How to Use “Intelligent Redundancy” to Improve Your DM Results
By Dean Rieck, direct mail copywriter

Intelligent redundancy is an idea that will make some writers cringe and most writing teachers faint. But it's an important tool for direct mail writing and other marketing copy, where your goal is to sell, persuade, or prompt action.

To show you what I'm talking about, here are some common examples of intelligent redundancy in direct mail:

Free gift
Added bonus
Introducing a new...
Major breakthrough
Actual fact
Brief summary
Simple and easy
A “real person” will answer your call
100% guarantee

In standard composition, these represent sloppy writing. A gift is, by definition, free. A bonus is something added. If you're introducing something, it must be new. Every breakthrough is major. All facts are actual. If a summary is not brief, it's not a summary. Something simple must be easy. Who else would answer your call but a real person? If you don't guarantee 100%, it's not a guarantee.

William Strunk Jr. said it best in Elements of Style:

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.

He's right. There is no better way to improve your writing than to “make every word tell.” So avoiding redundant words is a good practice most of the time. However, after years of writing for direct mail marketers, I've come to learn that good writing and effective writing are different things.

You can argue that “free gift” is redundant. But I can argue that modifying the word “gift” with the word “free” is demonstrably more powerful. You can write a mailer in the proper way using the word “gift,” and I'll write a similar mailer using the phrase “free gift,” and my mailer will almost certainly get a better response and make more money. Why? Because a “free gift” conveys more information than “gift.”

Copywriting is not about words, but about communication. Words are tools we use to convey ideas to other people. The goal is not to create a perfectly formed string of words but to perfectly convey ideas. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines “gift” as “something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation.” So technically, it's free. However, the word “gift” doesn't have anywhere near the power of the word “free.” The admittedly redundant phrase “free gift” means more than a gift, it's a FREE gift.

Let me explain another way. I come from West Virginia, a state known for its mountains. Technically, a mountain is big. But those of us from “Wild Wonderful West Virginia” know that there are mountains and there are MOUNTAINS. Some are big and others are BIG. In strict academic terms, saying “big mountain” is redundant, but it delivers more information and better describes the mountain.

Plus, in the real world, a gift may not be totally free. It's something someone gives you, but is something expected in return? Is there a catch? “Free” take away all doubt and magnifies the idea of “without cost.”

It's like the difference between saying, “no” and “hell, no.” There's no doubt that even while “no” is a clear idea, the second phrase carries considerably more meaning and emphasis.

Another thing to consider about redundancy is the relative lack of power written words have when compared to in-person speech. Studies show that most communication is non-verbal. Two people can say, “I want to talk to you.” One says it with a big smile. One says it through clenched teeth. The words are the same. The meaning is different.

DM copywriting must overcome this lack of extra meaning through whatever means necessary, including redundancy. Remember that in direct mail writing, you are not dealing with a captive audience as you would be when writing a poem, novel, or doctorate dissertation. Your writing is delivered unexpectedly in a direct mail letter, flyer, postcard, or catalog.

Direct mail readers are busy with other things. Your words are an interruption. Your audience reads for information, not pleasure. The writing must convey information quickly, bluntly, and without subtlety. You must over emphasize to make a point clear. A gift must be a FREE gift. A guarantee must be a 100% guarantee. A breakthrough must be a NEW breakthrough.

I call this “intelligent” redundancy because it should be used intelligently and purposefully, not ignorantly. Like any writing technique, redundancy must be used where it is needed and eliminated where it is not. Knowing the difference is the mark of a professional copywriter.

---Source: Dean Rieck is a leading direct mail copywriter. For more copywriting and selling tips, sign up for Dean’s FREE direct response newsletter and get a free report, 99 Easy Ways to Boost Your Direct Mail Response.