16 Words Sales Letter

Napisao: Srky Matić Objavljeno: 22.12.2023

Notes & Summary

So What’s the Secret 16-Word Sales Letter™?

Here it is:

“The secret to converting copy is to define the one belief, then answer these ten questions.”

That’s it. I’ll make it even easier for you to remember. Just four words: One belief. Ten questions.

The one belief will not only help you judge the strength of your idea. It will also set the tone of your entire copy, the common thread that keeps everything together.

The ten questions will add a ton of emotional triggers to your copy. And since they’re sequential, they will also help you organize your promo from lead all the way to the closing.

The beauty here is that these questions never change. Once you internalize them, writing a sales letter will become automatic for you.

Your Mission: Make the Reader Believe in the One Belief

After so many failed missions, the U.S. Army adapted its strategy and invented a concept called Commander’s Intent (CI). It appears on top of every order specifying the desired end state of the operation (the goal).

Instead of being a play-by-play instruction manual, the CI provides only the desired destination. It gives everyone on the team the flexibility they need to react to unpredictable events.

“While a simple statement, the Commander’s Intent is actually the most important part of the brief. When understood by everyone involved in the execution of the plan, it guides each decision and action on the ground.”

When you write a sales letter, you also must have a Commander’s Intent. And that’s exactly what “the one belief” is. It describes the ultimate goal of the sales letter.

When most people write copy, they don’t have a mission. But how are you supposed to write copy that converts if you don’t know the ultimate goal of the letter? How are you supposed to succeed if you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish?

With the one belief, you will know what your mission is. It’s your North Star, guiding you all the way to a high-converting sales letter.

Officers arrive at the Commander’s Intent by asking themselves the question “What is the single most important thing we must do during the mission?” And that’s how we arrive at the one belief

The single most important thing you can do when you write a sales letter is to make the reader believe that:

This new opportunity is the key to their desire and it’s only attainable through my new mechanism.

That’s your mission. Write it down.

As you can see, you can break the one belief down into three main elements: the new opportunity, your prospect’s desire, and the new mechanism.

The New Opportunity

The new opportunity is what makes your idea unique, your unique selling proposition (USP). If you don’t have one, your idea is worthless, as I’ll prove to you in the next chapter.

But here’s the thing. If your idea is truly unique, then your prospect will have no idea they need it, right? That’s why it’s not enough just to have something that’s new.

In the sales letter, we also need to show why they need it. That’s where their desires come in. They must believe that the new opportunity you’re presenting is the key to their desire.

Your Prospect Desire

The main thing here is to remember that your new opportunity can be the key to their desire only if it provides benefits. It can be the key to their desire only if it will help your prospect feel more significant, respected, and valued. If it can help increase your prospect’s mental, physical, social, emotional, sexual, or financial well-being. Or if it can decrease or eliminate the risk of events that will negatively impact your prospect’s mental, physical, social, emotional, sexual, or financial well-being.

For the health niche, the desire could be to lose weight, lower your blood pressure, build muscle, etc.

For the biz op space, it could be to work from home, quit your job, etc.

The New Mechanism

Once your readers believe your new opportunity is the key to their desire, now they must believe you’re the only one who can meet that need. You have to make them believe that ONLY your new mechanism can help them.

Having a new mechanism is key in today’s competitive market environment.

“If your market is at the stage where they’ve heard all the claims, in all their extremes, then mere repetition or exaggeration won’t work any longer. What this market needs now is a new device… a new mechanism, a new way to make the old promise work. A fresh chance, a brand-new possibility of success where only disappointment has resulted before.”

While the new opportunity reveals WHAT is unique about your solution, the new mechanism reveals HOW it works. It’s the vehicle that deliver the new opportunity. It’s the secret sauce that explains why your solution works.

In the biz op space, it could be a mentorship program about a new type of online business.

In the health niche, it could be a unique combination of natural herbs in just one pill, which is very common in supplement offers.

Once you know your new opportunity, your customer’s desire, and your new mechanism, you’re ready to write down your one belief.

Here are a Few Examples of “The One Belief”

The one belief for P-90X:

Avoiding the plateau effect (new opportunity) is the key to building muscle (desire) and it’s attainable only through the P90-X “muscle confusion” system (new mechanism).

The one belief for Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula:

Warming up your prospects (new opportunity) is the key to successfully launching a new product online (desire) and it’s attainable only through the Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula (new mechanism).

The one belief for Proactive:

Attacking acne at every stage of the cycle (new opportunity) is the key to keeping your skin clear and healthy-looking (desire) and it’s attainable only through Proactiv’s Combination Therapy® (new mechanism).

The one belief for Invisalign:

Aligning your teeth without ugly braces (new opportunity) is the key to getting the smile you want without disrupting your life (desire) and it’s attainable only through the Invisalign proprietary technology (new mechanism).

The one belief for Subway (before Jared got arrested for child pornography):

Eating healthy fast food (new opportunity) is the key to losing weight (desire) and it’s attainable only through a diet based on Subway sandwiches (new mechanism).

The one belief for water pitcher Turapur:

Drinking ionized water (new opportunity) is the key to feeling young and energetic (desire) and it’s attainable only through Turapur Pitcher’s unique filtering system (new mechanism).

The one belief for Febreze:

Adding a pleasant smell at the end of your cleaning routine (new opportunity) is the key to keeping your home looking fresh and clean (desire) and it’s attainable only through Febreze’s OdorClear technology (new mechanism.)

Injecting Dopamine into Your Prospect’s Brain with Question #1

Question #1: How is this different from everything else I’ve seen?

You must begin by explaining what the new opportunity is. As I mentioned in the last chapter, if your idea is not unique, it’s useless.

Why? Because it will not activate dopamine pathways in your prospect’s brains. Without the release of dopamine, your customer will just ignore your message.

Neuroscientists used MRI images to study how the brain reacts to novelty. They found that there’s a region or segmental area that “lights up” when we see new stuff.

This “novelty center” of our brain is activated only when we come across something completely new. If it’s something familiar, it stays dormant.

Our Brains are Wired for Novelty.

“Attention will be given when information novelty is high and will drift away when information novelty is low.”

He goes on to explain how humans survived in the African Savanna by detecting change.

“Things that moved were threatening to our survival. So if you don’t characterize things in terms of change, the physical nature of our brain isn’t attracted to it.”

Here's the bottom line. Only novelty will release the right dose of dopamine that will get your customer into “exploring” mode. If they are not excited enough to keep reading a sales letter to find out more about that “new” thing.

That’s why your USP should always be in your headline and at the beginning of your sales letter. The new opportunity needs to feel like a breakthrough. It needs to feel like you just figured something out, and you’re revealing what you discovered to the reader.

Question #2: What’s in it for me?

Make them feel important, and the only way to influence other people is to talk about what they want.

Never forget: people don’t have to read your shit.

It’s not like they’re sitting at home just waiting for you to send them your offer. It’s the opposite.

You’re most likely disrupting their day. A lot of people are probably reading your stuff on their phone. And that trend will only accelerate in the coming years.

For that reason, they’re looking for a reason NOT to read your letter or watch your VSL. If you don’t answer this question within seconds, you’re giving them that reason. They’ll leave your page and go back to whatever they were doing before.

So put yourself in your customer’s shoes and ask yourself “what promise can I make here at the beginning of my letter that will get my customer salivating?”

The big promise must be tied to your customer’s key desires.

Our attention span or patience for irrelevant details is lower than ever.

The problem with this race is that eventually we all hit a point where our promises are unbelievable. And that’s why, if you’re operating in a competitive market—and these days everyone is—you must follow the first two questions with some proof that supports your one belief. That’s why the third question in our method is…

Question #3: How do I know this is real?

If you don’t show some proof that you can deliver on your promise, they might leave your page.

So you’ll want to show some initial proof, such as historical charts, testimonials, and third-party quotes,

Whatever proof you end up using, you should wrap it up in an ABT structure.

What’s an ABT structure? It’s a simple storytelling format.

A lot of copywriters show proof and more proof and more proof, but they never create a story around those proof elements. Therefore, their sales letters become boring to read and fail to convert prospects into customers.

And there you have it. I just used the ABT structure, which stands for “And” “But” “Therefore.”

If you think about it, these three little words are the basic building blocks of any narrative.

“And” helps set up the background and give momentum to the story. “But” creates conflict, adding the tension any good story needs. And “therefore” gives the story a conclusion.

Notice that whatever follows after “but” is what really makes the story good. It’s all about the tension.

This ABT format is effective because we are hardwired for storytelling. Just like our brains are wired to pay attention to new things, they’re also wired to receive information in the ABT format.

This ABT story format will get your reader to act emotionally, which is exactly what you want.

Here’s a different way of thinking about this. Imagine you’re talking to your prospect through a two-way radio. Your prospect is always on the storytelling channel. If you’re just citing facts, he won’t get your message. You must be on the same channel.

Remember, your mission is to make the reader believe in the one belief. So the entire purpose of presenting proof in an ABT format is to help make your customer believe.

Reveal the REAL Problem with Question #4

In general, people don’t want to take responsibility for their failures. If you want to sell more, you need to justify their failures.

“And while accepting responsibility is essential for gaining control of one’s own life, assuring others they are not responsible is essential for gaining influence over theirs.”

Question #4: What’s holding me back?

The purpose of this question is to justify your prospect's failure by revealing the REAL PROBLEM.

Whatever the situation, it’s important to realize they’ve probably tried something similar in the past.

We need to justify their failure by showing them the REAL reason why those strategies or products they’ve tried in the past have not worked.

And here’s where the simplicity of this copy method comes in. To find the real problem, all you need to do is reverse-engineer your answer to question #1.

You’re telling your customers the reason why they failed in the past is that all the solutions they tried never addressed the REAL problem. But now there’s finally a NEW OPPORTUNITY, a new solution that addresses the real problem.

It’s All About Giving Your Prospect Hope

You’re essentially giving them hope. And isn’t that what we’re all really selling?

That’s why I said before that this is where the magic happens. Without hope, your prospect will not buy. And the good news is that you can use this in any niche.

You’re revealing the real problem, a problem that can be solved only by your new mechanism. Of course, all this needs to be based on solid logic and backed up by facts.

And FINALLY, you’re allowing them to replace what’s not working with something better: your new mechanism.

At this point, your prospects will begin to believe that your new mechanism is the only thing that can help them achieve what they desire (a key part of the one belief).

It’s Time to Play the “Us vs. Them” Card with Question #5

The cult leaders make their members feel like they’re part of a special group. They isolate members from friends and family by convincing them that those outside the cult just don’t get it.

Our brains are wired to be tribal. According to psychological studies, any group of humans will sort themselves into us/them groups within seconds, and for almost any reason.

My favorite is a study showing how this happens at the subconscious level, proving that “us vs. them” happens automatically.

If you think about it from the point of view of evolution, it makes a lot of sense. Our caveman ancestors survived only by being part of a group. The group provided comfort and protection against rival groups and the challenging environment.

Nobody is immune to this need to be part of a group.

There are many ways to make people feel like they’re part of a group. But having a common enemy is one of the most powerful ways.

Science shows that having a common enemy releases oxytocin, increasing the sense of belonging. And guess what? If you make your prospects feel like part of a group, they’ll be more inclined to buy your product. No wonder some of the most successful ads set someone or something up as a common enemy.

Question #5: Who/What is to Blame?

In order to find an effective enemy, you must understand your prospect. Instead of trying to create an enemy out of the blue, you must leverage existing beliefs.

This powerful technique is known as the “either-or” fallacy. It’s a sentence that drastically raises the stakes by creating a false dilemma in the mind of the audience.

By using that technique, Hitler made Germans believe they had no other option. They had to kill Jews. There was no compromise.

As a result, that sentence created an incredible sense of urgency. They had to act.

That’s why the next question in the process is designed to create a false dilemma in the mind of your prospect with the “either-or” technique.

Question #6: Why Now?

Studies show that whenever you try to persuade someone, you’ll face four levels of resistance from your prospect.

The first one is reactance. That happens when your prospect feels like you’re trying to limit their freedom to choose or act.

The second level of resistance is distrust. And that means your prospect will be skeptical of any claims you make.

The third level is scrutiny. Your prospect will need to see proof. We all know that people buy on emotion and justify their emotional decision with logic. That’s scrutiny. As you’ll see later in this book, Question #8 is designed to break that barrier.

Finally, another face of resistance is inertia. You can make an incredible promise with tons of proof. But that’s still not enough to make your prospect buy. That’s because of inertia. Staying put is a lot easier than acting on something. We simply tend to resist change.

And that’s where “why now?” comes in.

We need to start planting the seeds in your prospect’s head that he’s facing an “either-or” situation. Either you act now, or you’ll miss out on this incredible opportunity.

You need to trigger FOMO in your prospect.

Either you get in now, ahead of this big event, or you won’t make any money.

How to Make Your Prospect Know, Trust, and Like You

Authority is one of the key elements of persuasion.

Question #7: Why should I trust you?

The “I’ve been in your shoes” Storyline

The goal here is to show your prospect that you (the guru, editor, etc.) went through the same challenges your prospect is facing right now. That at some point everything seemed lost. But then you discovered your new mechanism, and it changed everything. It helped you overcome all the challenges and achieve the same things your prospect desires.

This is powerful because you’re indirectly talking about your prospect’s deepest desires through your own story. You’re painting the picture of how their life could be. But you’re doing it in a very indirect way that will trigger no resistance from your prospect.

By telling your journey, your reader will think “OMG, this guy is just like me. Finally, someone who gets it. That’s exactly what I’m going through right now. And he already achieved what I want.” How can your prospect not trust that?

The Robin Hood Storyline

In this storyline, you will be “stealing” a secret from the rich and giving it to the reader.

This works even better if you accidentally stumbled into a secret “they didn’t want you to know.”

The Expert Storyline

If you can’t use “I’ve been in your shoes” or Robin Hood storylines, then your next best option is to position your main character as a guru by talking about his expertise. That includes books, TV appearances, experience, or any accomplishments that proves expertise in the field. Once the emotional sale is done, you’re going to help your prospects justify their decision with solid logic.

It’s time to show them how your new mechanism actually works.

How to Make Your Prospect Nod his Head and Think “Yeah, that Makes Sense.”

Question #8: How does it work?

Aside from exploring an existing belief, you better be able to explain your mechanism in a very logical way… in a way that will make you reader think “oh yeah, that makes total sense.”

Your prospect needs to understand exactly how your new mechanism gives him the end result you’re promising. The key here is to remember that this proof and the explanation of your mechanism are also copy. As such, they cannot be boring.

Once you show your prospect how your new mechanism works, they’re ready to buy. They’re presold.

Now all you need to do is make a no-brainer offer.

Question #9: How can I get started?

Your goal here is to put together an offer so good (product/service, price, bonuses, guarantee) that will take your copy to a whole other level. In fact, if you can get your offer right, your copy doesn’t even have to be top-notch.

As the saying goes, “the product is mightier than the pen.” So how can you make a no-brainer offer?

By creating a huge GAP between the value and the price. In order to accomplish that, you can either offer a ton of value or cut the price or do a combo of both.

That’s why the best option is to focus on increasing the value of your proposition. Lowering the price is for losers. Don’t do it.

You can create the perception of value by comparing it with a higher-price product that could provide a similar solution.

For example, a hedge fund that provides a similar strategy would charge you $100,000. That way, you’re anchoring the high price, creating the illusion that your offer is a really good deal.

You can also use scarcity (limiting the number of units available) to increase the perceived value and create urgency.

But the best way to add value to your offer is by adding bonus gifts.

“The right way to construct your offer is to create your premiums specifically for the offer. Premiums should be so good and so valuable… They should demonstrate such exciting, compelling benefits... That your prospects would happily pay money for them!”

Todd says the way you begin the construction of these premiums is by asking yourself…

“What premiums would perfectly complement my main product and add enormous value to the offer?”

Adding a few good bonuses to your offer will drive your value proposition through the roof. And it will allow you to use the value stack technique from Russell Brunson. What’s the value stack?

You basically show the value (not the price) of each item you’re offering and add them all up. The goal is to show a huge value that will make your final price offer look like a total give away.

For example, when you see that you’re getting $23,450 worth of products for only $1,999, it’s an offer that’s really hard to pass up.

Once you offer a ton of value, then you want to eliminate the risk for your prospect with a moneyback guarantee or other type of risk reversal (“it will cost you nothing if you’re not happy”).

It’s Time to Close with the Powerful Push-Pull Technique

Nobody likes a needy person.

As my buddy Oren Klaff likes to say, “People want what they can’t have, they chase what moves away from them, and they only value that which they pay for.”

In the same way, you can turn a hot woman off by being too needy, you can turn your prospect off if you sound too desperate for the sale.

And that’s exactly a mistake many copywriters make at the closing.

They’re so desperate for those royalties… so desperate to close the sale… so desperate to finally have that blockbuster hit they’ve been dreaming about… that it shows in the copy.

They’re basically begging the prospect to buy. And that’s the last thing you want to do in the offer section.

So what should you do? You should take a page from the pickup artist playbook and alternate between attraction and disinterest signals in a push-pull fashion.

First, you’re going to push your prospect away by making them feel they’re in control. It’s their decision. They have options. Maybe this is not even right for them.

Then pull them back in by reminding them of what’s at stake. Paint the picture of what they have to lose if they don’t act.

It’s time to answer the last question of the process…

Question #10: What do I have to lose?

Remember, we started this whole process with the one belief. By now, your prospect either believes it or you have no chance of selling. So remind him how your new opportunity is the key to what he desires and that it’s only attainable through your new mechanism.

Then, raise the pain levels by painting the picture of how his life will remain the same if he doesn’t act. Whatever problem he has will not be solved.

Notice how I only presented the options, without trying to convince the prospect which one he should choose. I’ve created the illusion that he’s in control.

Then I painted the picture that nothing would change in his life if he didn’t act. But I did that without being needy. Instead, I created the impression that I couldn’t care less what he decides to do.

That’s how you want to finish the letter.

Putting it All Together

I highly encourage them to write down the one belief for the promo idea… and try to answer at least the first seven questions with just a couple of lines.

I do that myself with every single promotion I write. And I’ve found that very helpful. It’s a way to map out the entire promotion in 5-10 minutes.

Then all you need to do is research and start writing on the appropriate sections.

Remember the 16-word sales letter that helped me sell $120 million in the last two years…

“The secret to converting copy is to define the one belief, then answer these ten questions.”

Here’s the one belief…

This new opportunity is the key to their desire and it’s attainable only through my new mechanism.

Here are the ten questions...