The third component is the offer itself. Ultimately what you want your prospects to say to themselves, "I'd be crazy not to buy this!" You want to structure your offer so that it is irresistible to the potential buyer. As an added incentive you should include free bonuses in addition to what you're selling. Any time someone sees the word free their antenna automatically goes up.
FREE is the most important word in a direct marketer's vocabulary. Everybody likes something for nothing and it's a good way to pique a prospects interest in what you're selling. However, your free bonuses, or premiums, must have mailing list a high perceived value. As an example of this, a financial planner may send out a sales letter as a lead generation vehicle, meaning all she wants is a prospect to raise his hand and say, "I'm interested."
As an incentive to get him to do this she might offer a free report entitled, How to Save $500 a Year on Your Taxes." All the prospect has to do is reply to the offer to get the free report. The financial planner then knows that the prospect is at least somewhat interested in what he has to offer and can follow up. The free report is called a lead generation magnet and is extremely effective in getting prospects interested in your offer.