Wanda Loskot:
Yanik, I use your letter templates and I think they are a superb tool -- where did you learn writing sales letters so well? They don't teach that in any school, do they?

Yanik Silver:
Copywriting is not taught in any school or college to my knowledge. It fascinated me to be able to put words on paper and have people send me money or do what I wanted in response. It's amazing!

Studying the masters is by far the best way to learn. I truly believe nearly anybody can learn how to write a decent letter -- maybe not a control piece for Rodale, but certainly a good letter for your own business.

Wanda Loskot:
Could you give us some letter-writing tips? What does it take to write compelling copy?

Yanik Silver:
Sure! First, you should start compiling a 'swipe' file. Look for letters, ads, mailers that get your attention and make you want to buy. Keep them in a special place and study them thoroughly from time to time.

One of the absolute best ways to learn is to actually take a letter or an ad and write it out by hand. There's something about handwriting that transfers the writing into your head. You can learn a lot about pacing and the structure of a good ad by doing this.

Wanda Loskot:
Writing by hand -- I thought that I am the only one who does it. :-)

Yanik Silver:
Another thing -- read the books written by the masters who have spent their lives in advertising. This will give you a 30-year education in several hours. Read these books: http://loska.com/hopkins/index.html"Scientific Advertising" by Claude Hopkins, John Caples' "Tested Advertising Methods", "Advertising Secrets of the Written Word" by Joe Sugarman, "How to Write A Good Ad" by Victor Schwab and a few others. I have a huge library in my office -- it's important to read constantly.

Wanda Loskot:
Yanik, what is the biggest mistake people make when writing a sales letter?

Yanik Silver:
First, a lot of people want to stick their logo and company name right up front on a letter. Big mistake! Unless you're IBM or AT&T, that really doesn't help. Instead, you want to put right on top a benefit-driven headline -- this way people will continue reading. You've got only a few seconds to get people's attention or ... to end up in waste paper basket.

Wanda Loskot:
So, you mean it is better not to send a sales letter on a business stationery ... Yanik Silver:
It is important to keep your logo and company name out of that prominent position which is better served by a headline. You should have your logo and company name *somewhere* but I'd save it for the end of the letter. Unless you're sending a letter to your own customer list, to people who recognize and already trust your logo ...

Another mistake people make when writing sales letters is taking too long to warm up. Get to the point fast. You've got to hit people right between the eyes with the biggest benefits up front. Many business people say they want to wait and save that major benefit for the end of their letter. Wrong! Chances are that if you keep it for later, your prospects won't read it.

Another big mistake is not asking the reader for action. People seem to always wimp out of asking readers to order or to call -- you've got to tell people exactly what to do!

And, of course, you really need to have a compelling and irresistible offer to make your letter successful. Wanda Loskot:
What about the length of the letter?

Yanik Silver:
There's really no ideal length -- your letter should be only as long as it needs to be. If you are selling a pack of gum, you really don't need to tell much about it. But if you are trying to sell a piece of industrial equipment that will be used for years and years, that's a different story.

You need to try and answer in your letter every objection a prospect possibly has. When trying to persuade someone to part with their money and when you can't react to their objections in person -- you need to write longer letter.

Prospects will read anything you give them as long as it isn't boring. I was just shopping for a new car and I would read everything about it ... unless the copy was boring. I have a letter that is 20 pages and it works great for me.

Wanda Loskot:
What's the subject of that 20-page letter?

Yanik Silver:
It's a free report selling my marketing program to cosmetic surgeons.

Wanda Loskot:
What about addressing letters? How important is knowing the name of a person?

Yanik Silver:
Typically, you'll see better results if your letter can go to a person and not a position. But if you can't do that, then try it without the person's name.

There's a marketing guy named Bob Morrison, and he would get better results simply mailing to a company when marketing his book "SOB's Guide To Business Success" (can't remember the exact title).

Wanda Loskot:
Wow! Talk about provocative titles! Can we be too forward in direct mail and lose potential leads in the process?

Yanik Silver:
Yes, it comes down to what your market is comfortable with. However, I'd say most people are too cautious and timid to do anything that might offend some people.

Another important thing: you shouldn't write your letter in a style full of big words and fancy vocabulary -- it is much better to bring your writing down to a simple 6th-grade level.

Wanda Loskot:
Yanik, you talk a lot about emotional appeal. What works better: appealing to people's pain, or to their desires?

Yanik Silver:
Both! I like to usually bring up the pain they're feeling up front and then hit them over the head with it -- really get an emotional reaction. Then I create the solution. And closer to the end of the copy I'll mention all the great stuff they could be giving up by not acting right away.

I use a full array of psychological triggers. Let me share a few of these. These really get me giddy!

The first is using a reason why. There is some built- in mechanism in people's heads that helps them justify action when they know the reason why. Even something as simple as writing or saying "because" triggers this.

That's why whenever I have a low price or whenever I want to justify anything, I will give readers the actual reason why. You know if you have a sale on your product and you take 50% off -- nobody thinks you're doing it because you are so nice. So you should tell people the real reason why you're doing it. Maybe your showroom is packed or you need to finance your girlfriend's apartment. Whatever it is, people react very favorable to a reason why.

Wanda Loskot:
You mean saying "This is priced so low because ..." or something like that?

Yanik Silver:
Yes. And then give a reason. People respond to that. For instance, in my sales letter selling the Instant Sales Letter program I tell people the reason why the price is so low is because I deliver the templates and bonuses over the Internet so it doesn't cost me much. That's a powerful justification for the low price. This is after I've built up the value saying that I charge at least $1,000 for a tiny copywriting project (which is true).

Another trigger is simply telling the truth. John E.Powers, a copywriter from the 1900s worked for Wannamakers, and he would advertise: "We have a lot of rotten raincoats we want to get rid of" and they would be sold out the next morning. Or for neckties he wrote "they're not as good as they look, but they're good for 25 cents." -- I love that!

Using stories also works very well. There's a famous letter used by "Wall Street Journal" which talks about two kids graduating from college and how their livs are similar except for one thing -- one reads the "Wall Street Journal" and the other doesn't. Then when they get together for some school reunion, one is the CEO and the other is stuck in middle management position.

Wanda Loskot:
So, we should use storytelling in our sales letters, right?

Yanik Silver:
Right. Here is another trigger: scarcity. If people see that something will not be available to them any longer, that object gains additional value to them. All auctions work on this principle. You make a certain bonus is only available to the first 100 people. Same thing! Very powerful.

Wanda Loskot:
What about those multi-step campaigns? How to make them successful?

Yanik Silver:
Multi-step campaigns are great! It is a recipe for getting double-digit response rates. In one of my campaigns, I sell an expensive marketing course to cosmetic surgeons. If I did not followup with these prospects I'd lose 50% of my sales. I've seen studies that said 80% of sales come after six contacts.

The key to making multi-step campaigns work is to first use lead generating advertising to get the reader to raise a hand and ask for a free report, video or more information. There's an incredible amount of money to be made in followup.

I think people give up on their leads way too easily. In fact, I will regularly mail to my "dead leads" and get a return of $10 for every $1 spent (this is a high-priced product).

Wanda Loskot:
Thanks, Yanik for sharing your wisdom.

You can find out more about Yanik's terrific Surefire Sales Letter Secrets -- here! Would you like to receive MasterMind transcripts by e-mail? Subscribe to I-MasterMind newsletter below!

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Wanda Loskot - Success Connection
150 Heron's Run, Suite #124 - Sarasota, FL 34232 - USA
Phone (941) 342-4203 - Fax (240) 358-7445

Professional business coach, author & speaker specializing in Internet marketing.
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