For those who’ve been following this series, this is the final installment. I’ll do my best to squeeze in as much detail as I can about writing a sales-oriented email newsletter.
Rather than bore you with one my usual long segues, I’ll just continue from where part 3 left off.
Don’t be too professional:
Before going into detail, I’ll reiterate what I mentioned in part 3 about not using “I” or “We” language indiscriminantly. Don’t do it! Always be conscious of the fact that your job is to lay out the benefits of your product or service to the prospect (reader).
Some people are so dry and forthwith that they have no business writing a sales letter to anyone. I’ve seen some real “doozies” over the years. Use slang or pop-culture references whenever they fit naturally into the piece you’re writing (yes, writers refer to their writing as pieces, much like you would a piece of fine art!) Check out this copyblogger post: How To Write Emails that Sell (and that People Love to Read).
This makes you appear normal, and not like a robot at the airport giving out directions. Analogies, references to things that amuse you, jokes (why did the chicken cross the road?) – all this will help to separate you from the other 20-thousand boring emails the prospect has read in their life. If you’re a regular reader on onsmb, you’ll appreciate where I’m coming from with this. If you like my posts, it probably has a lot to do with how I appeal to readers with my use of analogies, slang, and caricatures.
People have to either like you, or respect you to become a paying customer…
Don’t be a grammar-nazi:
There is a fine line with this advice, as with most of the “double-edged” mixed advice I offer most of the time.
If your letter looks like a fifth-grader wrote it, then only fifth-graders will read it. But in order to be conversational, you have to write as you speak (Note that this sentence started with a “but” which is technically improper, but is used in conversational English with as much frequency as the hour hand of a clock rounding the 12 o’clock mark.)
The worst thing you can do is be bound by the spellchecker on your computer. It will frequently mess with the tone of your letter if you let it: disallowing slang spellings, misplacing the context of the sentence when using contractions (you’re, isn’t, that’ll, etc), and so much more that I’m not going to bore you with now. Same goes for punctuation, if you don’t know where a semi-colon belongs in a sentence, just use a comma, period, or the ever-popular em dash (-); but don’t toss it around because that’ll peeve the grammar nazi’s reading your letter!
Use small paragraphs:
I have an idea that you might be thinking: “Chad, your paragraphs are long sometimes.” Yes, yes they are. No arguments here. But I’m not trying to sell you anything more than simple information that you can use, make fun of, or plain out ignore if you choose to. I also use “I” a lot because that’s the kind of swollen-head son-of-a-gun that I am.
The fact is, when you’re counting on a lead or sale from something you’re writing, you can’t take any chance of losing the reader’s attention. If you’re expressing an important benefit, put it on a single line all to itself. It’s so much easier for the reader to process a singular fact or statement, and then move on to the next – than it is to assimilate 10 facts within a 3-sentence paragraph. This is also essential to the “flow” of a letter or story.
Create a logical “flow” to your newsletter:
When the reader can see a logical connection from one point to the next in your newsletter, it’s hard to lose their interest. Some people will scan you letter, see what it’s about, and immediately click off because they know that you aren’t offering anything of value to them – this is a personal issue and you can’t do much about it; regardless of how good you are.
The rest of your prospects, regardless of their reading skill, will be hooked by the flow of your letter. Flow includes conjoining each and every point so it’s cohesive and that it makes sense logically. There are a hundred ways to do this. But each point should flow to the next, and if you can’t seem to write copy that flows well, you can always rely on multiple bullet points, separated by short blocks of text that reiterates certain points, or introduces what’s to come – Or hire a professional (a real professional with a proven track record.)
Give us your feedback!
Comment below if you want further posts on this topic and indicate specific questions you have or details that need further explanation. I will say that I’ve missed so much that I could have talked about, but the goal here was to at least highlight some of the most common “dumb” mistakes I see on a regular basis – I’m sure I’ve forgotten at least 50 that I’ll kick myself for later!
Further reading (Note: These aren’t affiliate links. Neither me, nor OnSMB.com are recommending you buy anything if you see an offer within these links. These are from my personal bookmarks and I’ve receive a lot of value from them over the years):
- http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/newsletters/2008/scott/howtowritebettercopy
- http://www.adcopywriting.com/Tutorials
- http://www.kingofcopy.com
