Writing a sales letter can be one of the most intimidating things when it comes to your marketing. It’s enough to make you run for the hills… or pray desperately for the budget needed to hire a good copywriter.

I’m a fan of finding the “easy button” for everything I do. If I ever find something to be challenging, I look for ways to simplify it without losing its impact or magic. It’s the same when it comes to writing sales copy.

Writing sales copy becomes easy once you’ve practiced enough. But I’m also of the mindset that it can be easy for you no matter what stage of the game you’re in. Whether you’re new or just looking for a way to more easily write sales copy, I believe that knowing the components of a sales letter can really help you.

When you break it down, it’s so much less intimidating. You can focus on it bit-by-bit, piece-by-piece. Don’t think of it as writing a big, bad, long, sales letter. Think of it as writing the headline, then writing the intro, then writing some catchy bullet points.

I’m going to break it down for you here. Take these pieces or chunks of a sales letter and start writing. First, draw out what the main benefits of your product are. Really get to know the product inside out. Get to know the audience inside out—what are their most important emotions and desires related to the product? If you know those things, you’ll have a running start when it comes time to fill in the blanks of the sales letter.

The Headline

The headline goes at the start of the sales letter. It’s generally written in larger font in a different color than the rest of the sales letter. Consider that you really only have a few seconds to capture people’s attention before they either stick with you and read the rest of your sales letter or not.

At this point, you should have decided what the main benefit of the product is. Generally, you’ll include the main benefit in your headline. There should be a hook there that will take people through the rest of the sales letter. What’s going to stand out and capture people’s attention? Remember that people are really busy, so it should be something that really stands out and it should be something that really means something to people. Most importantly, it will make people want to keep reading because they’re curious.

The headline might be preceded by a prehead and followed by a post head. These will be in smaller font and complement the header.

There are so many different headline styles that you really have to figure out what works for your niche. Take a look at sales letters you’ve bought from yourself. Take a look at other sales letters in your niche.

The Introduction

Remember that this is a true letter to the people of your audience. So, start your letter the way you would start any letter.

“Dear Friend,”

That works well.

There are many ways to follow that, but you’ll do well to start stirring emotions and connecting with the person. Imagine a typical person in your audience and write directly to them.

Let them know that you know exactly what they’re going through.

The Emotions

Remember to stir those emotions. What’s their biggest need and want? What’s their biggest problem?

It’s important to be personal and follow through with the hook you started in the headline.

The Story

The letter is all about them… but part of the way you can connect with the reader is by sharing your own story. People want to feel like you understand them and have been through something similar.

If you can’t share a story of your own, connect in another way. Talk about the people you’ve talked to or worked with.

People love to read stories they can relate to. Stories are a huge part of the way people connect and understand.

The Hint of a Solution

As you weave your story, talk about the ups and the downs. Start to hint at a solution as part of the journey.

The Solution

Outright say that you have found a solution that has helped you (or the focal point of your story). Make it clear that the reader can absolutely have the same solution you’ve found… and in a better, easier, faster way.

The Product

The product is the solution. Now’s the time to introduce it as such. People who’ve read through your sales letter this far are ready for the solution—present it in a way that will make them salivate.

The Benefits

Hopefully, you’ve pulled out all of the main, important benefits of your product. You’ve highlighted the main, most important benefit in the headline as well as throughout the sales letter.

The Bullet Points

Now, it’s time to point out the other benefits of the product in the form of bullet points. These bullet points will stand out in the sales letter and really get people to take notice.

The Proof

People love proof. You can include proof in the form of testimonials, screenshots, data, and more. Overcome people’s objections with proof.

The Offer

The offer really seals the deal. It should be an offer they can’t refuse. Your offer includes what’s included in the product, bonuses, etc. It might include scarcity and limited time offers. Make the offer so good that they can’t pass it up. It should far surpass the expectations they had while reading through the sales letter.

You can also use this section to make comparisons. What would this be worth if it were being sold by someone else?

The Restatement of the Main Benefit

Re-state the main benefit. Copywriters often restate the headline in a different way. Remind people of why they really shouldn’t pass this offer up.

The Guarantee

If you have a guarantee, and I think you should, make sure to include it. People will often be swayed to purchase if there’s a money back guarantee available.

The Sign Off

Give a personal sign off. Remind people that you really care about their results. You might include a P.S. section. Restate the special offer and the guarantee. Make people feel really secure about what they’re buying.

Remember that people often scroll straight down to the bottom of a sales page so you want to have something really convincing here.

There You Have It!

There you have it! If you analyze popular, high-performing sales letters, then you’ll most likely see that these elements are there. Create an outline for yourself using these elements and then fill in the blanks. You’ll find that it’s easier than ever to write a great, high-converting sales letter even if you’ve struggled with it before.

It’s extremely important to understand the difference between features and benefits when you write copy. In fact, not understanding the difference can be death to your sales.

Have you ever read a sales page and thought to yourself that it was just so boring that you couldn’t even force yourself to keep going even if you thought you might want the product? I’m sure you have – we’ve all seen those terrible, ineffective sales letters.

But maybe to this point you haven’t been able to identify what really separates the effective sales letters (the ones that compel you to buy even when you didn’t originally intend to) from those that aren’t at all effective.

Maybe it’s the case that you’re really struggling to write effective sales copy yourself. Maybe your conversions aren’t what you know they could be – people are visiting your sales page but they aren’t reading or buying.

Or, maybe you’re struggling to write a sales letter at all. You know that you’re not yet a highly skilled copywriter and it scares you to even try.

Of all the elements that go into writing an effective sales page, understanding the difference between features and benefits just might be the most helpful. If you understand how to identify the benefits of a product, then all of a sudden things like writing the headline, bullet points, and persuasive copy just start coming together.

It’s about understanding human psychology. It’s one thing to know the features of a product, but it’s another thing to be swayed enough on an emotional level to move forward and buy. You’re not going to tap into those emotions that inspire people to buy unless you understand and pull out the benefits of your product. That’s what we’re going to talk about today.

What Are Features?

At the core, features are what something is. It’s the descriptions and stats on a particular product. For example, you can describe a soda can as being red, made of metal, and containing a liquid.

But, who cares? You don’t see Coca-Cola advertising their product that way. Sure, it’s good to know those things and people do make features part of their buying decision. But that’s not what’s going to capture people’s attention in the first place.

If you fill your sales copy full of features and only features, people are probably going to click away unless they were already highly motivated to buy the product.

Yes, features are important to talk about, but only after people are already interested. The first focus, for you and for the customer, has to be on the benefits of a product.

What Are Benefits?

Benefits are what something does. It’s the result of using or having the product. So, in the case of having a Coca-Cola, it’s a crisp, delicious refreshment. It’s something that puts you in a moment of pure pleasure, nostalgia, relief, and happiness. At least, that’s what Coke wants you to think.

You don’t really care that it’s a red can that contains a sweet liquid. You do care that it adds pleasure to your day and gives you the refreshment you so dearly desire.

When you have your list of features for your own product, ask yourself why those features matter. Why does it matter that there’s a sweet liquid in that can? What’s the result people are looking to find?

When you ask yourself why the features matter, what really matters about the product, you can come up with a list of benefits.

The classic way copywriters describe this is “selling the sizzle, not the steak.” People are buying the hole, not the shovel. People are buying the result, not the thing itself. Once you understand this, it will be so much easier for you to write copy.

How to Pull out the Benefits of Your Product

Now that you understand more about the difference between features and benefits, it’s time to learn how to pull out the benefits of your product. I suggest you go through your product and take notes on everything that really matters about your product.

What sets this product apart? Which results are people going to find by going through your product? Write everything down that comes to mind.

After you’ve written your list, go through it again. Ask yourself what really matters… again and again. Dig deeper. If you’re selling a product that will help people make more money, it’s easy to think that money is the result people want. That’s typically not the case.

Money isn’t the real benefit… The true benefit might be freedom, living life on one’s own terms, etc. Keep digging, keep asking yourself what matters most to your audience.

By the way, some benefits will be more important than others. Again, keep asking yourself what matters most – I can’t stress this enough.

You’ll use the top, most important benefit in the headline of your sales copy. You only have a short amount of time to capture people’s attention, so you really want to make it count. Sell that sizzle, get people interested, and then you can start explaining features and additional benefits.

Using Benefits in Your Bullet Points

In addition to using the main benefit within your headline, you’ll probably also want to include benefits in the form of bullet points. Remember that people are typically skimming through copy when they first read it. Even if they’re intrigued by your headline and by the benefit you promised, they aren’t quite sold on it yet.

You want to make it really easy for people to decide that they want to buy after all. Include the rest of the important benefits you came up with in bullet points within your sales copy. Bullet points capture people’s attention. When it’s all laid out there for them, the benefits are clear and they’ll be a lot more likely to buy.

Features Are Important Too…

I don’t mean to make it sound like features aren’t important at all. You actually should include the features of your product. But,they’re not the main focus. And you don’t really want to list the features until people are already swayed by the promised benefits. Don’t leave those out, but don’t rely on them to capture people’s attention either.

I hope you’re really excited by all of this. Understanding the difference between features and benefits can help you sell your products (or affiliate products) so much easier. You’ll be able to write much more effective copy, make more sales, and make better connections with your audience by understanding what is really motivating their actions.

It’s very exciting to have your own business. You get to make decisions yourself, live life on your own terms, and determine how successful you become. We live in a great time for entrepreneurs – it’s extremely exciting, whether you’re new or experienced.

At the same time, working for yourself can be very isolating. It can be hard to stay motivated and have the right mindset when you’re relying on yourself. If you’re finding yourself procrastinating, feeling confused and overwhelmed, and feeling isolated… then the chances are good that the dream of working for yourself isn’t exactly what you thought it would be so far.

The operative phrase in that sentence was… so far.

It can be scary to realize this. Many people dream of working for themselves all their lives. People want to own their own business and dream about how wonderful it will be. But then reality hits. The grass isn’t always greener. It’s not uncommon to run into mindset issues and problems when you work for yourself.

Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t have to work in isolation, struggling on your own. There are people out there who can help motivate you, help you stay on track, and help point you in the right direction.

You can bounce ideas off of people. You can hire people to hold you accountable and to show you the way. Whether you need a little bit of hand holding or a lot of hand holding, there are people out there who can work with you and help you.

In fact, it’s a really good idea to find a coach, mentor, or accountability partner. In some cases, you’ll want all three. It doesn’t matter where you are with your level of experience or how successful your business is, it’s important to connect and work with others.

What Is a Coach?

First, let’s go over what a coach is. A coach is someone you’ll typically hire because they’re at a higher level in business than you are. They’ve been there, done that, and you’d like to learn how they got to where they are so that you can follow in their footsteps without taking too many wrong paths yourself (Like they may have in the beginning).

They’ll help you take stock of your business and figure out what you should be working on. A good coach will help you apply the 80/20 principle – knowing that just 20% of your efforts are leading to 80% of your results.

A good coach will help you cut the fluff and only focus on what’s most important in your business. They’ll help you stay motivated and help to hold you accountable. They can give you business advice that only comes from experience. This can help you get to where you want to be much more quickly than if you were to do it on your own. There’s something to be said for following in the footsteps of success, and that’s exactly what you’re doing when you hire a coach.

Experience is a great teacher, it’s even better when you’re learning from someone else’s experience, so that you don’t need to make the same mistakes and have the same do-overs that they did.

Of course, as is the case anytime you work with someone else, you have to make sure your coach is compatible with your personality and your needs. Sometimes, your coach will need to show you tough love, and that’s okay. Don’t be annoyed when it happens. But overall, you should really enjoy working with your coach and you should find that they help you get to where you want to be.

There are many different types and styles of coaching. There are business coaches that will meet with you in person. There are others that operate solely online. Sometimes, coaching is offered one-on-one and other times it is offered in a group setting, which will be much less expensive, depending on how and how often you get to communicate one on one with the coach (such as via teleseminar or webinar, email, phone, etc.).

Do some digging and figure out what will work best for you. You can find the ideal coach who will help you earn more money much more easily.

What Is a Mentor?

A mentor is different from a coach in some important ways. A mentor is also an expert who can help you achieve what you want to achieve. A mentor isn’t always someone you hire or pay. In fact, a mentor doesn’t necessarily need to know that they’re your mentor.

There are people out there you admire. You look at their journey and find that you’re on a similar path. They inspire and motivate you. This is a great thing and can help you keep going when the going gets tough. They can help you see things you wouldn’t see on your own.

You can find a mentor by reading blogs, websites, and books. There are people out there who document their journey and steps and invite you along for the ride. This can be highly inspirational and motivational.

You can find a mentor on forums and on social media sites. These are people who are helpful and knowledgeable and who really stand apart from the crowd because of their success and how they help people.

Again, you don’t necessarily have to pay for a mentor. A mentor can be someone who knows they’re your mentor or not. They can be someone you communicate with directly or not.

And for all you know, you might be someone’s mentor if you have some experience and have been helpful to others already.

It can be as simple as you posting a question in a private forum or Facebook group and there they are, giving answers.

I suggest you find yourself a few different mentors. These are people you look up to. These are people who motivate and inspire you. We all need mentors in our lives to help us reach the next level.

The important thing with a mentor is that you should be careful that you do as they do, not just as they say, because there might be a huge discrepancy there. It might also be difficult to determine the difference with some people, so don’t rush to select a mentor just because he or she says they’re doing fabulously.

What Is an Accountability Partner?

An accountability partner is someone who can help you stay on track in business. They might be on the same level as far as business is concerned or they may not be. Really, it doesn’t matter as long as you keep each other on track. It can be helpful to choose someone who’s going through the same things you’re going through.

You and your accountability partner might communicate with each other back and forth, talking about what you have and haven’t accomplished. You might email or Skype each other to make sure you’re on track

You can have an accountability partner that’s online or offline. The only important thing is that you hold each other accountable and help each other achieve your goals much more quickly.

It’s hard to stay on track when you’re the only one who cares about your business. When you find an accountability partner, you both care about each other’s business. It helps you stay connected and on track.

No matter what level you’re on, it can help to find an accountability partner to check in with.

I don’t recommend that you choose a spouse or friend as an accountability partner, because it can cause friction in your personal life if your accountability partner (or you) has to call one or the other out for failure to accomplish certain tasks that you were supposed to.

Your accountability partner should be someone who understands what you’re going through, and the technical language you use. They don’t necessarily have to be more experienced or more successful than you are.

Find Your Coach, Mentor, or Accountability Partner

Hopefully, you’re inspired now and know that you don’t have to go it alone. It can be hard to work for yourself, even when you know you’re finally living your dream.

You’ll achieve whatever you want to achieve much more quickly if you find yourself a coach, mentor, or accountability partner… or all three. There’s no shame in reaching out and getting help. In fact, it’s one of the things very successful people have in common. You want to be more successful, so reach out and connect with someone who can help you.