Longer letters, describing all the benefits of an offer, have been proven to be more effective in getting responses and, more importantly, sales.

But a number of pages with closely printed type is very discouraging for anyone to tackle. The layout and structure of your letter can invite your prospect to read or stop them in their tracks.

Use these 13 layout techniques to make your letter irresistible to your reader.

1. Keep your sentences short. Use simple words that are easy to understand. Unless you are writing to people who speak the same technical language as you do, dont use jargon. Think about how you would describe your offer if you were talking to your best friend. This is the language to use in your letter.

2. Inset the first line of your paragraphs. Although this is not the modern style for letters it is actually better for your reader. Tabbed paragraphs make your page more aesthetically appealing and less daunting to read.

3. Use short paragraphs 6 lines or less. Long paragraphs give a solid appearance, which do not encourage your reader to tackle it. It is perceived as hard work and creates a barrier for your prospect. Aim to cover just one point in each paragraph.

4. Dont finish a sentence or paragraph at the end of a page. You want your reader to continue onto the next pagea split sentence or hyphenated word entices them to turn over so they can finish the word or sentence. People rarely want to stop mid-sentence!

PLAIN IS BEST

5. Dont go overboard with fancy fonts or colours. If you are writing a letter to a friend or business colleague its unlikely you would add colours and different fonts to your message. This is no different. You are writing a letter to your prospect or customer. Adding too much colour and large, fancy fonts throughout your letter screams sales brochure at the reader.

6. Use bullet points and indented paragraphs to make your points stand out. Dont be tempted to use fancy symbols for your bullets; just a simple will give the best effect.

7. The same applies to numbered lists, use straight forward numbering.

8. Make your letter as easy to read and attractive as possible. Use serif fonts for the main body text of your letter.

WHAT IS A SERIF FONT?

There are serif fonts and sans serif fonts. Serif fonts are those with a slight tail at the bottom of each letter. The tail draws the eye to the next letter or word and creates a flow so there is less strain on the eye. It makes reading much easier.

Example serif fonts are:

* Times New Roman
* Century Schoolbook
* Courier (Old typewriter style)
* Georgia

WHAT IS A SANS SERIF FONT?

Sans serif fonts do not have the little tail. They are a harsher font and can, almost, stop the reader in his tracks. They are sometimes used in headlines or sub-headlines when you want to catch the readers eye. They can be used to pull the reader into the letter when they are glancing through the pages.

Be careful though, you could have the opposite effect if your prospect is already reading through your entire letter.

Example san serif fonts are:

* Arial
* Goudita Sans SF
* Impact
* MS Sans Serif

LINK YOUR PARAGRAPHS TO CREATE A FLOW

9. Link your paragraphs so your letter flows. These links are known as transitional phrases. They help the reader to make the transition from paragraph to paragraph.

Use links such as:

* The thing is
* But thats not all
* Now - here is the most important part
* And in addition
* Better yet
* You will see for yourself why
* Take advantage of this opportunity to
* Now - for a limited time only -
* Interestingly enough
* To help you do this
* What you do next
* But first
* The Result?

KEEP IT PERSONAL

10. Write your letter to a specific person. Have a picture in your mind of your ideal prospect or reader.

Start your letter with the persons name; Dear John or Dear Mrs Allen.

When youve finished your letter, go through and replace the name of the person youve written to with someone elses. Does the letter still work? If not, scratch it and start again.

11. Next, go through your letter and replace your company name, product or service with your competitors. Is the letter describing your competition perfectly? If so you havent got a good working sales letter.

Your letter must have something that is unique or different; otherwise your prospect has no reason to buy from you rather than your competitor.

12. How does your letter read? In The Greatest Direct Mail Sales Letters of All Time, Richard S Hudgson suggests the hat test:

Put on your hat and go out of your office and find someone who doesnt know your product or service. Ask him or her to read your letter aloud. Listen to the way he or she reads it and any questions they ask. Youll soon discover if youve got it right. If he or she does ask questions - you need to add more information!

SIGN YOUR LETTER PERSONALLY

13. Always, always, always sign your letter with a hand-written reflex-blue signature. Never use a computer generated handwriting font and do not get someone to p.p. your letters.

Both of these give the recipient the impression he or she is not important enough for you to take the trouble.

Why reflex-blue? Reflex blue is the closest printed blue to the Royal Blue ink used in fountain pens. Tests have proved a blue signature does raise the response quite dramatically.