Since many sales letter recipients discard letters unopened, sales letter writers realize the need to include some form of persuasive message on the outside of the envelopes. Therefore, students should not fail to analyze whether envelopes include written messages on the outside of the envelope. Students will notice that some of the written messages may entice or encourage readers to open the envelope while other messages may distract or annoy potential readers. After examining the sales letters envelopes, students next peruse the sales matter inside the envelope. Although all enclosed pieces should be inspected, students should concentrate on the actual sales letter itself.
Most sales letters excel on the first and last sections and flounder on the sections in between.
After students have analyzed their 20 sales letters including the envelopes and enclosures, they should be qualified to identify effective sales letter concepts. Their next assignment is to write a complete sales letter, including enclosures and an envelope design, incorporating the effective concepts and avoiding the ineffective concepts they observed during the first part of the assignment. After writing what students think are effective sales letters, their last task is to conduct a marketing research investigation designed to find out the likely outcome of their creations if they were to be used in a sales campaign. All Rights Reserved.