Sideways sales letters: trend or new standard?
March 26th, 2008 · 4 Comments · Tags: Audio & Video · Copywriting · Internet Marketing
As a copywriter I’ve been trained over many years that sales letters follow a vertical format. Not only in shape and form, but in the way the content is presented and the points are made to persuade the reader to buy.
And this tried and tested format has worked marvelously well on the web too. But I just saw a couple of videos by fellow internet marketer Jeff Walker that are making me re-think the whole approach to selling online. He’s now talking about a “sideways” sales letter, and there may be something to it…
Don’t get me wrong, the job of a copywriter is not about to disappear, instead it is about to get even better (especially if you are using your copywriting to sell your own products and services online). But there’s something about the way Jeff explains it that really resonates with me and makes a lot of sense.
I’d love to read your opinion about it… so go ahead and watch his video now (it’s free and you don’t need to put in your e-mail address or anything – but you’re going to want to “subscribe” to his site to get the SECOND part of the video where Jeff puts the rest of the puzzle together by explaining his approach to mind-maps.
Here’s Jeff’s video:
When you’re done watching, come back here and leave a comment about it. Tell me if you think Jeff’s approach will change the way we sell online (become the standard) or if it is just a hot trend that will eventually fade away. What do you think? 
4 comments so far ↓
Comment #:1 by The Masked Millionaire » Mar 26, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I try very hard never to say anything negative when I leave a comment. But here we go. The problem with the video is that it took way to long for it to get interesting. The introduction was like honey dripping off a stick.
On the internet you can’t do that. You have 5-10 seconds at the most to get someone interested and I’m telling you I clicked away from the video after the first minute or two. And I actually went to it wanting to hear it.
So even though I am no expert, I wonder how good the information on sales letters can be if the video introduction can drag like that.
The Masked Millionaire
http://www.TheMaskedMillionaire.com
Comment #:2 by Miguel Alvarez
» Mar 26, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Hello.
That’s actually a very interesting observation and I agree with you on this: The video does start a bit slow… but trust me, the information revealed in there is really worth the wait.
Additionally, this is not a “sideways salesletter” itself… but an educational video that talks about that subject (just something to keep in mind while watching it).
Cheers!
Miguel Alvarez
Copywriting.com
Comment #:3 by Gabe » Mar 26, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Difficult to say if this is going to become a standard, but seems to be a very interesting strategy with huge potential. It is certainly a great opportunity to start with but I’m not sure if it will work out if “everybody” starts doing like this. Todd says it’s a no-brainer. Based on my experience, no-brainers have the strange way of getting overheated and blowing away after a certain amount of time.
Comment #:4 by Tori Deaux (that MindTweaks Chick) » Mar 28, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I was intrigued by the idea, but since he sold his target number of subscriptions, Jeff’s taken the video offline. I know I’m not his target market, but… *grump*