the Persuasive Sales Letter

The correct use of these criteria will determine your grade on your final letter:

· The letter is organized correctly:

1. The first paragraph gets the reader's attention by telling a mini-story and/or offering facts and statistics. The product or service is stated at the end of the first paragraph. The paragraph is 5-7 lines in length.

2. The second paragraph discusses the product or service in detail. It is 5-7 lines in length.

3. The third paragraph provides specific reader benefits and provides a bulleted list of reader benefits; the bulleted items are parallel. The paragraph is 5-7 lines in length with a minimum of 3 bullets and 2 sentences/lines of text.

4. The fourth paragraph asks the reader specifically for an action. A specific time period is stated. It is 2-3 lines in length.

· The writing includes specific and accurate word choice and details and does NOT use the following words: thing, good, really, very, extremely, wonderful, outstanding, or any synonym of the above (refer to the online lesson in week 2 on precise words).

· The writing uses active versus passive voice. The writing uses is, are, was, were, be, been, being, and am ONE time or less per paragraph, and does not use "There is, there are, there was, there were, there _____ be, and there ______ been" at all. Instead, the writing uses action verbs such as describes, shows, presents, writes, run, ran, talked, talk, and so forth (refer to the online lesson in week 2 on action verbs).

· The writing uses familiar words.

· The letter uses "you-attitude" throughout; the letter emphasizes what the reader wants to know and does not use "I, me, my, myself, we," or phrases that emphasize "The company (name)" and not the reader.

· The letter uses positive words and de-emphasizes any negatives.  Does not use negative words such as "no" and "limited," plus most "un-words, in-words," and so forth (refer to chapter 7 for a list).

· The letter provides specific and precise reader benefits. Detailed examples of how the reader will benefit appear in the third paragraph.

· The letter does not refer to the reader's or the writer's feelings at all.

· The writing uses no slang, cliches, trite or over-used expressions, and no biasied or sexist language. (Be sure the salutation goes to Ms. if the letter is addressed to a woman).

· The writing is free of typographical errors.

· Words are spelled and used correctly.

· Commas, quotation marks, and other punctuation marks are used correctly.

· The writing contains correct grammar without sentence fragments, comma splices, and run-on sentences.

· The letter is formatted correctly:

1. Full block format is used.

2. 12 point Calibri or Times New Roman font is used.

3. Spacing is correct.

4. The letter includes a company letterhead, date, inside address to an individual at a company, a salutation followed by colon, four paragraphs, and a close.

5. All components except for the letterhead are lined up on the left margin.