Launch: An Internet Millionaire's Secret Formula to Sell Almost Anything Online, Build a Business You Love and Live the Life of Your Dreams

by Jeff Walker

Before I can explain the Sideways Sales Letter, I need to give you some context. There’s a traditional tool in direct marketing going back many decades simply called the “sales letter” (also known as the “long form sales letter”). Basically, this is a lengthy printed advertisement written in the form of a letter. These sales letters can be eight pages, 12 pages, 24 pages, or even longer. When most people first encounter a long form sales letter, they have one of two reactions. If it’s a topic they are interested in and it’s a good letter that’s been written by a pro copywriter, they’ll start reading it and soon get sucked right into the narrative of the letter. On the other hand, if it’s a topic they don’t care about or the letter is poorly written, they’ll wonder why ANYONE would ever read such a long and boring advertisement. But the important thing for you to remember is that these form sales letters have been used for decades, and they have generated billions of dollars in sales for all kinds of different products. The development of long form copy and the sales letter was one of the most significant advances ever in sales and marketing. It was, to borrow an old phrase from advertising legend Albert Lasker, “salesmanship multiplied.” You could effectively make a complicated sale without being face-to-face with your prospect.