12 Steps To Writing a Flawless Marketing Letter

Updated July 19, 2023

Reaching out directly to customers over email or through the mail with a marketing letter is a simple, affordable way to market products and services. These methods can help you generate sales by directly advertising to sales leads based on their interests and needs. By using the right strategies when preparing your marketing letter, you can turn sales leads into dedicated customers.

In this article, we explain what a marketing letter is and provide instructions on how to write one to achieve your marketing goals.

What is a marketing letter?

A marketing letter, also known as a sales letter, is a document designed to convince potential customers to purchase direct outreach. They are usually one page or less, meant to succinctly share details about a business. Salespeople send customized marketing letters and emails to individuals that might be interested in their services, leveraging the one-on-one interaction to build a personal connection. Marketing letters include information about how an individual could benefit from doing business with a company, and often feature a special deal or sale.

Marketing letters are also a good way to introduce your company to new customers and advertise new features. The simple format of a marketing letter makes it ideal for explaining the core benefits of a product or service using persuasive writing. The best marketing letters are both educational and entertaining, enticing customers to want to learn more.

How to write a marketing letter

Use these steps and strategies to develop an effective marketing letter that generates sales:

1. Define your target audience

To write an impactful marketing letter, you first need to understand who your target audience is and how they could benefit from making a purchase. Adjusting the content of your marketing letter to align with the consumer's needs is the best way to convince them to do business with you. Research the demographics of your ideal customer to understand what angle you should use when discussing your products and services. Creating a buyer persona that describes the challenges, values and desires of different types of customers can make it easier for you to create a personalized letter.

In addition to planning your letter based on a general category of an ideal buyer, address each customer as specifically as possible. If you have an existing contact list of potential sales leads, address your contacts by name at the start of the letter. When selling to other businesses, research their operations to find specific ways you could help their company. This targeted messaging can make the communications feel more personal and appeal directly to your future customer's goals and buying habits.

2. Envision your brand voice

Before you start writing, think about how you want customers to perceive your brand. The voice and tone you use when writing your marketing letter can impact how customers think about your business and contribute to your identity and public image. Some businesses may benefit from using a serious, professional tone while others may prefer a laid-back and casual writing style. Decide whether you want to be creative, entertaining, educational, sympathetic, motivational or cautionary when writing your letter.

Using a consistent brand voice across your marketing materials can help customers become more comfortable with your company, so try utilizing language and tone similar to other written content and communications. If you're unsure what your company voice should be, do some research on what kind of tone your target audience responds best to.

3. Determine the purpose of your letter

The primary purpose of a marketing letter is to generate sales, but you should also identify a more specific reason for writing each letter. This will help guide your writing and keep you focused on the main idea of the letter. Some of the common purposes for marketing letters are:

Increasing purchases for a specific service
Generating awareness of a new product launch
Advertising a sale
Convincing former customers to make a repeat purchase
Gaining referrals to new sales leads

Once you know exactly why you're writing the letter, you can use the right writing strategies to persuade customers to take the desired action.

4. Use an attention-getter

To get the most out of your marketing letter campaign, you first have to convince your sales leads to open your message and read what you have to say. Start your letter with an interesting sentence or phrase to get the reader's attention. If you're writing an email, you can use the subject line as an attention-getter in addition to a compelling first sentence. Things that grab the audience's attention include references to promotions or discounts, details about the benefits of your products and information about the sales lead.

Here are a few examples of attention-getters that you could use in the subject line or the beginning of your letter:

Learn the secret to eliminating shipping costs
You can save 20% on office supplies with our bulk orders
The perfect night's sleep is only a click away
Let's turn our shared passion for customer service into profit

These short sentences give readers a reason to read the following message based on their needs and values. Try out a few different opening lines to see which ones generate the best click-through rate.

5. Introduce your business and services

After starting your letter with an attention-getter, describe who you are and what you do. Be direct about what you can offer to your potential customer. Include the name of your business in the first paragraph to form a mental association between your business and its potential benefits for the customer. If you want to highlight a specific product or service, mention it by name and share a few exciting details or features. You should provide enough information to educate customers about your business without distracting from the main purpose of your marketing letter.

6. Highlight the benefits of doing business

Once you've introduced the main features of the item you're selling, explain how making a purchase could impact your customers. Describe the problems your business solves, share testimonials from satisfied customers and identify other benefits of making a purchase. Discuss how you can save them money and time or improve their quality of life. This helps the customer envision how purchasing from your company could contribute to achieving their goals. Explain the potential positive results of using your products, being careful not to exaggerate or mislead customers with unrealistic expectations.

7. Reference your qualifications

Legitimize your claims by describing your qualifications and experience. Mentioning how many years your business has been operating, listing statistics about customer satisfaction and describing other industry expertise can establish trust with your potential customers. People are more likely to believe the potential benefits of your products if they feel that you have the expertise and authority to make recommendations. You can reference both your personal qualifications and those of the company you're working for. Mention certifications, awards and other external recognition for additional prestige and influence.

8. Create a sense of urgency

To convince the reader to act on your letter, try to develop a sense of urgency in your letter. Customers who stop to think about whether they want to reply could simply forget about the letter entirely. You can encourage the reader to take immediate action by setting a deadline in your letter or implying that high demand could limit the future availability of products and services. For example, you could explain to customers that you can only guarantee the specific price quote in your marketing letter until a certain date.

9. Provide an incentive

Promising potential customers access to additional services, discounts, sales, promotions, upgrades and free content if they respond is a great way to establish a business relationship. You can offer a free demo or guide in your marketing letter if customers sign up for a trial or make a purchase, giving them a direct incentive to consider doing business with you. Adding small extras can make customers feel that they're getting additional value for their money, providing them with extra encouragement to take advantage of your offer.

10. Give instructions for the next steps

Include a clear call to action where you describe what your potential customer should do to make a purchase or get more information about a product. Instead of assuming that customers know how to buy your products or contract your services, provide them with directions. You can tell your sales lead to reply to the email, visit your website, attend an event or inquire with associates in your store. This is not only an effective persuasion tactic, it's also a great way to eliminate confusion and anticipate customer questions on what to do next.

11. Share contact information

Remember to include contact details to facilitate a reply. Customers tend to appreciate having a specific person to contact, so include your name, email, phone number, return address and other details. If you're reaching out over email, make sure that any links in your message lead to the right page before clicking send.

12. Test the outcome

Once you start sending out marketing letters to your list of sales leads, keep track of how many people respond. Like any marketing campaign, collecting data and measuring the impact of your efforts on sales is essential for focusing your resources on the best strategies for your business. Consider creating different versions of a basic marketing letter and testing them to see which one generates the most conversions or sales. By tracking changes and measuring the outcome, you can learn what kinds of language and sales strategies are most effective with your target audience.

Marketing letter template

Here is a basic marketing letter template that you can fill in with relevant information to create a draft for your own products and services:

Dear [Customer Name],

[Company Name] is a business with [qualifications] that offers [products or services] to [target market] to address common issues like [problems your product or service can solve]. Our satisfied customers report [benefits of products or services]. We're offering you [specific product name] at only [price point], allowing you to enjoy [list of product or service features]. We can guarantee this promotional offer until [date], so act fast to confirm your order.

You can sign up by speaking to one of our representatives at [contact information]. Sincerely,

[Name]
[Title]
[Company]

Download Marketing Letter Template

To upload the template into Google Docs, go to File > Open > and select the correct downloaded file.

Marketing letter example

Browsing marketing letters for similar scenarios can help you create the best one for your business. Read this example marketing letter to get ideas about what to include in your pitch:

Dear Dr. Nilsson,

With the right revenue cycle management software, you can simplify the billing process at your clinic and lower delinquent accounts by over 20%. Primary PatientCare is a health care RCM provider that provides comprehensive software solutions for billing and patient account management for hospitals and private practices. We have over 10 years of experience coordinating payments and maintaining databases for health care professionals, resulting in a user-friendly software interface that optimizes the payment process.

Health care providers that use Primary PatientCare report better customer service ratings, fewer later payments and increased insurance claim acceptance rates. For a limited time, we're offering our entire software suite with platinum access for only $200 a year. Enjoy access to features like a patient portal that integrates with your practice's website, automatic appeals and self-service bill pay.

We're offering this discounted bundle until March 15, 2021, so reach out to services@ppc.com today to schedule a free demo. If you act now, you'll gain complimentary access to 24/7 customer service for both patients and providers.

Sincerely,

Jane Stanton
Sales Manager
Primary PatientCare