Page 244 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

It is a common fault of inexperienced writers to kill their story with a drawn-
out introduction. Business men who wouldn’t think of going into a prospect’s
office and opening a sales canvass with funny stories, think nothing at all of
starting a letter with some grotesque yarn which they drag into the letter by
the seat of the pants. There are even so-called letter experts who insist on
beginning every letter they write with some far-fetched introduction which
has no bearing at all on the product being sold.

These experts justify the practice from the standpoint that it gets attention.
But if a letter writer has such a poor grasp of the problems of the man he is
writing to, as to be unable to contact with him that way, he is not qualified for
the work at hand. The American business man wants no long drawn out
introductions. He wants you to come to the point quickly. Reading his
morning’s mail is a duty he wants to get over with just as soon as he can and
get on with the business of the day. He has no time for jaunts out into
fairyland.

Too Much “You” Is Worse Than Too Much “We”

Nearly all of the articles which have been written on the subject of letter
writing lay emphasis on the “you” idea. They tell the reader that if his letters
are to be successful he must talk to the prospect about his problems, about his
troubles and his trials, and he must never for a minute talk about the desires
or wishes of the man who is writing the letter or refer even in any way to his
business. In fact, you would almost imagine it a sin or crime to use the word
“we” in a letter. It is true that the closer a writer can get to his reader, the
better results are going to be; and it is also true that nothing interests a man so
much as himself. The salesman or the sales letter writer who can talk to him
about himself is sure to have his interest. On the other hand, however, this
“you” business can be and is being overdone. While the principle behind this
idea is perfectly sound, the execution of it is too often abused by writers of
sales letters.

TESTING CHART FOR LETTERS Selling Qualities of the Letter
Composition of the Letter