Does She…Or Doesn’t She?

Can men write copy that appeals to women?
Well, if you’re a man you will read this headline completely differently to a woman. Let me take you back to the 1950’s when there were three things a lady should not do.

1. She should not smoke in public.
2. She should not wear long pants,unless under an overcoat.
3. She should not colour her hair.

It was into this environment that Clairol first introduced their revolutionary “Miss Clairol Hair Colour Bath”. Previously hair colouring was mainly restricted to prostitutes. It was also quite a complicated procedure taking a few hours to complete.

The aim of this product was not only to make hair colouring more mainstream. It also made it possible for women to easily colour their hair themselves… at home…in just 20 minutes! 

So how should they market such a new concept?
This was almost too revolutionary to sell. Within 6 months of introduction the number of women visiting salons for hair colouring increased by more than 500%!

Women still didn’t believe this was possible to do themselves in their own home. In fact it took three years before “Good Housekeeping” magazine would accept ads for this amazing new product.

The person chosen to head the campaign was one Shirley Polykoff. She understood emotions and also understood that you can be very naughty…as long as you are first seen to be nice!

She chose to go with the naughty headline accompanied by a nice picture. Her first thoughts were, Does She…Or Doesn’t She? Only Her Mother Knows For Sure. She didn’t want to upset the salons too much so she changed “mother” to “hairdresser”.

Men automatically assumed the answer to the question to be sexual. 
Life magazine were in fact reluctant to run the ad until a survey showed that women were not filling in the ellipsis the same way as men!

So successful was the Clairol campaign it skyrocketed sales by 413 percent in six years and influenced 50% of adult women to colour their hair. Very clever when you consider, once someone has coloured their hair they have to keep doing it…hair grows and roots show!

Would this campaign have been as successful if a man had been in charge?
Well without sounding sexist…I doubt it! Men just can’t think the same way as women.

So if your target market is female…you need a woman.

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

Ask For the Order

How do you measure the success of a sales letter?
Well the only thing that really counts is the number of sales it generates. You can read any number of books on copywriting. You can research your product and your target market. You can have the perfect headline and clearly defined all the benefits. But without that vital call to action all your efforts will be wasted.

If you feel uncomfortable closing the sale you’re not on your own. The close is probably the weakest element in all direct marketing. I’m sure you’ll agree however there’s not much point working hard on a fantastic sales presentation without closing the sale. So after you’ve done a fantastic job presenting the benefits of your product:

Ask For the Order.
The close has to be handled smoothly or sales will be lost. One big factor is you must have a product and offer that is of true value for the buyer. If you don’t truly believe this yourself it will show through your copy.

There is naturally a certain amount of inertia in all of us. In other words we might appreciate being led to an action that will benefit us but we need a bit of a push to make us act. You must provide a compelling reason as the “push” to take action.

A Reason to Act Now.
You must use a “hook” in every closing situation to make sure that your prospect acts now. A delayed sale is almost certainly a lost sale. Your “hook” must always be specific and definite.

Here are a few examples:
• Limited quantity. Only limited number available. Avoid disappointment. Order now. When xxx sets are gone this offer will expire.
• Price will rise. Orders will be honoured until xxx, after which the price will increase.
• Special combination offer. The special price for this combination will expire on xxx
• Early order discount. If your order is received by xxx you will receive 25% discount. Place your order now.

Free Bonuses.
We all love to get something free don’t we? Free is after all one of the most powerful words you can use. The bonus does have to be beneficial to your prospect. It has to be something your prospect would happily pay for. If the bonus is dull and uninteresting it won’t enhance your offer. Always make sure you tie in the offer of the free bonus for acting now, for example:

“The first xxx people who order will get this amazing xxx worth $xxx, absolutely free. So order now.”

Guarantees.
In this world of scepticism an unconditional money back guarantee is almost essential. If your product is of superior quality your returns should be minimal. Here is an example of the wording you could use:

If for any reason you are not delighted with your xxx, after you have examined it for xx days, you may return it for a prompt refund.

So don’t be shy Ask For the Order…chances are your prospect wants to buy, they just need a little push to take action.

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

Marketing Through A Recession

Stop Advertising?
When everyone is cutting back on spending, what should you do, stop advertising? If you have a new product and you stop advertising you will probably "kill it forever".

Strange but true.
Studies over the last six recessions have shown that the companies who continued advertising to the same level achieved greater increases in profit than the companies who cut back. An example of this can be seen during the recession years of 1974-75. Companies who continued spending their normal budget on advertising through this time achieved 50% more sales than companies who cut back during 1974. By 1977 their sales had more than doubled their pre-recession figures while sales for the companies who cut back had barely increased by half.

There was a Morril survey carried out which clearly showed that share-of-market increased during the bad times when advertising was continued.

Marketing your product should always be priced in as part of the production costs and should never be cut back the same as you wouldn’t cut back on any other vital component.

During World War II the British Government prohibited the marketing of margarine under brand names. Unilever however continued to advertise one of their brands, even though it wasn’t available for consumers to buy. When the war ended and brands were again allowed on the shelves guess which brand was the top seller? You guessed it, Unilever.

Price Wars.
When times are hard and competition is fierce, price wars appear everywhere. Does the consumer always go for the lowest price? Not always. A lot of the time, we as consumers determine quality by price. The more expensive the item the higher the quality is thought to be. When the French Government were trying to determine the causes of inflation they cut thousands of cheeses in half and put them on sale. Half of the cheeses were priced 51% higher than the other half. The higher priced cheeses sold faster than the lower priced. Consumers often judge the quality of a product by its price.

So don’t get disheartened by all the doom and gloom around you. Just keep marketing and the consumer will keep buying.

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

Keeping It Simple

What is the best layout for your copy? 
I know I may have mentioned this before but some copywriters get too hung up on being “creative” with fancy pictures and words. When really keeping it simple is what they should be doing.

When it comes to your layout…Simple… is best.
Readers always look first at the illustration then at the headline and then at the body copy. So give them these elements in that order. Illustration at the top followed by the headline then the body copy. This is the natural order of scanning from top to bottom. If you put the headline above the illustration you are not giving your reader what they are used to, (see article…The Eye Is A Creature Of Habit).

Headlines below illustrations are read on average by 10% more people. Which might not sound a lot but if you think there could be 10,000 readers, that’s an extra 1,000 reading your copy. Next time you’re flicking through a magazine just take note how many times the headline is put above the illustration. I think you’ll be surprised at how many are losing sales from this one simple thing.

If you are using an illustration there are a few guidelines to follow, but that’s a whole different article. Always use a caption under your illustration. Four times as many people read the caption than read the body copy.

When is an advert not an advert?
When it is set out like an editorial page. Most people don’t like adverts. If you set your ad out like an editorial page you will attract more readers.

Roughly six times as many people read the average article as read the average advertisement.

If you have a look through some of the successful news magazines with high readership you will notice similarities in their editorial layout.

• Every photograph will have a caption
• The copy is set in Serif type
• The columns of type, 35-45 characters wide
• The copy starts with drop-initials
• The type is set black on white

Now look at the adverts in the same magazines and see how many are like this:-

• Few of the photographs have captions – four times as many people read the caption than read the body copy
• The copy is set in Sans Serif – making it difficult to read
• The copy is set in one column of 120 characters or more – too wide to be easily readable
• There are very few drop-initials – drop initials increase readership
• Sometimes the copy is set in reverse, white on black – very difficult to read

So always think about the layout of your advertisement to give yourself the biggest advantage. Selling is hard enough without turning away readers before they’ve even looked at your work.

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

P.S. How To Increase Your Sales By 300%

Why have a P.S.?
A certain Christian Godefrey, one of Europe’s most successful direct marketers once admitted to Ted Nicholas that for his first 5 years in direct marketing he never used a P.S. When he added a P.S to an already profitable sales letter his response rate increased by an amazing 300%.

 “How can a small thing like a P.S. make that much difference” I hear you ask. Well as a copywriter you would love for your reader to read every word of your carefully crafted letter wouldn’t you? We all know that’s not going to happen, but after the headline the P.S. is the best read part of your letter.

You see what actually happens is that your prospect will read your headline which will obviously interest them enough to find out more. They then look at the bottom of your letter where they find your signature and P.S. People tend to scan through a sales letter picking up on the parts that interest them. Here are 5 types of successful P.S.’s:-

1. Motivate the prospect to take action now.
   An example of this would be “P.S. We will not repeat this offer. Please act now. This offer expires on…..” 
2. Reinforce the offer. 
   Can be very powerful if properly used providing the offer is compelling. 
3. Introduce a surprise benefit. 
   This could just make those ditherers decide and take action. “P.S. I nearly forgot to mention,included in your membership is this beautiful….and best of all it’s free” 
4. Emphasize the price or terms of your offer. 
   An example of this would be “P.S. Send no money now. If you are not completely delighted with…return within 30 days and owe nothing” 
5. Emphasize the guarantee. 
   A money back guarantee takes away the risk for your prospect. “P.S. Don’t forget our no-risk money back guarantee”

I have seen some people experiment with a P.S. longer than the sales letter itself. I don’t really like this and as a rule if you can’t read the P.S. without taking a breath it’s too long.

What about a P.P.S.? I don’t know about you but this appears to me to be a bit desperate, as if you haven’t done a good enough job of selling.

So only one P.S. and always treat it with the respect it deserves, after all it is your letter’s bottom line.

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL. 

The Eye Is a Creature Of Habit

How to make your copy easy to read.
Give the eye what it’s used to. Let’s start with the headline, the most important part of your sales letter. Have a look at these examples:-

HOW TO LOSE A STONE IN ONE WEEK

How to Lose a Stone in One Week

Which is easiest to read? Because they have no ascenders or descenders to help you recognise the word, capital letters are difficult to read. The eye is a creature of habit and we are used to reading lower case type in magazines and newspapers.

Another common mistake is to superimpose the headline over a picture, again this makes it extremely difficult to read. If it’s difficult to read it won’t get read.

Never put a full stop at the end of a headline.
A full stop tells the reader to stop reading, which is not what you want to happen. You will notice in newspapers there are never any full stops at the end of headlines.

If your page is set too wide or too narrow this will make it harder to read. Most newspapers are set at about 40 characters wide, most sales letters online are set at abut 600 pixels. Give the eye what it’s used to.

What typeface should you use?
Again what typeface people are used to, for example, how difficult is this to read? Our eyes are accustomed to reading a serif typeface such as arial or times new roman.

Of course with a lot of copywriting now on websites the combination of colours is endless. Bear in mind however:-

Give The Eye What It’s Used To
   
Give The Eye What It’s Used To

The eye is a creature of habit and finds it much easier to read black typeface on a white background.

Does size matter?
Well in copywriting it certainly does. I think you’d soon stop reading if the type was as small as this, whereas this is far too big. Generally speaking your type needs to be about 11-12 point in size.

You might think it’s not that important how your copy is set out but something as simple as line spacing between paragraphs can increase readership by an average of 12 percent. All the research and hard work will be for nothing if no one can read your copy so do yourself a favour and “Give the eye what it’s used to” 

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

Effective Letter Writing

Have you ever written a letter?
I’m sure you have, I think everybody writes a letter at some point in their lives. Increasingly now they are sent via email…but they’re letters all the same. So what does a Copywriter do? Well a copywriter knows the secrets to writing effective letters.

I receive a lot of advertising mail for one thing and another, which I’m sure you do too. Some of them look very colourful with nice pictures and professionally put together, but how many of them do you actually read?

It seems to me that a lot of time and effort is being wasted on making this material look good…and not enough attention is being spent on the message. The words are the most important part of any sales letter whether that be direct mailing, website, email or anything else. The letter is the vital ingredient.

So as I said earlier a Copywriter knows how to write effective letters…so why is that so many of them don’t? Some like to think of themselves as being creative. Well the truth is they’re not, they’re salespeople. Some are more creative than others I’ll grant you…but they’re salespeople all the same.

Whereas certain ad’s and brochures maybe put together by a committee, a sales letter is the work of one person. It is a single coherent statement. That doesn’t mean repeating the same words over and over again. It mean’s thinking about what you are going to write and asking yourself “What am I trying to convince the reader to do?”

Force yourself to be specific because specifics out-pull generalisations every time. How do you know if your letter is successful? Well people might remember your letter but it’s only successful if the reader performs a positive act as the result of reading it. Specifics sell. Generalities don’t.

So you may win awards for your clever use of words…but awards don’t sell! Remember the purpose of your letter is to convince people to act…convince them to buy!

So as I said everybody writes letters, but how many write effective letters?

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL. 

A Few Easy Copywriting Rules…Maybe Not Rules More Guidelines

How do you write copy that people want to read?
Well that’s a bit of a leading question and the subject is so huge we could be here all day trying to answer it. There are however a few rules that can be applied to help you keep your readers interest.

Keep your first sentence short. Not always, but usually a good idea. If your reader starts to read your letter and the first sentence rambles on chances are he’ll get fed up and go on to something else. Compare these two opening sentences:-

“I have something you want!”
Or
“I have something that could interest you if you are looking for a new business opportunity”

This is easy to apply if you remember when you are writing that you are talking to your reader…what would you say?

Never have a paragraph longer than seven lines. 
People have very short attention spans on the whole. If it’s hard to read…it won’t get read. If you have a longer paragraph read it through aloud, you will always be able to break it down to two or three paragraphs.

Even the spacing between sentences and paragraphs can make a difference. Think about it. If you have double spacing between every sentence a single page letter becomes two pages, two become four and so on. Suddenly your letter is a lot harder to read. So the rule is always single space between sentences, double space between paragraphs.

If your letter is longer than one page never end a paragraph at the end of the page. Always end mid sentence. This is a little trick known by anyone in the newspaper trade, you may have noticed “continued on page 5 column 3” at the end of a story on page one. It’s a great way to keep your reader interested because they have to know the ending.

Fire your big guns first…what I mean by that is never keep your reader guessing what it is you’re selling. Your best benefits should be up there at the top of the letter. If your reader has to get part way down the page before they even know what you’re talking about, you’ve lost them. In fact your target prospect probably won’t even start to read.

The way you start your sales letter can build instant rapport if you personalise it. Here are a few examples:-

“Dear Fellow Entrepreneur”

“Dear Golf Nut”

“Dear Collector”

Adding a word like “Fellow” is particularly powerful. Your reader will immediately feel that you are on the same wavelength.

Like I said copywriting is a huge subject and we could talk about it all day, but if you remember these easy guidelines it will help you to write copy that people actually enjoy reading.

 

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

Santa Claus, A Jolly Plump Man In A Red Coat…Or A Clever Marketing Ploy

We all know what Santa looks like, don’t we? The question is when did he first look like the image we all know and love?

The story goes that Santa Claus was a creation of Clement Clarke Moore and Thomas Nast . In 1822 Moore wrote a poem for his daughters called “The Visit from Saint Nicholas” In this poem a tiny elflike creature runs about on Christmas Eve delivering presents. He is so small he can fit down the chimney!

It wasn’t until the editorial cartoonist Thomas Nast published a book called "Santa Claus and His Works" that he became a full sized Santa. So we have Moore to thank for the reindeer but Nast to thank for fattening up Santa and sending him to the North Pole.

Santa started appearing everywhere…but still not quite as we know him today.

In the 1920’s a certain Coca-Cola company were struggling to sell their drink during the winter months. They hit on the idea of using a winter image like Santa relaxing with a glass of Coke. It’s no coincidence that Santa is dressed in Red and White…Coca-Cola’s corporate colours. The idea grew and advertising showed the children leaving glasses of Coke for Santa instead of milk.

By the late 1940’s Coke’s Santa had elbowed aside all other Santa images and was seen as being The Santa Claus. The image we now all know to be Santa was created for Coca-Cola by Haddon H. Sundblom and has proved so successful that one of Coke’s agencies is hired almost exclusively for December.

So the next time you see the Sundblom Santa lift his soft drink bottle in a holiday toast and wink…pity poor Pepsi, they must hate Christmas.

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

Get To the Point

When you start to write your sales copy…get to the point! 
If you drone on aimlessly your reader will very quickly lose interest. Here are a few things to avoid. Subtleness, subtlety will cost you response because again some readers will not appreciate it and will therefore lose interest. Cleverness for the sake of being clever will again lose you response. In jokes…in fact humour can be a dangerous thing altogether because everyone’s sense of humour is different. So just get to the point.

How do you know if you are getting to the point? Well here are a few opening phrases that I use a lot to help me.

1. For example…

Using this forces you to actually give an example and therefore get to the point.

2. Why? Because…

This is quite a clever one because you are putting yourself in your prospects position who will naturally be asking the question “Why?” By asking it and then answering it for them you are immediately building rapport with that person. Again by answering the question you are forcing yourself to get to the point.

3. The reason is…

Using this again forces you to be specific. You are offering evidence which is by it’s very nature specific.

4. I have something you want.

This is a really good one to use, just think about it. 
If I said to you “I have something you want” what would your reaction be? 
Of course you would want to know what it is…wouldn’t you? You are then drawn into the rest of the sales copy to find out what you’re missing out on.

Is there a risk of someone saying “No, that isn’t what I want”.  If they do say that then they are obviously not the market you are trying to reach. So this shouldn’t happen if you’ve done your homework properly. Don’t forget that by this stage you should know exactly who your target market is and what it is they want.

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

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