Writing a sales letter that really moves the product you’re promoting isn’t something everyone can do, but there are those who might be great copywriters, but have yet to learn the basics of direct mail copywriting, already. be it for the web. or to print.

One of the most successful formulas for any copywriter is what is commonly known as AIDA, an acronym for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.

If you’ve had any previous interest in copywriting, you’ve probably heard of AIDA by now, but knowing what it means is not synonymous with knowing how to put it to use. How do you capture the reader’s attention? What does it take to get them interested in the product? How do you stimulate the desire to own the product? And finally, what action is needed and how do you get the reader to do what you ask?

Attention

The average website visitor will spend just seven seconds scanning a page before deciding whether or not it contains the information they are looking for. Unless he feels like your page is the right place for him, he’ll get out of there faster than the proverbial bat in a hot place.

Since sales letters are notoriously long (there is a lot of information to give after all), it is important that you use:

• Bullet points
• Headers
• Colored text
• Tables
• Graphics

All of the above will draw attention to important points within the letter. Use them to draw the reader to the points that you think they need to notice during their initial scan, as well as the points that you think should be highlighted as you read; after all, few people read everything in a sales letter.

Interest

Now that you have the reader’s attention, you need to keep their interest.

The first paragraph of your sales letter is very important here, as it should arouse curiosity. The best way to do this is usually through a question.

• Do you know how many people are paying too much for electricity?
• Isn’t it time for the government to improve our schools?
• What do you think is the best way to earn money online?
• How often was a promise made to you that was not kept?

A question will immediately attract the reader and arouse interest.

However, it is important that the question is relevant to the product you are selling. There is no point in asking about the price of electricity if you sell a shaker!

Questions also need an answer. Make your answer interesting.

• According to a recent survey by “Surveys Inc”, 36 percent of Americans are paying more than expected for their electricity supply, and most don’t even know there is a cheaper alternative!
• 36 percent of Americans pay too much for electricity and have no idea they could get it cheaper.

Which one do you think works best? I would say the first example because it tells you where the data is coming from, uses conversational language, and has a slight “hit” element.

Use humor where appropriate and keep your tone light. Give the reader facts, but don’t drown them in dry statistics and lists of numbers. Ask yourself if what you have written will seem interesting to you or not.

Yearned for

Hopefully, you will have hooked your reader and interested them enough to want to know the benefits of the product you are offering. Now it is up to you to convince him that he MUST have this product.

All possible benefits should be mentioned. Let’s say you are selling a one-year subscription to a men’s fitness magazine. What benefits could the book have? There are obvious benefits, like learning how to improve your overall health and fitness, reading up on celebrities and how they exercise, and reading up on the latest trends, but they’re not really enough to base the sale of a one-year subscription. You have to give the customer something that they won’t get by shopping and buying the magazine in individual editions.

• 12 editions for the price of 10 – let you know how much a subscription will save you
• A Permanent Subscription Free Pulse Meter – Let him know how much it is worth and what you can do to help improve your fitness levels.
• The magazine is delivered directly to your doorstep 3 days before it hits the stores; make it clear how easy it is to NOT have to go out in the rain and wind to buy the magazine, only to find it’s out of stock!
• Receive special gifts available only to subscribers – Please provide examples of the type of gifts subscribers can expect and what their likely value is.

The above are all incentives that are designed to create desire in the client. People like to get as much for their money as possible and very often they will buy the subscription to save money and receive free gifts, even though they did not intend to buy the magazine to begin with!

Give them reasons to want what you are offering!

Action

Now comes the crucial part: you have to get the reader to do what you ask.

• Order the product
• Donate money
• Sign up to receive your service

Whatever you need it to do, it’s vital that you don’t lose it right now.

Provide clear links to your checkout / donation / registration page and reiterate not only what you will get by acting now, but the possible consequences of not placing an order / donation etc.

“Order the ‘thingamyjig’ now to save yourself from the grueling task of digging the vegetable beds”

“Click the link to be one of the first 100 lucky customers who no longer have to worry about frozen pipes during the winter.”

The two examples above point out the benefits of acting now, but they also make it perfectly clear that not doing so will have consequences. Who wants to dig the vegetable bed if they don’t have to? And would you like to deal with unnecessarily frozen pipes?

Conclution

Hopefully, you will now be better equipped to use the AIDA method when writing your sales letters.

There is absolutely no doubt that when used correctly, AIDA can greatly improve the amount of sales your copy will generate, so it’s worth spending some time getting it right.

Although not everyone has the ability to write a marketing copy, there are many who can, but because they have not understood how it should be done, their copy simply has not given them the results they need. By using AIDA, that will change drastically!

Good luck.