Direct response copywriter on the big fat split Infinitive

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the split infinitive. I’m not big on split infinitives so the book cover below stopped me in my tracks. Note the adverb that’s doing the dirty work—IN ITALICS!!!!!

Ouch!

I would have written: “How to Stay Slim the Rest of Your Days” or something similar. But would it have been a best seller with a different title? If I’m the publisher and tests show the split infinitive version will sell more, I’m splitting this big fat infinitive. One of my roles as a direct response copywriter is to ignore my grammatical and syntactical preferences and write copy that will persuade the reader to pull a credit card out of their wallet and BUY!

Oh and Charla…the pressure’s on…you HAVE  to stay thin forever!

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I'm a direct response copywriter based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I specialize in providing copy and content for the direct marketing environment for clients around the world. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here.