salesletters SUCK ... yup!

[citrus]

I stand by your argument too, Rob.

It's just a few details that we kind of disagree on. But big picture, I totally agree: you'll lose if you think one advertising medium is the be all end all for your business.

[Rob Toth]

Incidentally, I just learned of what Jeff Walker labels "the sideways salesletter"... basically the exact same thing we're all talking about: "visitors won't read the long sales letter" so he shows how the launch process chunks it down and delivers the sales messages in bite sized formats.

[Jeffrey Dean]

the salesletter still works. it occasionally morphs with time. its simply finding a way to connect with your audience.

in my opinion people want to be entertained and one very powerful way is through stories. also what i see happening for some people creating salesletters is they don't either entertain, connect or teach, hence a bad salesletter. it also helps to have Bold periodically for the ADD people.

see what the top sellers are doing to sell their own products not what they are telling you to do.

[Rob Toth]

"see what the top sellers are doing to sell their own products not what they are telling you to do. "

So using videos and an interactive process. And that includes Dan Kennedy, by the way. And all the recent big ticket info product launches.

[Jeffrey Dean]

videos and interactive definitely - just before you do a big roll out - test, test, test.

for some reason videos don't work as well as sales letters with some low end products. so i would do a split test if for some reason you start with low end products (which I would discourage).

[Chad H]

Its just a matter of testing, always has been. Test 3 widely varying styles if budget and time permit.

On a side note, ive always wanted to test a sales video that has the entertainment value of a movie trailer.

Most of what i have done has been outside the IM niche, and stories have always worked well for me, just not in the long form sales letter format.

[Jeffrey Dean]

just interested, what was the response from your subscribers to your email of the "no salesletters"?

[Rob Toth]

I expanded on my original post and included talk of some of the built in opportunity associated with all this...

If you want to read that followup, head over to:

http://www.robthegenietoth.com/lesso...elling-online/

[mikencm]

Rob, somewhere earlier you used the phrase "BITE SIZED".

That sort of struck a nerve because I've always thought that
breaking copy up into bite-sized pieces was a key factor in
any good copy.

It's easy to get lost in long copy (let alone bored). But if long
copy is required here's something I like to check. Take all of
the body copy from the letter and mentally discard it. What's
left is a series of sub headers.

Just as one sentence within a paragraph should cue up the
next to produce a natural flow of thought, so too should
each sub-header flow naturally to the next.

In other words, if one were to read only the sub headers
within the copy they should have a fair idea of what's
being discussed.

This is not always the case even in some guru type letters
and it gives a choppy look to the thing.

But let's be honest, at least in the IM niche, all other things
being equal, the money flows to those who feed the visitors
the red meat they hunger for--whether you feed it to them
from a long spoon or a short one, if you serve it up to
hungry buyers they'll take a bite. --Mike

[abbesnetwork]

Hi Rob,

I agree with you till one point. It depends on what you try to do. You make a sale throught a squeeze page. On short term you might win but on long term you lose in people's trust. If i want to build a list i do only that, if i wanna sale i make a sales letter.

Just my opinion
Razvan