How to Write Blockbuster Sales Letters

answers—many more sales.
There are many methods of forcing the decision. You might say in
the P.S. “If you decide not to subscribe, would you mind writing me a
note telling me why?” Or, “If you decide not to subscribe, please just
write ‘I am not subscribing’ across the order form and mail it back to
me. That way I will know you received and read my letter, and I won’t
bother you again.”
I’m sure you’ve seen the “Yes” and “No” sticker on offers that
come through the mail. The marketer here is trying to force you to
make a “yes” or “no” decision.
I’m not a big fan of these stickers. They don’t look like a real
moment of truth to me. But that’s the effect these marketers are
attempting to create in the minds of their readers.
In a fundraising solicitation I mailed, I asked supporters of the
organization to return the booklet of “Monthly Gift coupons” and the
accompanying “set of 12 reply envelopes” if they had decided not to
participate in the monthly giving program I was promoting.
Many of those who elected to return the booklets included a onetime
gift. Many of those who returned the booklets were too
embarrassed to do so with no gift at all.
So in all your mailings, always think of ways to require a response
one way or the other—to force a decision.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The Johnson Box
This is really just another form of headline.
A Johnson Box is a line or two of copy depicted in a box-shaped
outline of asterisks or a tinted box. Its purpose is to highlight text that
conveys the key message of the direct mail offer. The Johnson Box
appears between the salutation and letterhead.
Usually the text is in Courier type, just like the rest of the letter.
But sometimes it is bold or red and the lines might be centered instead
of left justified.
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