News
 10
Great Copy Tips for Online and Offline Marketing
Here are a few tried-and tested direct response copy
rules that have been developed after decades of
studying response rates to thousands of
advertisements, marketing materials, direct mail
packages, online initiatives, radio spots and
television commercials. Following these rules will
help get your response rates up and maximize your
marketing return on investment.
1. Mark out all references to "our company" or "we
believe."
Your prospects are not looking or waiting to read
your marketing material. Therefore, your materials
need to speak to their interests and their needs. If
you write "our company" or "we," your prospects will
perceive that the message is coming from your
perspective, not theirs, which will decrease sales.
2. Relate your product or service to items in the
news.
Test after test has proven that when you relate an
item to something currently in the news, you get a
higher response. The subject of the news story is
less important than its timeliness, since the more
recent a story, the more power it can bring to
justifying why buying a product is important right
now.
3. Stick to the facts.
Exaggeration can diminish your credibility and kill
response. Mailing packages or online campaigns
written using specifics and details without
exaggeration get a better return. Generally, people
can see through your marketing claims. It they are
not verified with facts, figures and details, it
will be noticed, and your response will suffer.
4. Enlarge type to make it easier to read.
Even if it looks really chic, if people have a hard
time reading your message, they simply won’t. In
fact, in tests that we've done, response rates have
often been increased by simply making the type
larger and, thus, easier to read. This is especially
the case if you’re marketing to anyone over the age
of 40, as older eyes make it harder to read, and
many of these prospects will be reaching for their
glasses.
5. Confront any negatives with positives.
If you're selling, for instance, a health supplement
that hasn't been FDA approved, don't just sweep that
fact under the carpet with an asterisk.* Instead,
you could bill it as a benefit. "A product so
revolutionary, the FDA hasn't even approved it yet!"
6. Make sure you prove why your products are unique.
Creating product differ¬entiating is essential to
garnering response. The ways you position your
product using words and pictures are the only things
that potentially separate it from the competitive
marketing of every other similar product and
service. It’s essential that a list of attributes
that sound different or are different is clearly
articulated.
7. Define your unique sales proposition (USP) at the
start, in the middle and at the end.
A USP of two or three sentences helps your readers
understand who you are and why it's in their best
interest to respond. Your USP needs to be concise
and clear, regardless of whether it's online or in
print.
8. Clearly explain what your benefits are.
Most marketers just list features, but every feature
needs to be turned into a benefit. It’s the benefit
that the prospect is looking for. For instance, your
customer will care a lot more about the
rocket-powered (feature), antigravity (feature) car
you're selling if you tell them they can "fly over
morning traffic!" (benefit)
9. Position yourself or your company as an authority
or expert with a solution to your target’s worst
problem.
Every potential buyer wants a company that knows
their problem better than anybody else out there
and, therefore, has the best solution for it. To
help position yourself as such, your copy needs
facts, figures, specifics and details that reinforce
the perception that you are the expert and the
authority. Offer premiums that help reinforce your
expertise. For instance, in your first mailing
package, include something such as an article
reprint or checklist that might help position your
company as the expert.
10. Make not acting a losing situation for your
prospect or customer.
Make sure your customer understands that there is a
tangible consequence for not responding to your
promotion. Whether it's a limited-time discount, a
chance at winning a new car, or a product that will
make them more beautiful, your customer must be made
to feel deeply that something wonderful is lost if
they don't buy what you're selling.
Check your current marketing materials—do they
follow every single rule?
P.S. * Asterisks draw attention away from your
message, and make your prospects feel as if they're
having the wool pulled over their eyes.
Craig Huey is
president, CDMG and publisher of Direct Response out
of Torrance, Calif. Visit his website at (cdmginc.com)
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Melissa Data
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