Any advice on sales letter

Hi all
It has been a long time since I have posted on Sow but I have been a frequently been an avid reader as this is a hotbed of opportunity.
I have just recently been prompted to put together an info-product(thanks to Goldblogger and "The Secrets to Guerilla Info-Product Creation") that I believe is a viable niche market that is very promising and has great potential for repeat customers.
There is one snag and that is putting together a sales letter.Any suggestions on outsourcing as sales letters are not my forte.
I would also like to know if anyone has used Michael Green 20K/20days to promote the info products and how that has worked for you.
I am excited about the idea of putting together an info- product as I do have some ideas that I have been sitting on for years.
Hey Goldblogger PM your phone number if you don't mind I would like to pick your brain a bit as I find forum conversation sometimes to sporadic for my liking.
Just give me a time frame when I can call I think we are a 3 hour time difference if thats cool with you.
Thanks Greg

[Ankesh]

Thanks Greg for thinking about info products.

One easy way to write sales letters is following the Question & Answer format. I've tested it out and it works very well.

Start with a photo of the info product along with a 1 paragraph description of the product. Then follow it up with FAQ.

1. What is the product about?
2. Who is the product for?
3. Why should people buy this product?
4. Who are you - why should I listen to you?
5. How is this product better than other products on the market?
6. A few product specific Q & A that takes care of objections.
7. Whats the price?

Followed by testimonials.

Eg:
Here is a sales letter for a newsletter that received close to 23% response rate:
http://www.nethotsheet.com/index-old.php

I doubt if FAQ salesletters will work well for high end products. But they should do very well for products that cost less than $50.

Ankesh,

Thanks for mentioning the FAQ Sales Letter Technique.

This technique also works well for Services - lawn guys, vehicle cleaners, home/office cleaners, plumbers, electricians, and so on and so forth. And especially as a single page website whose URL is written on business cards and displayed in advertising.

In these cases, you'd also include your Service Area, operating times, the range of services you offer, where you learnt your skill (if you can make it sound impressive), and anything a person would want to know when hiring you.

And to make the page have an even greater impact, have a Before and After photo at the top. Because no matter what you say, people just don't buy it like they buy a Before and After Photo.

And a simple Template could be...

=========

If You Are After Lawnmowing,
You Are In The Right Place...

[Before Photo] [After Photo]

Here are 7 reasons you should use us to [mow your lawns, wash your car, whatever]

1: No XXX Guarantee. We are so sure of our work we guarantee it to be free of XXX or it's free. If, after we say we are finished, you check our work and find a XXX, we will fix it - AND - you owe us nothing. No other lawn buy or lawn business offers this guarantee [if there are exclusions, then mention here such as, domestic clients only due to the nature of XXX in commercial buildings].

2: XXX Guarantee. If it XXX within seven days of us [what you do] we will re-do the effected X for FREE. Simply call up and ask us to come back. We are not aware of any other lawn guy [whatever] or lawn [or whatever] business that offers this either.

3: Free Job Analysis Consultation. We come to you to discuss the details of what you want done. This allows us to see precisely what the job entails, what equipment is needed, any problems we need to overcome, how to approach the job, tools required, and so on. This consultation is FREE.

4:Written Fixed-Price Quotes. You don't have to be concerned about paying high hourly rates and then watch a lawn guy (plumber, whatever you do) work slow or take long breaks. The fixed-price written quote is all you ever pay even if we take our time. If you agree with our quote we give it to you in writing so you know in advance how much it will cost and that it will not go above that.

5: Arrive On Time. The biggest complaint people have is that tradesmen never arrive on time and never call if they are running late. We don't like it either which is why we make it a point to always arrive on time. If we are running late - which very rarely happens - we will call you to let you know, even if it is only ten minutes late.

6: Experience And Professional Training. Not only does the hands-on experience include from 40 storey office buildings to ground floor businesses, 50,000+ seat stadiums to small sports clubs, and entertainment venues to restaurants and cafés, it includes homes, apartments, units, townhouses, mobile homes, body corporate areas and just about everything between. And the skills were passed down from expert lawn guys who [give some bit of info about what made them good].

7: Whatever else you can think of that applies to Your particular line of business. We advise against mentioning anything about price at this stage.

Call 555-5555 to get your lawns mowed

Thanks for taking the time to visit our website.

My name is Joe Bloggs. I am the manager of Lawn Mowing Guys and an expert lawn mower with over 23 years hands-on experience. And what I have to say is so important I didn't want to leave it up to other people, like certified web designers or high-priced copywriters, and possibly have them create a website that couldn't be used easily, or to have them write something that was misleading. So I decided to write this myself. It is the only way I could be sure of being able to talk with you honestly, and to give you enough information so you can make an informed decision about getting your lawns professionally mowed.

What you will find within the page below is an open and honest description of the types of services you get from us. You'll find out about our XXX guarantee, no XXX guarantee, types of lawns we do, types of lawns we don't do (and why), as well as other information you need to be able to make an informed decision.

If you are in a rush and want to go straight to the information you want, please click on the links in the Information Menu below. Otherwise, please take your time and go over the page. There is a lot of information here and it's in your interest to know it all.

Information Menu

* Lawns We Do
* lawns We Do NOT Do, And Why
* Types Of Jobs
* Service Area
* Service Days and Times
* XXX Guarantee
* No XXX Guarantee
* Getting an Estimate
* Regular Repeat Work or Once Off
* Amount of Notice Needed
* Types of Payment Accepted
* Experience
* Making Things Easier For The Lawn Guy and Yourself

To get back to the above Information Menu at any time, please click the links on the right hand side after each section. The links that say "Back to Information Menu" and which are written in small text so they don't distract from the main information.

Call 555-5555 to get your lawns mowed

Lawns We Mow

Blah blah blah in bullet point form and go on from there, making sure to have "Call 555-5555 to get your lawns mowed" on its own line after each Section. As this always keeps your number right in front of them where they do not have to hunt for it. ANd it can be finished off something like this...

Well, that pretty well covers everything you need to know to be able to make an informed decision about whether we can help you or not. If you have any questions not covered here, or would like something clarified, please call us on 555-5555 or send an email to [email protected] with the words "Lawn Mowing Question" in the subject line.

Should you have seen enough and desire an estimate, please also call us on 555-5555 or send an email to [email protected] with "Lawn Mowing Estimate" in the subject line.

Thank you for your consideration,

Joe Bloggs
Manager - Lawn Mowing Guys

PO Box 555 • Anytown, State, Zip
USA / Australia / Your Country • Business Number 555 55 5555

==========

The reason for a format like this is, when people are searching for a service they have pretty well already made up their mind to use one. But not Which one. This gives them more than enough information to help them decide. And when you consider other businesses give nothing, they will feel more confident about using your service instead of someone else's.

It's a good idea to make the images clickable to a larger image. So you could have smaller images - say 300 wide, on a 700 wide table which holds the rest of the text - which clicks to a full size 700 or 800 wide sized image. And for aesthetics, have the smaller thumbs with a black border around them.

If you have equipment - such as machinery - then some small photos of those, in the appropriate section of your list of FAQs would be a good idea. With even a brief description of what that particular piece of equipment is used for and any advantages gained for the client by that equipment. For example, one guy we know offers small cranes for hire. So small they can drive themselves through double doors. So a photo of such a beast with the factoid of its ability to go through a double door is a good thing.

If Insurance is a big thing in your industry, then mention your coverage. Same applies to any Safety Record or Safety Precautions taken.

In major demolition there is always a concern for nearby buildings being damaged. This is something potential clients would like to know about. So again, a FAQ on this type of thing which mentions precautions, photographic/videographic before and after footage taken with meticulous notes taken of existing damage (your don't want to be blamed for That) and so on.

The Beauty of the FAQ format is you do not need any segue skills in letter writing and you can cover all kinds of things that would be hard to do in a Traditional Sales Letter.

It can be applied to physical products, services and information products. And, even a High End product could have one - after all, people have questions about those items too, don't they. Either way, try it, it works.

Michael Ross

Michael, that was one helluva response. It's obvious you put some thought and time into your answer...thank you. I captured it in my scrapbook future reference. Not so much for lawn care. Your template could be used for a variety of service businesses.

That's what I love about this place..you guys & gals are awesome.

Carol

Originally Posted by MichaelRoss

Ankesh,

Thanks for mentioning the FAQ Sales Letter Technique.


Michael Ross

Carol,

Thanks for your praise.

A quick word about Before and After photos...

NEVER, ever, ever, manipulate, doctor, alter or "play" with them. If your product is as claimed, use Real Images. Otherwise, while you may trick some people, others will Not use your service as they see through the trickery and you'll lose them as a potential customer.

Look at these two sites...

www.cureyourathletesfoot.com
www.molewartremoval.com

Scroll down their pages and look at their Before/After photos. There is Not a legit Before/After photo in there. Notice the outrageous claims of number of books sold. Notice it's the same company. (They also do a psoriasis - or maybe it was shingles - one which uses a before photo I found on a medical website while I was doing research into it, which talked about the problem . I forget which Disease it was as I research so many different ones.)

And also, only use your own photos. If you don't have your own, use nothing until you have your own. And carry your digital camera with you to all your Jobs and take before/after photos of your work.

Michael Ross