Charlotte copywriter loves going to the dentist

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One of the highlights of my summer has been my frequent visits to the dentist. That's right, I LOVE going to the dentist. Have I gone crazy?

One of my clients is Ballantyne Center for Dentistry and I work closely with one of the founders, Dr. Christian Yaste, DDS. Ballantyne Center for Dentistry specializes in cosmetic dentistry...when you want to replace your teeth for a better smile or simply get basic teeth whitening, they are among the best in the country.

I like going to see Dr. Christian Yaste, one of the top cosmetic dentists in the country. It's great to work with someone who understands direct response.

Dr. Yaste is a HUGE believer in direct response marketing and when you say "Dan Kennedy" his face lights up; there aren't many dentists who have read several Dan Kennedy books. I wrote the copy for the new Ballantyne Center for Dentistry website which is about to go live. I've seen a "draft" and it's a superb site. I'll blog again when it's live.

As a direct response copywriter, working with a client who understands the power of direct response copywriting and how it's so much better than "fluff" copywriting is vital. It's also a lot of fun. Yes, going to see the dentist is fun. I never thought I'd write these words!

I wrote the copy for their site in three days. This was a huge help because they badly needed the copy to get the site in development.

For my copywriting site, go here. For my portfolio, go here.

Direct response copywriting meets the query letter

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An author recently contracted me to help him with a book proposal. If you're unfamiliar with the book publishing process, before a book gets published, there has to be a book proposal and before there's a book proposal, there's a query letter. The query letter gets a publisher or literary agent interested in the book proposal; the publisher makes a decision about the book based on the book proposal.

All the books about publishing I've read say the query letter has to be a groveling plea for a merciful look at the book proposal. Something like this...

Dear all-powerful literary agent:

If you would be so kind as to allow me to submit this humble query letter so you might consider, just for a minute, about thinking about seeing the book proposal, I would be most flattered. Of course, I'm but a lowly writer and would totally understand if you considered this query letter to be far less than perfect...

I'm sorry but I'm not writing that type of letter. How can I? I'm a direct response copywriter.

So the query letter I wrote was a direct response letter, albeit toned down a bit. It had all the ingredients...benefit headline...hit them between the eyes first paragraph...benefits not features...call to action.

I used direct response copywriting techniques for a query letter I sent to a literary agent and the letter got the result I wanted. I did NOT use the standard query letter template.



And most importantly, I know what makes a literary agent tick so the query letter was a sales conversation between me and the agent. And I know this agent likes the type of book the author is writing. I know what literary agents want.

And the letter worked. The one literary agent who has seen the query letter has asked to see the proposal. That's 100 per cent response.

For my copywriting site, www.scottmartinwriting.com, go here.

More sagacity from the CDMA meeting

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....as I mentioned in my last blog, I went to the June Charlotte Direct Marketing Association meeting. There was an excellent guest panel with some top direct marketing people. Each one admitted to having made one of the biggest marketing mistakes...one I've made and one everyone has made.

We all have ideas we think are superb and even life-changing. Or superb AND life-changing. Suddenly, we discover, sometimes after having spent time and money on the idea, we're pretty much the only one who thinks the idea is brilliant...others might like the idea or the product but won't pay for it.

The panelists admitted to having made this mistake...which was big of them. Very few people are willing to admit marketing mistakes. These professionals have the benefit of data and a response baseline. So the raw numbers tell them if the idea was a profitable one.

What can we learn as direct marketing people? What can I learn as direct response copywriter? Right now, my unique selling proposition (USP) is speed. I think it's important and I have clients who think it's important...these are people who "buy" direct response copywriting. However, the "speed" idea isn't generating enough response, I'll make a change. I'm about to re-write the copy for my direct response website and I'm keeping my USP but I will make a change if necessary.

It's not what's important to you...it's CERTAINLY NOT what's important to the copywriter...it's all about what's REALLY REALLY important to the person who will buy your product.