Introduction Your sales letter should attract attention and cause the right person to read its contents and take some action that leads to a sale. Your recipient should be a decision maker; and either: Someone who knows you; or Someone to whom you have been recommended; or A person whose contact information you got from a quality list of those who share your interests in the products or services you are selling.

Remember, that most of us look at the sender before reading the body of the email and sometimes before reading the subject line.

A successful email letter will contain these components (in the following suggested order):

1. Your email needs is a compelling subject line that appeals to the recipient's interests. One way of doing this is to have the subject of shared interest mentioned in the subject line.
2. Clearly state the problem or crisis that the email is about. The intent here is to get the recipient to read further by raising their curiosity or their concern.
3. Reveal the solution that you are offering. List the benefits your reader will gain from using your product or service to solve their problem.
4. Call to action, such as "Call 555-5555" or "Click Here to Save 30% on our Limited Time Offer".
5. Summarize the benefits that they will gain.
6. Optionally, offer further inducements, if appropriate. For example, call in next 2 hours and get matching donations.
7. Another option is a closing salutation. Doing so can make the email more personal.

To reinforce the message that you are giving, composition is important.

• Have a salutation that uses the recipient's name, if possible or if appropriate.
• Try to maintain a personal connection with the recipient. This personalization will be appreciated by those receiving your email.
• Use bullet points to list things of interest like benefits. This format adds clarity to lists of text.
• Keep the email as short as possible.
• Check your spelling and grammar.
• Maintain consistent tone and use of pronouns.

Finally, your letter should use a tone, language, and keywords that are appropriate to your audience.

Since there are different viewpoints on what makes an effective email sales letter, we have included a number of versions. Please look at those that we have included in the FAQs to see which one suits you best. Different versions are marked with the ID of the EntreBahn advisor who created the guideline.