The make-or-break part of any deal is the second touch, as this is where you start turning leads and prospects into clients.
Email may be the most convenient and logical way to follow-up with your prospects after the initial intro or proposal, but it has one very serious drawback. How do you prevent your emails from simply disappearing into the ether of your prospect’s overflowing inbox?
Fear not!
We have the secret to dealing with almost any sales situation that requires follow through. By the end of this article, you’ll be armed with a collection of follow-up emails that will dramatically increase your prospects’ response rate, netting you more sales in the long run.
We’ve compiled 15 templates that you can use to cover almost any sales situation. We have also added some advice on when to send these, as your timing is often as important as the message. By tweaking, adapting and learning from these templates, you can dramatically increase your close rate.
Follow-Up Emails: How, Who and When
One of the greatest lessons every salesperson needs to learn is that customers will buy when they are ready to buy.
All salespeople love a hot lead, the kind that buys immediately and takes the least amount of effort, but hot leads will always be a small percentage of your total number of prospects. Real sales happen with warm or cool leads.
There are three rules you simply must adhere to when it comes to following up these leads:
Patience will be rewarded. You need to play the long game and follow-up consistently over a long period of time.
Make sure sales and marketing are aligned and have clear roles in follow-up.
You need a system. A good sales CRM like Pipedrive will go a long way to preventing embarrassing situations like duplicate emails or making your prospects feel like they’re being spammed.
While point one and three above are fairly straightforward, many companies struggle with point number two. While marketing is usually tasked with generating leads and sales with closing them, follow-up can be confusing.
Teamwork Closes More Deals
Whose job is warming up the leads? We would suggest a system that uses some well-structured teamwork. Make sure that marketing and sales work together to warm up leads and keep the following in mind at all times.
It is important that you send relevant, valuable information to every prospect regularly, relentlessly and frequently.
Make communication with prospects efficient. If you have a huge list of prospects one-on-one contact simply becomes impractical and costly, hence our templated approach.
Track and log. A system like Pipedrive ensures that every touch is logged and that the various follow-ups are correctly scheduled and executed. Spreadsheets and calendar reminders simply won’t cut it if you plan to scale your business.
Have your materials prepared. Your team needs an arsenal of specific, useful and interesting information you can use to craft your follow-up messaging. There’s nothing worse than a follow-up email that has no content. Never nag.
When It Comes to Follow Up Emails, Timing is Everything
It pays to remember, while your prospects are in your mind every day, the same does not apply in reverse. You’re competing with rival companies, other deals, and the fallibility of human memory.
You need to make sure that you remind your prospects about your product or service at regular, well-thought-out and planned intervals.
‘Know your customer’ will always be the first commandment of sales and it is the golden rule when composing your follow-up strategy.
You’ll generally want to make the second touch shortly after the initial one. One or two days is ideal. Remind the prospect of who you are and what you discussed and propose or request a next step.
The trick lies further down the line. Do you know the cycle of purchase followed by prospective clients? Is there a budgeting or procurement window that you’re aware of?
Perhaps you have some inside information on expiring deals they have with one of your competitors? Make sure you thoroughly plot out these events. Many deals have been struck months or even years after the initial presentation through good timing and persistence.
Enough Talk: Let’s Get to those Email Templates
Use case: After the initial meeting
You met with the prospect and went through your sales pitch. You left the meeting feeling confident that you’ve just initiated a deal, yet here you are, three days later and you haven’t heard back from them.
This is the classic ‘gentle reminder’ or ‘touching base’ email. The key here is to move the conversation forward and provide a concrete reason for a response.
1. Subject line: Are you ready for a follow-up
[Name], I’m writing to thank you for your time and to find out how you’d like to move the
conversation forward.
If you’re still interested, please suggest a next step.
I await your response
[Signature]
While it is important to give prospects as much info as possible initially, it is a great boost to follow-up if there was a question that remained unanswered or that needed consultation on your part. It may even be worth creating this situation in your sales pitch.
2.Subject line: Good news. I have that info you requested
[Name], I’m writing to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you on [day].
I have checked with our accounting department/my boss/our warehouse and they would be very happy to arrange [special request].
Please let me know how you would like to proceed from here.
[Signature]
When you’re selling a product or service that is very complex in nature or requires a bespoke proposal or price, you will most likely have some work to do after the initial meeting.
This is one of the easiest follow-ups to write, but many people still get it wrong by trying to stuff all the information into the body of the email. When a prospect opens an email and sees what looks like an entire novel’s worth of text, they will almost invariably hate you and your product. Give them all the info they need but allow them to discover it in their own time and you’ll get way more responses.
3. Subject line: Here’s that information you requested
Hi [Name],
I really enjoyed chatting with you earlier today and learning more about how you and [their company]
I promised you some more info and here it is. I’ve attached more information about [request] and [other].
Please let me know when you have had a chance to take a look at this info and would like me to give you a call to discuss. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have. Feel free to call me at [your number] any time.
[Signature]
Use case: Following a trigger event
We’ll assume that you’re using some form of tracking and analytics on your emails. If you’re not, go get a tool to do this right now, we’ll wait for you to get back before carrying on. Got one? OK, let’s keep going. If your analytics show that a prospect opened your previous email, clicked on a link and visited your site, you definitely need to strike while the lead is hot. There are two options and which one you use will depend on your sales style and personality.
4. Subject line: Do you want more information?
Hi [Name],
I trust that you have had an opportunity to read my previous email and look at our website, so I figured it’d be worth checking in with you again.
Have you given any additional thought to my proposal? I’d be happy to do a quick review of it on the phone and answer any and all questions you may have.
When would suit you for a quick conversation?
[Signature]
The other option is a lot more straightforward.
5. Subject line: I see you’re interested in [company name]
Hi [Name]
I hope this doesn’t seem creepy, but I see that you have read my previous email and visited our site (the wonders of modern technology). I think this will be a very good time for us to take the conversation further.
Please let me know when I can schedule time to come and see you and take you through my plan on how we could work together.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
[Signature]
Use case: When a prospect has unfinished business
It will often be the case that the person you met with initially is not the final decision maker and needs to go away and consult with colleagues or their boss. You want to give them enough time to do so, but also keep the lead nicely warmed up and maybe even nudge them towards the follow-up. We suggest giving it about 4-5 working days before firing off the following.
6. Subject line: As promised, here is more info about [company name]
Hi [Name]
I’d like to thank you for taking the time to hear me out on [DAY]. I’m really excited about the potential of this relationship.
You mentioned that you would need to consult with [Person] before making a decision. I am really eager to hear what they thought of my proposal.
Is there a spot on your calendar I could claim to discuss how we can take this deal forward?
[Signature]
Use case: Trade show, networking event or conference
Trade shows and conferences are great places to gather leads. If you pick your events correctly you’re most likely hitting your target market right in the sweet spot. They’ve entrusted you with their contact details and shown an interest, so this follow-up email may be easy to write, but it’s also easy to get wrong. This is a great opportunity to give them some more information and background on your product or service.
7. Subject line: Here’s that information about [company name] you wanted
Hi [Name],
What a great show. I hope you enjoyed it and would like to thank you for your interest in [company]
I’m sure improving your [objective] is one of your company’s main priorities, so I thought it would be great to contact you sooner rather than later.
I thought I’d send [information] for you to review. If you’d like any additional information about this, I’d be more than happy to have a quick chat over the phone.
Just let me know if you have any questions or would like to have a more in-depth conversation. I’m ready and waiting.
[Signature]
Use case: Immediately after leaving a voicemail
Voicemail and email go together like bacon and eggs. The impact of following one with the other will often work in your favor. The secret here is to be quick. Send the email within minutes after leaving the voicemail to generate the full effect of this classic double act.
8. Subject line [I just tried to call you]
Hi [Name]
I just tried calling you but assume you are busy. I know how it goes.
Please give me a call back on [number] or let me know when it would be convenient to give you a ring again.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
[Signature]
Use case: Mistaken identity
Sometimes finding the right person to talk to is half the battle. If you sent out a completely cold email after finding a prospect’s contact details online, it may be worth sending the following. They’ll usually affirm that they are indeed the right person, or at least refer you to the person you should be speaking to.
9. Subject line: I hope you are able to set me straight
Hi [name]
I sent you an email a few days ago about [company or product] and it was only afterwards that it struck me that I might be barking up the wrong tree.
My company offers [service or product] which I think would be a perfect fit for [company].
Are you the right person to speak to regarding this? If not, could you help me find the relevant decision maker?
I look forward to your response
[Signature]
Use case: Following up the follow-up
This is where it gets interesting and tricky. When you’re following up a previously unanswered mail (or many of them) it is very easy to start sounding desperate or whiny. This is where your preparation and planning will pay off. Remember when we mentioned earlier on that you needed to develop interesting pieces of information that you could drip-feed to prospects? Now is the time to pull those out of storage and set them loose.
10. Subject line: A few things you may not know about [company name]
Hi [Name]
I sent you an email a while ago about [company name] and how I think we could be a great fit for you and [company].
Did you know that our clients report [a 43% increase] in [sales] when they use our [software]? We also offer [full training] and [a 20% discount].
If you’d like to hear about this in more detail, please let me know. I would happily spend 30 mins telling you everything you need to know.
I look forward to your response.
[Signature]
There’s a lot to be learned from successful social media campaigns. Give your prospect something they can share with their colleagues or staff.
11. Subject line: A gift for you and your company
Hi [Name],
I know how busy you must be managing your team and helping them increase [job function]. I sent you some information about [product or service] a while ago and I thought this might be a good time to give you a practical demonstration.
I’ve created/attached a few guest logins/free samples/vouchers that you can use to access/sample [product or service]. Feel free to share these with your staff and colleagues. I’d be very interested to hear what they think of it.
I would really like to have 30 mins of your time as I feel we can really add value to your [area of operations].
Can we book a call or a meeting?
[Signature]
12. Subject line: Still hoping to connect with you
Hi [Name],
I’m sorry we haven’t been able to connect. When we last spoke, you seemed very interested in [objective of product or service].
I realize that you are most likely incredibly busy, so I am happy to schedule a call with you at any time, even if it falls outside regular office hours or on a weekend if that makes it easier for you.
I really don’t mean to harass you, but would appreciate some indication on your decision either way.
Thanks in advance
[Signature]
If you do any form of content marketing like blogging or publishing, you have a great excuse to send a follow-up email.
13. Subject line: [10 ways Pipedrive boosts your bottom line]
Hi [Name]
When we met recently it became clear to me that you are very interested in [subject of blog].
When I saw that our publishing team had put together [blog or article name plus hyperlink] I immediately thought that you would enjoy reading it.
I’d really like to hear your thoughts on this and discuss how we can help you achieve [objective].
Could I give you a call some time? When would be convenient?
Yours
[Signature]
User case: The bitter end
Sometimes the best way to get a response is to threaten to end the relationship. At worst, this email allows you to do a nice clear-out of your pipeline and let go of deals that are simply not happening. Sometimes it is better to lose a deal than to keep flogging a dead horse. At this point, you also have very little to lose, so there’s no harm in a being a bit cheeky as long as you keep it respectful.
14. Subject line: It’s really lonely out here
Hi [Name]
I’ve tried to get in contact with you several times over the last few months without success, which leaves me thinking that:
You’re not interested. That’s OK, I won’t take it personally.
The timing is wrong. This happens. I’ll happily get back to you in a few weeks or months, although years might be a stretch too far.
You’ve been abducted by aliens: Please let them know that I am happy to come along and tell them where to find me.
I won’t contact you again but you can keep my info on file if you ever need [service].
[Signature]
The classic ‘Good Housekeeping’ email works a charm and gives you a perfect excuse for making contact.
15. Subject line: Can I close your file?
Hi [Name]
My boss has asked me to clear out my sales pipeline and I thought it would be good manners to let you know that your name is on my delete list.
If you aren’t interested, do I have your permission to close your file?
If you’re still interested, what do you recommend as a next step?
Thanks for your help.
[Signature]
How to create response rate boosting follow-up processes
Before writing a single email, you’ll need to create a bulletproof follow-up process (or tighten up loose steps in your existing one).
Let’s start by covering four essential steps your follow-up process must include. Then, we’ll take a look at mistakes to avoid along with ways to optimize your process.
Therefore, the purpose of your initial pitch is to set the foundation and start the discovery process. This means learning who else is involved with the buying process along with how they make decisions.
Similarly, even if you receive a flat out “no,” the game’s not over yet.
Why does this matter? Simple: the way you follow up will depend on the stage of the sales pipeline your prospect sits at.
Your sales pipeline needs a follow-up sequence at each stage. Typically, these can be broken down into the following steps:
Lead Acquisition: When a lead first fills a form or takes the first action to begin a relationship with you. Here, you must respond quickly to strike while their motivation is hot. Here, you’ll need to follow up if an appointment or next steps aren’t confirmed.
Lead Prioritization: Your follow-up messaging will depend on what information you have on the prospect, as well as any actions they take. For example, you’ll want to lead with a strong call-to-action for those who visit your pricing and feature pages several times.
Discussions Begin: How you start the relationship will depend on several factors. For example, a senior decision maker will need more strategic insights, while more “tactical” roles value technical specs. Match your follow-up messaging based on who you’re talking to.
Opportunity Progression: After the initial conversation, you’ll want to schedule a presentation or a pitch. From there, you might arrange a second call or meeting to discuss any objections and understand timelines. You’ll need to lead the prospect from one step to another, and this often requires following up.
Don’t be afraid to ask your prospects for guidance on what the next step should be. You can even go as far as asking how they’d prefer to be followed-up with.
While they can sometimes be hard to lock-down, you should always aim to end the call with a clearly defined next-step. Do this at the end of a meeting or conference call, as you can compare schedules right there and then.
Finally, always summarize your initial meeting. This provides a great reason to send a follow-up email immediately after the call. The bonus of doing this? It keeps you at the top of the prospects’ mind (and inbox) until your next call.
Understanding how follow-up fits into your sales pipeline, it’s time to talk about one of the most critical elements: timing.
When to send your follow-up messages
Good follow-up emails rely on timing. Knowing how long to wait, time of day and days of the week to send your follow-up emails will help you generate a more generous response rate.
Here are the different types of follow-up emails you should be using (and when to send them):
After the pitch: Send a follow-up one to two days after your initial presentation. Use this as an opportunity to review their pain points, thank them for their time and include a call-to-action for the next steps.
Reviewing with the decision maker(s): If there are other stakeholders involved in the buying process, the sales cycle can take a little longer. Email four to five days after the pitch (you’ll need to learn about the buying process during this call) to give them enough time to speak with the rest of the team.
Unanswered follow-up: You’ll need a follow-up sequence for when your emails go unanswered. Here, you can offer additional resources, ask them if they’re still interested or the best way to move forward.
The break-up: If you’re still not getting a response from your follow-up emails, the last thing to do is to wrap things up. You can either tell them that you’re closing their file, or use it as one last ditch attempt to find a better time to talk.
The perfect day and time to send follow-up emails will depend from industry to industry. The best place to look? Your own CRM.
Look at which emails generate the best response rates. Analyze the days of the week and time of day they’re sent. Use this to plan the timing around your follow-up process.
This article will show you all the email templates and samples you need for each of the scenarios above.
Five follow-up mistakes to avoid
Just by developing a consistent follow-up process you’re already well ahead of the game.
But there are several problems you need to prevent if you want to avoid the common cracks that your leads can slip through.
Out of all the follow-up mistakes that salespeople make, here are the five that tend to catch sales teams out:
Not following up quickly: Many thought leaders believe that you should follow up on leads five minutes after they send an inquiry through. But this is unrealistic, as you’re not sitting by the phone all day, and you may be serving an international audience. However, it’s important to follow up quickly. The longer you leave them, the less chance you’ll get a response. Put systems in place to ensure you’re responding as quickly as possible.
Not focusing on the company: Many salespeople make the mistake of putting all their energy into the prospect. If you’re selling into large organizations, you need to be engaging with multiple people. Always find out as much information about other stakeholders and the buying process in order to accommodate all decision makers.
Not following up often enough: A study by Velocify found that 93% of converted leads are reached by the sixth attempt. Make sure that you’re following up enough when the relationship has begun. You’ll learn how to do this by adding value later in this guide.
Not using preferred channels: Anecdotally, 90% of the time prospects will want to hear from you by email. But some may prefer a phone call or other form of communication. If they’d prefer a phone call over email, ask them what time is best to reach them.
Not tracking your metrics: Without measuring your sales performance, you won’t know if what you’re doing is working. Use a CRM to measure the open and response rates of each of your emails to see how each follow-up email performs.
Analyze your existing sales process. Look out for any of the following. Create a plan to fix them and roll them out, making sure you train your salespeople where necessary.
Optimizing your follow-up emails to boost response rates
Before we move on to the templates, let’s talk about how you can make your follow-up process even better.
By optimizing your sales process in this way, you’re more likely to see a more generous response rate (and thus conversions) from your follow-up efforts.
Begin with value: As soon as a new lead enters your pipeline, it can be tempting to jump right into the pitch. Instead, add as much value as possible up front. New leads are unlikely to trust you at first, and by guiding them and acting like an advisor, you’re more likely to build the trust crucial to closing the deal.
Use data and insights: Back everything you say up with third-party statistics and anecdotes from industry thought leaders. You should also use testimonials and case studies, showcasing the results you’ve generated for clients just like them.
Avoid automation: Automation can be a powerful tool for streamlining certain processes. But when it comes to the follow-up, you need to be as personalized as possible. As you’ll see from the templates and samples below, many of them require you to understand your prospect’s company. You can’t get this in a timed, automated sequence.
Keep them coming back: Depending on the complexity of your offering, you’ll need more than one call or meeting to close the deal. This is especially true if there are several stakeholders within the company. Therefore, be sure to keep the conversation open and lead to the next step as quickly as possible.
Add your personality: People do business with people they like or respect. You should always be yourself during the entire sales process, but especially during your follow-ups. Even if you’re polarizing, many senior decision makers will respect you for holding up to your own beliefs.
Conclusion: Adapt and Learn
You’ll notice one thing that all of these templates have in common: they are not very long.
Your prospects are most likely busy and human nature dictates that anyone opening an email and spotting a wall of text is going to close it almost immediately. If you’re lucky and they’re really interested, they plan to read it later.
In most cases however, they will never look at it again. Get to the point and either attach or link to any large pieces of info you need to send.
Of course, these are only a starting point. You’ll need to adapt these templates to suit your clients and market, but they should serve you well in improving the response rate to your follow-ups.
How to write a $1,000 sales letter (that sells at all times of the day)
When I first started working online, I honestly had no idea what a sales letter was.
I thought online marketing was simply setting up Facebook ads, driving traffic to your website, getting people to fill out a contact form before they left…
And that was about it.
Looking back now I can see how funny this is, but after failed businesses and no conversions, I finally threw in the towel and took a premium copywriting class.
This course taught me a lot of things about selling online in general, but if there’s one thing that’s benefited me time and time again…
Directly generating $10’s of thousands of dollars over the last 2 years, it’s the:
Sales Letter
If you’re not familiar with the term sales letter, it’s really a digital salesman on paper (figuratively).
The main purpose of these letters is to talk to your customers, tell them that you understand what they’re looking for, show them how your product could help them reach their goals, address any objections, and then get them to take action on your offer.
Easy enough?
Don’t worry, it’s really not that tough, well — as long as you know what to look for anyway.
I’ll give you everything you need to know here in a second, but first, just remember that sales letters are really designed for any product (or service) that sells for $50 or more.
Anything less than that already has a low barrier of entry, so you don’t really need to go through the hassle of creating a sales letter, even though it could help (just don’t do it for e-commerce products, that seems over-the-top).
Okay, let’s get started:
Part 1: Customer Research
The unsung hero of a sales letter starts with customer research.
Most entrepreneurs think that speaking “professionally” and marketing to everybody is the way to write copy, but that’s also why a lot of online entrepreneurs don’t last too long.
And don’t think you need to go too crazy with it either, there’s no need to hire a research firm (or even a freelancer)…
With the tools available to us today, one simple website usually does the trick.
What do I mean?
I’ll be honest with you, my best converting sales letters were ones that I did 100% of the research via Reddit or Quora.
These two sites work best as you can see exactly what your target audience is saying, and after “immersing” yourself with them for a few days…
You’ll not only start to use the words they’re saying (which is key), but you’ll also have enough information to understand them better.
I’ve heard of a few different ways to do this, but for me personally, I always like to do my research with the intention of understanding them better in 3 different areas:
Their hopes and dreams (what the client wants to attain or achieve above all else)
Example — “I would love to build a business on the side to quit this soul-sucking job”
Their pains and fears (what the clients wants to avoid or get away from at all costs)
Example — “I wake up every morning completely exhausted, dreading my 1-hour commute to work”
Barriers and uncertainties (Things preventing or getting in the way of your customers attaining what they want)
Example — “Yeah, of course I want to start a business, but where do I even begin?”
And if you want an exact template of the customer research template that I use, including more examples, you can find that here:
Part 2: The headline
Most people tell you to make a headline after you’ve created the rest of your letter, but I think that’s a terrible idea.
I mean sure, you could always give it a few tweaks after you’ve went through everything, but after writing numerous sales letters (and blogs) I’ve found that it works a lot better when I write the headline first because then I at least know what I’m going to talk about.
With that said, always remember that headlines are the most important part of your sales letter because it’s really what engages the reader and keeps them going to your actual letter.
There’s a few different ways you could make sure you get the right headline, but the first area of importance is remembering where your readers are coming from.
In other words, if they’re coming out of a 5-day email funnel then you’ll want to create a headline that relates to what you’ve covered over the last 5 days, but if they’re just visiting a course page that you’ve created, then you’ll want to act accordingly.
As a general rule of thumb, question headlines tend to work best for “cold traffic”:
Ramit Sethi Call To Action (Growthlab.com)
And straight to the point, benefit driven, headlines work best for readers who’ve come through a 5-day funnel:
One of my courses
The last thing I wanted to mention with headlines is the importance of subheaders.
I didn’t realize this until I read Ogilvy On Advertising and he mentioned how the subheader was extremely important because it prepared the reader for the “feast” that was about to occur (i.e. pre-framing their view on what they’re about to read).
But after seeing this and realizing that I was missing out on an important step, I went back and inserted a subheader on all my sales letters…
And let’s just say, the improvement was amazing.
Part 3: The Body
Alright, now that we have the research complete and headline in place, it’s time to start on the body.
As I’m sure you can imagine, the body is extremely important as it’s what keeps the reader’s attention and prepares them for your offer.
This is also the same part where a lot of “amateur” copywriters mess up on, thinking they need nothing more than some fancy writing and a bunch of !!! to get the point across…
When in all reality, it all comes down to the hooks.
What are those?
Hooks are the underlying psychology that takes place in any form of sales writing, and even though I’ve read a lot of different techniques to apply these hooks — the best (and simplest) method I’ve ever learned came from Ramit Sethi’s Call To Action course.
As Ramit explained, the only hooks you need to worry about are:
Paint the Dream — Show them how you’ll help them reach their dream. Example: “You can make money in your sleep”
Twist the Knife — Something that really digs into their fears or pains. Example: “Why can’t our generation get anything done?”
The Great Discovery — Any discovery that you’d consider “shocking”, and one that usually shows them how to get around their barriers or uncertainties. Example: “I realized the key to productivity wasn’t time management, but energy management”.
The Unspoken Truth — This one is one of my personal favorites, and it’s just as the name states — mentioning the unspoken truth. This would relate best to their pains and fears, and even though it’s tougher in the beginning — this is one where you really want to try and have no filter on. Example: “You take care of everyone else. Who takes care of you?”
The Incredible Story — Last but not least, the incredible story. This hook usually relates most to the “hopes and dreams” category, and tells people an amazing story that also shows how they could reach their dreams. Example: “76-year old man teaches a young tough guy how to get in shape”.
And as you can see, these hooks really aren’t that complex — but they’re even easier to implement.
All you need to do is choose a minimum of 3 hooks that tie in well with the customer research template you created, and to give you an example of how this would look, here’s a recent outline I created during a live video breakdown for a bookkeeper’s “About Me” page:
At its core, bookkeeping really isn’t that hard (Unspoken Truth)
It’s hard to make decisions without the right information, and unless you’re able to pay thousands of dollars for a CPA — this can be hard to get (Twist the Knife)
After years of working as a Credit Analyst and obtaining my Master’s Degree in Accounting, I’ve decided to become a Bookkeeper that helps you grow (Paint the Dream)
Again, this is for an about me page so it’s going to be a shorter version of a sales letter, but it’s still technically a sales letter and I think I’m one of 10 people that does this on Upwork, which is also why I think I was able to stand out so quickly.
Anyway, now that we have our 3 hooks in place it’s time to weave them together with a story.
I’m sure you’ve heard the importance of storytelling and how it’s the best way for our brains to process information (or something like that)…
But at the end of the day, it’s really not that hard to do, you just have to make sure that you:
Talk like a human (none of that stuck up “professional” stuff)
Honestly act like you’re having a conversation with your client
This is the same reason why some copywriters use talk-to-text when creating the first draft of their sales letter, then edit it after that…
And I can totally see how this would work great, but I’ve never been a fan of it, so I think it’s mainly a personal preference.
Anyway, I’ll show you how to weave these together in a second after I’ve covered the last two parts, but as a quick recap on the body:
Create an outline that consists of 3 (or more) hooks
Make sure these hooks relate to the information we put on your customer research page
Weave these hooks together with a story
Part 4: Bullet Points
On to the next part, bullet points.
So bullet points are quite possibly the most underutilized (and misunderstood) part of writing, but when used correctly, they can make a world of difference.
What do I mean?
Well, as Ramit said in his course, bullet points are more like fascination points…
And whenever you have something extremely important to say, you should always lay them out in this format as all readers (even skimmers) are more likely to read them.
Now I couldn’t agree more, but I’ve taken this one step further and use bullet points whenever I’m showing the reader a significant benefit I can provide them.
I think this is important because as Dale Carnegie says in his book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, persuasion is really just knowing what people want and showing how you can help them get there.
As the popular phrase goes, people don’t buy a hammer because they want a hammer, they buy a hammer because they want the hole…
So if you can show the reader how your product will help them achieve their desired results (likely in the Hopes and Dreams section of your customer research template) — then you’re off to a great start.
Again, I’ll give you a better example of this when I provide a complete “sales letter” at the end of this, but it’s something I wanted to point out before we got into our last section.
Part 5: The Offer
Last but not least, the offer.
Now that we’ve got the reader ready with your headline, then showed them the benefits and built a rapport with your body…
It’s time to finally unravel what this sale letter is all about.
The good news is that your offer is actually the easiest part as you’ve already done all the selling, so now all you need to do is tell them what your offer is.
This will also differ between every product, but it works best when you layout your offer, tell them exactly what they’re getting, and how they’ll get it.
The main reason for this is because you want to address every question right away, and the questions of “what exactly do I get” or “how does this work” are the main questions that most people ask…
So if you can address this right away, then your sales will only go up.
With all that said, there’s 2 additional components that you always want to include with your offer, and thats:
The call to action — telling the reader what they need to do in order to keep moving forward (i.e. Get started by clicking on this button, call us at…, etc.)
Guarantee — Nobody likes entering into a transaction that they can get burnt on, and if your product (or service) is good enough — then you should never have to worry about unnecessary refunds
And that’s it!
That’s honestly everything you need to know with a sales letter, and I’ll show you a short example next, but before we get there — here’s a few additional considerations I wanted to pass on.
Additional Considerations
Never worry about length, buyers will read as long as they need to (just make sure every word deserves to be on the page, nobody likes filler)
If the letter is long enough, it generally works best when you have two call to actions (one before the guarantee and one after)
I don’t always do this, but in most instances, if you can think of any question they have and address them (via FAQ) then it’s extremely helpful
Alright, and that’s about it, so now time for the example.
Remember, this is an example of a “hidden sales letter” where I created a live breakdown for one of my courses, and I did this in about 10 minutes so it’s not my best writing…
BUT, it’s certainly good enough, so without further ado…
Here’s an example of a short sales letter:
When you really think about it, bookkeeping isn’t that hard.
It’s simply the process of organizing transactions and making sure all the numbers are in the right place…
Which is something many bookkeepers claim they can do, and even though most of them do a great job…
Very few actually understand accounting, making it very difficult to get positive feedback and make smart decisions.
Whether that’s tax planning that’ll save you thousands of dollars every year or pro-forma projections that show you profitable sources of revenue…
We both know how important this information is…
And after seeing many entrepreneurs struggle with this issue for years, I finally decided to combine my years of experience (Commercial Credit Analyst/Loan Officer), education (Master’s in Accounting), and credentials (IRS Enrolled Agent) to create a powerful combination that can help you.
So if your company could benefit from:
Bookkeeping skills that organize your transactions and create 100% accurate reports…
Financial experience that knows what to look for and how to use this information to help you…
Or tax planning that could save you thousands of dollars each year…
Then I’d like to see if I could help you….
And all you need to do is simply scroll up to the upper right-hand corner, click on “invite to job” — then shoot me a quick message that tells me what you’re looking for!
I’ll be in touch shortly after that for a quick conversation to see if we’re a good fit — and we can get going after that!
P.S. Even if you’re not ready right away, please don’t hesitate to reach out anyway.
I’ve had a lot of success with this combination and my referral network has really grown over the past year.
I want to help everybody I can, but my growing workload has limited my availability….and if you reach out today, you can reserve your spot for when the you’re ready to get started.
Analysis
As you can see, the start of my letter was simply weaving my 3 hooks together. If you can’t remember the hooks, they were:
At its core, bookkeeping really isn’t that hard (Unspoken Truth)
It’s hard to make decisions without the right information, and unless you’re able to pay thousands of dollars for a CPA — this can be hard to get (Twist the Knife)
After years of working as a Credit Analyst and obtaining my Master’s Degree in Accounting, I’ve decided to become a Bookkeeper that helps you grow (Paint the Dream)
Then after I got done weaving these together, I jumped right into my bullet points (telling the reader how I could benefit them)…
And the offer is a little tricky in this situation as it can be a few different things, but I still made sure to include my call to action.
That way the reader knew exactly what they needed to do if they wanted to work with me going forward…
And even though I’ve never used this exact sales letter on an Upwork profile, I’ve created dozens of others that have gotten me interviews and clients at all times of the day (even when I wasn’t online)…
Showing how powerful these letters can be, short or small.
The conclusion
A sales letter is quite possibly the most important thing you can have in online business today.
Not only does it serve as a digital salesman that never calls in sick, but when designed correctly, it can get you sales at all times of the day…
You must be pretty smart since you’re here, reading this.
Oh, that might’ve gotten your attention.
Actually, I could’ve started the first line in ALL kinds of ways. Compliments. Insults. Shocking secrets. That’s how you start writing the AIDA formula. And that’s why you’re here, right?
What is AIDA?
Attention. Interest. Desire. Action.AIDA is a copywriting formula you can use to “shape” your sales letters, emails and video scripts. Anything you write. If you’re in copywriting and marketing, you should know it.
In this quick AIDA copywriting guide, you’ll learn all about each letter of the AIDA formula. How to use it. When to use it. And some examples to nail it all down into your brain.
Ready? Let’s go.
The AIDA Copywriting Formula
For the sake of simplicity…
Imagine a 4-paragraph letter.
Paragraph #1 is for Attention, #2 is for Interest, #3 is for Desire and #4 is dedicated to Action. In actual practice, there’s a lot more gray area. Attention may need 1-2 lines. Interest and desire may need 3-5 lines. Some parts don’t need an entire paragraph and some need more than one. It depends. But, let’s keep it simple.
That’s how your sales letter should be structured.
Now that you know what to write in each paragraph, it’s a lot easier to put the AIDA formula into action, right?
Here’s a quick and dirty example:
— Attention: “Have you seen your teeth!?” Hey, Mrs. Smith, you had some corn in your teeth at work today. Others noticed too and whispered to each other. I didn’t want to say anything out loud, to spare you the public humiliation, so I’m emailing you now.
Mrs. Smith is likely thinking “Oh, no! How embarrassing!”
— Interest: But, clearly, you’re a corn lover. I am too. Used to have this problem too but not anymore. Not since I created this…
Mrs. Smith is likely thinking “Yes! I am passionate about corn but also self-conscious about having it in my teeth. What did you do to fix this problem?”
— Desire: A mouthwash that makes your teeth slippery smooth so that nothing sticks. Repels corn, spinach, coffee stains, and chicken particles away from your teeth.
Mrs. Smith: “Ooh, a solution that keeps my teeth corn-free? Yes, I want that.”
— Action: Interested? Email me by the end of today and I’ll give you a bottle. It’s my last one.
And that’s how AIDA shapes writing.
Now, let’s get a little deeper with copywriting and the AIDA formula.
A famous copywriter, Joe Sugarman, compared copywriting to a “greasy slide.” Imagine going down a greased up slide at the playground. Wee!
Copy should flow in the same way. The goal of the headline is to get you to read sentence #1. The goal of sentence #1? To get you to read sentence #2, and so on. Like a greasy slide.
So, let’s disregard headlines (a world of its own) and focus on the body.
Sentence #1 should grab attention.
Attention.
This is step 1.
In the business of marketing and advertising, grabbing attention is the name of the game.
But just because something grabs doesn’t mean it will help you sell stuff or leave a reader satisfied. Insults are grabby. Gossip is grabby. Primal human desires are very grabby…
…but will it get you to vote for Bart?
Unlikely.
From the book, “Tested Advertising Methods”
So, writing an attention grabbing introduction is, in my opinion, the harder part of copywriting. I go through a few variations before I settle on one. A/B Testing introductions is also a good way to see which one works better.
You must satisfy a few criteria. Your introduction must…
grab attention
Which also implies it must be easy to read and is concise
be relevant to the reader and your product or service
and of course, lead the user down to the “Interest”
In a way, the attention part must have bits of “interest” to get you to keep going. See? Told you. There’s a bit of gray area and interplay between the AIDA elements.
Some examples:
Direct statements:
You can’t sleep at night. Insomnia and anxiety.
Tell a story:
A million bucks. If Mrs. Smith knew how eating corn would cost her a million big ones, she’d rethink it.
The pope, a rabbi and a high-heeled pole dancer walk into a bar.
Facts and stats:
You’ll die a lot sooner because of your bad sleeping habits. Studies say 95% of blah blah…
According to experts, your iCellphone has a 1.5-year max. lifespan before planned obsolescence kicks in.
Ask a question:
You’re going strong at the gym… but why are you weak with your diet?
Did you know that $5 can buy you a new computer?
Something they can agree with:
Because you’re a passionate coffee lover, you’ll also love…
Make it personal:
[ insert name ], you said you wanted to learn Russian.
You made a New Year’s resolution in 2019 to…
Note: As you can see, a majority of the lines above start with “you.” The use of personalization and “you, you, you” is a must in copywriting.
Build curiosity:
Door-to-door salesmen. Trick-or-treaters. Jehova’s Witnesses. They’ll all be afraid to knock on your door. Why?
There’s one thing you and tech-millionaire Allan Muskrat have in common.
Thank you for being a MovieFlix subscriber. Why are you getting 50% off this month?
Include the Benefit:
You could be drunk all day and no-one would know – no smell!
Note: In one form or another, all of the lines above state or imply a desired benefit
Say the F word
If you buy 3, you get 3 FREE.
I’m giving you the audiobook you’ve looked at twice but didn’t buy. At no cost.
Free quiz reveals what kind of “pizza” you are.
Note: This falls in line with the benefit point up top deserves its own point too. People like the “F” word.
Some bad examples:
“Your advertisement sucks.”
You won’t convince anyone by attacking them/their ways outright. Get attention? Yes. Convince? No.
“Let’s face it.”
Face what? I just personally hate this one. You’re attempting to be “punchy” by adding in 3 extra words before you get to the actual point. It’s a waste.
Talking about yourself:
Our app has been downloaded 12,000 times in one month. We were also featured in Widgets Magazine.
Hello, I am [ name ], a representative of Widgets INC, a famous website for things relevant to the economic community. We started in 1995 which then Chairman H.J. Pennypacker decided that economics…
Note: No-one cares about you, they care about the benefit. If it is worth mentioning, mention it later. This brings us to the next point example…
No benefit:
We like your website and think your readers will love our product.
“Hey, you’re busy so I’ll make this quick”
Oh, I guess I am. You’re right. And I guess your message isn’t worthy of my time. Thanks for the heads up!
Note: This can work with personal emails but B2C, unlikely.
Interest.
You’ve gotten attention.
They’ve read the first line or two.
And if you’ve done it right, you’ve also touched upon some benefits.
In the attention and/or earlyinterest stages, you should’ve mentioned…
your product/service (or the solution)
a benefit or two
Now you got to keep them going down the greased slide.
How? With interesting things. But what’s interesting? That depends on your product.
If you’ve made a crazy promise in the introduction, continue the thought! Provide proof (testimonials), quotes and stats (our app has been downloaded 1 million times) and address doubts or concerns.
In short, the interest stage must…
continue the thought presented in the attention part
introduce the product/solution, if you haven’t already
introduce more benefits
include testimonials, facts, figures, quotes
take the reader’s perspective into account.
How will they react? What will they want to ask if you told them “$5 can get you a new computer.” They’ll ask… “are you for real?”
Let’s work with some examples from up top.
Attention: Free Audiobook
I’m giving you the audiobook you’ve looked at twice but didn’t buy. At no cost.
Interest:
What’s the catch? None. This is a one-time special for brand new users of Audiblabla as a way of saying “Thank you for joining us.”
Bob Bobson of USA says “I was surprised about the audiobook. thank you guys!“
Attention: Drunk all day
You could be drunk all day and no-one would know – no smell!
Interest
Introducing the no-smell, no-tell whiskey. A brand new line, here at Liquors-R-Us. And since it’s brand new…
…you get 20% OFF too!
Fact: Smelling like alcohol is the #1 way to ruin relationships. And the best way to let others know you enjoy a drink every now and then. Even if you’re a responsible drinker.
But with the No-Smell, No-Tell Whiskey…
Attention: Diet
You’re going strong at the gym… but why are you weak with your diet?
Interest:
Fact: In order to get a six-pack and be ripped like [ insert body builder ], you need to get your diet right.
Studies say that to cut fat and get 10% body fat, you need to do X, Y and Z.
Arnold Schwartzshnitzel and Bulk Bogan both said “you’re a weak, noodle-armed, poodlewalker if you’re ignoring your diet”
Attention: Stranger Repellant
Door-to-door salesmen. Trick-or-treaters. Jehova’s Witnesses. They’ll all be afraid to knock on your door. Why?
Interest:
Because of Stranger Repellant Spray 1.0!
Does it really work? “Crime rates and trick-or-treating have been down 40% in our neighborhood” said Chief Wiggum, of the Springfield Police department.
Desire.
They’re almost there.
You’ve introduced a few benefits and a solution. Other people say it works.
You just need them to desire your product now… and say yes.
How?
The desire stage must…
continue the thought presented in the interest part
bridge the distance between them and the product
in other words, sharpen the image of what it will do
offer product details in order support your claims and make it believable
“The car is super safe. It’s made with titanium steel.”
“The whisky is indeed “no smell.” We’ll give you a free sample at the store. See it for yourself.”
remind them how easy it is
“here’s how it works”
“here’s how you’ll repel those nasty trick or treaters”
“you can put on these miracle pants in seconds flat”
offer them a discount or another way to justify the investment
“and now, you get 50% off. that’s as low as $3.”
“and we’re including a free microwave with your purchase.”
the price is $25. if you do the math, that’s less than $1 a month.
reduce the risk:
If you’re not satisfied, you get your money back.
If it breaks, we’ll replace it free.
The length of this part depends on the product. If the product is simple, like a hammer or a no-smell whisky, there’s not much more you can say here.
If the product is slightly complicated, you’ll need to let the reader know about how it works and what they get.
For example:
Attention: Diet
You’re going strong at the gym… but why are you weak with your diet?
Interest:
Fact: In order to get a six-pack and be ripped like [ insert body builder ], you need to get your diet right.
Studies say that to cut fat and get 10% body fat, you need to do X, Y and Z.
Arnold Schwartzshnitzel and Bulk Bogan both said “you’re a weak, noodle-armed, poodlewalker if you’re ignoring you’re diet”
Desire: And yes, you can do it too.
“I did it in 3 months” Bob B. of USA
“I’m a 50 year old and it took me 6 months but wow.” Rob. B of USA
With this diet plan, you get the step by step guides that will burn off fat. Take a look:
Week 1: How to set the diet up so you don’t fail
Inside: Meal guides for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Shopping List included
Inside: Snacks that are delicious but won’t ruin your results.
Week 2: Why you’ll see a 2 pound drop in 1 week
Inside: Foods to stay away from
Inside: Exercises to keep you lean
Week 3: How you’ll slowly stop eating carbs
Fact: Extreme diets don’t work. We teach you how to slowly cut down on carbs, the guaranteed way
Action.
This part is simple.
If you’ve covered Attention, Interest and Desire, you now must ask them to act! Take action! Join now! Buy the thing.
“But hurr durr, do I really need to? Like… It sounds so salesy and gimmicky. Whiney whine whine. I just don’t know… what is life all about?”
Oh-my-god-mother-the-holy-grant-me-the-power…
Shut up!
Yes. Yes you do.
Because human inertia (laziness) is a real thing. If you don’t ask, they won’t do. And if you don’t ask directly, they won’t do it either. It’s like asking someone out on a date.
“Hey Betsy… maybe… would you probably… possibly go out… maybe one day with me?”
No! Imagine what Betsy is thinking.
But if you said, “Hey, come grab dinner with me 8PM, tomorrow, at that fancy Italian place. Badabing badoom.”
The point is – now, you’re more specific and have a clear call to action. Will it get you a “yes?” Okay, I’m not writing dating advice here…
…but, it definitely improves your chances. It makes it easier to respond to. Yes or no.
And, if your audience has read that far into your copy, they’re likely still interested.
In the action part, you need to include a few things:
Continue the thought presented in the desire part
Call to action
So click here now and join
Buy the product now and I’ll give you 30% off
Get your free audiobook now
Urgency – set a deadline/limit.
This offer ends in 3 days. September 21st, 2018.
Note: Definitely include a deadline. There’s a reason why we get deadlines for bills, homework and work assignments. Things get done.
Specifics
Click on the link, fill out the form and I’ll send you your diet plan.
Click on the link. You’ll get an email. Come down to Liquors-R-US for your “No Smell Whisky.” Show the 20% off coupon.
Conclusion
That’s all you need to know abut the AIDA copywriting formula…. for now.
You have a basic grasp of all of the elements and what to write.
As mentioned before, you can definitely play around. The workings of AIDA are somewhat flexible and depend on your audience and product. If your product is simple, you won’t need to write a lot about it. If your audience knows you, it’s better to give them the benefit, offer and and call to action earlier.
But, that’s a conversation for later.
What to do now:
First — Now that you’re feeling smart and wanting to learn more about copywriting, check out these books below. It’s one thing to read an online article for toots and giggles. It’s another thing to immerse yourself in copywriting: writing that sells.
