and your company, they like to read about themselves and what they can get from you.
Or, you can ask them an intriguing question, such as “Have You Ever Lost Sleep Worrying about a Late Delivery on a Crucial Shipment?” This headline style catches their eye because, if you know your target, you should be able to ask a question that speaks directly to them and their needs.
2. Stop Thinking about Yourself
Knowing what your audience wants and needs means you need to know who they are. For example, a letter to your grandmother will differ a great deal from a letter to your spouse. Your grandma obviously has different interests than your spouse, so you’ll make decisions about what to include in the letter. Besides the m
Every organization has its share of complaints and, while every company would prefer not to have them, complaints do play an important part in the organization’s ability to continuously learn, improve and develop long-term client relationships. Complaints provide a feedback mechanism that help organizations rapidly and inexpensively shift products, service style, and/or market focus to meet the needs of the customer or continuously improve internal systems and processes that make it easier for the client to work with the organization. Complaints are one of the primary means to communicate directly with customers and should be welcomed as opportunities to engage in a dialogue with the client.Technical Assistance Research Programs (TARP), an Arlington-based market research firm, is the most wid
1. Grab Their Attention
When your prospect opens your letter, the first thing they will see is the headline. If your headline doesn’t get their attention, it will be the last part of your carefully crafted message that they will bother to look at. Therefore, your headline is really the most important line on the page, and at least the line that has to do the most work. So what makes a good headline? You can make your readers an offer they can’t refuse, such as, “Get Free Delivery on Your First Order.” The word “free” alone inspires a reader to keep going because they immediately know that you have something they can get at no cost. After all, everyone likes free stuff. Plus, this particular example reduces some of their risk with the free delivery, which makes them feel like they have less to lose in buying from you. You can grab them with a benefit, such as, “With Our Continuous Supply Updates, You Can Stop Worrying about Your Inventory Running Out.” This style gets noticed because people really don’t like to read about you and your company, they like to read about themselves and what they can get from you.
Or, you can ask them an intriguing question, such as “Have You Ever Lost Sleep Worrying about a Late Delivery on a Crucial Shipment?” This headline style catches their eye because, if you know your target, you should be able to ask a question that speaks directly to them and their needs.
2. Stop Thinking about Yourself
Knowing what your audience wants and needs means you need to know who they are. For example, a letter to your grandmother will differ a great deal from a letter to your spouse. Your grandma obviously has different interests than your spouse, so you’ll make decisions about what to include in the letter. Besides the
CEOs and Presidents often mistakenly treat key management personnel like Jell-O. They throw newly hired executives into the bowl, stir things up a bit, cool things off when things heat up and wait for things to gel. Viola. Perfect Jell-O every time.If this approach really worked, employee turnover would be non-existent. Everyone hired would fit the mold perfectly. No, the hiring and assimilation of key executive personnel is more like the art of making a souffl?. It takes practice, confidence and requires more than just sitting back and waiting for things to gel. If the thought of actually coming up with a recipe to hire and successfully integrate key management personnel into your organization makes you shrink then read on.Right ingredientsAssembling a well congealed manag
Or, you can ask them an intriguing question, such as “Have You Ever Lost Sleep Worrying about a Late Delivery on a Crucial Shipment?” This headline style catches their eye because, if you know your target, you should be able to ask a question that speaks directly to them and their needs.
2. Stop Thinking about Yourself
Knowing what your audience wants and needs means you need to know who they are. For example, a letter to your grandmother will differ a great deal from a letter to your spouse. Your grandma obviously has different interests than your spouse, so you’ll make decisions about what to include in the letter. Besides the
There are certain characteristic traits needed to start and run a business. Most of us already have good characteristic traits or we can develop them over time. Have you ever wondered whether or not you have the characteristic traits to become successful in business? See the list below for the top ten characteristic traits of a successful entrepreneur.1) Organization 2) Motivation 3) Honesty 4) Perseverance 5) Vision 6) Adaptability 7) Competitiveness 8) Risk Taking 9) Confidence 10) PersuasivenessThe ten characteristic traits listed above are a few of the many that you will need to possess to get started in a business and become successful in it. You may want to make note of two traits from the list above that you al
Or, you can ask them an intriguing question, such as “Have You Ever Lost Sleep Worrying about a Late Delivery on a Crucial Shipment?” This headline style catches their eye because, if you know your target, you should be able to ask a question that speaks directly to them and their needs.
2. Stop Thinking about Yourself
Knowing what your audience wants and needs means you need to know who they are. For example, a letter to your grandmother will differ a great deal from a letter to your spouse. Your grandma obviously has different interests than your spouse, so you’ll make decisions about what to include in the letter. Besides the
In this age of on demand access to info and people happily airing their views, it has never been more important for brands to get on with their consumers. Failure to do so can lead to a rapid backlash online. Just ask Dell.Brands might be increasingly keen to turn customers into ‘fans of the brand’, but there is always the risk that the relationship can turn sour if the loyalty is betrayed.P & G spend billions every year trying to build relationships with their marketplace. Just securing the one off sale isn’t enough. They want to have an ongoing love affair and fill your shelves with their brands.Businesses might equate love with revenue, but love can’t bring you profits, only trust.When a UK supermarket chain’s CEO was deluged with texts and emails from angry customers wh
2. Stop Thinking about Yourself
Knowing what your audience wants and needs means you need to know who they are. For example, a letter to your grandmother will differ a great deal from a letter to your spouse. Your grandma obviously has different interests than your spouse, so you’ll make decisions about what to include in the letter. Besides the message you convey, the tone and style will be different. When you start to write your sales letter, consider what needs your audience wants to hear about. Give this serious thought because your whole letter should reflect your understanding of your market.
Once you’ve established what the audience wants to hear, next describe all the benefits of what you can offer them. Many companies make the mistake of touting their experience, reputation, and expertise in attempts to win new clients. But this approach rarely yields the greatest results. If you want to get people interested in your company, then you need to shift your message to how you can benefit them.
Rather than describing all the wonderful things about your company, describe all the wonderful results they will see from doing business with you. For example, if you offer your prospects more reliable technology, then explain how they can save time backing up their information. Or if you have fifty years of experience, then they can rest easier knowing they are working with experienced professionals. To really get people interested in your company, tell them exactly how you can make their lives easier.
3. Make it Easy to Read
Many people try to use big words to make their writing better, or they try to overload their sentences with information. Some even use industry jargon to let their readers know that they know what they’re talking about. However, these practices do not strengthen your writing; they only turn readers off.
Writing in a conversational style, like you’re talking to a friend, will keep readers interested in your message. So put away the thesaurus and write the way you talk. Also, don’t try to pack your sentences with information and details. Use short sentences and bulleted lists to convey your information. And leave out the jargon. You want to make sure your writing speaks to everyone, even those who don’t know your industry inside and out.
Besides conversational writing and style, a number of visual elements also contribute to the readability of your letters. Have you ever put a book back on the shelf because it had too many pages or the font was too small? If yes, you’re definitely not the only one. Even if it was the best boo
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