Sales Letters – Getting Your Reader to Focus

September 14^th 2010 Sally Ormond copywriter, direct-mail copywriting, freelance copywriter, marketing tips

OK you men out there – we know what’s on your mind. Don’t try to deny it, I read somewhere that you think about sex every six seconds so it must be true.

The problem with that is, as a copywriter, it causes a bit of a problem. No matter what I write, there’s a fair chance your mind is going to be elsewhere.

For example, if I write a sales letter that takes about five minutes to read, my beautifully crafted sales pitch will be interrupted by your carnal thoughts fifty times!

The point I’m trying to make is that when anyone picks up your sales letter, there’s a good chance they’ll be focusing on something other than your sales message.

Getting your reader to focus

You have to get to know your reader. That’s not easy when you’re letter is likely to have an audience of hundreds or even thousands.The only way to do that is to work out the psychological profile of your target audience.

Think about:

What sex they are
Their age
What are their values?
What are their aspirations?
How do others see them?
Do they buy with their heads or their hearts?

By understanding what makes them tick you’ll be able to create copy that will resonate with them. Of course, that doesn’t mean to say every person who gets your letter will feel the same way about your product, but by taking the time to get to know them you stand more chance of creating something that they’ll read.