The Ultimate Sales Letter: Attract New Customers. Boost Your Sales [Paperback]

Dan S. Kennedy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2006 | Series: Ultimate Sales Letter

Write Well to Sell Big!

In the age of e-mail and instant communication, great sales copy is indispensable to closing a deal. But too many sales letters end up in the junk file or the wastebasket. In this new edition of his top-selling book, author Dan Kennedy explains why some sales letters work and most don't. And he shows how to write copy that any business can use.

Among other things, he provides:

• Completely updated text and examples
• Great headline formulas
• New exercises to spark creativity
• The best way to use graphics

Kennedy is the most successful, highly paid direct-response copywriter in the country. In this book, he shares his step-by-step formula so everyone can write letters that will nail the sale.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dan S. Kennedy is president of Kennedy's Inner Circle, and has been writing sales letters for over twenty years for both large and small businesses. He is also a popular speaker on marketing and sales issues. His popular newsletter, The No B.S. Marketing Letter, reaches thousands of people in the U.S. and Canada while his Web site receives more than 10,000 dedicated visitors a month.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media; 3 edition (February 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593374992
• ISBN-13: 978-1593374990
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > Business & Investing > Skills > Business Writing

More About the Author

Dan S. Kennedy is the provocative, truth-telling author of seven popular No B.S. books, thirteen business books total; a serial, successful, multi-millionaire entrepreneur; trusted marketing advisor, consultant and coach to hundreds of private entrepreneurial clients running businesses from $1-million to $1-billion in size; and he influences well over 1-million independent business owners annually through his newsletters, tele-coaching programs, local Chapters and Kennedy Study Groups meeting in over 100 cities, and a network of top niched consultants in nearly 150 different business and industry categories and professions.

As a speaker Dan has repeatedly appeared with four former U.S. Presidents; business celebrities like Donald Trump and Gene Simmons (KISS, Family Jewels on A&E); legendary entrepreneurs including Jim McCann (1-800-Flowers), Debbi Fields (Mrs. Fields Cookies), and Nido Qubein (Great Harvest Bread Co.); famous business speakers including Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, Tom Hopkins, and Tony Robbins and countless sports and Hollywood celebrities. Dan has addressed audiences as large as 35,000....for more than ten consecutive years, he averaged speaking to more than 250,000 people per year.

Dan lives in Ohio and in northern Virginia, with his wife, Carla, and their Million Dollar Dog. He owns, races and drives professionally in about 100 harness races a year at Northfield Park near Cleveland, Ohio, accessible at http://www.NorthfieldPark.com and frequently televised on the TVG cable network.

For more information check out my blog at www.dankennedy.com/blog/

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

113 of 118 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Simple, Limited by My Own Imagination October 17, 2001

By James Carter

Format:Paperback

This book is an amazing resource for anyone who writes sales letters. I own a business that sells high dollar OD/HR consulting. I bought this book based upon the reviews it got from other readers and the title. At first, I was very disappointed because the book is really directed mostly at direct-mail, reach-out-and-grab-the-buyer type businesses with products or services for consumers. My target audience is much more sophisticated and specialized.

I put the book on my shelf until recently. I picked it up again, mostly forgetting what I didn't like about it the first time. I quickly remembered, but I kept looking for different and new ideas. I found them. All I needed to do was to open my mind and use my imagination on how I could incorporate the ideas he has and use them. The results were amazing! I realized I had limited myself because I was really looking for a letter I could simply copy and change. Once I dropped that attitude, my whole view of the book changed.

Also, the formula for writing a great sales letter is the same whether you are writing something like mine or other types of copy or sales letters...

I highly recommend buying this book. Use it in the right way and you will see results.

76 of 81 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't send junk mail. Write letters that get read. December 27, 2003

By Harinath Thummalapalli

Format:Paperback

This book is most useful to small business owners who want to generate qualified leads and not waste time, money, and energy in sending out useless junk mail.

The techniques described by the author in this simple but effective book are easy to learn. The author explains a systematic process in writing the ultimate sales letter that gets read and achieves results. Overall, he describes 28 steps involved in designing, creating, and getting your sales letter to the right prospects. The book is less than 200 pages long and doesn't take more than a couple of hours to read. It does take a lot longer to implement the ideas presented though.

Here are a few things I learned in the book that really surprised me -

1. That some mail delivery personnel hate junk mail and hence do not deliver it (this is against the law but a small percentage still seemd to indulge in this criminal behavior). There are some good tips on how to minimize the chance of your sales letters being perceived as junk mail.

2. The concept of 'comparing apples to oranges' in presenting price to your customer. I have always had reservations about doing this but after reading the explanation in the book, I am no longer opposed to adopting this highly effective practice. The author has a very compelling argument on why this is the right thing to do.

3. Mailing a mockup of the sales letter to yourself to see your own gut reaction to your marketing material arriving at your mailbox. This seems the most logical thing to do but I have never done it. From now on, I am always going to mail myself a mockup package before placing an order with my printer.

The book is full of these kinds of surprises and hence the reason for the 5 stars in this review. This book is probably one of my top 10 high value purchases of 2003....

The most important lesson I learned after reading this book - never underestimate the difficulty of writing a great sales letter and be wary of letting someone else write your letter. If it is your business, there is no one more qualified to write this letter than you. Spend the time and read this book. You won't regret it. After a couple of negative experiences, I now design most of my marketing material myself.

Good luck! Read more ›

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the Entrepreneuial Copywriter's Bible April 2, 1998

By [e-mail]

Format:Paperback

I read this book several years ago and I've gone on to read every book he's published since. The only thing wrong with the book is the title. Kennedy doen't use watered-down, full-of-fluff Madison Avenue techniques. He takes you by the hand and walks you through the copywriting process step-by-step. If you follow his advice and you're not afraid of being to direct or of making you're offer to strong you can end up with a sales letter that will keep the orders rolling in for years!

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not much detail May 26, 2008

By Loren Woirhaye VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Dan Kennedy is a master of marketing and self-promotion.

This book functions to up-sell his other books and courses.

No problem there. That's the nature of his business,
which I admire.

This book isn't very long. It's printed on cheap paper.
It's a quick read.

Basically its a 20+ point outline of the elements of a
good salesletter. It won't teach you how to write copy
or how to think like a marketer - that is beyond the scope
of this book.

You could read this book and take a page or two of notes
and be done with it. In a way it's very concise and
fluff-free.

There are a lot of more-detailed copywriting books out there.
If you are writing for competitive markets you need a lot
more education than you will find in this book.

If you are writing for local business - say soliciting clients
for a pool-service, then this would be good - because few
people have ever read a salesletter about a pool service
and they'll be impressed that you cared enough to write one.

It's basic stuff. Not a bad reference if you already know
how to write copy and want something to carry in your laptop
case though.

28 of 35 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Save Your Money! July 1, 2006

By B. Matthews

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was extremely disappointed in Dan's book. Really, it was pages and pages of reference to his website, where, in the book, he tells you that you can go to find valuable information. When you go to the site, you find that the "valuable" information is just that--valuable (highly priced). This book is nothing more than a sales pitch. Its amazing that someone can sell a book that is really just a sales pitch for high priced seminars and pricey information.