Michael Fortin has finally given in. Dear So and so has officially been declared a horrible opening to a sales letter. Well, it’s about time too. If you’ve been starting your sales copy with “Dear Marketer” or “Dear Entrepreneur” or whatever, you might want to read this article before putting together another one of these disasters of marketing. Calling anybody a dear will kill your copy before it ever gets off the ground.

Okay, so why is starting your copy with Dear so and so…so bad? Well, the main reason is that is sounds like a sales pitch. Worse than that, it sounds like a late night infomercial. “Dear insomniac, are you tired of not being able to get any sleep at night?” When I see an opening like “Dear marketer”, since I go to a lot of sales pages selling info products for marketers, I just close it right up. I know this guy either got a hack for a copywriter or did it himself. I’m not sure what’s worse.

But there is an even bigger reason not to start your sales copy text with “Dear so and so.” See, when you write sales copy, you want to engage the reader immediately. These kind of openings don’t accomplish this. All they do is delay the reader getting to the good part of your copy…if they ever even get to it.

Okay, so then if “Dear so and so” is a terrible way to start your sales copy…how should you start it? Is there one proven method to starting your sales copy? Well, there are many ways to start your sales copy. One of my favorites is to start off by asking the prospect a question. For example, if I were writing sales copy for a natural acne cure, I might start off with something like this…

“Are you petrified to ask that pretty girl out to the prom because your face looks like something out of Nightmare On Elm Street?”

Now, if the product I am pitching is targeted to teens, and most acne products are, then this type of an opening question is really going to hit home. How many kids feel exactly like this? Trust me…I was a kid once and it was NOT pretty. Now can you imagine me starting my copy with “Dear acne sufferer?” It’s almost laughable. Can you see the difference? The effectiveness of the former is tenfold the latter. The truth is…there is NO comparison.

There are many other ways to start your sales copy effectively. Check out the resource in my signature and you’ll discover everything you’ll need to know to write killer copy in no time at all.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim
Want to write copy just like the pros? Visit my site at http://www.bcipe.com/ and discover killer copywriting tips that have allowed me to write my own copy for years and earn myself a 6 figure a year income selling my own products.