Designing your newsletter sales letter for maximum impact.

Let's talk about the newsletter marketing sales letter.

Rule #1. There has to be one. Every direct mail package needs one. A sample issue and an order card might have worked in 1957 but it won't in 2007.

Rule #2. It should "look like a letter." This is where I run into difficulty because of Rule #3.

Rule #3. It needs to have a selling headline. Do the letters you write have a headline? These sales letters should. You need to draw the reader into the letter.

There aren't that many rules about writing a headline. Forget any you may have heard about "not more than seven words," etc. I do agree that you shouldn't ask a question that the prospect can answer "no" to and then stop reading. I don't like "Save $80" when the prospect doesn't yet know what the product is we're talking about. Usually, but not always, the headline is a repeat of the envelope teaser, especially in business mail where the carrier may not reach the prospect.

Salutation

You need a salutation. I guess it is a "suspension of disbelief" thing; even if it doesn't actually "look like a letter" it should "feel like a personal letter." Personalize the salutation as much as possible, remembering Steve Sahlein's immortal greeting, "Dear South Central Florida Franchise Motel Manager."

Typeface and type size

Experts used to counsel using "typewriter type" in order to reaffirm the "look like a letter" factor, but today, 20+ years after the introduction of the PC, I'm unsure a traditional typeset face like Times Roman isn't just as effective. Perhaps more so to some audiences where using Courier might seem "quaint."

Whatever type style you pick, make sure it isn't sans serif, which is more impersonal and difficult to read in long stretches.

Do use a readable type size. Newsletter prospects, both business-to-business and consumer, tend to be past the first flush of youth. Never go smaller than 10 points; 11- or 12-point is probably better and more readable.

Air, white space and variety

As always, prefer short paragraphs, short sentences and short words. But use variety; an endless procession of six-line paragraphs marching across the page can be off-putting.

Underlines, boldface and italics can be effective in very small doses.

Format

I've seen claims that two 8.5" x 11" pages will outpull (perhaps by 10 percent) the same four-page letter in an 11" x 17" format. Fund-raising appeals frequently use this format but, in my experience, newsletter marketers seldom do.

If you use a second color, reflex blue is good.

Subheads

Always use subheads. While we might prefer the prospect to read straight through from "Dear" to "Yours Truly," they don't always. Well-written subheads can create additional entry points to intrigue the skip-and-skim reader into the text. I'd use not more than two points in type size larger than the font being used for body copy.

The offer

Some experts advise holding the offer (the price) until the last page after you've had the maximum opportunity to overwhelm the prospect with benefits. I like to get it on page one, usually with some "softening" copy about the "no-risk guarantee."

Never assume the prospect will infer anything. Include a "Please continue" at the bottom of page one and break the copy off mid-sentence. I've also used "Please continue for details on your opportunity to ...."

The inside pages

On the inside pages you can open up the appearance of the letter with illustrations. If you are offering an Executive Report as a premium, show it. Small boxed inserts are also an excellent place to put reader testimonials. Get the invaluable third-person pat on the back without interrupting the flow of your selling copy.

Some marketers use handwritten call-outs in the margin, usually in a second color. I don't use them but tests have shown they can be effective in moderation.

Lists and bulleted benefit items are also effective. People like lists of things. They also help avoid the dismaying "greyness" of solid copy.

The last page

The last page is where you get in the furniture of direct mail. List the key reader benefits of the offer. Feature the premium. Re-state the guarantee. Again, never assume the reader will infer anything.

Always use a P.S.--for the many prospects who scan the headline and turn the letter over to see "who is writing to me" and then read the P.S.

* Condense the offer.

* Feature the premium and the no-risk guarantee.

* Direct the prospect to the order device.

Some maintain there can only be one P.S. Others will use two. More than two would be getting a bit ridiculous.

At the bottom of the last page you can put your masthead.