| |
| |
|
Go Back | About | Contact | Web Design News | |
|
|
|
Direct Marketing isn't all Brute Force
There are so many metrics surrounding direct marketing. So many facts, figures, test results and other sundry measurements. It's tempting to think the only thing that matters with direct marketing copy is to get the tried and tested elements in place. If that were the case, you would be able to buy DM copywriting software. You would just enter a few lines of information about your product - price, offer and audience - and the software would draw on a database of thousands of previous, proven DM letters and ads. Press Enter and you would have near-perfect copy delivered to your screen in the blink of an eye. Sounds cool, eh? The trouble is, the 'metrics' approach to direct response writing - whether written by you or a machine - limits your potential considerably. One major attribute of every good direct response piece is how it touches its audience at a personal level. Great DM speaks to us as individuals. It touches our hopes, fears and ambitions. It makes us feel, it makes us 'want'. And by that, I'm not talking about the 'smack-em-in-mouth' approach. As in, "If your life isn't insured, your children could end up on the streets". Or, "Get out of debt in 30 minutes". I don't think our industry is served well by manipulating the fears of decent people. Or over-promising in any way. >> An example of DM copy that touches the reader A long time ago I was given the job of beating a control brochure that was selling a book on the subject of US forces in Vietnam. I changed nothing except the captions under the photos. I remember one photo that showed an American 'Tunnel Rat' about to enter one of the Viet Cong's tunnel systems. A scary job, to say the least. The existing caption said something like, "At the entrance of a tunnel system". There are two things wrong with this caption. First, it is redundant, telling you nothing the photo itself doesn't already communicate. Second, it fails to 'touch' the reader in any way. It's a long time ago, but my rewrite was something like this, "Tunnel Rat tenses before plunging into the darkness". What I wrote was probably much better than that. I spent a lot of time on that brochure. But hopefully you get the point. What I did was use words that said something the photo alone didn't express. I also put the reader in the mind of the soldier. To some small degree. I simply wrote in a way that engaged the reader's emotions. Good DM writing does that all the time. And yes, the new brochure beat control. >> How this applies to the Web When it comes to touching your reader on a personal level, the web offers more opportunity and potential than any other mass medium. Online, people respond immediately and positively to any sense that a web site has a personal voice. People love that someone is 'there'. Where can you add these personal touches? Where can you reach people on an emotional level? Just about anywhere in the text. In headlines, subheads, body text or links. (By the way, don't start writing captions for all the images on your site. In a print brochure people generally look at the photos first, and then read the captions second. Not so online. Visitors to web sites look at the text first. They want to know if your site will give them what they are looking for.) You'll be most successful with this personal approach if you use a light touch. Put the verbal hammer and exclamation points away. There's no need to shout. Just make sure the text sounds like it was written by a living, breathing, feeling human being. Don't just state the facts...write in a way that touches the reader's emotions. Help them feel it, not just read it. Things really begin to fly when you combine the proven principles of direct marketing with the personal potential of the web. Nick Usborne is a copywriter, author, speaker and advocat of good writing. You can access all his archived newsletter articles on copywriting and writing for the web at his Excess Voice site. You'll find more articles and resources on how to make money as a freelance writer at his Freelance Writing Success site.
MORE RESOURCES:
SEO - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
When Do You Ask For A Refund? Have you ever asked to have your money refunded after buying something online? Do you do this often? What are the reasons you've asked for refunds? Savvy marketers will try to find out why without making you feel you should not have asked. This would be valuable information to them. E-commerce Software That Will Safeguard Your Business against Fraud Fraud is a huge issue when it comes to the Internet, and if you operate an e-commerce website then it should be one of your main concerns. Your potential customers will not want to buy from you unless they feel 100% certain that their information is encrypted and secure and that their credit card numbers will not be stolen in the order process. 3 Powerful Concepts That Climb Marketing Mountains You have probably heard many times how you should offerfree reports. Like many of us, the idea of putting in workto give something away may have gone through youtransparent. Cheap Cigarettes, Discount Tobacco and Cigars Online - Is It Legal? Many people online today still believe that buying tobacco products via the Internet is an experience that is doomed to failure. Either, the package will go astray, or the HM Customs and Excise storm troopers will smash down the door and abseil from the roof to collect the pennies that they are allegedly due for "tax evasion". Choosing an Ecommerce Shopping Cart Choosing an online shopping cart is a big decision. Unlike a traditional brick and mortar business, your website is your only chance to impress potential customers. Your Affiliate Web Site Is Built - Now What? When I first got my web site built, I thought I finally hada presence on-line. Wrong! I soon found out that I needed someone to host my site, and I needed a domain name. Helping Your Visitors: a State of Mind What does "helping your visitors" mean exactly?It means writing your sites, newsletters and emails in such a way as to help each visitor achieve his or her goal.That may sound like a simple task, but it isn't. Ecommerce - Boost Your Business ROI Did you know that over 90% of all online orders are processed by credit cards and that web sites that offer customers the ability to pay with credit cards can achieve up to 300% more sales than those that do not?It's a fact. Not only do more customers buy, statistics prove that customers actually buy more when given the option to pay with their credit card. Accept Credit Cards Online Without A Merchant Account It is often assumed if you want to accept creditcards on your website that you must have a merchantaccount. This is not the case. Two Pillars of a Successful Web Site For a web site to get close to fulfilling its potential, you need absolute clarity on two points. First, achieve clarity on what your site's core purpose is Is to provide information? Is it to complete direct sales? Is it to drive prospects to pick up the phone and call you? Is it to start a free trial? To register? The more companies I work with, especially larger ones, the more apparent it becomes to me that very few sites have absolute clarity of purpose. E-Commerce Is Back On The Fast Track How much holiday shopping did you do on-line this year? If you are reading this, then chances are good that you made at least one purchase on-line. Over 54% of all Americans did it [1]. Getting Started in ECommerce - Part One In 2004, Enquiro.com conducted a study of the search behaviors of men vs. Prompt Delivery Rules - Internet Product Sales The Internet is the fastest growing source of mail order sales. The explosive growth in the goods and services sold online has in the past taken many online sellers by surprise: demand has outpaced supply, depleting inventories and disappointing customers. Leveraging Open Source Technology Open Source applications can bring unique value to business owners. Since the base application development costs of open source applications is free, small and medium business owners are able to leverage previously unobtainable technolgies against their sales objectives, operational costs and customer satisfaction levels. eCommerce Software Solutions All of the long, grueling nights and an unknown number of working weekends spent converting your dream into reality finally paid off-in a big way! Affiliates are signing up every single day and the clicks have really turned into cash. Your success is not limited to a lonely website but several and all of them are helping you move very diverse product lines. Get Out of The Way Get out of the way and make it easy for your visitors to find what they want.Recently I completed a report for a site that was the most 'peaceful' and among the most 'useful' I had seen in a long time. Your Site is all Direct Marketing This may not be a popular view, but I think writing a web site is very similar to writing a piece of direct mail. I'm not talking about smash-and-grab fliers. Maximize Your Froogling for Increased Website Profits Are you familiar with Froogle? If you are an online merchant, you certainly should be.Froogle is Google's product search engine and was launched as a "beta product" in December 2002. Dont Get Ripped Off Getting A Merchant Account Far too many people get ripped off when setting up a merchant account for their online business. The biggest reason is that they don't understand their options and are intimidated by the whole process. Internet Merchant Accounts For Innocents Abroad If you want to sell on the internet, your need to accept credit cards. To accept credit cards, you need a merchant account, or access to one.
|
ChicagoAnimation's Acquisitions: Market Polls - 1pennyStock.com
Sponsors: Paving | VTL's | Religious Statues
