I was recently asked to critique a sales letter by a fellow copywriter.
It was written well. No doubt about that.
But one thing struck me. It felt as if the letter were written “the way sales letters should be written”, without regard to the audience and the service being sold.
The service was fairly exclusive, and the number of people it could serve at any one time was strictly limited. (A restaurant.)
But the length and tone of the letter made it feel as if the writer were trying to sell 10,000 credit cards, phone plans or e-books.
In other words, the whole format and style of the letter didn’t really seem to match the service or the message.
While you may want to make a name for yourself as a copywriter with a particular specialty – in this case, long sales letters – you still need to be flexible.
Before you embark on your tried and tested writing approach, give some thought to the product or service being sold, and to the nature of the audience you are writing to.
Hold on to your core strengths as a writer, but at the same time, be flexible enough to adjust your approach to meet the specific needs of the writing task involved.
Indeed, be prepared to open your mind to completely different approaches.
For instance, for this restaurant, one might have considered using a different format altogether – like a formal invitation card, with a hand-written note included.
I know this example isn’t about online copywriting. But the principle remains the same.
Stay flexible and adjust your writing approach to the specific task at hand.
More online copywriting tips...
