This is a stupid question but it has to be asked.

Does your sales letter create as many sales as you would like?

What proportion of them respond to your advert?

What is just as important, how many of those that respondedactually purchased your product?

How can you improve the response rate?

How many new email addresses did you capture?

Do you have an 'opt in' strategy so that you can mail them later with more offers without being accused of spamming?

Let us look at the sales letter first.

The headline.

Does it stand out? Does it grab your attention?

Does it shout, "READ ME, READ ME, READ ME".

On the other hand: Does it give a tantalising hint at something

interesting inside. Something of real benefit to the reader.

Does it ask a question that can only be answered by reading the

content of the letter?

The letter itself.

Is it speaking to a group of people? Or is it a one to one

conversation?How many times does it say 'You' compared with the number of

times it says 'Me, We or I'.

Your readers are not interested in you or what a marvellousgadget you are offering. No, they are only interested in

what it can do for them. How much better off they will be ifthey invest their hard earned cash in your enterprise.

Will it help them to become rich, a better person, happieror better looking, Will it make them more attractive to the opposite sex?

Convince them of just one of these, or similar things and the price will not matter.

It all boils down to "What's in it for me."

The old adage: "Sell the sizzle, not the steak" is as relevant now as it was in the old days of door knocking.

Let's go back to the original sales letter.How good was it in the first instance?Were you happy with the initial response? if so, what went wrong? Has it become stale. Would a makeover put it right?Perhaps it just needs a new headline.

If the click through rate is good, it would appear that the headline is doing it's job.

Should the ratio of purchases to clicks-through be poor I would suggest that the text of the letter is not up to scratch.

The problem may not be in the letter, or the headline.It could be that you are not aiming your advertising at the right people.

Whatever you are selling, a very large percentage of the population will not be interested in it.

You must find those who are the most interested in your particular product.

You would not think of advertising fishing rods in a fashion magazine.

It is amazing how many things are aimed at e-zines and other media that have little or no relevance to the product.

Let us assume that we are advertising in a selection of ezines.

How do we know which ones to use?

The surest way is to sort out some likely ones and subscribeto them. Ask for some back issues. Get a feel for the type of readership.

Would they be likely to be interested in your product?

Or have you another product that would interest them? I have had some of my best product ideas from reading an ezine that had no relevance to what I was selling at the time.

I generally try the cheapest adds first, if I am sure that the readership is right for my product and the cheap ad' pulls even a few sales, I then put a similar ad in the bestposition in the ezine, knowing that if the small ad' works,the bigger ad will surely make a good profit.

Should the cheap ad' not work, don't give up yet. You can generally get a good idea of what is working by studying the other ad's in the ezine, especially those that appear week after week in more than one ezine.Type out a similar ad' but for your product and see how it goes.

Copy other people's methods but don't copy their adverts.As soon as someone has written something, it immediately becomes their copy write and you would need their permissionto reproduce it. (The main exception is if you paid that person to write it for you.) In that case it is best to decide who is the owner of the copy write before you start.

Don't give up. If you have faith in what you are selling, you must find the best methods of advertising it.

Then it is up to you to write the best advert that you can.Always remembering that it is the headline that must capturethe reader's attention. Without a good headline, the best advert in the world will be overlooked and just a waste of space, time and money.

I hope I have given you something to think about.In this business your adverts are your shop window. The aim is to get their attention and invite them to come inand take a closer look.

I wish you all the best in your business ventures, remember,You are a very important member of the community.Without the small businesses, the world's economy would collapse over-night.

By for now. Bob.....Robjfar

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert has been on line for over four years and earns a very good living from some of the very best affiliate programs on the web. This is one of his favorites.If you are interested in growing your very own opt-in mailing list in the shortest possible time, take a look now.

http://www.bz9.com/robjfar 'It's free.'

---

MORE RESOURCES:

RELATED ARTICLES How To Profit From Initial Consultations "I'd love to work with you, but?"How many times have you heard these words? As a professional service provider looking to grow your business, isn't it sometimes frustrating to hold an initial session with someone who you'd love to work with but the potential client has a whole list of reasons why s/he would love to work with you, but??As in, "I'd love to, but.. Just Ask! Instilling urgency in a prospective customer can make the difference between achieving a sale and losing it altogether. If your prospects cannot vividly see personal benefits from taking action, there will never be the sense of urgency needed to follow your suggestions. Leave a Better Voice Mail Message Yesterday I received a call from a financial planner named Richard doing a cold call. My policy is to always return those calls which help me to understand why I would personally benefit from doing business with a sales person. Lance Has What It Takes Lance has what it takes and then some.Did you know . How to Build A Steady Stream of Customers--Step One The success of a small business depends upon a steady stream of good customers. To build that stream of customer a business owner must examine five critical points in their business operations. Marketing Conversations, And Conversation Stoppers Where many marketing conversations get off-track are the ones you have with yourself, before you even pick up the phone or initiate the handshake. As independent professionals, usually at the helm of solo businesses, we sometimes find ourselves facing daunting internal obstacles as we try to begin our day's marketing activity. How to Acquire More Leads The most effective prospecting techniques were revealed inthe August 1st, 2002, issue of TIP (URL at end of article)that resulted from a survey of financial advisors earning over $200,000 annually.Here's how they rated the following techniques:100. Casual Networking What comes to mind when you think of networking -- cocktail parties? Shaking hands and exchanging business cards at a Chamber of Commerce events? Endless lines of people anxious to make you a customer? Sweaty palms and panic?Networking is not about how many business cards you can collect -- it's about building a long-term and mutually beneficial RELATIONSHIP with another business person. And it doesn't have to be painful or forced! When you do it the right way -- networking is as natural as starting up a casual conversation. Value Based Pricing, Not Price Cutting Special Requirements for Reprint: we ask only that you include Paul's name and resource box, and keep all hyperlinks as live links.Complete Article with Resource Box at end:Value Based Pricing, Not Price CuttingThe oldest tactic in the world to get a sale moving is to cut the price. Are You Selling What They Want To Buy? Is It An Appropriate Solution? Let me tell you about my friend Peter who has four children. With a family of six, he finds buying cars rather trying. Persuading Learners to Buy: 7 Groups There are seven major reasons why adults continue their pursuit to learn. Each of the reasons play into the way you want to present your sales information. Listen! How to Sell More by Listening More! In my opinion, one of the biggest skills of being able to sell well is developing your listening skills. Most sales companies and sales people talk about being consultative but they don't really know what consulting is! No-one can consult if they cannot listen first. What Do Mobile Auto Detailers Clean When it Rains? A mobile auto detailer and their profits are tied to the weather perhaps more than any other business. There are ways to make money even on a rainy day if you are smart. I Don't Want To Be Sold; I Want To Buy I went shopping for clothes today.My plan was to buy a navy blue sports coat, a couple of shirts and ties and maybe a pair of black shoes. Selling To Women - Selling To Men - It Isnt the Same Selling To Women - Selling To Men - It Isn't the SameNow let's not fall into the old style car salesman's trap ofbelieving that men are interested in what goes on under thebonnet and women are only interested in what colours youcan get and whether it has a vanity mirror.Believe me,and Ispeak as an ex mechanical engineer, I couldn't give a tootwhat goes on under the bonnet. The "Write" Way to More Sales The sales letter you can't put down?the advertising copy that makes you want the product?the resume that prompts you to call the job candidate this second?all these are examples of exceptional business writing. While you certainly know good writing when you see it, can you write with the same pizzazz the professionals use to hold your attention for pages on end?In today's selling arena, writing skills have taken a backseat to other seemingly more important professional development activities. How To Write A Riveting Sales Letter That Closes Sales How do you get people's attention and build their interest to take the time to read your sales letter? Let's face it. If you can't get the attention of prospects and keep their interest your sales letter will just fall flat on it's face and thus not make you much money. A Brief History of the Sales Profession The formula for defining a "profession" is similar throughout many disciplines, including: accounting, education, engineering, law and medicine. These professions all have codes of ethical conduct, a definition of their scope, and standards of practice for their members, which include some or all aspects of academic preparation, accreditation, certification and/or licensing. How Improve Conversion Rates Do you know your conversion rates? Conversion rate is the number of visitors to your site that take the desired action against the total number of visitors in a particular period or time. Research has shown that 60% of websites do not know their conversion rates. Lock, Stock, and Barrel! The other night I was watching a classic western from 1969, Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West". There's a scene in this movie where an auction is being held for the widow Jill's land holdings.