How to Write Blockbuster Sales Letters

Your letter certainly does need to appeal to the brain part of your
reader, not just to triggering emotions. But statistics and numbers will
not move your reader to buy, or even to read further. A stunning story
about a real person will. The right story about an actual person will
pull your reader into your presentation.
Copy aimed at the heart will always out-pull copy aimed at the
mind. Jesus knew this. He used parables, stories that made his points.
He did not approach us with data. He did not say 3,000,000 people
went to Hell today—though that statement might certainly have gotten
the riveted and focused attention of his audience! Remember, your
goal is not to win a debate with your readers. Your goal is to move the
emotion or impulse side of the brain in such a way that they will buy.
But if you feel you absolutely must use a statistic in your letter to
show the magnitude of the problem, try something like this:
Imagine if the September 11 attack on
America happened 100 times a year.
Imagine terrorists flying planes into
our buildings, killing 3,000 people twice
a week.
That’s exactly what cancer is doing:
killing 6,000 people every single week.
This is far more powerful than simply saying “350,000 people die
of cancer every year,” because here you are connecting a number to an
actual event you know your reader has experienced. You are giving
meaning to the number. September 11 was a shocking event for every
American. It was an emotional event.
Now you are pointing out that cancer causes just as catastrophic an
event more than 100 times a year, every year. By connecting your
pitch to an event like what happened on September 11, a catastrophic
event we all experienced, you are providing a graphic visual image of
the horrifying carnage cancer leaves in its wake each day. You are
tapping into your reader’s emotions. You are getting your reader
involved, in a personal way, to show the magnitude of the crisis you
are writing about.
You can then go into your program for how your reader can avoid
this catastrophe in her life.
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