Write Up the Ladder

Using Testimonials? Make them Believable

Testimonials are a powerful tool in the sales letter arsenal because they can make a connection between two people – one who is mulling over buying your product, and another who is satisfied that it does everything you promised it would. The fact that they are persuasive isn't lost on many of your readers, however, so take the time to keep your carefully collected written testimonials from sounding like you made them up.

Real testimonials use real names

Privacy is a growing concern today, but if someone is willing to take the time to write a testimonial about your business, then surely they are willing to identify themselves to your readers as well. Not every customer is going to want his or her full contact information put in your sales letter (although if one offers, think twice before turning them down!), but the bare minimum information for keeping the testimonial credible is a full name, city, and state.

Here are two other points to consider:

• Initials, like “Mary M.” and “J.K.,” could be anybody at all. If you can't get your customer to allow use of her full first and last name, consider looking for another testimonial.

• Include a picture of the happy customer, so your readers have a face to look at and make a personal connection with.

Testimonials provide your sales letter with credibility, as long as they have it themselves.

Writing Email Subject Lines for Sales Letters

Whether you are emailing or mailing your sales letter, it's going to need an eye-catching headline that speaks to a need your potential client has. The big difference between email subjects and headlines is that the former must not only be short enough to be read entirely before the email is opened, it also must get through any spam filter your recipient has set up.

Offer solutions to problems

As the old adage says, “people don't want to buy drills, they want a way to make holes.” What problems will your product or service solve? Phrase your help as a question (“Need more income tax deductions?”) or a way for your readers to do it themselves (“How to pay half the income tax you did last year.”) Information is always appreciated, so a subject should make it clear that there's valuable information inside.

Avoiding the spam filter

Spam filters have become more aggressive and certain words should almost never be used in an email subject line, according to this discussion on LinkedIn. The list includes words like “free” and “click now,” as well as ALL CAPS and excessive punctuation. You can also take a look in your own spam folder to see the kinds of things that get trapped there.

It's always a good idea to test your email against spam filters before you send it out to save precious time.

How to Inspire Your Sales Letter Readers to Act Now

The goal of a sales letter is generate sales. The tools which a sales letter uses can range from education to persuasion, but without a call to action, it's not going to be successful in selling your product or service. A call to action is an instruction to take the next step towards making the purchase, typically calling a toll-free number or visiting an online shopping cart. It may seem obvious that you're looking for business, but far fewer of the recipients of your sales letter are going to give you any if you don't actually ask for it.

Examples of the call to action

A call to action doesn't have to be complex, it simply needs to instruct the reader about how to make the next step, and why they should.

• Supplies are limited, so call now.

• This special price won't last! Visit our website to order your copy today!

• The first 500 callers will receive a free cell phone charger with their order.

Calls to action should be placed throughout a sales letter, with phrases like, “That's why I'm making this special offer at this time.” A reader often skips around the text of a sales letter, so simply placing the request at the end isn't always enough.

Make sure that any call to action is placed near ordering information, so the reader who has made the decision won't have to search for the phone number or web address.

Why a call to action is needed

Your sales letter, whether it's on paper or electronic, is much more likely to be acted upon if the order is placed right away. If the sales letter does not have a specific call to action that suggests urgency or a deadline, it may be categorized as “informational” by the reader. This means the letter ends up in a pile of papers, or buried in amongst old emails. Even with the best of intentions, the reader may never become your customer without that nudge.

6 Tips for Writing Strong Business Proposals

Larger customers, like governmental departments and corporate divisions, often require business proposals in writing for larger contracts. A written business proposal can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming. Take it in steps to make sure you've covered all the bases.

• Understand the job. Is there a written Request for Proposals (RFP) available? This document should explain what the job entails. Restate the scope of the job in the introduction to your proposal so that the client knows that you're clear on what's being asked.

• Focus on the client. What problem will your services be solving? For example, if you're writing a proposal to provide group health insurance, the problem may be employee retention. The focus of the proposal should be on how the client's problem will be solved.

• Make it personal. If the above two points don't do it, then make sure that your passion for your business comes across in the proposal. A personal connection can make a difference in which proposal is accepted.

• Budget honestly. Most small businesses are more able to compete on value than price. If you lower the bid based on promises of additional work, consider the likely volume and amount of work, and whether or not your lowered price would be in effect. Present a case why the price you're quoting is a better value.

• Speak the language. If technical jargon will get the point across most easily, by all means use it – but always write in the clearest language for your audience. Acronyms and scientific terminology won't make you seem more qualified if the client doesn't understand the words – he or she is more likely to move to the next proposal.

• Proofread it. Get as many sets of eyes to read the proposal as time will allow, because typographical errors can sink a proposal that's otherwise worthy of consideration.

Regardless of its size or complexity, a business proposal at its core is a marketing piece, designed to pitch a specific package of services to a particular client. In many cases, the client will even tell you exactly what they would like to see by putting out an RFP. Use this document as a road map to writing a successful business proposal.

Writing Brochures that get Read

Brochures can be promotional or informational – that is, they pique the curiosity of potential new customers, or they provide more detailed information on specific products or services that a client is interested in. Of the two, promotional brochures are less likely to be read because the recipients probably aren't already customers. How can you tweak the writing of a promotional brochure to maximize readership?

Six Panels of Benefits

A basic threefold brochure has six panels with which to captivate and motivate your audience. As with other sales copy, it's vital to focus on the benefits to the customer in that space. People make sales decisions emotionally and justify them logically, so your brochure must demonstrate how your product will fill a void in their lives.

Make a list of what you consider the seven best features of your product, and then write down an emotion next to each one. The positive words you wrote down are the ones you want your customers to know that they will feel, and the negative ones are clues to problems that your product can solve.

Call to Action

The brochure can't sell for you, but it can motivate clients to contact you. Make it easy – include your phone number with the explicit instruction to “call now,” or list your website address next to an enticing online offer. Don't let the reader forget that you can't provide those juicy benefits if they don't call – most people know they're forgetful and can appreciate this.

Invite Curiosity on the Cover

A brochure cover must invite itself to be opened. The headline generate interest: try laying out one of the best benefits or asking a question that resonates with anyone suffering from the biggest problem your service solves. Graphics and photos on the brochure cover should be intriguing enough to make the reader want to know more. A radio station once put up a hundred billboard of their station call letters, but hung them all upside-down. How can you translate the curiosity generated by those billboards onto the smaller scale of a brochure?

Never forget to ask your best critics: your existing customers. They know what benefits your products provide better than anyone else, because that's what keeps them coming back.

When to Write a Business Proposal

Businesses that get work by submitting written proposals are essentially spending their marketing budget on proposals instead of brochures. The larger the contract, the more time and money can be invested in the proposal, and the more downside risk looms if the proposal doesn't lead to business. Deciding which projects to bid on is as important as how to write the proposal.

Ask yourself the following questions when considering submitting a proposal:

1. Do I have the resources to do the job? Review any information you have about the job, including the RFP if there is one. Does your business honestly have the capability to do the job? Don't devote resources to bidding on projects you aren't qualified to complete.

2. What will it cost to write the proposal? Create a budget for the proposal which includes estimated hours for each person involved in the process.

3. How much is the contract worth? Make a conservative estimate of how much money will come in if the proposal is accepted, and compare it to your budget for writing the proposal.

4. Who is my competition? Get a sense of how much competition there might be, and whether or not your company has an edge. Was the project posted on the internet or announced in newspapers, or did you hear about it through word-of-mouth? Is there anything about your business that may grant your official or unofficial preferential treatment? For example, is your business local to the client, or woman-owned, or has it committed to using recycled paper? Does your company have particular specialties that would make it the best choice for the job?

The answers to the questions above will be part objective information and part gut feeling. Use those impressions to guide your decisions on which proposals are the best choices to write.

Overview of Writing Press Releases

A press release about a business isn't an announcement; it is an article that the business wrote about itself. If the article is well-written news about an interesting topic, it will get a lot of coverage, but a lackluster press release will be largely ignored, even if it does follow all the press release rules. When writing a press release, take these points into consideration:

Consider your audience

Who is the audience for a press release? Unless and until it gets picked up by a publication, a press release's audience is editors and journalists. It's true that a press release distributed on a service like PRWeb.com will be picked up by search engines, but unless your prospective customers make it a habit of searching for specific terms like “Dr. Weisenthal Opens Clinic in Mahopac” they may never see the story if it isn't picked up by a newspaper or other publication.

Journalists and editors are the audience for press releases, because those people must like them for anybody else to read them. Always keep in mind that a press release should be interesting and appealing to professional writers. So what makes a press release appealing?

Write a good news story

Reporters and editors are always scrambling for material and have short deadlines to meet. To a journalist, the perfect press release can be submitted directly to his or her editor with just a byline added and pass muster. It should have:

• an angle. Every good news story has a lead article that makes readers stop and read more.

• a pyramid structure – it should start with the most important ideas, and work its way into smaller details as the story progresses.

• quotes. Direct quotes and reactions from real people add a human-interest element, which is appealing to readers.

• no mistakes. Press releases should be carefully checked for grammar, spelling, and especially for word replacement mistakes (such as with “their” and “there”) which are rarely spotted by word processors.

Never forget that a press release must make somebody else's job easier if it's going to be successful.

How Customers Read Brochures

Brochures aren't necessarily read like books are – from front to back and left to write. Even if curious readers didn't tend to glance at whatever photo or block of text interested them, the design of many brochures doesn't make it easy to tell the “correct” way to read them. Write your sales copy to take this fact into consideration so that readers won't be left confused and frustrated.

Write Sections Interdependently

Each section of a brochure should express a single idea about the product or service, and should focus on the benefit, rather than the feature that provides that benefit. Begin each section with a crossheading (subtitle that stands out due to size, font, or formatting) that lists the benefit. Explain the value of the benefit, and touch upon the feature that creates it. Wrap up the section with a call to action or a teaser about another benefit which is explained nearby.

Focus the Reader's Attention

Brochure readers are most likely to look at pictures with caption, crossheadings, and breakout text before anything else. Use the breakout text (quotes from the main sales copy written in a larger font) to draw the reader's eye to a picture with an informative caption. The breakouts and captions have to convince the reader to learn how to buy what you're selling, so make sure that the text is filled with benefits that your customers will appreciate.

The Call to Action

Both in person and in writing it's not unusual to see a sales presentation that lacks a call to action – an instruction on how to move forward with the sale. In a brochure, calls to action should be easy to find: prominently display the phone number or web address on more than one panel, break out contact information as a coupon, and think about slipping in an invitation to call in the caption of one of the photos, since captions are some of the first words read. Remember that benefits, not features, sell products, and put the benefits anywhere in the brochure where you originally wanted to put a feature list.

How to Find Company RFPs

Many larger businesses, and pretty much all governments, use an RFP (Request for Proposal) to solicit business proposals for larger projects. Government RFPs are announced publicly and follow a process laid out in relevant laws, but private companies vary quite a bit in how they manage the business proposals that they ask for and receive.

Where do Private Companies Post RFPs?

Where a company posts an RFP depends upon the company, which doesn't make it easy. A good rule of thumb is to keep your eye on the places where people in that industry gather, both online and offline.

• Trade associations. Joining these groups usually gets you listed in a directory of similar professionals. Companies looking for proposals that match your skills often troll such directories to invite RFPs.

• Business networking events. Use chamber of commerce mixers and other events to develop relationships and educate other professionals about your specialties. Your goal is to have your name come up whenever people are talking about the kind of work you do.

• If you aren't comfortable speaking to strangers, consider joining a group that allows you to practice your business networking or public speaking skills.

• Current clients. Do the companies you're providing services for presently know the scope of your skills? They may have other work they'd be happy to give you if they know you're interested and qualified.

• Online directories generally charge a membership fee, and include:

• Onvia specializes in private RFPs

• Commerce Business Daily provides government listings.

• RFP Market is a free online directory.

Informal requests for proposal happen much more frequently in the private sector than can be tracked. The best way to be in the know about these offerings is to network, network, network.

Eye-Catching Press Releases

Some editors receive hundreds of press releases each month, but most don't succeed in making the claim that they are newsworthy. A press release announcing the opening of an office or a new vice president is pretty routine, and not likely to generate much interest as an article. For a press release to capture an editor's interest it needs to have a focus other than promoting your business.

Unique Story Focus

Identify or create a news focus that points back to your business. Planning ahead can allow you to develop a newsworthy angle for your routine business activity. For example:

• Are you opening a new office or preserving local wetlands from development?

• Did your office set a new record for charitable giving as a result of earning a top sales award?

• A paper company might announce an innovative recycled paper buyback program.

Story angles should focus on the community, not on the business. In order for the story to be run, the business itself must be secondary.

Tailor the Press Release

Take the time to individualize a press release to be appealing to the recipient. Identify the top five or ten publications that would give you the biggest boost if they cover your story, and make a version for each of them. Keep in mind the particular culture and style of each one, and highlight whichever aspect of your big event would be most interesting. If for no other reason, this should be motivation to get to know the editors of your local publications.

Take off the business blinders to make sure your press release is really interesting to other people. Better yet, when you ask someone to proofread it, make sure it's someone who is willing to offer honest criticism.