"
* * * * *
The first paragraph is hackneyed and written from the standpoint of
the writer rather than that of the reader. The second paragraph is a
joke. Seven lines, lines that ought to be charged with magnetic,
interest-getting statements, are devoted to explaining why ten
cents' worth of samples are not sent free, but that this
"investment" will be deducted from the first order. What is the use
of saving a ten-cent sample if you lose the interest of a possible
agent, whose smallest sales would amount to several times this sum?
It is useless to spend time and thought in presenting your
proposition and working in a clincher unless you get attention and
stimulate the reader's interest in the beginning. Practically
everyone will read your opening paragraph--whether he reads further
will depend upon those first sentences.
Do not deceive yourself by thinking that because your proposition is
interesting to you, it will naturally be interesting to others. Do
not put all your thought on argument and inducements--the man to
whom you are writing may never read that far.
Lead up to your proposition from the reader's point of view; couple
up your goods with his needs; show him where he will benefit and he
will read your letter through to the postscript.
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