Copywriting Sales Letters -- Tips And Sneaky Tricks
By James Kronefield
Copywriting sales letters for ebooks and software on the web can be great fun. Without the production costs of physical products, you have huge flexibility. Usually you can set whatever price you like. Of course that does not mean that people will buy at any price!

When setting your price, it is best to start low. If you start high, thinking that if you do not get many buyers you will reduce the price as if it were a sale in a store, people who bought at a higher price last week will be upset and are likely to start asking for refunds. But start low, and you can tweak your price upward. If you have had a well-publicised launch, this can be a great incentive to your buyers to act fast. Tell them the price goes up every 24 hours, or every 100 sales, or whatever - and then make sure that you do follow through and increase the price.

On the other hand, don’t start too low. It is true that you may not sell so many copies of your ebook if you charge $27 rather than $7, but remember that you have to sell almost 4 times as many at $7 to make the same profit. Consider what else is on the market, whether your topic is ‘hot’, the quality of your testimonials and bonuses as well as the product itself, and set a fair price. Then reduce it a little for the ‘early bird discount’.

Audio and video on CD or DVD have a higher perceived value than downloads, so you can charge more if you are willing to have these produced and shipped. Of course the costs are higher too, and you run the risk of over- or under-ordering. You may lose some buyers if they find unexpected high shipping charges added on the order page, so make sure that your shipping is charged at cost price.

There has been a trend in the last few years of setting ridiculous values on bonuses - "60 minute CD of teleseminar with

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guru X, $2,000 value - you know the kind of thing. How much would a CD like that cost from Amazon? $30? Don’t damage your credibility by making up crazy bonus values that nobody will believe. If you set a value on your bonuses, make sure that they are actually being sold for that price somewhere on the web.

At the end of your sales letter, you need a guarantee and then a strong call to action. It’s not enough just to show prospects your ground-breaking product, stunning bonuses and awesomely low price, you have to tell them to click on the order button, or they won’t. Avoid using the word ‘buy’ - no need to give them painful reminders that payment is required. So your order button could say ‘Click here to order’ or ‘Click now for instant download’.

Oh, and don’t forget your PS. A lot of people will scroll straight to the end to see the price so you need to put your most important points here to hit them in the eyes before they scroll up again to where the price really is. Remind them what a great deal they are getting, and how there’s a guarantee so there is really no risk for them at all.

Analyzing successful sales letters will also help you. Then make a couple of drafts before you upload your final version. Remember, keep it clear, stress the benefits, and price it right. Copywriting sales letters for the web will soon be a breeze.