Tips For Results $$$ Orientated Advertising Copy
I’ve written sales copy that’s turned over millions of dollars, in some cases year after year. The term I use to describe sales material like this is INTELLECTUAL EQUITY. Without doubt learning this skill has been the most rewarding $$$, than any other skill I have ever acquired in my life. Here’s some tips to help you do the same.
Translate features into benefits, don’t just give information and assume that the reader will interpret. Example – front wheel drive is a product feature on a car.
Write from the YOU prospective, not the I/we prospective. IE: “You will benefit greatly from the extraordinary durability”, rather than, “We build the most durable”.
Communicate credibility. Testimonials, length of time in business, size of your company, the number of customers, your membership and influential associations, guarantees and warranties and all of these things combined.
Use dramatic licence: Remember that stories sell, facts only tell! Don’t misrepresent, but dramatise it. Example – Remingtons President says in the commercials “I like this Remington Shaver so much that I bought the company”. He is a shrewd, astute and experienced business person, who based his purchase of the company on far more than just the product quality, but that was part of it. Use stories!
Don’t be afraid of long copy – should be long enough to tell your story effectively and persuasively.
Utilise the writing technique of double readership path. Understand and appeal to consumer behaviour. Analytical person reads long copy and wants as much information as possible. Impulsive people are too impatient to read lots of copy and want the message quickly. SO communicate important points in only the headlines, sub heads, photo captions and response device so the impulsive person can quickly skim, but still get the message and take positive action.
Keep copy lean, though not necessarily short. Resist being wordy. If it does not advance the sales process, take it out! Re-edit after a couple of days.
Keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Complex sentence structure or long paragraphs intimidate and confuse. Don’t over estimate the intelligence and sophistication of your readers.
Create a sense of urgency. Bonus offers which expire, incentive (call to action) for fast response, or discounts.
OK to compare apples to oranges. Example – this cassette program costs only $79, though you might well pay $300 or even $500 to obtain this same information by attending a seminar. And $79 is really such a small sum, you might spend that much or more on a nice dinner for you and your wife at a fine restaurant.
Internal repetition is important and a beneficial technique. In a given direct mail piece it’s wise to make the same point several times, and in several different ways.
Use the power of the P.S. Many people skip down to the P.S. on a letter and read that first. 1. Be sure that your letter has a P.S. 2. Make a powerful, compelling and persuasive statement in the P.S. – this is a place to present the bonus offer for example.
Become a student of advertisement copy. Study direct mail advertising you get and collect those pieces you find particularly persuasive. Then copy in your own work.
Best regards
Mal
