When men first began to trade with one another, they were limited to dealings between friends and neighbors. But with the invention of printing, with facilities for travel and inter-communication, rapid strides were made which gradually developed the great science of Business. And as business activities spread outside of the community, it made necessary and gave birth to the Business Letter. But until the past few years the letter has never been fully appreciated by business men. Years ago the letter writer took great pride in his penmanship and his ability to say one thing in as many different ways, using as many different words and expressions, as possible. Nowadays, the best letter is the one that best gets directly to the point. The one thing to be sure of is accuracy and clearness.

There are many kinds of letters—letters ordering goods; letters to collect accounts; letters to pacify irate customers; letters about miscellaneous matters, etc., but most important of all is the Sales Letter—the Letter that Lands an Order.

It is as a result of the power of letters that the great Mail Order Houses have come to be such a great factor in business today. Of late years, since people have begun to realize that it is a big, broad science to write letters that “pull,” there has been considerable literature on the subject, and for this reason one must be careful not simply to put into new words ideas that have been voiced again and again.

As the subject, however, is a science, there must be certain underlying, fundamental rules governing the success of any letter writer. It is in the application of these rules that there is the chance for difference, and so the readers of any literature on the subject of “letters that pull” must expect one treatise to differ from another only in the different ideas as to application of the generally accepted, fundamental rules—which are:

1. Attract attention,
2. Arouse interest,
3. Create desire,
4. Induce resolve.

Every successful letter in turn does these four things—although some writers, with a natural instinct for letter writing, may not by conscious effort adhere to these steps; and there may still be, possibly, some successful letter writers who have never classified the rules for their success.

Possibly no two of us would go about writing a letter in the same way; no two would agree on the same wording for the same points. Since, however, the only object is results—orders—cash—the only proof of the best is by an actual test.

I have already given the four steps of procedure to be followed in the successful letter. Use your own style in building upon these lines. Your letters should have your style—breathe your very soul into your letters—make your reader feel your truth. Write as though you were looking your prospect directly in the eyes—see him in your imagination as he reads your letter point after point—think to yourself: “Will what I am saying attract enough attention to arouse interest? Will this arouse enough interest to create desire? If I have created desire, have I made ordering sufficiently simple and clear to induce resolve?”

Satisfied in your mind on the above points, make sure you have said neither too much nor too little. Rather indefinite, am I? Well, remember it is to be your letter. I mean, simply don’t tire your reader by sentences whose omission would cost nothing of strength or force; and don’t describe so briefly that your description is not clear and leaves only a hazy impression. Strike the happy medium.