[Note: I wrote this as a bonus chapter for Dan Kennedy’s next edition of his popular book, “The Ultimate Sales Letter.”]

We all know that copy is king … and that a well-crafted sales letter can boost sales, attract new customers, and encourage current customers to buy more … regardless of whether they’re reading it online or off.

BUT, when we mindfully take into consideration how the online reader differs from the offline reader, we’re able to greatly improve our chances of getting them to take the action we want, before leaving the website … and most likely never returning again.

And it’s those details that give us a huge advantage over competing messages online.

You see, the fundamentals of persuasive writing remain as true online, as they do for offline formats like direct mail.

The difference lies in the reader’s intention and state of being when they first stumble upon your letter.

Think about it for a second …

You walk down to your mailbox to pick-up the mail.  You go back inside your house, close the door, and begin flipping through the stack, sorting it into piles.  Magazines … catalogs … bills … direct mail …

But wait, one of those final letters catches your eye.  The envelope is literally speaking to you!

So you take it, go into the living room, sit down on your sofa, open it up and start reading.  You’re relaxed.  You’ve decided the letter is worth reading.  There are no distractions.  It’s just you and the letter.

Now picture yourself sitting at your desk …

You’re checking out how your stocks did today, reading an email from your best friend, and looking for the best deal on flights for your upcoming vacation.

You’re active … you’re task oriented … and you’re surrounded by distractions from your email inbox to the banners and links that are just begging for you to click them.

It’s right then that you stumble across an ad that catches your eye.  You click on it, immediately arriving at a sales letter.  You’re already feeling impatient … you’ve got a lot of other things to do online at this very moment.  Is there REALLY something here you need?

Oh look, Expedia has a sale on flights …

Click … you’re gone.  And you won’t be back.

So while yes, the fundamentals of writing a persuasive sales letter that gets someone to buy are the same, there are a few key differences that you’ll want to pay close attention to when crafting an online sales letter.

And I’m going to give you my fives best tips for improving the results of each and every online sales letter you write.

Tip #1: Know your audience.

More specifically, know how they got to your online sales letter.  That’s right – I’m not talking about their age, their sex, or what their core desires and fears are at this point.   If you’re writing sales letters, you should already know that.

I’m talking about how your prospect – the reader – found your online sales letter.

Was he searching Google for something specific and ran across your website?  Did he click on a pay-per-click ad that offered to solve his problem?  Or did you direct him to it from an email you sent him personally?

They key here is to consider whether or not your reader was searching to solve a problem when he came to your sales letter, or if you were the one who identified that need and then offered to fix it.  The result will impact the way you speak to the reader once they’ve arrived.

If they find you while searching for a solution, they’re looking for something and will want to know immediately IF you can help them …  if you have anything to offer them.

But if you lead them to the sales letter, with an email for example, they KNOW you can help them, but they’re now looking for the proof and waiting for you to convince them why they should stay instead of clicking their mouse to escape.

Think about this and write to that person accordingly.  And remember, one of the biggest benefits of writing an online sales letter is that you can have as many versions as you need!

Tip #2: Get those big benefits front and center.

“Sell the sizzle … not the steak.” Elmer Wheeler, Master Salesman

I’m sure you’ve heard this one a million times before … you sell with benefits not with features.  But just to make sure we’re on the same page, I’ll illustrate with a quick example.

Say your reader is looking online for a diet plan that will help her lose 20 pounds by summer.  When writing your sales letter, you won’t focus your copy on the fact that the diet program includes seven patented supplements that she’ll take daily.  That’s a feature, which you’ll mention, but in all honesty she couldn’t really care less about.

You’ll focus on what losing those 20 pounds will do for her … how it will make her feel.  She’ll feel confident in her bikini and heads will turn to look at her when she walks into a room.  That’s the benefit of your diet.

Selling with benefits is one of the first thing most copywriters learn, and one of the most important elements of an effective sales letter.  And while with an online sales letter they’re equally important, it’s the placement of those benefits that differs.

Because people reading online are often more impatient, and easily distracted, you need to pay close attention to what appears “above the fold,” which refers to the area you can see on a website without having to scroll down.

When writing an online sales letter, make sure you get some of your biggest benefits into that area.

With an offline sales letter, once the reader has sat down to read it, you can easily get them to read the first full page or two.  But that’s not the case online.  You only have a couple of paragraphs to grab them and convince them not to click away.  So make sure they know the benefits of what you’re offering them right up front.

Tip #3: Pay attention to layout and design.

Now this tip is going to include a lot of little tips all rolled into one.  Think of this tip as a crash course into effective web design, with only one objective in mind: Make the page as easy to read as possible.

There are so many reasons why your reader can and most likely will leave your online sales letter before they finish reading it.  It’s the nature of beast … it’s the Internet.

Remember what we talked about earlier, they’re not sitting on the couch.  They’re not relaxed.  They’re not committed.  ANYTHING that distracts them or makes it hard to read will cause them to leave.  So we need to keep them focused, and lead them to our call to action.

Ready for your crash course?  Let’s dive in …

Tip 3a: Get rid of any and all distractions.  Remove pointless graphics and links.  Bottom line: If it doesn’t help the reader get to the call to action, get rid of it.

Tip 3b: Write your sales letter in a single column.  It’s been tested again and again and is proven to be easier to read, which means you have a better chance of controlling your reader’s eyes and attention.

Tip 3c:  Pay attention to the column width.  The wider the width, the harder it is to read.  If it’s too wide – meaning your eyes tire when traveling from the last word on one line to the first word on the next – increase the margins on either side of the sales letter to make it narrower.

Tip 3d: Choose a font size that’s large enough for everyone to read, and choose a font type that’s san serif like Verdana or Tahoma.

While normally in printed materials a serif font like Times New Roman or Courier New is preferred, computer screen resolutions can vary greatly, and the serif fonts can look blurred.  The simplicity of a sans serif font makes them easier to read on screen.

Tip 3e: Don’t let your designers convince you to use colored fonts, or write anything in reverse (white font on a black background).  Even though they will often feel it “looks cool,” you want your readers to be able to easily read your sales letter.  Stick to black text on a white background.

Tip 3f: Use shorter sentences and paragraphs online.  Along with looking less intimidating, they’re much easier to read and comprehend online.

Tip 3g: Use subheads and bullets often, and keep them full of benefits.  While this tip is relevant to both online and offline sales letters, they’re needed even more online.

Remember, people reading online are impatient, and a higher percentage of them will scan rather than reading every word.  So make sure you’re able to keep them engaged and on the path to your call to action.

Bonus tip: Use this as a checklist the next time you write an online sales letter!

Tip #4: Give special attention to your call to action.

Congratulations!  You’ve kept your reader engaged all the way to the end.  Now all you have to do is get him to TAKE the action you’ve been leading him to all along.

You should already know what you want him to do at this point, but how you ask him to do it is what’s critical.

Word choice matters here.  You’ll want to be specific, so first think about where he s in the buying process …

• Is he ready to buy?  Have him “order now.”
• Is he signing up for an event?  Tell him to “register now.”
• Is he not quite sold at this point? Let him “add to shopping cart” so you can follow up with him if he leaves before completing the sale.

The point is to really think about the action you want him to take, and then specifically and succinctly tell him to do it.

Finally, put the call to action within the body of your email like this:

Order right now and save $200.

Whatever you do make sure your online reader can easily take the action you want, whether he’s reading the entire letter word for word, or scanning the page.  If he makes it to the end, there’s a good chance he’s looking to take action.

Tip #5: Revise, test, repeat.

Things are changing all the time online.  So when it comes to your online sales letter, you’ll never have a final draft.  And thanks to the ability to easily make changes without having to pay for a new print run, you’re able to test various elements of your sales letter any time you want.

Not sure what to revise?  Ask yourself these questions …

• What new ways are driving visitors to your sales letter?  Did you just implement a new pay-per-click or social media campaign?
• What new needs and desires do your customers have that are leading them to your sales letter? In other words, what are they searching for?
• What pages on your website or other people website’s are now linking to your sales letter that weren’t before?

Not sure what to test?

• Any copy changes you make after answering the questions above.
• Headlines, bullets, formats and fonts.
• Offers, call to action buttons, and subheads.
• Anything you think may impact sales!

Think of your sales letter as an athlete.  You’re trying to make him bigger, better, and faster.  So you tweak the training here, add a supplement there.  Does he perform better? Great, what else can you do?

Closing thoughts …

You now have quite a tool belt of online skills that will help you put together an effective online sales letter.  The key is to remember that while the person reading your online and offline sales letter may be the same, the manner in which they read it, and the attitude they have, can differ greatly.

Your job with an online sales letter is to control your reader’s attention so that you can get him to your call to action.  And you’ll do that by telling him right up front he’s in the right place, and then by ensuring the path is clear.