4TH EDITION
THE ULTIMATE
SALES
LETTER
ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS.
BOOST YOUR SALES.
DAN S. KENNEDY
Author of the BusinessWeek Bestseller No B.S. Business Success
Copyright 2011, 2006, 2000, 1990 by Dan S. Kennedy
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
Published by Adams Business,
an imprint of Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
ISBN 10: 1-4405-1141-1
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-1141-7
eISBN 10: 1-4405-1190-X
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-1190-5
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their product are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.
This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.
What Can You Expect from The Ultimate Sales Letter?
Since its first publication in 1990, this book has inspired and guided tens of thousands of people in diverse businesses and sales activities in creating and using the ultimate sales letter. Here are a few of their comments:
One sales letter campaign developed from your instructions has actually produced so much business for my practice that I no longer have marketing needs. I only have trouble handling all the clients!
Harry Williams
Attorney, Illinois
I have invested well over $200,000.00 having Dan Kennedy write ads and sales letters for me. Getting an inside look at his method in this book is the bargain of the century.
Rory Fatt
Restaurant Marketing Systems, Inc., Vancouver BC
Carefully following the instructions in The Ultimate Sales Letter , I put together a long letter for the purpose of securing appointments with top decision-makers in my industry. In over twenty years in this business, I've never sent anything longer than a one-page letter, and frankly, I doubted your approach. But this time, instead of fighting through secretaries and making follow-up call after follow-up call, these prospects were calling me. So far, I've written over $50,000.00 in new business from mailing only 2,500 letters.
John Cummings
Michigan
I've been a marketing director for nearly ten years. I know quite a bit. My promotions pulled results; bosses and clients loved me. But I was not aware of how much I didn't know! If Dan Kennedy required my next-born child in exchange for the information he has given, I'd pay to have a reversal of my tubal ligation.
Bridget Campbell
Marketing Director, Idaho
And from Down Under
I have been a keen student of yours for close to ten years. More than any other direct-marketing expert on the planet, it is your tactics, strategies, and principles that have directly contributed to my success. From a Dan Kennedy neophyte to Kennedy expert, my achievements, including being CEO of Australia's twenty-ninth fastest-growing company and achieving rank of Australia's thirty-ninth richest young entrepreneur (per Business Review Weekly magazine), can be attributed to your teachings. Our products are now in every department store in the United States, the GNC stores, and we are looking forward to exponential growth this year.
Peter Nicholas
Naturopathica/Skin Doctors Cosmeceuticals
Sydney, Australia
There have been great copywriters in the past twenty-five years that are without peer. After the death of Eugene Schwarz, there are only three left living, and you, Dan Kennedy, are one of the three! Your copywriting advice, like that in The Ultimate Sales Letter , has helped me write copy that makes more than $60 million a year. You are my secret weapon.
Sonia Amoroso
Naturopathica/Skin Doctors Cosmeceuticals
Sydney, Australia
Contents
Introduction
You've Got the Power
Katie Yeakle
Turning words into profits. That's what sales letters do.
If you're a business owner, sales letters find new customers for you and persuade them to give you a chance. They keep your existing customers connected to you and buying more. And, they bring back customers who have left the fold and encourage them to buy from you again.
Understand how sales letters work and you'll have the power to create a successful business and the life you want to live.
By the time you're done with this book, you'll have that understanding. Plus, you'll know how to recognize fatal flaws in letters written for you you'll know how to get the most out of every sales letter you mail and you'll know how to speak about sales copy in a meaningful and efficient way.
If, however, you picked up this book because you like to write, I have great news for you too.
You now have in your hands a ticket for living the writer's life.
Just imagine. You can make more money than many doctors and lawyers make just by writing simple, conversational letters like the ones you'll be studying in the pages ahead. For over a decade now, American Writers & Artists, Inc. (AWAI), the organization I'm proud to have helped create, has been showing folks who are sick of the rat race, or who simply want to make more money, how writing sales letters (aka copywriting) is the easiest and most fun way to start living a better and more stress-free life.
The ability to persuade via the written word, which is what you're about to learn how to do, is a skill that is, and always will be, in very high demand. Plus since as a copywriter you own your business, you can work where you want when you want. You're in total control.
And even though AWAI has done a good job spreading the word about the huge demand for people who can write sales letters, more letters are still needed.
Since the emergence of the Internet as a proven and vital marketing vehicle, the demand for letters, and people who can write them, has gone through the roof!
In the pages ahead, you're going to learn how to harness the power of these simple letters from one of the most successful and highly paid sales letter writers in the world, Dan Kennedy.
As Dan tells you right up front, Don't be intimidated by the idea or process of writing. There's no magic or genius or Harvard degree required.
In The Ultimate Sales Letter , Dan gives you his system for writing and maximizing the power of a sales letter. You'll know how to attract customers and how to boost sales. He gives you his best secrets, techniques, and tactics for profiting from what he calls the most versatile sales tool of all.
By the time you're done reading The Ultimate Sales Letter , you'll have the power to transform your business and your life.
Katie Yeakle
AWAI's Executive Director
Next page