The right sales letter can generate many leads for your business. In this article, you will find several useful ideas to help you get the most out of your sales letters.

1) Decide What You're Selling

There are many different ways to create a sales letter. Before you start writing, you'll need to decide what you want to get out of your letter so that each word can be focused on that goal.

If you are selling something in particular, focus on that and don't give in to the urge to promote other parts of your business. For example, if your company is having a sale on living room furniture, use your sales letter to talk about the quality of the furniture, the low prices, and to urge readers to visit the store now. Don't waste valuable space by talking at length about the appliances and lighting fixtures you also sell. Stick to the intent of your sales letter to give it the most impact.

On the other hand, if you are using your sales letter to introduce your business to a community, you'll have a bit of leeway to present your business more generally. For example, if you are a realtor trying to get customers in a new subdivision, it's best to talk very briefly about each of your services (such as buying homes, selling homes, and legal services). You won't be able to talk extensively about each part of your business, but this method will motivate people to call you to learn more.

2) Simple Formatting Tricks

Try to limit your sales letter to one page, and no more than two pages (but still only one page double-sided). Your potential customers will not take the time to read anything longer than that.

In fact, when writing your sales letter, count on the fact that your recipients will not read the whole thing. To really grab their attention, you'll have to make the most important words and phrases jump out at them. Try these hints to keep your readers interested:

• Make your most important words stand out by putting them in bold. Don't overuse this, or your readers will stop noticing what's bolded. Just choose a few key words or phrases that you really want to be seen.

• Keep your paragraphs short. Limit them to three or four short sentences, and separate each one with a full line space so your audience has some breathing room.

• If you have a key sentence that really deserves some attention, put it in bold all on its own. Only use this technique once or twice for maximum impact.

• Use exclamation points (!) occasionally. They'll make your reader sit up and take notice, as long as they aren't overused.

3) Sell Yourself

Believing in what you're selling is the first step to having a great sales letter. Your letter will be much more readable if you take the time to describe your business with pizzazz.

Tell your readers about your industry experience. Tell them why you are a better choice than the competition. Tell them what they can expect by choosing your business over others. Don't be modest! If you believe that your company is great, you'll have a better chance of convincing your readers, too. A strong representation of your company will motivate your audience to trust you with their business.