Fire your largest cannon first.
By Alan Sharpe
The first time I was shelled by enemy artillery, I
learned a vital lesson that applies to the success
of your sales letters and fundraising letters.
I was lying in a slit trench on Mount Wall, about
35 kilometres west of the town of Stanley, in the
Falkland Islands. The year was 1982, the Falklands War.
The Argentines were lobbing 105mm Pack Howitzer shells
around my position, trying to dislodge my Royal Marines
Commando troop.
But their fire was ineffective.
You see, the soil in the Falkland Islands consists largely
of peat bogs. The soil is dense and wet and soft underfoot.
That means the enemy's artillery rounds penetrated the soil
before detonating, sending most of their force and shrapnel
upwards rather than horizontally, in my direction.
When you want to leave a lasting impression on your target
audience, you must use the right ammunition. If the
Argentines had used the kind of artillery shells that
explode above the ground rather than in it, you would
not be reading this article today.
So here is the principle applied in practice, in the
battle for the mind of your target audience. You must
open your sales letters and fundraising letters in such
a way that you compel your prospect to read on right to
the end, and take action. Your opening sentence is the
most vital sentence in your letter. If you use the
wrong ammunition here, your letter will misfire.
So start your letters with your largest cannon. Grab
your prospect’s attention so that he simply has to
read on. Here are some ideas:
- start with a gripping narrative
- ask a provocative question
- state a seeming contradiction or paradox
- open with a scintillating (and relevant) quote
- crack a joke
- start with the word "you"
In coming issues of this newsletter, I'll present some
excellent and effective opening lines from successful
sales letters and fundraising letters.
By the way, if you'd like to see a photo of what may be
that very Howitzer that I survived, praise God,
click here.
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Alan Sharpe is a direct mail copywriter, speaker and
sales lead generation specialist. Alan helps businesses generate sales and
secure sales meetings with qualified prospects using cost-effective, compelling direct mail marketing.
Subscribe to "Sharpe & Direct," his weekly
direct mail marketing newsletter
at www.sharpecopy.com. Browse the best direct mail books,
business-to-business direct marketing books,
and sales lead generation books at Alan's
online bookstore.
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