Thank You to Andrew Wood for the Testimonial

One of my clients is Legendary Marketing, the top golf, resort, and destination advertising agency on the planet. I love working with Legendary because it's all about direct response. And the turnaround has to be FAST.

Andrew Wood started the company and he's a remarkable entrepreneur. He's also a tremendous DR copywriter and marketing expert. (Maybe there's a connection there...) Take a look at his new Cunningly Clever Marketing site. His blog is one the best--especially if you like DR. And what works in golf marketing works for everything else provided you follow the absolute laws of direct response. Be warned when it comes to the blog; Andrew tells it like it is...which I like.

Andrew is selective when it comes to copywriters and I'm really delighted to be one of the freelancers he contracts. I was even more delighted when he left this recommendation on my LinkedIn page.

"Unlike most copywriters Scott has a great understanding of direct response copy. The kind that actually makes you money instead of merely filling the page with prose! That's why we use him again and again."

Cheers, Andrew.

Andrew Wood, founder of Legendary Marketing. Thank you for the recommendation, Andrew.

Invasion of the Direct Response Advertisers...and Copywriters

One of my first copywriting jobs was in the advertising department of a department store chain. My boss was a chain smoking wafer thin woman who was 54 trying to be 23. Yes--in this department, you could smoke and I was one of the few people who did not. I used to write the copy for these "double truck" ads that would take up two pages in the newspaper. I would write about four lines of copy for each item and there were usually about 20 household items. Yes--I wrote about the many benefits of a coffee maker. Good training, actually.

Those department store ads in newspapers have gone the way of smoking in the workplace. So, who is advertising in the newspaper these days? Yes, there are some local businesses and a few big brands like Verizon. But guess who started popping up in my newspaper? Direct response advertisers, selling anything from Amish-made space heaters to miracle arthritis cures.

The copy in these ads is mostly very good. DR media buyers are usually excellent at getting media space extremely cheaply. I haven't seen many DR ads recently so I wonder if the DR ads are getting enough pull to justify the cost of the placement. From a DR standpoint, newspaper placement makes sense because of the older demographic; the ads look 90 per cent like an article and yes, they have to put the word "advertisement" at the top of the page but any DR ad that looks like an article is more likely to maximize response.

I think the invasion will likely continue.

Open your paper and you'll find that DR advertisers have invaded...

My New Site is Up

I've needed a new website for a while and so it's exciting to have the new one up. You can link to it here. For most of my writing career, I've been a generalist, working on a variety of projects. However, over the past couple of years, I've focused primarily on direct response copy. I love it and one reason I like my new website is that it makes a statement: I'm a direct response copywriter--the fastest, in fact. And I'm affordable.

Scott Martin--Fast and Affordable Direct Response Copywriting

Make sure to check out the free downloads page. It includes what I think is an absolute corker of a white paper...why I think so many people are wasting money on search/SEO.

You’ll Find Some of the Best Direct Response Copywriting—In the Airplane

Some people hate to fly and find traveling a big nuisance. I’m not one of them. I love flying, I love airplanes, and I love going to see current clients and people I would love to have as clients. When Mark McCormack, the guy who founded IMG, was building his business, he would fly across the country to meet someone he wanted to do business with, even if it meant just 15 minutes with the prospective client. I’ve done exactly the same and it’s always been worth the effort. Yes—sitting next to an obese person in a tank top is never pleasant, especially when she snores, and getting stuck in a blizzard is no fun but send me to the airport and I’m a happy camper. From my toddler years, I’ve loved airplanes and, even today, I can spot the difference between an Airbus A321 and A320 in less than a second. I’m an aero-geek and I happily admit this, even in public on a blog.

Roger Roger--Put this DR Copywriter on a Plane Anytime

But I’m getting off subject.

For the avid direct response copywriter, there’s a reason to love to fly: going through the in-flight magazine and the SkyMall catalog is a like going through one of the best copywriting textbooks ever written. It’s the good, the bad, and the ugly of DR. Let’s take a look at SkyMall first.

At worst, the headlines are basic but effective and benefit-driven.

“Say Goodnight to Bunions!”

“Read Deleted Cell Phone Messages.”

At best, many of the headlines are excellent. Here’s a great example of a question headline.

“This person is able to sleep comfortably in any seat! Can you say the same?”

To be honest, the device looks uncomfortable but I’ve noticed the same device in SkyMall for well over 15 years. Maybe the headline has something to do with the success.

Let’s face it, some of the headlines HAVE to be good as some of the products in SkyMall are a touch marginal. Do I really need a feather duster that telescopes to reach the corner of a cathedral ceiling? Do I really want to hear conversations 200 yards away?

The body copy isn’t exactly chopped liver, either. And even though there there’s a lot crammed into the catalog, there’s a TON of copy…another great lesson.

Which takes me to my next point. Take a look at the in-flight magazine. Several businesses have built their success around direct response advertising in these magazines. I’ve been flying at least once every six weeks for about 15 years and I see the same companies pop up.

Bored on a plane? If you're into DR copywriting check out SkyMall for the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good is really good, though.

Whether it’s a smaller display ad or a two-page spread, the advertisers that have been advertising in these publications for years use DR techniques. Great headlines. Lots of interesting copy. Irresistable offers. Call to action. Selling happiness, etc.

And the companies that try to be clever and “creative” and out-of-the-box? They last a year, maybe less, then they’re gone.

Here’s a great headline for an exercise machine that costs a small fortune and looks like a medieval torture device.

“Exercise in Exactly Four Minutes a Day”

This product has been part of the in-flight magazine for as long as I can remember so it must be working and it must be selling well.

Bose has headphones it’s been advertising in the in-flight magazines for more than a decade. This headline isn’t world-beating but it’s straightforward. And the headline is wrapped right around a great photo of the product. It takes less than a second to get the benefit and the benefit of the product.

“New. Quieter than Ever Before.”

This ad for a dating service has a clever headline that doesn’t really work but the sub-head is excellent.

Headline…

“Why log in when you can go out?”

Subhead

“It’s Just Lunch is the ‘real people’ dating service that skips online profiles and hand-selects matches.”

They should have hand-selected the sub-head. The body copy is good. It has to be...the competition in this market it fierce...I’m told.

Message to marketing decision makers: if you’re going to advertise in SkyMall or the in-flight magazine, DO EXACTLY WHAT THE COMPANIES WHO HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY MARKETING FOR YEARS IN THESE PUBLICATIONS DO.

How difficult is that?

P.S. I just put down the tray table and here’s a good headline for a cold remedy.

“Ground your cold before it takes off.”

Great Copywriting--From the Ghetto

Yes--I'm a copywriter but I spend chunks of time taking my son to various parts of Charlotte for soccer practices, camps, and games. So I'm actually a copywriter/chauffeur. The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce will tell you that Charlotte does not have ghettos but...we have ghettos. Recently, I was driving through a bad area of Charlotte on the way to a soccer game and I saw a simple but excellent headline--on the sign outside a laundromat...of all places.

A benefit headline from a bad part of Charlotte...of all places...

The owner should leave the laundry business and become a DR copywriter...

50 POUND DRYERS

BIG AND HOT

YOU FINISH FAST

What a superb example of a benefit headline--with some alliteration and vivid language to boot. I'm sure their drying business is not in any way static. The grammarian in me would like to change "fast" to the correct adverb but that would lessen the impact of the headline.

Still--it's a headline I would be proud to own.