Direct Response Copywriter Has A Message For Marketing Managers and Marketing Execs

This blog is for marketing managers and marketing decision makers, especially if you manage a copywriter or a team of copywriters.

This blog is not an easy blog to write.

Why?

Because we’re humans and, as such, we cherish loyalty and friendships. My friends are super-important to me and I’m loyal to my friends, even when they let me down.

And in this blog, I’m asking you to put aside the admirable trait of loyalty and even move beyond a friendship.

That’s not easy.

But hang with me for a minute because it’s really important for your career.

Your career depends, in large part, on your ability to generate measurable revenue. Awards and kudos are nice but, when it really comes down to it, you have to show the people above you that you can maintain and grow top-line revenue.

If you fail, you get fired.

And if you get fired, your career in marketing will come to a screeching halt and you’ll have to find another career.

Brutal, but true. I've seen this happen.

To find that increase in revenue, you must have the following.

• A great traffic buyer.
• Products and services that people want.
• Marketing systems/automation.
• Testing.

And …

**An elite-level direct response copywriter. **

What does your current copywriter look like?

Or … if you have several copywriters on your team, what do they look like?

Are they nascent rookies? Are they mediocre? Are they genuine all-stars?

You have to look at yourself as the coach of a professional sports team. The top coaches are ruthless when it comes to performance.

If there’s a player who isn’t performing at the highest level, the coach is looking around for another player.

Look at your direct response copywriter (or copywriters), full-time or contract. Are they performing at the “elite” level? Or are they mediocre? Are they constantly striving to improve, learn, and generate more revenue for your company?

If the answer to that last question is “no” then you MUST find copywriters who write direct response copy at the very highest level and know how to generate revenue.

Your career depends on this. Seriously.

You have to be ruthless. You have to replace the mediocre copywriters with elite-level copywriters … just like one of the super-successful coaches that routinely wins games and championships.

Maybe you’ll get some hassle from HR. Maybe someone in accounting will say, “you can only pay this much.” You need to break through this or find a company that “gets it.”

Look at all the most successful coaches in professional sports and you’ll discover that mediocrity is not tolerated. Why should you tolerate mediocrity when it comes to copywriters?

Remember ... the progress of your career depends on this.

You can either find an “elite” level direct response copywriter to replace the mediocrity or you can help your current copywriters reach that elite level.

The former will help you get results a lot faster. The latter may placate the HR people but will take 1-2 years, at least. And some copywriters are always going to be mediocre. That’s just the way it goes.

But either way, you MUST have “elite” level direct response copywriters or revenue will stagnate or decline. You will get the blame for this decline, by the way.

If what I’m saying resonates with you and you want to continue this conversation, then contact me here.

One more thing … you might be friends with the copywriter or copywriters on your team. And you might feel loyalty to them. And that says a lot about who you are as a human being. But business is business and your career is crucial. But, ultimately, your responsibility is to increase top-line revenue.

This may seem harsh but, I’m confident you understand the dynamic.

Copywriter on Content. Part 4. The Case Study.

The case study is one of the most underutilized tactics in the battle for new business. It's extremely rare to see case studies on websites yet the case study provides proof that everything you say on your website is true. I have testimonials on my site and the next step: case studies.

A case study is a hybrid: part journalism, part copywriting. If you're going to write case studies, or hire a copywriter to organize them for you, start with the problems/desires your clients express. In most B2B settings, case studies are relatively straightforward.

1. State the problem.
2. Show how you solved the problem.
3. Detail the end result.

In some B2C settings, the case study is a little trickier. You have to disguise it as people enjoying themselves. For example--golfers having a wonderful time on a superb golf course. Here's where your blog comes in. If you're a golf course, you can't really have a case studies page or section. However, in your blog you can write about a group from out of town that enjoyed the golf course. If you provide an outings section, you can have case studies. If you hold weddings, you can have a 'Bridal Album' that shows photos of wonderful weddings held at your club.

A case study can be a straight description of the 'case' or it can be an interview with a satisfied client. You can also use audio and video.

If you think about it, an infomercial or a short direct response TV commercial is a type of case study. You see the problem, then the product provides the solution.

Sometimes, a client will not want to be named and that's understandable. In lieu, you can say, 'we worked with an accounting firm to increase their business.'

Case studies require some effort and time but they provide the absolute best way to provide proof that your services and products work.

Specificity is also important. "We helped this client increase revenue by 45% in 96 days" is a lot better than "We helped this company do better with their marketing."

If you've seen some case studies you think are especially brilliant leave a link in the comment box.

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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 for a direct response copywriting quote.

Of Dogs and Victoria's Secret...and a Copywriter

Last week, I met the local president of the Humane Society. They rescue dogs and cats...noble work. I told her I write direct response copy for direct mail and the web. She told me their most profitable fundraising comes from direct mail.

I'm always extremely curious about people's approach--especially when they're successful--so I asked, 'where do you get your list?'

1. People who have donated before.
2. Local Victoria's Secret shoppers.

Turns out that young women who shop for underwear also like dogs and cats. THAT, my friends, is creativity. People win awards for creativity--usually for funny/clever ads with no way to measure ROI. Real creativity produces results--like increased donations to the Humane Society. They mail just nine times a year so each mailing HAS to work.

I start every direct response copywriting project by finding out who's in the database. Direct response copywriting is a highly targeted conversation between seller and prospect.

When choosing your mailing list--can you find an 'out of the box' idea like my friends at the Humane Society?

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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. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here.