Chad’s Blog
Pragmatic Technologies for Life and Business Success®
I admit, I’ve never been a fan of the long sales letters. I am sure you know those pages I am referring to. The ones that scroll down the page forever, with lengthy text that would take you longer to complete reading than reading War and Peace. The choice of colors combination is sure to make any rainbow envy, and as you scroll down the page, you see a bunch of video testimonials that make you wonder who in the world those people are, and what manipulation techniques have been used to get them on those videos. You also often get to see fictitious photos of their castles and exotic cars.
“But wait, there is more!”
Of course, they all promise you the decoder ring, the key guarantee to your future success, and all of this for a discounted price, if ONLY you were to act today!
For quite some time, I was hoping that we’ve seen the last of TV infomercials. Not only have I been disappointed but I have come to the conclusion that these sales letters are some web life permutation of these infomercials and another life form of spam.
So who do you think buys these pathetic offerings and who has been successful selling them? The answer to the former is the poor desperate consumer that believes there is a quick silver bullet approach to success or the affiliate wanna-be that hopes for a quick buck and offers this on his or her site. The answer to the latter are the few charlatans preying on these poor souls.
And by the way, do you know what is worse that these sales letters? The ones that incorporate videos to manipulate your emotions, and share with you how they overcame their terrible misfortune and built their success from ruins.
© Chad Barr 2012 All rights reserved.
Chad,
Some good points here. There are certainly no shortage of charlatans – online and off – whose main talents seem to be the ability to pontificate, exaggerate and deceive.
However, while some misuse the sales letter that doesn’t change the fact that they are often used because they work. Often out-pulling short form sales letters in head-to-head competition.
Examples of companies who were either started – or grown substantially – with the help of a well-written sales letter include The Wall Street Journal, American Express, Rolls-Royce, Time Magazine, Liberty Mutual Insurance and many more.
At the end of the day a sales letter is a tool. It can be used for good and evil.
Best,
Curtis Alexander
Curtis,
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Instead of driving with a “sales letter” the type I described above, I recommend one drives with genuine, powerful and consistent value and a genuine offer. When done that way, value and integrity are not questioned.
Best,
Chad